Castlevania, the first of a long line of tough-as-nails games that left their mark on every console they were on.

Graphically, Castlevania doesn't look great. But for it's time, it was pretty decent. The fact that such a big game had such nice graphics really shows how much effort was put into the game's look. The graphics, while simple, really do achieve what the developers where trying to do. It gets the point across, and you shouldn't have any issues differentiating objects and enemies. I rate Graphics 7/10.

Sound...well, let's put it this way, there are some good songs in this game. While they aren't amazing, they do work in the areas they play in, and the music always has this eerie feel to it, just like it should. While I don't personally love the music in the game, I must admit I like the songs, and that they are well put together. I rate Sound 8/10.

Addictiveness is linked to Difficulty, so let me explain. The game is hard. Like REALLY hard. So you die a lot. And by a lot I mean hundreds of times, so yeah. This game, for being pretty simple, is just hard to put down. You know you can do it, but you just need to know how. You need to try to work it out, and sometimes experiment to see what works. Sometimes it requires some memorization to complete, but either way this game is just fun. Now, after you beat the game, you'll either do one of two things: either never play it again, or play it again and again until you get bored. It's oddly re-playable, just because of how fun it. I rate Addictiveness 8/10.

The story is minimal, you're a dude name Simon Belmont who's here to kill Dracula. THAT'S IT. Simple, but good enough. While I do think there could have been some more story to the game, I'm not really bothered. The story is small, simple, but works. I mean, you really don't need a story if the game play is good enough, and Castlevania is proof of that. I rate Story 5/10.

Depth is an interesting concept here, because there's a lot to do because the game isn't short. It will take some time to complete, but other than the main game there's not much else to do. There are some secrets to find, but they don't affect the game play or story that much. The main reason I'm going to rate this high is because of how long the game is. I rate Depth 8/10.

Difficulty. Let's get this out there right now, this game is so hard, that it took me a month to beat. A MONTH. And that was with me playing for at least an hour every day! Let me explain in detail why this game is so hard. First off, it's easy to die. You don't really have that much health, and there aren't many healing items you can pick up. Second off, the jumping isn't like most games where you can jump forward and move slightly back/control yourself in air. Oh no, in this game, you jump forward and you can't change direction. Did I mention you also have to fight enemies and platform over instant-death pits? Third off, when you attack with your whip, there's a slight delay, meaning you have to time your attacks. There's also knock back, and it's not small. The main cause of death other than running out of health is being hit and falling into a instant-death pit. The bosses are infuriatingly difficult at times, and rage-quitting is a common occurrence. While the game is hard, it's fair most of the time. There are some annoying parts where enemies spawn off screen and fly towards you at relatively fast speeds, and they will more than likely hit you if you aren't paying attention. They will also probably knock you into an Instant-death pit. I rate Difficulty 10/10.

Overall, I rate this game 8.5/10 because of it's mediocre graphics, good sounds, high addictiveness, lack of story, the surprisingly high level of depth, and it's insane difficulty.

Nice review, I totally agree with the points you made about the difficulty level.  To this day castlevania is a game that I don't dare play unless I'm feeling patient!

A decent review,short and to the point. Castlevania is eye-bleedingly tough and rightfully so. This is a game that is labeled NES hard. You could have expanded it a bit,but I think you got the job done. Remember,the throwing cross is your friend.

CrystalKnight : Ha!  I like you put a warning about this game's difficulty, and its true. You either put up with it, or you put it down. I never did beat this one, I eventually just rage quit on these bosses. Holy moley, Grim Reaper, I beat you once, and I swore I'd never do it again.

This was a pretty good review, straight to the point and meets the required word count. Keep up the good work, hope to see another review from you.