In my review of Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, I compared the timely experimentation relating to the franchise's formula to Nintendo franchises that were doing the same thing. Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Castlevania all had very similar evolutions around the same time. The first game of each franchise cemented their grand status in the 8-bit world, and the second entry was a radical departure from what solidified the first game’s future legacy. The third entry (for Super Mario and Castlevania at least) was a last-minute apologetic swansong on the NES that expanded on what made the first games' mainstays in the 8-bit gaming landscape. Once the NES era that these franchises helped had come to a close around the turn of the decade, the upcoming SNES era and its point of progress promised that everyone’s favorite Nintendo franchises would be treated to new age progress with 16-bit hardware. Nintendo gave us Super Mario World and A Link to the Past, two early games for the SNES console that took the evolved foundation of the exemplary titles on the NES and used the formula from those games to make something superior to the previous titles and practically overshadow the impact of the previous titles as a result. Gamers were spoiled by the advent of graphical and mechanical progress that the 16-bit expanded upon the previous generation, leaving the initial impact of the previous titles on the NES in the then-recent past. Of course, Super Mario World and A Link to the Past, while admittedly offering much more than Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, are discernable enough that they can be separated on their individual merits. Super Castlevania IV, Konami’s next generation entry to the franchise on the SNES, is not just an expansion to the series on an advanced piece of hardware. Despite the number four in the title, Super Castlevania IV is not a rejuvenated sequel to the NES games but a revamped remake of the first Castlevania game. With the inherent advantages the SNES brought with Konami’s initiative to make a hard reboot, it would render the previous Castlevania titles obsolete. Considering how I feel none of the NES Castlevania games hit the precise point I wanted for the series, maybe something like the next generation is needed to realize the potential of Castlevania.
As stated before, Super Castlevania IV takes many aspects of the series back to basics, so progression and mechanics are reminiscent of the first game. This means none of the frills introduced in the third game, like branching paths and extra characters, are available. We’ll all be damned before the developers consider adding any elements from Simon’s Quest. For being a next-generation title, Super Castlevania returns to the roots of the series introduced by the first game. Simon Belmont returns as the prime vampire hunter, ready to drive a stake through Dracula’s heart and (literally) whip all his demonic minions into submission. Before Simon can duel the vampiric lord, he must trek up to the base of his domain, a multifaceted climb with hundreds of stories to scale in the process of getting even the slightest bit close to Dracula’s peak. Super Castlevania IV is the same ol' song and dance we’ve learned from the series, but the age-old story of man’s quest to conquer the beast is not the selling point of Super Castlevania IV.
The opening of the first Castlevania on the NES was arguably the most impressive feat of video game cinematics we had seen up to 1986 when it was released. Five years later, Super Castlevania IV graces gaming with the new cutting-edge of gaming cinematics. A lone tombstone on a hazy night is struck by a bolt of lightning as Dracula in his bat form emerges from the remains. The looming fog starts to grow thicker as scrolling text gives the player a hint of exposition about Dracula’s reign of terror and the Belmont family’s history of vanquishing him like the opening credits of a Star Wars movie. The towering presence of Dracula’s 8-bit estate as the opening scene of the first game may have inspired pangs of dread and intimidation in the player, but the opening scene here, with its refined sound and graphical capabilities, portrays something truly ominous. The player certainly gets the impression that Dracula’s return to power spells doom and despair for all those in his vicinity.
The visuals during gameplay prove to be just as impressive. The enhanced 16-bit graphics do Castlevania and the sublime, gothic realm heavily associated with the series a world of favors. New lighting capabilities uphold the spooky atmosphere displayed in the opening cutscenes as opposed to the dark blue colors meant to merely simulate nighttime in the NES titles. The graphics can finally convey the intended effect of Castlevania’s aura without repressing the discernibility of the backgrounds. Pixelated textures of the background are refined to a glorious extent, even seen in the long morrows of dusk when the game is set. There is not a single cracked blemish in either the castle’s interior or exterior structure, both indicative of the building’s stark foundation and the SNES’s graphical superiority. Outside sections also detail green vegetation such as trees and vines, rock formations with some peculiar shapes, and the movement of shadowy clouds rolling along the sky. Foreground graphics are crystal clear as the platforms and staircases no longer blend in with the structures and confuse the player. The color contrasts may not be as striking as they were with 8-bit graphics, but the overall palette has a wider range, and the more depleted look of the colors is better fitting for the game’s intended atmosphere. The graphical enhancements of Super Castlevania IV aren’t only beautiful, but they are the first instance of a Castlevania game’s graphics being practical.
