This is a loving revamp of the first Castlevania game, and to me fits in perfectly with the original's style- despite the new sprites, stages and graphics. While Dracula is not the main enemy here, you will see quite a few of the series bosses making an appearance. The main foe seems to be a vampire, Count Orlox, a sub-boss vamp from the Symphony of the Night game in this series.





Graphics: 7
The backgrounds are a bit crude, given its based off the NES, but are imaginative. The bone yard on level 4 was one of my favorites. One thing I like is that the background doesn't get in the way, you can clearly see where you have to go, but there is enough there to give you flavor. This is something that I noticed as a problem in other Castlevania hacks, like Blood Moon -who often just looked cluttered. There are a few new enemies, and bosses are redone, looking like many similar enemies from other games in this series. The sub-weapons now each have a different colored aura around them, so you can instantly tell what something is with just a quick glance. Nice touch.  Nothing amazing graphic-wise, but its clean work.





Sound: 8
The soundtrack has been redone. A lot of original pieces (at least to me). I have played a good share of this series' games, but none were familiar to me. I liked it, and showing that about of love to add new music was a great step.





Addictivenss: 7
Honestly, this feels a lot like the first Castlevania game, and thats a compliment. The stages are new, don't get me wrong, but if you like playing the original game, you will like this. It can be a bit difficult, the series is known for putting instant-death pits you can be knocked back into, but its a good game overall. I played it until I beat it.









Story: 5
You are not the famous vampire hunter Simon Belmont, but a member of the DeNasty family (I assume of Grant DeNasty - from the third game) on a mission to find Count Orlox. Don't know him? He was a boss in Castlevania-Symphony of the Night, and a vampire in his own right.  But other than little blurb, you don't have cut-scenes or anything to spice up this alteration in a vampire quest.  Still, an attempt was made to include characters that fit in with the Castlevania lore.. so I totally give it a passing score, but its not reinventing or adding anything here. I'm actually a big Orlox fan, considering he's based off Orlock, the vampire from the black and white classic movie, Nosferatu. But with no chance to relate to your hero, or to question anyone, they might as well just kept it Dracula.





Depth: 6
New stages, some reskins and interesting quirks (such as the undying demon dogs in level 1). While other hacks offer changes to the hero, they often don't update the enemies. This game leaves the hero alone, but changes some of the foes look as well as their attacks. Now there are bosses that jump super high and others that shoot several volleys of fireballs. Other than the previously mentioned subweapon highlight, there could have been more done to it, but I also think the developers didn't want to stray too far from the original game. Each stage often features a unique enemy or two, which is nice, but also means some foes make a blink and you miss it appearance.


Difficulty: 5
Honestly, its easier than the first Castlevania, even with the typical knock-back our hero gets. The all-enemy destroying crosses seem to drop quite often, and as long you are extra careful around pits and have a decent subweapon, its pretty easy. Those with little to no experience with this series may struggle a bit, as the hero's leaden jumps take some getting use to. The last boss was a bit underwhelming.


Overall: 7.9
I like this hack, it feels like a continuation of the first game (more so than the actual 2nd Castlevania), and its just as fun to play. Being a hack, I wished more had been attempted, but its a good followup to a classic game - that doesn't lose the heart of what made it memorable in the first place.

endings :

dude, good review, but "done well" doesn't quite cover it.  when reviewing a hack, i would advise doing more in the intro section.  it does not go without saying that this "hack" has a completely new look, new music, enemies that have different properties, and yet, despite changing all this, for some reason adheres to the spirit and structure of the original game?  by glossing over the intro of a subject that deserves a more detailed intro, you are doing a disservice to the author of this "hack", to yourself, and to your readers.

this is more than a "hack."  this is an overhaul which would change the spirit of the player's endeavor completely if not remaining faithful to the structure of the decades-old game.  as a rule of thumb, i would advise you consider how much effort it took to take the castelvania experience in this direction and then reflect that effort in your own introduction to it.  let the readers know that this is an overhaul,l not just a hack.  People who make hacks dont want to be confused with those crazies who overhaul their games, this is indeed a different animal; treat it as such.

bsnowotter : Good point, my brevity does not add much to this intro.  It is sorely lacking.

If I were the author of this 'mod', I would not take as you say, "adheres to the spirit and structure of the original game?" as any insult. As far as structure - the same # of stages, the idea of 'one' big boss for each stage, no new weapons, etc. And for spirit -this is a fun game and plays just as well as the original game people spent money for, and the author apparently enjoyed enough to recreate in their stylings.