[NES Review} Castlevania

Castlevania is a true Nintendo classic. It is one of the most fun and most challenging games, and was the beginning of a huge franchise that still lives on to this day. What makes this game such a classic though? Well, here are some reasons.

The game play in Castlevania is great. The controls take a little while to get use to because you aren’t as maneuverable as you are in some other games. For example, when you jump forward, you can’t stop or change direction in the air, you only jump forward. Same if you jump straight up, you cant move in the air. So this presents an interesting challenge throughout the game. You have to anticipate the enemy’s actions and take them out as soon as possible.

This game is very hard if you’re playing it for the first time. The first 3 levels aren’t too challenging though. And the bosses aren’t to bad as long as you know how to beat them. But the game gets much harder as soon as you hit level 4. Level 5 isn’t to bad, but then the last level (level 6) really tests your patience. It’s the hardest level in the game, and probably the level that you will spend the most time on trying to figure out. Then, when you finally reach Dracula’s part, you have unlimited continues until you beat him (which is VERY nice). Dracula in this game is pretty hard to beat the first time through, But the fact that you never get sent back when you continue on Dracula that makes this game beatable, and fun.

I personally find this game to be VERY replayable. I just pick it up, pop it in, and see how far I can get without dying. There are also “bonus items” that you can find throughout the game. They really don’t mean anything. They just give you extra points like moneybags or something. Its pretty fun trying to find tall of the secret items though. Also, there is a different way to handle each boss battle. You can be super cheep and use Holy Water to destroy each enemy with easy (doesn’t work well on Dracula though). Or you could challenge yourself and use the Cross as your secondary weapon to help you take down the bosses. I think Death is the ultimate challenge with nothing but Cross.

The graphics are some of the best for the time period. Each level is pretty well detailed and have a good atmosphere, which was actually pretty hard to come by in the NES days. Each level has its own unique feel, and its pretty cool to see the transition, and try to figure out where you are as you ascend the castle. And on top of cool graphics, the music is amazing! The music engine has some great dynamics, which help the music sound really good, and the songs themselves have some awesome tunes that are hard to get out of your head. Listen to Vampire Killer in my music and you will hear it for yourself. It’s the music for the first level, and has probably been remixed and reused in more Castlevania sequels then any other song.

This game is legendary, and should be played and remembered for what it is. It is the game that started an awesome franchise that seems to be resurrected more often then Dracula. There were 2 other Castlevanias for the Nintendo, but this is the first. If you have any sort of NES collection and you don’t have this game, then do whatever it takes to get it.

Difficulty: Very Hard
Time Duration: 5 hour-30 minutes
Score: 9.5/10 Superb

Final Thoughts: If you are playing through this game for the first time, just note that you will probably die A LOT. Note that I put the time duration from between 5 hours and 30 minutes. I would say anyone can beat it in 5 hours with all the times they will die, but this game can be beaten in about 30 minutes too if you know what your doing and don’t die. Basically, the trick to this game is to get Holy Water and keep it. You can use it to easily defeat the first 5 bosses. But then you will get to Dracula, and you have to figure out a new strategy. Good luck!