Graphical enrichment is a notable point of advancement, but the gameplay is the far more important aspect. Throughout the NES era, the Castlevania series had been synonymous with rigid, stiff controls brought upon by the restrictions of the NES. However, the restraint proved somewhat of a positive to some because it provided a stark challenge to an already punishingly hard game. I am not one of these people, and the improvements that Super Castlevania IV makes with Simon’s controls are like laying on a fluffy new mattress after sleeping on a hard, dirty one for years. Simon Belmont moves as fluid as a hydroelectric plant in Super Castlevania IV, and controlling him even for the first few minutes of the game is a substantial relief. Simon Belmont is as buoyant as a plate of gelatin, moving with such vigor and gaiety like he just finished the final physical therapy session he’s been taking for the past five years. Jumping with Simon is now responsive, and the player can adjust the direction of the aerial movement in mid-air. Moving while crouching is also a new possibility as Simon shimmies on his knees, ducking down past tight obstacles or keeping up with the trajectories of the Ax Knights. Simon can even walk backward up staircases, a seemingly unfathomable feat considering how tense his movement was during the staircase sections in the previous games. The control in Super Castlevania IV is tight and refreshing, and a vampire hunter of Simon’s caliber needs to feel spry and capable considering what he’s up against.
By proxy, Simon’s signature whip has also been refined. The whip has always been at least competent, but winding back the whip and thrusting it in only one direction felt a tad debilitating for a game with so many enemies bombarding the screen at once in so many directions. Simon always had a plethora of items to assist him, but he could only use one of them at a time that may not have been useful for a certain situation. The whip can be swung in more than one direction for the first time in the series. Simon can swing his whip horizontally like always, but also vertically upward, angled upward, and angled downward. The player can also execute a new trick with the whip by holding down the whip button, granting them the ability to flail the whip around flaccidly. Most people see this as a novelty brought upon by the new freedoms of the controls, but using this move against enemies proved to be helpful at times. This range covers every conceivable base of direction, so Simon constantly feels capable of dispatching any enemy at every angle, and it is a blessing. Simon’s whipping capabilities are so fluid that the developers added whip swinging, a new mechanic for platforming sections. Hooks are found on ceilings, and rotating pulleys can be latched on by the whip as Simon accelerates himself by swinging from two and fro from them. The whip can also be lengthened mid-swing for a longer jump range.
All of these more kinetic involvements make the player feel more confident about the obstacles that Castlevania games present, but some people claim that this comes at a cost. Many people see this fluidity in the controls as a detriment because it makes for a much easier, accessible Castlevania experience. Succeeding in the first three Castlevania games after gnashing one’s teeth and turning their faces beet red in anger was one of the most gratifying feelings ever on the NES, and the impact of this feeling is diminished by the enhanced agility and smoother controls. In my perspective, the refinement present in Super Castlevania IV compared to the rudimentary clunkiness of the first three games on the NES make Super Castlevania IV objectively superior, and it would be ludicrous to argue against that. Suffering immensely due to the vestigial structure of early 2D platforming as opposed to the comfortable advancements of progress seems to be a matter of preference, and I’d easily take the latter without question. Accessibility is a byproduct of any point of progress for the gaming medium, and it’s not always to a point of condescension. Castlevania was ahead of the curve of most NES titles, offering more lenient mechanics like the ability to continue from the beginning of the level after receiving a game over instead of starting the entire game over again. Advanced hardware has granted this 16-bit iteration of Castlevania a save system, something desperately lacking in the first three games along with many other NES titles. The player will still have to start the level over when they’ve exhausted their lives, but at least they won’t have to ascend the tower and defeat Dracula in one sitting. Save features became more common after the NES era, and Castlevania was simply following suit. Whacking every single wall to find a whole roast as a health item is no longer necessary, for smaller turkey legs are found along with hearts to replenish a smaller amount of health. Super Mario World and A Link to the Past were much easier than their NES counterparts, utilizing some of these new features in Super Castlevania IV. Does Super Castlevania IV not get a break like the other SNES sequels because Castlevania is synonymous with being an exceptionally challenging experience?
