simon belmont

31 Nights of Castlevania: Castlevania, the 30th Anniversary!

Castlevania Screenshot

Castlevania is yet another game this year celebrating a milestone. Released in Japan in 1986 and in the US in 1987, Castlevania is now 30 years old. Simon Belmont’s first daring adventure into Count Dracula’s castle wowed NES owners back in the late 80s. It was another platformer released for a system whose library is full of memorable platforming games.

However, to quote the 80s classic This is Spinal Tap, it goes to eleven.

It’s one of the few games to fire off on each cylinder in each category. The graphics, the sound, the controls, the enemies, and bosses etc.. are all remarkable. It’s impressive the game has been unforgettable after all these years, despite being the first game in a long-running series.

For those who haven’t experienced fighting the evil vampire and his minions, they are missing out on one of the quintessential side-scrolling games.

The first battle against Dracula is one of the best, and more difficult, games on the NES
A shadowy, forbidding castle, followed by a gigantic bat greets players at the title screen. Pressing start will show one of the most memorable introductions to any video game. There is no dialogue or any indication of what is going to happen.

It’s Simon Belmont, confidently walking up to a gate. He is armed with the famous Vampire Killer whip and ready to take on Count Dracula and vanquish the evil inside the castle.

One of the reasons why Castlevania is such a unique game is the world created by Konami. The game itself started out as a tribute to both the classic Universal Monster films, as well as the Hammer Dracula film series. Taking one look at the variety of enemies and bosses in this game it is not hard to see why. Besides vampires, there are mummies, the gorgon Medusa and even Frankenstein’s monster designed after Boris Karloff’s iconic portrayal.

The game may not seem scary, but that was not Konami’s intention. They wanted to give players a creative universe, one that is set apart from the typical platformer. A spooky castle with dozens of horror homages is certainly what gives Castlevania its identity. No better example of this than the first game.

One characteristic of the game players will immediately notice is the graphics and the quality of detail. For an NES game only released one year (two years in North America) into the system’s lifespan, this is nothing to brush off. Backgrounds and stage graphics are incredible. Players will know they are in a fancy hall, broken down tower or a complicated laboratory. Simon himself is a well-animated sprite himself and actually resembles a person. A person made of eight bits, but a person nonetheless.

The controls are simple. Jump with A and whip with B. Getting that down is not hard for any newcomer. It also makes for some intense, yet strategic, gameplay.

An infamous feature of Castlevania, and the series as a whole, is the extreme difficulty. It is not a cheap game, although certain bosses are pretty difficult. However, the jumping controls are incredibly strange. Simon Belmont needs to gain a good amount of momentum in order to make certain jumps. It allows for players to not get careless and having to plan their jumps. Climbing stairs are strange too since you can’t jump onto the stairs in. Instead, players press up on the control pad. Finally, there It takes a little while to get into the setup.

Once a player finds their rhythm, jumping and climbing stairs is nothing. In a bizarre way, it actually adds to the game itself.

Impressive level design and a memorable soundtrack add to Castlevania
The levels are well detailed in a cosmetic sense, but the actual designs are intricate. This comes from Konami’s technique for designing levels during this era in gaming. The team behind several of their games, including Castlevania on the NES, strictly used graph paper in order to map out the stage.

This method kept the levels of Castlevania organized, but it also makes the levels flow better during gameplay.

Finally, there is the soundtrack. Castlevania showcases one of the greatest collections of music on the NES. Tracks like “Wicked Child” have a spooky, urgent tone behind them. “Stalker” sets up an atmospheric groove. Of course, no Castlevania game is complete without a version of the song “Vampire Killer.” The NES version of the song is still the best and most addictive to listen to.

My personal history with the first Castlevania
I first played the original Castlevania, not on an NES, but on a computer. Even more strange is the catalyst for how I got into this franchise. The game in question was Super Smash Bros. Melee.

It was February of 2003 and I was scouring the Internet for classic Nintendo games to play for free. I would research the games after getting a trophy of a particular character in Melee, and would want to play that particular game.

I stumbled upon a website which played NES games… nearly its whole library! I forgot which game I was intending to play, but I accidentally clicked on a completely different one without realizing it.

The game in question was Castlevania and I became hooked on it the second it booted up.

There was something about this horror-themed world that drew me in. I was, and still am, a fan of the classic Universal Monster films, which certainly helped. I always enjoyed platformers, so that is another aspect as to why I enjoyed the game. Most importantly, I was having fun. Whipping the zombies in the great hall of the castle, to jumping over Madusa heads, to finding all the classic horror monsters being represented it made for one of the best first impressions for a game.

From that point forward, I became obsessed with Castlevania and the franchise as a whole. I excessively researched the history of it; what all the bosses looked like, what other games were like in the franchise, and if anyone else had

I tried playing nearly as many games in the series as possible. I became incredibly giddy when the NES classic was re-released on Game Boy Advanced, downloaded Super Castlevania IV on my Wii as one of the first Virtual Console games, and I bought a PS3 to play the Lords of Shadow reboot.

An incredible and enduring game 30 years later

The Castlevania series has been haunting gamers for three decades. Even after numerous sequels, spin-offs and reboots, the original Castlevania is still a perennial classic. In my eyes, Castlevania is a bona fide classic and deserves to be seen as one. I also love the entire franchise so much to the point where I consider it my personal favorite gaming series.

It broke ground for platformers in level design. It introduced the world to a new type of atmosphere. Most importantly, the game was just flat out fun and manages to succeed on every single feature that makes it a video game.

