reviews

Game: Castlevania
Platform: NES
Year Released: 1987



Last week, the hopes and dreams of Castlevania fans everywhere were crushed with the announcement that the first game in the series for the Wii was going to be a 3D fighter. While I still can’t get over what a bad idea that is, I decided to go back to a better time in Castlevania history. I could have reviewed the PS1 gem Symphony of the Night, everyone’s favorite Castlevania game, but I think I covered that ground pretty well with last fall’s Dracula X Chronicles on the PSP. Instead I went back to where it all began: the original Castlevania on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

I remember loving this game as a child, but it had been years since I last played it. I couldn’t tell you why, since I have a perfectly good copy at home, but I think it’s because when I need an old-school Castlevania fix, Symphony of the Night always does it for me. Popping this one in for the first time in ages, I was almost afraid that it wasn’t going to hold up and that my memories of the game would be tainted. However, unlike many games from the 8-bit era, Castlevania manages to stand the test of time, though some of its flaws have become more apparent with age.

First and foremost, I think we all know that Castlevania works best as a 2D action-platformer, so this game gets points right away for starting off the series right. There are six very linear levels in the game, and as a whole, it’s much more straightforward than more recent titles in the series. Basically, as 17th-century hero and vampire fighter Simon Belmont, you whip your way through each level with the help of a few trusty subweapons, breaking candelabras for items and cash and destroying any creature that gets in your path. At the end of each level, you face a boss fight—giant bats, Medusa, Death, standard Castlevania villain fare, all leading up to the big fight with (spoiler alert!) Count Dracula himself.



If that sounds ridiculously familiar to you, it’s because the gameplay has changed very little in the last 20 years. While that would normally be a bad thing, when it comes to the Castlevania series, it’s perfectly all right with me. In the case of the NES original, though, there are some gameplay issues that prevented the experience from being as smooth and addictive as, say, the more recent DS titles.

It goes without saying, but the graphics from this classic really don’t hold up. That may seem like an unfair thing to say about a twenty-year-old game, but even by NES standards, Castlevania is really only average at best, graphically speaking. I usually have no problem dealing with antiquated visuals in video games, but when you can’t tell whether something is a platform or part of the background, that can be a problem.



Also, actual gameplay can be tricky too, especially when it comes to climbing stairs. I don’t know what it is about climbing stairs that’s so tricky for developers (Rondo of Blood had a similar issue), but in this game, any platform with stairs leading up to it means absolute frustration. When Simon starts to climb stairs, he automatically continues up without being able to jump off or attack, which is really ideal when bats and hounds start jumping at you. Also, he’ll sometimes climb stairs without the player making him, which gets really annoying.

Although the first Castlevania is often not as fondly remembered as later games in the series, it is still a great game, probably among the best on the NES. Sure, it sports outdated graphics and a few frustrating gameplay hiccups, but it is still worthy of the Castlevania name. If only Konami had decided to stick with the 2D formula for its upcoming Wii game, I think we’d all be a lot happier. However, you can still find this one on the Virtual Console for only five bucks, which is a bargain. I’d take this over a Castlevania fighting game any day.

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