There is one popular point of criticism that I must agree with, and that’s the fact that the whip is all too powerful. As much as I enjoy the whip’s newfound versatility, it outshines the other tools we’ve learned from the series. The ax, holy water, dagger, and all of the other pieces of Simon’s vampire-slaying arsenal make a return in Super Castlevania IV. These tools are also even easier to use thanks to being moved to a specific button trigger on the more complex SNES controller. Alas, the weapons are made obsolete by the range of utility of the whip. The purpose of these weapons in the NES games was to cover all bases of enemies, albeit with only one of these weapons in possession. Because the whip satisfies all angles of possible enemy placements, there is little to no incentive to use any other weapons, even if they are easier to use. The player will end up hoarding heart ammunition and not paying attention to which item they have. It’s a shame, really.
More accessibility and a better sense of fluidity do not make Super Castlevania IV a facile experience, even if it is dramatically easier than its predecessors. Super Castlevania IV has one of the smoothest difficulty curves in the series thus far. The earlier stages in the game serve well to acclimate the player to the fluency of the controls, and there are an appropriate number of levels to do so. After a certain point, the game starts to experiment with a touch of surrealism, something that could not have been conveyed in the NES titles. A highlight level that marks the progression into the more difficult sections in the game titled “Spinning Tales” is the point where the game lets go of the grip on the player’s hand. Simon will find himself in a room with abstract decor with one swing hook in the middle. Upon grappling to this hook, the entire room will spin and set Simon onto a lone platform where a series of Medusa Heads will ambush him. If the player is familiar with the roles of these notorious enemies, they’ll think they serve as obstacles moving forward. However, if the player attempts to progress while the Medusa Heads are present, they will fall to their deaths. It is not until Simon defeats every Medusa Head that they will be able to progress, and the room will rotate once more to a point of a clear, rational structure to traverse through. This section confused me, but I came to admire its unique ingenuity as I had never seen anything like this in a Castlevania game. The following room is a tubular space that spirals like a kaleidoscope, with Simon sparsely supported by fragile, falling wooden platforms. This section isn’t as disjointing as the previous one, but I enjoy its dizzying effect. I’d like to think that at a certain point of progression, Simon spirals further into madness as he gets closer to the Count sitting at the top of the castle, as if some evil, supernatural force is manipulating his mind. After that, the game gets increasingly more difficult and offers some naturally challenging obstacles. The clocktower level before fighting Dracula has some especially punishing segments that involve the grappling hook on a pulley. Enemies are situated on the edges of platforms that could knock the player off into the abyss, and the projectiles of Ax Knights can kill the player instantly if they are hit mid-flight.
While the bosses in Super Castlevania IV also fit the less taxing appeal of the game, this also doesn’t mean that they don’t pose as formidable foes. Players of the first three games will be readily familiar with the imposing, haunting forces of the night inspired by the Universal monster movies of the 1930s. Frankenstein’s monster, Medusa, the mummy, etc. reappear to halt Simon on his journey. Other bosses like the ghost couple, the crumbling golden bat, and the persistent Slogra are stand-out fights that offer a sizable challenge. The obligatory Grim Reaper fight is also present here but is much less arduous than his Castlevania debut. These bosses are, however, not the focal point of any Castlevania game, while they are certainly welcome additions. How does the big cheese of nocturnal baddies fare in a less strenuous Castlevania game? As everything else is in Super Castlevania IV, the final fight against Dracula fares reasonably. A checkpoint is offered before entering his lair, a relieving return from its absence in Castlevania III. Dracula will scurry around the stage in wide flashes of purple light and reappear for only a few seconds before disappearing again. He’ll launch a fat bolt of purple energy that will divide into three smaller bolts if the player jumps over it, guaranteeing the player is hit as punishment. The final boss here is why it is recommended to diversify Simon’s combat tactics and not rely solely on the whip. Using the cross weapon is incredibly useful against Dracula as the player can double-task offensive and defensive measures simultaneously in a brief window of opportunity. Hitting the spiraling energy balls that fly around the room like an insect will drop a turkey leg health item after sputtering small flickers of energy, a helpful inclusion is never before seen during a Dracula encounter. Dracula does not have the following phase, but he changes his attacks to include summoning flames from the floor with fiery skulls that follow the player and four large bolts of symmetrically placed lightning. Defeating Dracula here will cap off what is clearly the most manageable final boss in Castlevania history thus far.
