Customer Reviews

Super Nintendo Super Castlevania IV

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Old-School Castlevanias" are those with completely linear quests; that is, you go from Point A to Point B, killing everything in your path (The non-linear games, such as Aria of Sorrow or Sympony of the Night, are sometimes referred to as "Metroid-vania.")

In Super Castlevania IV, Simon Belmont steps out to defeat Count Dracula (on a side note, it's not REALLY IV; Konami later admitted that this game is just a re-make of the original 1986 NES Castlevania.) This being said, Simon has a lot of moves at his disposal. It this game--the only game in the series to do this--Simon can whip up, down, left, right, or diagonal. He can flail the whip around. He can swing from hooks in the ceiling. Controlling Simon is . . . well, it's a joy. Play control has never been this tight on a Castlevania game, before or since.

All the levels are deep and atmospheric, with perfect music (well, except for the Atlantis Shrine, anyway.) The music to level one is my personal favorite. Rooms scroll in the background; vines creep up rail fences as you approach; spider-webs actually look dusty. The graphics are absolutely amazing, and look better than many graphics on 32 or even 64-bit side-scrollers.

An absolute masterpiece of a game.

THIS IS IT

This is the game that would change my view of videogaming FOREVER!

Imagine if you will, a perfect soundtrack, a perfect story, a perfect game. A game about a mans fight against the ultimate evil: Dracula himself.

Yes, you may ask, why bother reviewing this game now that it is so old? Well, I can see there are a couple of used titles left, so get your copy if you haven't played it. This game belongs with the games that go to the ultimate cloud 9 heaven.
A MUST EXPERIENCE!

I would place this 2nd after "Symphony of the Night" as my all time favorite Castlevania title. When this came out, it was the best action/adventure around, for any system, as well as being the strongest Castlevania at the time. The game itself is a basic reworking of the original NES castlevania; Simon Belmont is faced with the task of venturing into Dracula's citadel (Castlevania), bristling with goulish enemies, gruesome bosses and countless deadly traps, and defeat Drac himself, as with almost every Castlevania game. The levels and enemies are in fine detail (for 1991), Simon has the ability to whip in any direction and swing across obstacles and pits, and the levels are actually pretty tough. Some of the bosses will have you throwing the controller at the wall. My only gripe is that this game is somewhat short for a Castlevania game. However, when you beat it, you can play a harder version of the game if you use the same screen name. The ending won't be any different, but it will be more challeging. Dracula is going to be quiet a challenge to defeat as well, especially if you arn't used to Castlevania. Overall, if you can dig that old SNES out of the closet someday (like i did), this is a game definatly worth picking up. I've beaten it hundreds of times, and it still manages to get me to play it.

This is a side platform fighting game, the fourth in the series as you are Trevor Belmont, vampire hunter, working your way through a massive fourteen level castle killing nightmarish creatures in an attempt to destroy Dracula. This is an amazing platform game, it incorporates every capability of SNES, such as the rotating room of the castle. The entire room rotates in an attempt to kill you! You can attack with your whip in a 360 angle and there are several new tips and tricks you learn with your whip, such as how to whip onto a ring and swing on it to another platform. The quest of this game is a little dull, because you constantly move forward, looking for powerups, items, weapons and secrets. The challenge is still great in this game and everything is fully detailed graphics wise. Fantastic game! The features were a bit disappointing, after Castlevania III, because there are now less weapons and less modes of play.

The SNES version of Castlevania (not the sub-par "Dracula X" port) still remains not just one of the best 'Vania games, but one of the best SNES games as well. One of those rare games that actually improves not just the visuals of it's predecessors, but the gameplay and challenge as well. If Amazon re-releases this and you have a dusty SNES at home, pick this one up.

In this instailment of the popular series you play as Simon Belmont a well known vampire hunter in search of Count Vlad Tepes Dracula, so that he can stop his evil destruction through Transylvania. Armed with a whip which can move in 8 directions, and various weapons he will "take back the night".

The erie setting makes you think your watching an old horror movie. The music does this as well which is a good thing.

The stages are easy at first, but get challenging later on.

Overall this game is good so pick this up ASAP.

THE SHORT: The most cinematic and moody game in the series up until this century. Great gameplay and unique use of system technology makes it stand among the best in the series, yet it's also the shortest- it can be beaten in a few hours.

THE LONG: The old Nintendo Castlevanias were great. They had solid gameplay and some of the best graphics for their time, and all had a familiar feel and style to them that was addictive and fun.

SCV4 for the Super Nes carries this tradition, making one of the earliest games for the system one of its most classic. An almost ambient, moody background score expertly highlights the action and varies well between the different stages. The graphics are very well done and colorful, and the gameplay is solid as well. Your character has complete whip control in any direction this time, and he uses it to swing across chasms and hang from chandeliers like a medieval Indiana Jones.

Adding to this is the game's exploitation of special effects that were heralded as unique to the system: scaling, rotation, and vertigo-inducing tricks make some of the levels truly stand out as innovative and unique.

The only problem is that the game is very short. Maybe it's my experience as a Castlevania player, or maybe it's just an easy game, but the first time I played it I beat it overnight. Nowadays it's a game I only pick up if I want a couple hours of cinematic Castlevania action.

It's a good game for sure, one of the best examples of scoring, graphical capability, and gameplay. For its around $10 dollar price it's worth picking up if you're a fan of the series, or if you just want one of the more fluid Snes action games. Just stay away from its follow up, Dracula X.

What can be said at this point? out of all the side scrolling Castlevanias this is BY FAR the best in my opinion. 12 levels with amazing graphics, a spectacular musical score, and the must fluid gameplay (8-direction whipping!) the series has ever had. Everybody says Castlevania III is the best one, and I cant argue is one of THE best ones, but I think part IV really takes it. Do yourself a favor and play this fantastic game! you wont regret it!

This game is pretty much the first Castlevania, but remade in 16-bit graphics, improved controls, more levels, new music, and just pretty much anything you'd want in an old school side scrolling game. One of the best things about this game is that you can attack with your whip in 8 directions!

In my opinon this version in the Castlevania series changed how these games should be made. (Only when considering 2-D platform games of course). The best things about this game was the music, your whip, the graphics and just about everything else. The music because once again Castlevania has great music that fits the atmosphere, while keeping the music interesting as to not put the player to sleep. The whip was one of the best things about this game. After the intial attack, you could hold the whip out in front of you and attack in 360 degrees, still doing the normal amount of damage. Later in the game you could "whip" gargoyle statues and swing across chasms. (This technique was later used in Super Metroid). Like each preceding game in the series, Castlevania IV upped the bar for these games. Even for the PSX Castlevania: Symphony of the Night has very similar graphics. Next to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, this is probably the best Castlevania game. Highly recommended and all that fun stuff.