Title: Super Castlevania 4 System: SNES By Golgo 14


"All was dark and silent,the black shadows thrown by the moonlight seeming full of a silent mystery of their own.Not a thing seemed to be stirring,but all to be grim and fixed as death or fate, so that a thin streak of white mist,that crept with almost imperceptible slowness across the grass towards the house,seemed to have a sentience and a vitality of its own - Dracula (1931)


Super Castlevania 4 operates on this tone..this vitality of its own so well, more than many 16 bit titles(in a way right on the opening title screen alone) and much like Dracula himself ; that fosters this dark, grim, concentrated evil,this sense of dread in a vessel painted with confidence , beauty and seductive charm, Super Castlevania 4 evokes the same dark, grim,presence, exuding confidence in its ability inject you with this inescapable dread and seduces you with its immortal charm and seductive ways..


GRAPHICS :10 Other than some noticeable slowdown,visually,this game reached me on an almost spiritual level. I was there...I could feel the whip scraping my blistered hands, the cold mountain air numbing my cheeks . I felt humbled approaching the giant chain linked drawbridge that lowered in front of me leading the way to Dracula's castle. The enchanting crystal streams splashing through the top of my boots as i slid through to the entrance of a cavern peppered with bats and demons...no matter where I was in the game, I was held captive by Super Castlevana's seductive charm .The sprites ,background and foreground graphics on each level are painted and drawn with such passion,vigor and cohesiveness in tandem with some incredible rotating,hypnotic special effects that you too will fall victim ..


MUSIC/SOUND : 10 With the exception of a few monumental RPG's,(Shh.. quiet FF3!!)no SNES game in existence can match the amount of emotion that is infused into the player without a complex narrative than the soundtrack in Super Castlevania 4. A crowning achievement and a testament to the obvious talent involved .Super Castlevania 4 has the most vast selection of instruments and arrangements that are so poignantly expressed and enhance the tone each stage aims for that this gamer has been left breathless at times.Alone, the soundtrack is in a class of it's own and must be heard to believe! The sound effects are no different.. you hear the sudden flicker of each individual torch light up in front of you revealing a lonely staircase ,the air from underneath a giant winged demon whooshing through the castle , the tiny droplets of water that trickle off giant stalactites echoing in the cavernous depths...no matter what you hear , you will feel everything you cannot see.

GAMEPLAY: 9 With it's precise hack and slash platforming gameplay , Super Castlevania 4 to me is, the last greatest playing classic style Castlevania ( just slightly above Rondo of Blood released in japan only) because it respects its roots of traditional classic Catlevania design meaning NO BACKTRACKING that would plague future Castlevania titles with their plodding, Metroid school of design , just pure classic hack and slash game play with small tweaks, like a multi directional whip that you can swing on that plays into a lot of the stage designs.I'll probably be in a minority here but for me after Super Castlevania 4 i felt the magic wasn't all there and never captured again..(**update I have just heard there is a Castlevania Re-birth on Nintendo Wii Ware so I will have to check that out and review soon!)



CHALLENGE: 7 The difficulty here is moderate to intermediate for seasoned Castlevania players.If you have NEVER played a Castlevania game before then add +2 to my score!The level designs are the real challenge because they are so meticulously designed to kill you (like the way those Medusa heads ALWAYS seem to get you on a staircase!)or the way you have to make a perfect jump to get through a door , or even trying to OUTRUN the entire screen as you flee from giant saw blades rising up below you Super Castlevania presents a uniquely difficult challenge for new comers and less so for seasoned gamers that all ready have some know how and familiarity with some of the enemies that have appeared in older titles, but the boss fightS(though quite spectacular) to me are a bit on the easy side.


CONCLUSION : For this gamer Super Castlevania 4 is the greatest Castlevania of them all because it sticks to what has always worked in a classic style Castlevania title and adds it's own unique flair. Truly, one of the greatest adventure titles I've ever played and worth every second of you're time.

A TRUE CLASSIC THAT YOU MUST PLAY!!

OVERALL 9/10

great review golgoi also really enjoyed playing this game. very descript i like that