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endings
10-27-14 08:38 PM
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Vanelan
10-28-14 11:25 AM
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Fun but flawed fusion with the formula of Castlevania

 
Game's Ratings
Overall
Graphics
Sound
Addictiveness
Depth
Story
Difficulty
Average User Score
8
7.4
8.4
5.8
7.5
6.6
6.9
endings's Score
6.5
6
6
5
7
6
5

10-27-14 08:38 PM
endings is Offline
| ID: 1097837 | 1239 Words

endings
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Sometimes developers try radical ideas. Super Mario Bros2 plays quite differently from Super Mario Bros 1. And Castlevania II: Simon's Quest tampers with the foundation of the first game by adding in rpg elements. First off, this game includes night and day, which runs off a internal timer in the game (which you cannot see).  You can backtrack in this game, you go into towns and talk to people, collecting clues, healing at churches, and buying a variety of evil-purging items like holy water, garlic, magic crystals and whips. The first game had one big castle you explored through levels, and it is done away with in this sequel. You visit several castle-like 'manors', who always hold enemies, floating platforms and invisible walls, spikes and other things to foul up your journey. Also, the hearts that used to fuel your secondary weapons is also here, but now is also a form of currency, and come in different allotments. It is biting off a lot, but the idea of actually exploring the countryside and seeing what Simon the monster hunter can do is an interesting one.

One bad translation later, we have this game. It tries, and I give it credit for that. But its just not as fun as the first game was, or the next.


Story: 6
After defeating Dracula in the first game, it turns out he cursed Simon Belmont (the main character in this game as well). If Simon doesn't return the 5 body parts of Dracula to his fallen castle, Castlevania, the curse will never be lifted.  Simon cannot rest, and at night all the enemies grow stronger to try and kill him. As many nights as Simon stays up, I would think he must be running on fumes the whole game.
This part I'm fine with.

I'm not sure how Dracula's followers stole the body parts then hid them rather than give them to Dracula, or if you put them in the manors why you just can't get them. Somehow the parts are in these houses, and... the parts are not guarded. Its a huge let down that there are no monster bosses that make appearances (one does, but even then he's optional). The whole game is woefully short of bosses, and that was a big part of why the first was so successful and memorable. 


Graphics: 6
The characters look OK, they lack details, such as Simon being bereft a face, and cardboard cutout looking wolfmen you first meet. Not all are bland in design - the skeletons and fish men look great, and Dracula himself if you finally reach him is creepy and imposing. The backgrounds fare better, the gloomy pines over the lake, the dark forests, the graveyards, they look quite nice on the NES.

The towns are large (at least in building scale) but quite dreary and empty. There are only three or four layouts for town interiors, making everything cookie cutter. You already know where to try and break blocks with holy water, just try the two locations that have always worked.

As befitting Simon's curse, the outdoor backgrounds change to night periodically, and some enemies vanish completely to be replaced with different ones. All enemies are tougher to kill during night, and give out better rewards. The nights do seem a little bit longer than the day, but I suppose Simon would see it that way, being hexed and all.


Sound: 6
A good mix and fitting the horror theme with a bit of rock as well, with the great Bloody Tears being the best of the bunch in my opinion. I also like the music from the password screen and the game over - all of them heavily feature organ type sound which works well with this series. The music to Dracula's castle, the ruins of Castlevania build up nicely. NES games usually did not have a lot of music, and this game also features probably less than 10 tracks.  The tunes I liked least were Dracula's boss music, and the music inside the manors. Both of these songs are used for the final encounters - to acquire a story piece (from the manor) and to finish the game by beating Dracula, I found both underwhelming.


Addictiveness: 5
The idea of a sprawling, non linear map for Castlevania was a bold idea, and one that ultimately worked later.. in the 2000's with Symphony of the Night. Here though, the limitations of technology kept this from becoming all it could be. You can get lost easy, as there is no built in game map. You are also forced to upgrade silly things like crystals and buy laurels and wooden stakes to solve simple parts of the game. For instance, the wooden stakes are used to get the items of Dracula. No you don't use them against a vampire boss, I told you, this game is woefully short on bosses- you throw it at.. a crystal ball. Yeah I don't understand either, but its just padding to make your game longer if you don't have one. 

The translation in this game is also very bad, which is very bad when you rely on the villagers to tell you what to do. I was stuck at a part near the end, due to bad translation. My stepfather, who was also playing it, figured it after a few hours with dumb luck. There is a version of Simon's Quest with a better translation, and while I haven't played it all the way through, it looks much better from what I've seen.

