Customer Reviews

Classic NES Series: Castlevania

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember playing this game years upon years ago and still cant believe i beat it while i was about 8 years old. Yikes!

This classic, which spawned tons of great Castlevania games which are still going strong, is intensely difficult and had me on the verge of throwing my Gameboy at the wall more than once.

The first level of this game is extremely easy and gets you into the feel of the game. However, levels 2-5 are extremely hard. From the first time you fight the flying medusa heads or jumping igors you will loathe them and probably have nightmares of them knocking you into pits.

Later in the game you are only allowed 4 hits total before you meet your maker while some of the bosses, like the grim reaper, need about 20 hits to take em down. Not to mention just about every 'jump' you have to make in this game is surrounded by annoying enemies ready to knock you into a sudden death plummet.

Still, this game does bring back fond memories of the fun yet frustrating game. Now we just need them to bring back Castlevania 2 and 3 for the Gameboy...

Playing Castlevania again after all these years was truely a breath of fresh air. In the very first adventure through Dracula's castle this title proves that you must be hardcore to defeat it. With cheap hits at times and timing variouse areas this game is not for the weak.

The plot here is simple. You are Simon Belmont and recently Dracula has returned from the dead and is raising hell litterally. Your goal is to go through six levels of hell and face various monsters in your quest to slay Dracula. With only a mystical whip and big ol' set of grapefruits you embak on yur quest. Now you do get variouse sub weapons along the way, from the weak throwing dagger to the devastating holy water.

Now for the GBA edition they did include a save option for those who do a lot of traveling. This is a nifty feature that for some will make the game more bearable, but trust me it's not much.

Overall this is a game from the old days that will teach these young gamers the new meaning of discipline. If you can conqure Dracula's castle in this entry of the franchise, than maybe there is hope for your skills.

First thing you have to ask yourself before buying any of the Classic NES titles, is it worth it for this Classic NES title? Depends on your love for that particular series. For me, personally, there are very few in the Classic NES series that I feel is worthy of its' price. Castlevania is, at least to me. What I love most about this port of the classic is how challenging this game is. I'll agree with another reviewer in that only the truly hardcore, diehard gamer will probably finish this game. It's that challenging but well worth it. Do I recommend it? Definitely. Course, if you're looking for another Symphony of the Night, you're not going to find it here. However, it doesn't mean it isn't a great game. If you want to see where the series all began, this is the one to get.

Hopefully, Nintendo & Konami will rerelease Simon's Quest and Dracula's Curse in the Classic NES series, too. Those are classics worth owning as well.

Castlevania, no matter how you look at it, has become a legendary series in the world of gaming. The first in the series may not live up to some of the future games (Symphony of the Night, if you get my drift) but that doesn't mean it doesn't live up. Castlevania soars wit the first in the series and even decades later its still fun.

The game is all about a man named Simon. He is a descendant of the Belmont's, a family that has fought Dracula for centuries. He wields a magical whip and is ready to continue the Belmont legacy by dropping in on Dracula's home of Castlevania and banishing him once more. But his trip won't be easy for the Castle is full of Dracula's minions who will stop it nothing to make sure Simon doesn't make his way to the count.

Castlevania, the first one, is comprised of six stages. Throughout these six stages you'll use your whip to defeat Dracula's minions. At the end of each stage is a boss monster and at the end of stage six is Dracula himself. Throughout the stages Simon can use more than just a whip. He can obtain sub-weapons such as an Axe, Dagger, Holy Water or the Boomerang. Each sub-weapon is fueled by hearts which Simon can pick up.

The music, for its time, was incredibly good. Anyone who knows Castlevania knows that the series has good music. This one is no exception. It sounds really good.

The graphics, again, a direct port. They're really colorful but because its a port we still have those glitches and whatnot that cursed the original NES cartridge. Also, in order to fit the GBA screen, some of the aspect ratio had to be reduced. Some things are very small and look almost a tad bit worse because of this.

It's a simplistic game but lets be forewarned: This the Classic NES Series and anyone who owns a game from the classic nes series knows that this is a DIRECT port of the original game. The music, graphics and features are the same. And one thing that stays the same is the difficulty. Oh, it's a good game, but it's difficulty can feel unreal at times. Enough to turn away even the most hardened gamers.

Castlevania also doesn't suffer from countless re-releases like others in the series do. But the game is short (only six stages) so it may or may not be worth forking over twenty bucks for some people.

