i haven't played any other castlevania game before, but i liked this one!
satisfying game feel and flow that feels pretty fair once you get the hang of everything (which took me a fair bit since i kinda suck at games :v). i didn't really feel that i got that many cheap deaths aside from like barely visible bats (or deaths at all, i think i cleared loop 1 first-ish try with only 2 continues).
i feel like the reputation surrounding its difficulty mostly comes from the ps1 port/remix's original mode, where the decreased resolution meant that the upper and bottom parts of the screen had to go and since the layout is mostly faithful to a fault in original mode, you can't really see shit coming at you especially in more vertical stages.
like for example, i struggled at block 2 on ps1 with the fast water lift sequence whereas i could clear it no problem on the x68000 version.
to be fair though it is way easier to get your hands on the ps1 version and ps1 emulation is metric tons more documented, but personally, i think setting this up is easier than having to deal with the ps1 version.
the sound design and music are mostly pretty crunchy and i like em, especially if you're playing it with the internal fm sound (i'm not that big a fan of the midi versions)
and the visuals are neat, if not as in-your-face flashy as konami's md offerings.
overall a pretty solid effort from a bunch of relative newbies, prolly gonna twerk to The Tower of Dolls: Stage 6-2 (Game Sound Ver.) and try the other ones sooner or later.
satisfying game feel and flow that feels pretty fair once you get the hang of everything (which took me a fair bit since i kinda suck at games :v). i didn't really feel that i got that many cheap deaths aside from like barely visible bats (or deaths at all, i think i cleared loop 1 first-ish try with only 2 continues).
i feel like the reputation surrounding its difficulty mostly comes from the ps1 port/remix's original mode, where the decreased resolution meant that the upper and bottom parts of the screen had to go and since the layout is mostly faithful to a fault in original mode, you can't really see shit coming at you especially in more vertical stages.
like for example, i struggled at block 2 on ps1 with the fast water lift sequence whereas i could clear it no problem on the x68000 version.
to be fair though it is way easier to get your hands on the ps1 version and ps1 emulation is metric tons more documented, but personally, i think setting this up is easier than having to deal with the ps1 version.
the sound design and music are mostly pretty crunchy and i like em, especially if you're playing it with the internal fm sound (i'm not that big a fan of the midi versions)
and the visuals are neat, if not as in-your-face flashy as konami's md offerings.
overall a pretty solid effort from a bunch of relative newbies, prolly gonna twerk to The Tower of Dolls: Stage 6-2 (Game Sound Ver.) and try the other ones sooner or later.
After releasing Super Castlevania IV, which was a kind of remake/re-imagining of the first game in the series, but as many know is almost like a totally different game, Konami decided to release another remake of the first Castlevania, but this time one that was faithful to the original both in level design and gameplay, and above all, in difficulty, so on July 23, 1993 saw the light exclusively in Japan for Sharp X68000 computers.
Certainly as a remake it takes several liberties, as it is not a 1:1 translation with the original game and even most of the bosses and levels are completely new. However, as such the spirit and essence of the first Castlevania is there, the difficulty is high and will require you to memorize the level design to have a chance of beating it, it requires good reflexes and muscle memory, and above all a lot of luck with the bosses which as in the first game, are very erratic and a bit unfair most of the time. This game has the difficulty of one of the 80s, only that in reality the level design is more polished, but it is also more challenging. One of the things to note is that this game is actually more difficult than the first Castlevania, and just look at the iconic wall of the first level that held the chicken and now awaits a nest of infinite flea man ... so yes, this version is aimed at veterans and hardcore fans of the franchise, get ready, because this will be an adventure that will require a lot of patience, persistence and skill, although if you could with the NES, probably you can also with this one.
To balance things out a bit, Simon can now direct his whip downwards or to any lower diagonal, it certainly doesn't offer the same versatility as Castlevania IV's control, but believe me this small addition to the gameplay can save your bacon on more than one occasion. In this installment Simon feels "slow" in trying to replicate the mobility of the original games, so if you're coming from Castlevania IV or any modern game it will be something you'll resent, but eventually learn to get used to. The secondary weapons are the same as the first Castlevania, although if you're a bit lucky you may come across a healing plant, a secondary weapon exclusive to this version and that revitalizes you in exchange for a lot of hearts.
Something that I quite appreciate about this game are its graphics, because for its time they are quite close to those of the PS1 era, it has a very well cared visual style with a well selected color palette, however almost all the backgrounds in the scenarios are static, unlike those of Castlevania IV that had many animated elements. I can assume that Castlevania Symphony of the Night took inspiration from this game in the artistic section, because in general it feels like an evolution of what this game presented.
