CastleVania - In-depth Written NES Review With Pics
CastleVania
Nintendo Entertainment System
1987 (Famicom DS 1986)
Konami
*Alphabetical list of writings
*Game shown on period hardware/CRT
Stage curtain up is how Super Mario Bros. 3 introduces itself to gamers upon pressing the power button on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Levels on the map overscreen seem to resemble a directors slate, and it all culminates with the stage curtain falling. According to some game theorists, the third installment of Mario Bros. is nothing more than a stage play within itself. The second game famously ended with Mario waking up from a dream, almost invalidating your time spent winning. In that case it was expressly spelled out to the victor, in Mario 3 it's left to us nerds to waste time with the magnifying glass.
One obvious game theory that I've yet to personally see discussed involves the long running CastleVania series, which has spawned over thirty titles since its inception on the Famicom Disk System in 1986. The first three games of the series all start up with the unmistakable sprockets of 35mm film. The gameplay screens themselves all showing a mysterious blackness toward the bottom of a 4:3 CRT television. A small section of the screen seems unused and presents an overall scope of a typical widescreen film. Certain projectiles or items will even fall through this black area, showing that this overall art scope was very much intended, and not a kind of limitation for the system or the screen. It all ends with credits that do not point to the actual game designers, but slight name alternations to actual directors, writers, and actors. Perhaps, much like some claim Super Mario Bros. 3 is but a play inside of the game, CastleVania is but a film.
*Game shown on period hardware/CRT
Stage curtain up is how Super Mario Bros. 3 introduces itself to gamers upon pressing the power button on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Levels on the map overscreen seem to resemble a directors slate, and it all culminates with the stage curtain falling. According to some game theorists, the third installment of Mario Bros. is nothing more than a stage play within itself. The second game famously ended with Mario waking up from a dream, almost invalidating your time spent winning. In that case it was expressly spelled out to the victor, in Mario 3 it's left to us nerds to waste time with the magnifying glass.
One obvious game theory that I've yet to personally see discussed involves the long running CastleVania series, which has spawned over thirty titles since its inception on the Famicom Disk System in 1986. The first three games of the series all start up with the unmistakable sprockets of 35mm film. The gameplay screens themselves all showing a mysterious blackness toward the bottom of a 4:3 CRT television. A small section of the screen seems unused and presents an overall scope of a typical widescreen film. Certain projectiles or items will even fall through this black area, showing that this overall art scope was very much intended, and not a kind of limitation for the system or the screen. It all ends with credits that do not point to the actual game designers, but slight name alternations to actual directors, writers, and actors. Perhaps, much like some claim Super Mario Bros. 3 is but a play inside of the game, CastleVania is but a film.
^Entering the Count's castle, whipping some monsters
Personally I'd much rather be placing myself into the role of a hero that at least is taken seriously inside of the game itself, but there's no denying a unique game theory that could plausibly fit always produces some interesting nerdly thoughts. A film in-game or not, there is, however, no denying influence from the classic Dracula novels and/or films. The manual sets the mood, "Good eeeevening!", you're here to destroy a curse, and the Count has been waiting one hundred years for this fight!
The atmosphere for this early Nintendo game is palpable. You walk up to the gates, the entire castle brooding in the background, bats are flapping their wings, and a cloud passes a crescent yellow moon. Once inside prepare yourself for one of the most delightfully arduous platforming games I've happened to play in quite some time. Practically from the get go you're going to be losing lives, and those lives will be needing the saving grace of this games unlimited continues. You can't afford all too many mistakes if you're hoping to win this one. Memorizing patterns is not just for the end level boss battles, but most standard enemies will overwhelm you on your first encounters with them.
^Bats, medusa, game map, and a great fall
But with time and continues, you'll find yourself getting better. The pain from previous levels fades as you go forward with new challenges. Watch those who've long mastered this game play through and you'd be tempted to think it was an easy ride, how wrong you'd be. CastleVania is a game where despite its difficulty, you'll have a blast conquering it. It intrigued me going back to childhood, where the cartridge art had me picking it from a stack of others at a friend's house. I didn't have the time to get familiar with it then, but could never quite forget it. I bought it for myself several years ago and have since been tackling it one level at a time.
Armed in the beginning with a short but trusty whip, no game ever cultivated your inner obsessive compulsiveness quite like this. Spot an enemy, a candle, or seemingly ordinary background blocks? Whip it, and whip it good! Powering up that whip will make it strike harder and further. Collect several sub weapons which will allow your attacks to become more versatile, and if you're needing some health, the only place to obtain it is via porkchops concealed in the wall. Discovering at least some of the games destructible blocks will prove vital to your survival, and when you're not busy leaping over death pits or climbing up and down stairs, you'll find yourself whipping anything and everything.