Castlevania is not a game that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. Gamers growing up today are exposed to titles with superb graphics and physics engines, as well as user-friendly interfaces without much challenge. Castlevania is not like that. Although it contains simple graphics and only six levels, the difficulty is mind-numbingly grueling and will definitely incite frustration. However, that is not to say that this is a poorly-designed game. The level design is immaculate; every step requires thinking and practice. Each stage is long and packed with enemies. The placement of said enemies makes me think that Konami built the game *against* the player rather than *for* the player, as many games are today. This is not a game that players can plow through with little practice. Each level will require much time and patience. What's more, Simon Belmont only has three lives before the game is over. The level of challenge will definitely frustrate first-time players, but the game is so satisfying that it doesn't matter in the end. Castlevania is exciting, and has a lot to offer. Besides the main weapon (the Vampire Killer whip), Belmont can use an assortment of other special items to aid himself in his quest. Each level looks interesting and feels satisfying, ending in a tough boss battle (some bosses include Frankenstein's monster, Medusa, and Death - considered the hardest video game boss ever). This all leads up to the final showdown with Dracula himself.
Castlevania is a perfect amalgamation of horror, platforming, and sidescrolling action, and is a must-buy for those interested in the series' roots. My only major gripe with the game is Simon's jumping - it's not easy to control, and if hit, he will flinch and be thrown backwards, often to his death. These issues were mostly fixed in the remake, Super Castlevania IV for the SNES, which is another title I would highly recommend, and what I think is the best in the series. Still, Castlevania I holds up to this day as an addictive and revolutionary video game.

Of all the GBA games in teh Classic NES series, Castlevania has a long line of consistently great side-scrolling adventures. This game is where it all began. Castlevania for the GBA is practically identical to the original NES game as you, along with your trusty whip, infiltrate Dracula's lair for a showdown with the count himself after you take on a horde of beasts, zombies, and other nasties. All these years later, the original Castlevania still holds up as a more than solid side-scrolling platformer, although it's not as good or memorable as later installments in the series, such as the PS1 title Symphony of the Night, the various GBA games, and the current, excellent DS game. However, this is classic gaming at it's near best, but because the game is faithfully re-created here, it's also as frustrating as it has ever been. Challenging gameplay is plenty apparent here, but there are a good amount of times when the game is more frustrating than it should be, so it's pretty much the Castlevania you remember. Despite that though, if you're still holding on to your GBA and you've already played through the other Castlevania games and are desiring a trip down memory lane, you can do a lot worse than this.

Bought this game upon recommendation from a friend. This game dates from the era where hand-eye was king. Most games today make the gameplay easy, but to extend gameplay time they add more content. Caslevania has little content, so to extend gameplay they require skill. Believe me, if you beat it, you are some kind of awesome. I never even got past the first level.

This game is pretty awesome. It shouldn't take very long to play through, but the next to last stage is a pain. I hadn't ever played the original NES version, so I didn't realize that once you beat the game you play through again on a much harder difficulty. If you breezed through the first time around, this will definitely be more of a challenge. It's a great game though, and I highly recommend it for any fan of the classic action/platforming games. It will definitely make you work hard to beat it.

Bittersweet memories come to mind upon thinking of this game. Short story shorter, this game features Simon Belmont, who is hunting Dracula. Not entirely intriguing, but whatever gets you whipping skeletons and vampires. It's easily one of the most fun games of its time, but in retrospect, Castlevania's game mechanics are unapologetically screwed up. The words "Medusa head" and "Fleaman" bring shivers to even the most hardened gamers' spines, as they remember being humbled under the digital molasses weighing down Simon while annoying enemies knock him into bottomless pits. The player has no mid-air control, which frustrates to no end as agile, chastising enemies run loops around him/her. This kind of stuff was hardly acceptable, considering the level of control you feel over Mario in his respective series. Another problem is that you'll find yourself mindlessly running into worthless items while holding something good like holy water or a cross, a problem remedied in future Castlevania installments. On a superficial note though, the game has some of the best music for its time, as the catchy bleeps and bloops composing tracks like "Wicked Child" still get stuck in my head.

Yeah, that's all-- It's a fun game, but certainly hasn't aged well. Some things are better off staying a memory.
- Thus says the Pellington

The incessant jumping and being knocked down everytime by flying bats is enough to drive even the most mild mannered of gamers stark raving mad. Do not buy if you want a casual waste of time only buy if you are hardcore and enjoy challenges that are near impossible.