When I beat the first Castlevania game last year, I wasn't a big fan of it, as I thought that practically everything about its gameplay had aged poorly in some way, but I was still excited to check out the other games in the series. I had heard that Super Castlevania IV was a good entry in the franchise, but I honestly had no idea that it was a reimagining of the original game until recently, and so that made me much more intrigued to check out what was different about this version. Now that I've spent the last two days playing through it, I can definitely say that Super Castlevania IV was leagues ahead of that first NES game, and while it still missed some marks in a few areas, I still thought that it was a great game.
Pretty much all of my gripes with the original Castlevania can be found in its controls, as every one of the six things that you can do in that game was clunky in their own ways, but Super Castlevania IV completely remedied my issues with how the first game felt to play while still retaining the core of what made it unique. Not only can you swing your whip in way more directions than just left or right, but you can also flail your whip freely at the cost of it doing less damage, and that made combat feel more versatile and responsive. You also get to swing on hooks using your whip for different platforming sections, and I especially liked the use of that mechanic when it came to finding the occasional bonus item or secret. Giving items their own button was a godsend, as it made it so that you don't accidentally waste hearts every time you pressed the attack button whenever you climbed up some stairs while also just being more convenient. When it came to moving and jumping, Simon Belmont felt a lot less stiff to control here in Super Castlevania IV, and being able to actually change directions mid-jump rather than having to commit to every single movement was an especially nice touch.
In my review of Castlevania, I mentioned that the two best aspects of that game would be the atmosphere and the music, and both of these elements were vastly improved upon here in Super Castlevania IV. Although its visual style didn't take as much direct inspiration from the Universal horror movies of the 1930s and 1940s, the game still looked great in its detailed sprites, Gothic architecture, and imaginative enemy designs, and it also featured some pseudo-3D graphics that were especially impressive for an early SNES game. Pretty much all of the music here in Super Castlevania IV was great, as they all fit the macabre tone of the game while also being immensely catchy and memorable. For the most part, Super Castlevania IV was consistent and tightly constructed in terms of both its level design and its boss fights, but the latter element seemed to drop for me at the very end. While the fights against Gaibon and Death were manageable, Slogra requires a heaping spoonful of luck to beat thanks to his huge hitbox and attacks being nearly impossible to dodge, and while the climactic fight against Dracula gets brought down just a little by its heavy reliance on RNG. Despite its flaws, Super Castlevania IV was still a great game in my eyes, and aside from historical reasons, I don't really see any reason to go back to that first Castlevania game when this version managed to excel in places where the original one fell short.
Pretty much all of my gripes with the original Castlevania can be found in its controls, as every one of the six things that you can do in that game was clunky in their own ways, but Super Castlevania IV completely remedied my issues with how the first game felt to play while still retaining the core of what made it unique. Not only can you swing your whip in way more directions than just left or right, but you can also flail your whip freely at the cost of it doing less damage, and that made combat feel more versatile and responsive. You also get to swing on hooks using your whip for different platforming sections, and I especially liked the use of that mechanic when it came to finding the occasional bonus item or secret. Giving items their own button was a godsend, as it made it so that you don't accidentally waste hearts every time you pressed the attack button whenever you climbed up some stairs while also just being more convenient. When it came to moving and jumping, Simon Belmont felt a lot less stiff to control here in Super Castlevania IV, and being able to actually change directions mid-jump rather than having to commit to every single movement was an especially nice touch.
In my review of Castlevania, I mentioned that the two best aspects of that game would be the atmosphere and the music, and both of these elements were vastly improved upon here in Super Castlevania IV. Although its visual style didn't take as much direct inspiration from the Universal horror movies of the 1930s and 1940s, the game still looked great in its detailed sprites, Gothic architecture, and imaginative enemy designs, and it also featured some pseudo-3D graphics that were especially impressive for an early SNES game. Pretty much all of the music here in Super Castlevania IV was great, as they all fit the macabre tone of the game while also being immensely catchy and memorable. For the most part, Super Castlevania IV was consistent and tightly constructed in terms of both its level design and its boss fights, but the latter element seemed to drop for me at the very end. While the fights against Gaibon and Death were manageable, Slogra requires a heaping spoonful of luck to beat thanks to his huge hitbox and attacks being nearly impossible to dodge, and while the climactic fight against Dracula gets brought down just a little by its heavy reliance on RNG. Despite its flaws, Super Castlevania IV was still a great game in my eyes, and aside from historical reasons, I don't really see any reason to go back to that first Castlevania game when this version managed to excel in places where the original one fell short.