The Belmonts, their allies, and others will always have their eternal struggle with the evil Count Dracula.

Fans of the first Castlevania will always have their eternal appreciation for it.

31 Nights of Castlevania: Castlevania Chronicles

Castlevania Chronicles Screenshot

Castlevania Chronicles is a port of Japanese home computer version of the game Akumanjo Dracula (translated: Devil’s Castle Dracula). The Japanese original was released in 1993, and the Chronicles version was released in 2000. It was also Konami’s second Castlevania game on the PlayStation.

Chronicles is, in essence, another remake of the NES original. The game may be brushed off as a run-of-the-mill entry. However, Chronicles manages to stand on its own with new modes, bosses, stages, and remixed music. The new character designs are done by the team behind Symphony of the Night.

Castlevania Chronicles is another solid entry in the long-running series, but not much else. The new features are fine and all, but at the end of the day it’s just there. Not to mention, the newly designed levels and music aren’t up to par with the rest of the series.

Chronicles is a fun game to play and experience with new modes
Castlevania Chronicles starts out the exact same way the NES original did, but with added cutscenes at the beginning. They are full-motion video and they have not aged well one bit. Regardless, once the actual game kicks off, the 2D graphics are actually quite good looking. Instead of emulating Symphony of the Night, Konami went a more traditional route. It almost looks like Super Castlevania IV, but with a good facelift. Simon Belmont has been recreated with a generally good re-design.

Castlevania Chronicles Screenshot

Beating the game allows for Time Attack mode, which is basically a mode to speed run the game. Castlevania is known on the Internet for speed runs, so it’s nice for a game to present a mode design for this trend.

Castlevania Chronicles Screenshot

Gameplay is stripped down to the bare essential Castlevania formula. Simon Belmont can only whip forward and jump. Weapon attacks have players returning to use the attack and up button combination. There are only four weapons this time around too. The gameplay works and is as tight as its ever been.

There is not much else to Castlevania Chronicles

The simplistic gameplay is one of the reasons why Chronicles is just OK. It’s about as old school as one can get with Castlevania and does not go above and beyond.

Castlevania Chronicles Screenshot

One of the worst aspects of the game is the remixed music. Konami went a different route. Instead of utilizing the PlayStation’s audio capabilities like they did with Symphony, it’s just weird sounding. The classic track “Vampire Killer” has been turned into this bizarre song that would fit in an Eastern European disco.

The level design is all over the place with some levels becoming labyrinthine mazes or staying as basic as possible. Although, some of the later levels are challenging in that classic Castlevania style.

The game also has a difficulty curve more resembling Dracula’s Curse. However, the game does give the player a chance to change the difficulty.

Since Castlevania Chronicles is an updated re-remake, Konami added the original for fans to check out. It’s an incredibly average game with somehow even worse music and bowling shoe ugly graphics.

Castlevania Chronicles Screenshot

Castlevania Chronicles is absolutely worth giving a shot if you’re a Castlevania fan or even a newcomer to the series. The new graphics are actually nice to look at and the gameplay is straightforward and solid. The random level design, difficulty spikes, and bizarre soundtrack really take the polish off.

31 Nights of Castlevania: Vampire Killer

Released not too far off from the first game, Vampire Killer is not just a port of Castlevania to the Japanese MSX2 computer. Instead, Vampire Killer is a different interpretation by taking on a non-linear approach. Vampire Killer is also a great game to look at, as the MSX2 had more powerful graphics capabilities.

Starring Simon Belmont on his one of many quests to defeat Dracula, Vampire Killer is an “okay” to the long-running series. There are more than a few major shortcomings that make Vampire Killer mostly known by Castlevania purists.

And it was only released in Japan and Europe.

But first… the good stuff about Vampire Killer
Booting up Vampire Killer (Author’s note: or emulating it in my case…) the first thing players will notice are the graphics. There is a great mix of colors and textures. For example, the trees look like trees and the castle’s architecture is well-detailed. It’s a nice lookin’ Castlevania game.

There is also a focus on exploration and, shockingly enough, melee combat. There are seven stages in the game, and each of them are non-linear. Simon can wield swords, shields, and maces to help combat zombies and other monsters. Since there are several weapons that need to be found, it gives the player a chance to see the game from a different point of view. In a strange way, Vampire Killer has more in common with Metroid than the first game.

Now…the bad stuff of Vampire Killer
Exploring seems pretty cool, right? Unfortunately, Vampire Killer’s exploration schtick is that: a gimmick. Once the player knows where everything is, it’s no longer fun. Plus, the levels aren’t that big to really be explorable. Also, since the MSX does not have the scrolling features of the NES, Vampire Killer moves at a sluggish pace.

This has the game varying in difficulty, as Simon does not have any real momentum to combat his enemies. Also, Dracula is almost a joke of a final boss fight with how painstakingly slow he moves.

Dracula does look pretty cool though…
Image courtesy of the Castlevania Dungeon.

Also, the music is downright awful. The chintzy rendition of “Vampire Killer” is not terrible, but it is skin-crawling. And considering how the MSX produced classic tunes from the early Metal Gear games, it’s not like the computer couldn’t not create some decent music.

By all means, Vampire Killer is not a bad game. It does, however, suffer from incredibly awkward controls and a difficulty curve that resembles a person’s nervous system.  Also, it’s biggest difference is only skin-deep. However, much like Simon’s Quest, Vampire Killer is almost like a precursor to the Metroidvania phase of Castlevania.