Prior to purchasing the Anniversary Collection, I had never experienced a Castlevania in the classic platformer style that predated Symphony of the Night. Upon purchasing it and booting it up, I played the first game to completion and was surprised at how well it holds up, to the point that it instantly became one of my favorite NES games in spite of not having been a part of my childhood like the other titles that hold that ranking.
After dedicating just a few minutes towards the two NES sequels, I decided to skip ahead to Castlevania IV to experience the next-gen installment of the series and see how well it fared in comparison to the first. Once having completed it, I was once more surprised; not at how well it holds up, but rather at the fact that I ended up liking the first game in the series more.
Now, I do think that Castlevania IV is a better game in every way. So why did I like it less? It's because everything about it was so good, that the flaws became less forgivable than they were for the first game. I'll get to that in a second.
Starting with the best aspect: The music. Much like how the NES installment became one of my favorite games of the console, this game's soundtrack shot up to be one of my personal favorites from the SNES, rivaling some of my childhood nostalgia-infused soundtracks such as Chrono Trigger and Donkey Kong Country 2.
The haunting, minimalistic prelude that plays before getting past the drawbridge, and then hearing Simon's theme with the organ and the synths... it's about as cinematic as a 2D platformer from this era can get. And for that song to kick in again during the final battle when Dracula is on his last legs? Hoo boy. Then you have the chilling and atmospheric tracks, such as these two, that add tremendously to the game's personality:
https://youtu.be/iUEC1Rcb1TA
https://youtu.be/Km4VPWnijag
The music accompanies an atmosphere that to me is some of the best the 16-bit era has to offer. The skull cliff in the background of the aforementioned opening area, with bats flying out of the eyes; the torches lighting up one by one after you fight Death on your way to fight Dracula; the window behind Dracula shattering and shining light on him after you've defeated him... Perfection.
Finally, the controls are a huge improvement in comparison to the NES trilogy as you're able to extend the whip in 8 directions and move while in mid-air after a jump. This really is a gamechanger and I find I might miss this when I get around to playing Castlevania III and Bloodlines.
So, why ultimately did I not find this to be as good as the first Castlevania? Well, the controls are better but they're still very rigid. The level design throws a lot of trial & error at you, and there's a lot of instant deaths that come on cheaply. The worst offender are the vertical levels that scroll upwards, where the platform that you were just on suddenly turns into an instant death if you fall since it's no longer displayed on the screen.
Also, regarding the level design and pacing of the game, the difficulty is brought on ironically enough from the smaller enemies such as the bats while the bosses in turn are rather simple in their patterns and easy to defeat. The common enemies littered throughout the game simply take too much of your life, and half the time they hit you because they appear suddenly on the screen without giving you enough time to react.
Sure, the first Castlevania had these problems and then some. But, maybe this is just about my expectations prior to starting the game. I was ready for Super Castlevania IV to be a near-perfect SNES title, and instead I was met with a game that fell just shy of reaching its full potential.
In conclusion, it's a damn good game, and a title I'll likely revisit again in the future, if only to give it a second opportunity to claim the throne as the best Castlevania game.
After dedicating just a few minutes towards the two NES sequels, I decided to skip ahead to Castlevania IV to experience the next-gen installment of the series and see how well it fared in comparison to the first. Once having completed it, I was once more surprised; not at how well it holds up, but rather at the fact that I ended up liking the first game in the series more.
Now, I do think that Castlevania IV is a better game in every way. So why did I like it less? It's because everything about it was so good, that the flaws became less forgivable than they were for the first game. I'll get to that in a second.
Starting with the best aspect: The music. Much like how the NES installment became one of my favorite games of the console, this game's soundtrack shot up to be one of my personal favorites from the SNES, rivaling some of my childhood nostalgia-infused soundtracks such as Chrono Trigger and Donkey Kong Country 2.
The haunting, minimalistic prelude that plays before getting past the drawbridge, and then hearing Simon's theme with the organ and the synths... it's about as cinematic as a 2D platformer from this era can get. And for that song to kick in again during the final battle when Dracula is on his last legs? Hoo boy. Then you have the chilling and atmospheric tracks, such as these two, that add tremendously to the game's personality:
https://youtu.be/iUEC1Rcb1TA
https://youtu.be/Km4VPWnijag
The music accompanies an atmosphere that to me is some of the best the 16-bit era has to offer. The skull cliff in the background of the aforementioned opening area, with bats flying out of the eyes; the torches lighting up one by one after you fight Death on your way to fight Dracula; the window behind Dracula shattering and shining light on him after you've defeated him... Perfection.
Finally, the controls are a huge improvement in comparison to the NES trilogy as you're able to extend the whip in 8 directions and move while in mid-air after a jump. This really is a gamechanger and I find I might miss this when I get around to playing Castlevania III and Bloodlines.
So, why ultimately did I not find this to be as good as the first Castlevania? Well, the controls are better but they're still very rigid. The level design throws a lot of trial & error at you, and there's a lot of instant deaths that come on cheaply. The worst offender are the vertical levels that scroll upwards, where the platform that you were just on suddenly turns into an instant death if you fall since it's no longer displayed on the screen.
Also, regarding the level design and pacing of the game, the difficulty is brought on ironically enough from the smaller enemies such as the bats while the bosses in turn are rather simple in their patterns and easy to defeat. The common enemies littered throughout the game simply take too much of your life, and half the time they hit you because they appear suddenly on the screen without giving you enough time to react.
Sure, the first Castlevania had these problems and then some. But, maybe this is just about my expectations prior to starting the game. I was ready for Super Castlevania IV to be a near-perfect SNES title, and instead I was met with a game that fell just shy of reaching its full potential.
In conclusion, it's a damn good game, and a title I'll likely revisit again in the future, if only to give it a second opportunity to claim the throne as the best Castlevania game.