I gave this one another chance after trying it out and dropping it a few years back. I expected to just drop it again, but by playing revision K and using save states I was able to make it to the end. Revision K (and E I believe) drastically reduces the amount of damage you take from enemies. On the easiest possible dip switch settings you'll only take a single point of damage per hit, and only 3 points on the hardest, making K's hardest settings easier than the standard version's easiest. With savestates at the ready just to be safe, K on it's easiest settings is the definitive way to play this. With that in mind though, the reduced damage doesn't fix any of Haunted Castle's other flaws. You'll still be dealing with plenty of trial and error or gotcha moments that a first time player won't see coming, and hordes of enemies in the later levels that feel impossible to wipe out without taking damage (level 3's fleamen and 5's flaming skulls in particular). Hitboxes are also pretty clunky, with enemies damaging you just as they graze by (also caused in part by just how large Simon's sprite is), while attacking enemies at close range usually means they'll just hit you instead. Having only 3 continues, or more accurately, 4 lives, is unusually punishing for a Castlevania game and downright baffling as an arcade game.
All of these marks against the game are a shame, because I can see the workings of a good arcade style Castlevania here. There are a few moments where it clicks and it's satisfying to wail on enemies, and the handful of platforming segments are fine enough. Bosses are alright, although they might be a bit too easy as most fold pretty quickly (minus the rock monster on level 4, who might just be the worst boss in the entire series). Hitboxes aside, Simon controls more or less how he does in CV1 here, minus the controls for getting on and off the stairs being much more finicky than they usually are. The soundtrack is easily the best thing about this game, and while most of it has been remixed in later games, the original compositions are still well worth a listen. Each level has enough setpieces to make each one memorable. Some would become series staples like the crumbling bridge while others would be forgotten, like the weird alternate dimension harpy fight. I'm a bit mixed on the game visually. There isn't anything wrong with the sprite work and animations minus a few oddities, but something about them feels off, like I'm playing a store brand Castlevania instead of the real thing.
With a few more months of development time, Haunted Castle could have been something great. Unfortunately we're left with a very messy Castlevania game with level designs that lack almost everything that makes the series' gameplay satisfying. I can only really recommend this to big fans of the series that are morbidly curious, and even then playing on anything other than the easiest revisions on their easiest settings is probably going to be a miserable experience.
All of these marks against the game are a shame, because I can see the workings of a good arcade style Castlevania here. There are a few moments where it clicks and it's satisfying to wail on enemies, and the handful of platforming segments are fine enough. Bosses are alright, although they might be a bit too easy as most fold pretty quickly (minus the rock monster on level 4, who might just be the worst boss in the entire series). Hitboxes aside, Simon controls more or less how he does in CV1 here, minus the controls for getting on and off the stairs being much more finicky than they usually are. The soundtrack is easily the best thing about this game, and while most of it has been remixed in later games, the original compositions are still well worth a listen. Each level has enough setpieces to make each one memorable. Some would become series staples like the crumbling bridge while others would be forgotten, like the weird alternate dimension harpy fight. I'm a bit mixed on the game visually. There isn't anything wrong with the sprite work and animations minus a few oddities, but something about them feels off, like I'm playing a store brand Castlevania instead of the real thing.
With a few more months of development time, Haunted Castle could have been something great. Unfortunately we're left with a very messy Castlevania game with level designs that lack almost everything that makes the series' gameplay satisfying. I can only really recommend this to big fans of the series that are morbidly curious, and even then playing on anything other than the easiest revisions on their easiest settings is probably going to be a miserable experience.