^Can't swim, whipping, Subweapon attack against Frankenstein's Monster
Secondary weapons include a dagger, axe, boomerang, stop watch, and the fire bomb (known as holy water through most of the series). Some will prove more helpful than others, one proving fantastic for certain situations but perhaps not others. Then there's the fire bomb, which is always fairly sweet. Die and you'll be kissing that weapon goodbye. While you can continue endlessly, this will start you at the beginning of the level, which may leave you without your favorite sub weapon. Lose a life while battling a boss and you'll be placed at a nearby checkpoint, which will likely force a more limited weapon choice than continuing.
Rather than hammer through the game one continue at a time, I've been methodically going at it over the last several years. I'd play it once in a blue moon, and upon defeating a level I usually turned off the power to come back at a later date. This allowed me to not only become more acquainted with the beginning stages, it made a difficult game much less frustrating than it otherwise could have been. Mastering the beginning levels while keeping your best weapons will be invaluable to some of the later boss battles. In some games you find yourself first beating it in the most difficult way possible, barely scrapping by. Upon further playthroughs you then perfect your technique, finding much easier ways to go about things. Well this game is hard enough to where you're actually more likely to discover the easiest ways to defeat bosses when you first beat it, and then on the subsequent runs you'll challenge yourself with more laborious techniques.
^Glorious 8-bit backgrounds, dancing with a skeleton, the Grim Reaper
For coming out originally in 1986, the graphics were certainly pushing what the NES had done previously. Your character, the various enemies and bosses, and the levels and backgrounds are some of the best the 8-bits had to offer. I'm especially impressed with the attention to detail in the backgrounds of the castle. From the opening shot with the entire castle in the background, you can see the end area where Dracula lies in wait. Slowly you'll find yourself getting closer and closer, the area you'll next face showing up in the distance, you'll see the Count inching closer. From dark and moody exteriors with moats, to colorful, decaying, and even illustrious interiors posed to inflict interrogation. You'll love what's on display and may come to better understand how this machine not only stood with the 16-bits, it conquered all of them in terms of sales.
The soundtrack plays every bit the vital role the graphics do. It's imperative that it does, as it makes hitting continue all the easier when you know you'll be returning to some of the best chip tunes you'll ever come across. I've been humming them to myself every now and then for weeks now! They not only compliment the game, they enhance it. By letting the game start with a demo reel you'll actually end up muting the music if you start from that point, and the game is just not the same without tunes.
^Count Dracula in both his forms
The final battle with Dracula is a worthy boss fight. While I have noticed those who have had a long history with the game like to claim that the Grim Reaper is more difficult, I'm of firm belief those individuals have long forgotten their original experiences with this game. I can see how a veteran to the game would find more challenge coming to the Grim Reaper whilst using lesser weapons in order to challenge themselves. You'll find death moving all over the screen, releasing multiple sickle's which follow your every move. Most difficult if you're wanting to whip him into submission? Sure, but somehow I'm betting that new comers will be figuring out a certain easy method prior to taking on the whip challenge.
In reality once you've figured out the easy method for defeating these bosses, all will be quite simple. The issue is reaching that point in the first place. For someone coming to this game for the first time Dracula is by far the most difficult boss to pin down. You've got to time your jumps perfectly to hit him and avoid his attacks, even if you are using a certain trusty weapon. His health dwarfs all other bosses, meaning you'll not only be needing to master those timings, but develop an endurance, not slipping up as the battle goes on. Fading into nothingness to then fade back in a random location, you could be finding Dracula directly on top of you, getting in one or more hits. It won't take many screw ups to take you down, and you've got to get through two of his forms with no health fills. Mastering his timings had me dying and continuing countless times, as well as blistering my thumb (seen at the beginning of my video review). The Count's second form is no easier to the beginner, with his jumps seemingly impossible to pass under without taking damage.
^Who is unaware of the great actor Christoper "Bee"?Continue. Continue some more. In a moment of near surrender I found out a trick to make Dracula jump far over your head, avoiding damage as I walked under him. This is a trick all seasoned vets would have discovered long ago, and one I won't rob you from discovering yourself. Beat this one without their help and wear it as a badge of honor. Even with the help of others, nobody's long plays are going to give your fingers the feeling of the timings. Castlevania may be the most popular of difficult games in that despite its difficulty I get the feeling many who you wouldn't normally believe to be good at challenging games know how to beat this one. This is not to say it's easier than other difficult games, but simply that it grabs their desires better than others. It's a game you want to beat.
If you have an NES, if you love that classic system and you're wanting not only a taste of what "NES Hard" means, but you're wanting to notch a game or two belonging to that category to your belt, I'd call Castlevania the most fun difficult game I've played in some time. Didn't have it as a kid but I sure wish I had. Well, it's never too late, and this game has climbed its way up the ladder of my gaming heart as one of my favorites for the NES. Hope you'll check out my video review for Castlevania, where I talk more on the individual bosses, read a bit from the manual, discuss the various ports, and check out thoughts from the time period courtesy of magazine reviews. Readers of this may also be interested in my written reviews for Ghostbusters 1 and 2 (NES), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES), or perhaps my video review for Snatcher (Sega Genesis) if you're wanting a bit of spooky atmosphere.
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