Fun can be had here, but its more about rpg elements like upgrading your whip, seeing what the objects of Dracula do (all of them do something beneficial for you), and exploring the land. Just expect to get a bit lost now and then.



Depth: 7
Backtracking is huge here, and there is a lot to see for a NES game. Some manors can only be reached at the end of a path, forcing you go to back until you find another. Simon has a lot of different items to use here, in a way his inventory screen is more reminiscent of Zelda games. A multitude of optional weapons are there for the taking if you choose to seek them out.  There are a lot of hidden books to find (though fairly pointless overall), if one wanted to. There are also different endings, from bad to good, depending on how long it takes you to beat the game, the more secrets you seek out, the more your ending will suffer, unfortunately.


Difficulty: 5
Knowing just what to do next is part of the issue eventually. Again, the lack of a real opposing force hurts the game - there are only two bosses and one can just be walked right past if you like. I found both woefully nonthreatening. Dealing with the regular enemies, planning a route and being able to buy what you need are the only issues. 


Overall: 6.5
I like Castlevania II, really. I can see the potential in it. But a lot of it just didn't work as well as it probably should have. The bad translation, the lack of serious enemy threats, it felt underwhelming. And with you being the famous vampire hunter, I found Simon buying everything a little insulting. Good try, Castlevania. But I'm glad the third sequel went back with the original format.
 
Sometimes developers try radical ideas. Super Mario Bros2 plays quite differently from Super Mario Bros 1. And Castlevania II: Simon's Quest tampers with the foundation of the first game by adding in rpg elements. First off, this game includes night and day, which runs off a internal timer in the game (which you cannot see).  You can backtrack in this game, you go into towns and talk to people, collecting clues, healing at churches, and buying a variety of evil-purging items like holy water, garlic, magic crystals and whips. The first game had one big castle you explored through levels, and it is done away with in this sequel. You visit several castle-like 'manors', who always hold enemies, floating platforms and invisible walls, spikes and other things to foul up your journey. Also, the hearts that used to fuel your secondary weapons is also here, but now is also a form of currency, and come in different allotments. It is biting off a lot, but the idea of actually exploring the countryside and seeing what Simon the monster hunter can do is an interesting one.

One bad translation later, we have this game. It tries, and I give it credit for that. But its just not as fun as the first game was, or the next.


Story: 6
After defeating Dracula in the first game, it turns out he cursed Simon Belmont (the main character in this game as well). If Simon doesn't return the 5 body parts of Dracula to his fallen castle, Castlevania, the curse will never be lifted.  Simon cannot rest, and at night all the enemies grow stronger to try and kill him. As many nights as Simon stays up, I would think he must be running on fumes the whole game.
This part I'm fine with.

I'm not sure how Dracula's followers stole the body parts then hid them rather than give them to Dracula, or if you put them in the manors why you just can't get them. Somehow the parts are in these houses, and... the parts are not guarded. Its a huge let down that there are no monster bosses that make appearances (one does, but even then he's optional). The whole game is woefully short of bosses, and that was a big part of why the first was so successful and memorable. 


Graphics: 6
The characters look OK, they lack details, such as Simon being bereft a face, and cardboard cutout looking wolfmen you first meet. Not all are bland in design - the skeletons and fish men look great, and Dracula himself if you finally reach him is creepy and imposing. The backgrounds fare better, the gloomy pines over the lake, the dark forests, the graveyards, they look quite nice on the NES.

The towns are large (at least in building scale) but quite dreary and empty. There are only three or four layouts for town interiors, making everything cookie cutter. You already know where to try and break blocks with holy water, just try the two locations that have always worked.

As befitting Simon's curse, the outdoor backgrounds change to night periodically, and some enemies vanish completely to be replaced with different ones. All enemies are tougher to kill during night, and give out better rewards. The nights do seem a little bit longer than the day, but I suppose Simon would see it that way, being hexed and all.


Sound: 6
A good mix and fitting the horror theme with a bit of rock as well, with the great Bloody Tears being the best of the bunch in my opinion. I also like the music from the password screen and the game over - all of them heavily feature organ type sound which works well with this series. The music to Dracula's castle, the ruins of Castlevania build up nicely. NES games usually did not have a lot of music, and this game also features probably less than 10 tracks.  The tunes I liked least were Dracula's boss music, and the music inside the manors. Both of these songs are used for the final encounters - to acquire a story piece (from the manor) and to finish the game by beating Dracula, I found both underwhelming.


