For someone who grew up loving Metroid 2, this game scratches a similar itch. It translates the original Castlevania's gameplay to the Gameboy pretty well. I played this on the Switch emulator, where moving around feels smooth and having the ability to rewind is very nice. I can imagine on original hardware it is a much different experience -- the countdown clock, the dead ends, the way it would look without backlight, and the way enemies respawn just outside the small screen are punishing. But modern hardwar and rewind makes sometimes unfair fights more tolerable. This is not a game that's meant to be played in one shot like games are played today - you're supposed to be putting it down and coming back, finding secrets, and writing down passwords to come back later. But if you don't have time for that and are willing to bend the rules a bit for modern convenience, it can be a a very fun 90 minute adventure.

The first few zones are pretty easy, and if you use the powerups, you can get past most obstacles pretty easily. The game gets a little more abrasive as it goes and you'll take some unavoidable hits due to the screen size. The ropes are an understandable platforming downgrade from stairs, having it kill you immediately when you fall down is an unfortunate reminder of the times. Having secrets to discover is great, and I like the way they handle the upgrades. However the story, the appearance of Alucard, and the dialogue isn't much of anything so definitely don't play this game if you're looking for a story. But if you're looking for a game with good vibe to hang out with, you could do a lot worse than this one.