Something in which this game takes several liberties is also the soundtrack, as most of the pieces are new compositions. And wow, there are some really good new songs, such as the two songs from the doppleganger level, Moon Fight and The Tower of Dolls, which are songs that fascinate me and would reappear in future games in the franchise. Music in this game sounds similar to what the Sega Genesis sound chip was capable of reproducing, only with a bit more fidelity.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly a very good remix of the original Castlevania, which unlike Castlevania IV, decides to take a more faithful direction to the original game while still keeping it fresh with all new levels and small difficulty spikes, making it possibly one of the most difficult Castlevania games, although if I managed to finish it without saves states, I'm sure you can too.
If you're a fan of the first title and want to try something with the same essence but with small twists in difficulty, I recommend you try this one.
Additional comment related to the review
I played this game through the original mode included in Castlevania Chronicles for PS1, which is a port practically identical to the original, but with loading times.
Certainly as a remake it takes several liberties, as it is not a 1:1 translation with the original game and even most of the bosses and levels are completely new. However, as such the spirit and essence of the first Castlevania is there, the difficulty is high and will require you to memorize the level design to have a chance of beating it, it requires good reflexes and muscle memory, and above all a lot of luck with the bosses which as in the first game, are very erratic and a bit unfair most of the time. This game has the difficulty of one of the 80s, only that in reality the level design is more polished, but it is also more challenging. One of the things to note is that this game is actually more difficult than the first Castlevania, and just look at the iconic wall of the first level that held the chicken and now awaits a nest of infinite flea man ... so yes, this version is aimed at veterans and hardcore fans of the franchise, get ready, because this will be an adventure that will require a lot of patience, persistence and skill, although if you could with the NES, probably you can also with this one.
To balance things out a bit, Simon can now direct his whip downwards or to any lower diagonal, it certainly doesn't offer the same versatility as Castlevania IV's control, but believe me this small addition to the gameplay can save your bacon on more than one occasion. In this installment Simon feels "slow" in trying to replicate the mobility of the original games, so if you're coming from Castlevania IV or any modern game it will be something you'll resent, but eventually learn to get used to. The secondary weapons are the same as the first Castlevania, although if you're a bit lucky you may come across a healing plant, a secondary weapon exclusive to this version and that revitalizes you in exchange for a lot of hearts.
Something that I quite appreciate about this game are its graphics, because for its time they are quite close to those of the PS1 era, it has a very well cared visual style with a well selected color palette, however almost all the backgrounds in the scenarios are static, unlike those of Castlevania IV that had many animated elements. I can assume that Castlevania Symphony of the Night took inspiration from this game in the artistic section, because in general it feels like an evolution of what this game presented.
Something in which this game takes several liberties is also the soundtrack, as most of the pieces are new compositions. And wow, there are some really good new songs, such as the two songs from the doppleganger level, Moon Fight and The Tower of Dolls, which are songs that fascinate me and would reappear in future games in the franchise. Music in this game sounds similar to what the Sega Genesis sound chip was capable of reproducing, only with a bit more fidelity.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly a very good remix of the original Castlevania, which unlike Castlevania IV, decides to take a more faithful direction to the original game while still keeping it fresh with all new levels and small difficulty spikes, making it possibly one of the most difficult Castlevania games, although if I managed to finish it without saves states, I'm sure you can too.
If you're a fan of the first title and want to try something with the same essence but with small twists in difficulty, I recommend you try this one.
Additional comment related to the review
I played this game through the original mode included in Castlevania Chronicles for PS1, which is a port practically identical to the original, but with loading times.
Absolutely hated this, this is the most relentlessly bullshit Castlevania title I've played so far, and unlike the rest of them, the music here is Sonic Spinball levels of loud and obnoxious.
Terrible.
To be honest I'm not sure why they decided to remake the first game again, and why it's not a completely faithful one this time, but I guess we're stuck with this one. This is a slightly better version of the NES original, except without nearly as much charm. It has a similar problem to Castlevania IV, where some of the settings feel somewhat bland and/or generic. Also similar to its remake twin, you can angle your whip strikes in every direction except for upwards in the air, which at least to me was the entire point of angled whipping. The game is still really good I'm honestly just left to question why it exists in this state at all, it would've been a lot cooler to see something entirely original.
probably the most overrated castlevania difficulty wise, i guess it's understandable if you've never played these games before but dracula's curse was so much harder it's not even a competition.
all around great game, it's still tough but i found it pretty fair.
all around great game, it's still tough but i found it pretty fair.
Very nice remake/reimagination of the first Castlevania game.
I played the Sharp X68K version, but the Chronicles edition for the PS1 is the same game.
It's what would've happen if a full fledge Castlevania remake would have ported to the Sega Genesis since it used the Motorola X68000 CPU, hence the name of the system.
I played the Sharp X68K version, but the Chronicles edition for the PS1 is the same game.
It's what would've happen if a full fledge Castlevania remake would have ported to the Sega Genesis since it used the Motorola X68000 CPU, hence the name of the system.