Addictiveness: 5
The idea of a sprawling, non linear map for Castlevania was a bold idea, and one that ultimately worked later.. in the 2000's with Symphony of the Night. Here though, the limitations of technology kept this from becoming all it could be. You can get lost easy, as there is no built in game map. You are also forced to upgrade silly things like crystals and buy laurels and wooden stakes to solve simple parts of the game. For instance, the wooden stakes are used to get the items of Dracula. No you don't use them against a vampire boss, I told you, this game is woefully short on bosses- you throw it at.. a crystal ball. Yeah I don't understand either, but its just padding to make your game longer if you don't have one. 

The translation in this game is also very bad, which is very bad when you rely on the villagers to tell you what to do. I was stuck at a part near the end, due to bad translation. My stepfather, who was also playing it, figured it after a few hours with dumb luck. There is a version of Simon's Quest with a better translation, and while I haven't played it all the way through, it looks much better from what I've seen.

Fun can be had here, but its more about rpg elements like upgrading your whip, seeing what the objects of Dracula do (all of them do something beneficial for you), and exploring the land. Just expect to get a bit lost now and then.



Depth: 7
Backtracking is huge here, and there is a lot to see for a NES game. Some manors can only be reached at the end of a path, forcing you go to back until you find another. Simon has a lot of different items to use here, in a way his inventory screen is more reminiscent of Zelda games. A multitude of optional weapons are there for the taking if you choose to seek them out.  There are a lot of hidden books to find (though fairly pointless overall), if one wanted to. There are also different endings, from bad to good, depending on how long it takes you to beat the game, the more secrets you seek out, the more your ending will suffer, unfortunately.


Difficulty: 5
Knowing just what to do next is part of the issue eventually. Again, the lack of a real opposing force hurts the game - there are only two bosses and one can just be walked right past if you like. I found both woefully nonthreatening. Dealing with the regular enemies, planning a route and being able to buy what you need are the only issues. 


Overall: 6.5
I like Castlevania II, really. I can see the potential in it. But a lot of it just didn't work as well as it probably should have. The bad translation, the lack of serious enemy threats, it felt underwhelming. And with you being the famous vampire hunter, I found Simon buying everything a little insulting. Good try, Castlevania. But I'm glad the third sequel went back with the original format.
 
Trusted Member
A reviewer prone to flashbacks


Affected by 'Laziness Syndrome'

Registered: 04-30-13
Last Post: 253 days
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10-27-14 10:23 PM
Vanelan is Offline
| ID: 1097874 | 40 Words

Vanelan
Level: 153


POSTS: 1686/7903
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VIZ: 9825

Likes: 0  Dislikes: 0
Yet another great review.
You're on a roll here.

I do however have to disagree about the music. I love all the music this game has to offer.
All personal preference I suppose...

Keep up the good work. :3
Yet another great review.
You're on a roll here.

I do however have to disagree about the music. I love all the music this game has to offer.
All personal preference I suppose...

Keep up the good work. :3
Vizzed Elite
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Affected by 'Laziness Syndrome'

Registered: 05-05-13
Location: New Yawk
Last Post: 1944 days
Last Active: 1943 days

10-27-14 10:40 PM
endings is Offline
| ID: 1097877 | 72 Words

endings
Level: 58


POSTS: 418/828
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Likes: 0  Dislikes: 0
vanelan : Thanks, I like doing reviews for the old games I grew up with.  I used to like Simon's Quest music. However, hours of wondering what to do at the cliff face had be hating the repetitive music. Usually I'll put something like your mileage may vary on the music, as it is mostly left to one's preference - barring games with no sound or just totally off music for the theme.
vanelan : Thanks, I like doing reviews for the old games I grew up with.  I used to like Simon's Quest music. However, hours of wondering what to do at the cliff face had be hating the repetitive music. Usually I'll put something like your mileage may vary on the music, as it is mostly left to one's preference - barring games with no sound or just totally off music for the theme.
Trusted Member
A reviewer prone to flashbacks


Affected by 'Laziness Syndrome'

Registered: 04-30-13
Last Post: 253 days
Last Active: 118 days

10-28-14 11:25 AM
Vanelan is Offline
| ID: 1098054 | 34 Words

Vanelan
Level: 153


POSTS: 1687/7903
POST EXP: 297207
LVL EXP: 44322461
CP: 55408.0
VIZ: 9825

Likes: 0  Dislikes: 0
I guess it takes me a long time to get tired of music. :p

Again,  keep it up with the reviews. 
Perhaps you might consider a reviewer staff position next time positions open up. 
I guess it takes me a long time to get tired of music. :p

Again,  keep it up with the reviews. 
Perhaps you might consider a reviewer staff position next time positions open up. 
Vizzed Elite
Former Admin


Affected by 'Laziness Syndrome'

Registered: 05-05-13
Location: New Yawk
Last Post: 1944 days
Last Active: 1943 days

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