Attention, this is more of a meta-commentary on the importance of positive and passionate criticism than a review.

This is the 4th time I've completed Castlevania IV, a game I discovered in 2011 thanks to the Angry Video Game Nerd's video. Even though criticism from him is now almost non-existent (it seems he only reads from a script and no longer writes his own texts), James was really important to me between 2007 and 2012 (roughly). Each video was a small event and the discovery of a terrible game. Yet in 2011, he made an exception to the rule and spoke passionately about a franchise he loved. Instead of bashing a game, he talked passionately about a game he particularly adored. I liked his style of criticism: a mix of his personal history with the game and a more objective analysis.

In 2024, I have mixed feelings about AVGN (and even being "a fan"), but I still appreciate his series on Castlevania because it tells the story of a gamer's passion rather than capitalizing on "hate content." In my opinion, talking about the content of something you really love is much harder than harsh criticism. I think this creator unfortunately surrounded himself with the wrong people who took advantage of his success. Watching an AVGN video now is painful: it feels like watching a caricature of a caricature.

Anyway, I immediately tried playing Castlevania IV, first on an emulator, then by buying a physical version. I really became a fan of this game, especially because of its sublime dark fantasy graphical style and its absolutely incredible music (there's even a very improbable jazz solo). Generally speaking, it's the unique atmosphere created that stands out, even though the game relies on well-known themes (the castle, bats, mummies, Dracula, etc.). The boss fights are memorable and the difficulty is very well balanced (though it's not exactly easy). So okay, the controls are a bit stiff and there's no save system, but that really doesn't matter to me. It's also one of the last classic platformer Castlevania games. I can only recommend it.

It's fine.

When folks decry Super for being a blasphemous take on the tried-and-true formula of Classicvania with it's eight-directional whipping, they're absolutely justified in their thought. It takes away the strategical element that made us love the thinking person's aspect behind the careful movement. An entire sub-system becomes a complete afterthought, with them only being convenient at hyper-specific instances rather than something that was there to truly compliment our whipping prowess to help with entire courses and encounters. Taking a death becomes less threatening as losing a sub-weapon essentially turns into a very minor slap on the wrist at worst, as an empty sub-weapon box may as well had been what it felt like the entire time we had been playing.

It's an ordeal that can't be simply ignored in a self-imposed challenge like the charged mega buster in every NES era Mega Man past the third game, and you're left with Simon being able to skillfully twirl his whip better than any other Belmont before or after him. Perhaps Simon was always meant to be presented as the most headstrong and bullish of the family? Characterization through mechanics? It remains to be seen if that was the intent, or if it was supposed to be an "evolution". An evolution that no doubt would've made this entry an even bigger target of contempt, especially if the stage design would continue to fail to compliment the new system beyond smattering a few bats flying down from odd angles, and if we could still easily thwart Axe Armors from below the floor they're standing on. Luckily for all of us however, this would be the only time such a new take would be used, and instead of being a deplorable turning point for the series, it is in fact unique and now it's own experience.

A retelling of the original that shows Simon's entire journey from beyond Devil's Castle, braving the horrors that crept from the onset of the horrid manifestation of Dracula's power within what was once a peaceful forest accompanied by strings of a violin within a purple and grey console. A walk through the caves with beautiful woodwind arrangements, and mesmerizing illusions brought upon by the seventh mode conjured by unknown forces presumably under the control of the dark lord himself. The approach to familiar scenery from the beginning of our original story of the legendary quest partnered by intimidating percussion for nightmares to come. We make our way through the retold portions of Simon's tale, and upon completion hear echoes of our past one last time before we must move on to beginnings of a new generation. The slow haunting keys of an organ cue the entry of Dracula to the main stage. Simon's Theme of which signaled the entrance of the hero at the very start, returns once again at the final moment the Count is nearing his defeat to build the audience's tension to the epic conclusion of the adventure. The orchestra plays to the agonizing death of the villain, and rings in daylight's victory over the darkness.

The fabled saga, retold and reimagined with added flare of chilling drama and suspense. Not to replace the original, but to remember it through a more cinematic lens. Forever immortal.

Castlevania Perfected. If your familiar with the original Castlevania this game is a treat. It starts out quiet for you to collect your bearings, you realize how slick the whip is now and the improvements to stairs. The game feels like sutch an improvement without making it to easy.

What I felt could have been better. The sound track, while nice and I did like it didn't hit as hard as past games. Felt like a more chill version of the tracks vs the exciting adventure we got used to. Also stage A and B had sutch a jump in difficulty, I went from killing bosses in 2 seconds to to actually having to figure them out. The bosses were never unreasonably dificut except maby the stages themselves but they were very unforgiving and I felt the difficulty could have been ramped more insted of this spike.

Level design: 10\10;
Gráfico: 10\10;
Gameplay: 9\10;
Diversificação: 8\10;
Trilha: 9\10;
História: 8\10;
Fator replay: 8\10.

A great game that felt refreshing after playing the earlier games. This game introduced new mechanics, such as being able to use your whip as a grapple and being able to whip upwards and diagonally. Both of these mechanics made this game feel a lot more enjoyable than the earlier entries. It made the game feel less cheap in terms of enemy placement.

The pixel art was beautiful and really showed off what the SNES could achieve. The bosses were all amazing, except for 1 or 2 that felt a bit boring. The OST didn't disappoint either. Especially when my favourite tracks, Bloody Tears and Vampire Killer, showed up during the SAME level.

If you haven't played this one and like other Castlevania games (or even if you've never played a Castlevania before), try this one, it won't disappoint.

My best experience with Castlevania yet…

For me (non fan-boy), it improves on everything from the NES games.

I love the multidirectional whip and the fact that jumping is now more precise with trajectory changes. These improvements take away some of the difficulty.

It looks fantastic for the time. Colours, backgrounds, and levels all shine.

And goes without saying the music and sound is on point.

The final 2 bosses gave me a hard time. If you’ve not got the exact weapon you need and you’re not on the right part of the screen at the exact right time they will punish you.

Enjoying the series so far!

The impressively moody atmosphere and soundtrack, combined with great whip control, are this game's biggest strengths. It's also got some cool graphical setpieces, especially for such an early SNES title. However, Simon still has yet to fully shake off the classicvania movement jank, and his big hurtbox often makes it difficult to avoid getting hit. Some of the lategame stages and bosses get pretty frustrating, too.

In short, this is a fun game that would've been even better if it were 10% more forgiving. Save-states or rewinds help with that, at least.

Super Castlevania IV is just a game I wish I liked more. And I can't even truly explain why. The graphics are awesome for such an early SNES game, it's really impressive, and the visual details are pretty cool. The music, I see it as an acquired taste. At first, I didn't enjoy it, I didn't really get the appeal. I don't love it now, but I can appreciate it much more. And Treasury is STILL the best song in the game. I don't need to say this, it's already been said a hundred times before, but the atmosphere is great, and the music definitely adds to that. I like the new additions and mechanics, such as mid air control, 8-direction whipping, whip swinging (this is my favorite), flaccid whip (kinda wish this could've been mapped to L button or somethin though), etc, etc. Now let's get to the bad parts. First of all, this isn't really part of the game, this game is HELLA overrated. Second, the level design is not good. Third, this isn't something I find that big a deal as other people, but the weapon balancing is weird, too (whip good, cross good, everything else SUCKS). Fourth, ALL OF STAGE 8. And you may think, "These complaints seem minor for the game to get a 6/10 rating." And to that, I would agree. As I said before, I don't really know how to explain why I dislike this game, I just do. Consider me a member of the Super Castlevania IV haters. This game, frankly, isn't that super.

Also...what the hell? Why does everyone say this game is easy? Definitely one of the hardest Classicvanias I've played, second to probably Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.

Es el primer Castlevania que juego y que maravilla, como no habia jugado esta joyita antes? se siente muy bien de controlar al personaje, la musica es jodidamente increible (el tema de Simon Belmont es de los mejores temas de videojuegos con musica retro que existen) y el diseño de niveles tambien es increible. SCIV No se siente para nada oxidado a dia de hoy, el gameplay es muy fluido y jugandolo me olvide completamente que estaba jugando un videojuego de hace mas de 30 años atras, recomendadisimo.
Me genero mucho hype y expectativas por Rondo Of Blood y Symphony of the Night (que seran los 2 siguientes Castlevania que juegue)

The first 16 bit CastleVania has us back in control of Simon Belmont as he, once again, wants to kill Dracula.

Despite being reboot of the original, there is still very little story, it's just an excuse to go back to basics. No more non-linearity, no more extra playable characters or hidden stages, we're back to a straight shot formula as you battle through many levels and bosses to your final confrontation with Dracula at the top of the grand staircase.

The adventure is much larger this time, and also significantly easier, while the game still doesn't pull it's punches with tough level obstacles, the control has been improved greatly. Simon can influence his jump in midair, drop through the stairs, can aim his whip in 8 directions, and even dangle his whip to deal with awkward enemies. Sub weapons are now equipped to shoulder buttons making them much easier to use, and generally enemies are less of a hassle to deal with, even bosses which fall apart so fast when you learn their patterns.

It's still a really hard game, some levels still have unfair moments and bullshit enemy placement. But it's overall a much more balanced experience... which loses points for playing it so safe.

While a huge improvement gameplay wise, it's a shame it strips back on the ideas 2 and 3 tried to implement. Just because they didn't work the first time doesn't mean they can't ever. While still a fun game, SCIV is a fun one - 7/10

Castlevania IV is an odd game, but a good one. It feels like the designers are beginning to move towards the feel of the more modern games while still using the structure and ideas of the NES trilogy. Typical for an early SNES game, it feels more like an NES game than like the system's later and more polished experiences. To this end, the controls have been improved, but there's still some stiffness to be felt in the jumps and knockback physics. Overall, it's a game that falls right in line with the first and third games.

Is it really a hot take to say that while I do think the improvements made to this game are definitely the highlight of it, the game itself feels like a step back in a few places. I'll start off with that Simon controls amazingly here, he's so capable of doing things he couldn't normally do in any Castlevania game. However, I do think this comes with a downside, because he is so capable now a lot of what made Castlevanias challenge is seemingly gone. Take the sub weapons for example, what purpose does the axe serve now if Simon can just whip up and diagonally? What does the holy water serve if the whip is the best course of action to tackle anything. I feel like they made the whip way too good in this game that in the first few stages the game practically plays itself. While accessibility is not an issue, part of what made the original castlevanias so charming is that they were challenging. Every sub weapon served a purpose and was supposed to be use for the situations at hand because the whip itself was very limiting.
But yeah, that's just what I think, this game at the end of the day can still be fun at times so it's not bad by any means. Just wanted to point it out, while its not my favorite. This one is definitely a good entry in the series.