There’s an old adage that states technology and progress should make life easier for humans, not harder. I can’t help but make parallels between this aphorism and the general design model of every game on the SNES, especially those from pre-existing franchises from the preceding NES era. While one of the biggest appeals of the SNES was the higher graphical fidelity, the main aspect I highly appreciate was more refinement in controls and features. Super Mario World gave the series a save feature and tighter platforming controls, and A Link to the Past did away with all of the cryptic progression found in the first Legend of Zelda. As for the particularly demanding Castlevania franchise, the fourth entry in the franchise, serving as a spiritual remake of the first game, refined the Castlevania formula to such a staggering degree that everything seemed too perfect. The stilted platforming controls now feel smooth and responsive, the player can competently manage any enemy thanks to the impressive range of the whip, and the additional save feature should’ve been implemented a long time ago. I’m not sure why these wonderful features seem to be a point of contention with many Castlevania fans. Are they suggesting that they’d rather endure the measures of toleration that come with many of the crude, debilitating frameworks found in the NES Castlevania games? No, thank you. I’d be singing a different song if Super Castlevania IV was a walk in the park, but the developers still understood what makes for an engaging Castlevania experience with all of the advancements, still making for a stiff challenge that takes practice to master. As it stands, the cultivated, visually arresting, smooth-as-silk Super Castlevania IV stands as my favorite entry among the Castlevania games with the traditional 2D platformer formula.
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Attribution: https://erockreview.blogspot.com
As stated before, Super Castlevania IV takes many aspects of the series back to basics, so progression and mechanics are reminiscent of the first game. This means none of the frills introduced in the third game, like branching paths and extra characters, are available. We’ll all be damned before the developers consider adding any elements from Simon’s Quest. For being a next-generation title, Super Castlevania returns to the roots of the series introduced by the first game. Simon Belmont returns as the prime vampire hunter, ready to drive a stake through Dracula’s heart and (literally) whip all his demonic minions into submission. Before Simon can duel the vampiric lord, he must trek up to the base of his domain, a multifaceted climb with hundreds of stories to scale in the process of getting even the slightest bit close to Dracula’s peak. Super Castlevania IV is the same ol' song and dance we’ve learned from the series, but the age-old story of man’s quest to conquer the beast is not the selling point of Super Castlevania IV.
The opening of the first Castlevania on the NES was arguably the most impressive feat of video game cinematics we had seen up to 1986 when it was released. Five years later, Super Castlevania IV graces gaming with the new cutting-edge of gaming cinematics. A lone tombstone on a hazy night is struck by a bolt of lightning as Dracula in his bat form emerges from the remains. The looming fog starts to grow thicker as scrolling text gives the player a hint of exposition about Dracula’s reign of terror and the Belmont family’s history of vanquishing him like the opening credits of a Star Wars movie. The towering presence of Dracula’s 8-bit estate as the opening scene of the first game may have inspired pangs of dread and intimidation in the player, but the opening scene here, with its refined sound and graphical capabilities, portrays something truly ominous. The player certainly gets the impression that Dracula’s return to power spells doom and despair for all those in his vicinity.
The visuals during gameplay prove to be just as impressive. The enhanced 16-bit graphics do Castlevania and the sublime, gothic realm heavily associated with the series a world of favors. New lighting capabilities uphold the spooky atmosphere displayed in the opening cutscenes as opposed to the dark blue colors meant to merely simulate nighttime in the NES titles. The graphics can finally convey the intended effect of Castlevania’s aura without repressing the discernibility of the backgrounds. Pixelated textures of the background are refined to a glorious extent, even seen in the long morrows of dusk when the game is set. There is not a single cracked blemish in either the castle’s interior or exterior structure, both indicative of the building’s stark foundation and the SNES’s graphical superiority. Outside sections also detail green vegetation such as trees and vines, rock formations with some peculiar shapes, and the movement of shadowy clouds rolling along the sky. Foreground graphics are crystal clear as the platforms and staircases no longer blend in with the structures and confuse the player. The color contrasts may not be as striking as they were with 8-bit graphics, but the overall palette has a wider range, and the more depleted look of the colors is better fitting for the game’s intended atmosphere. The graphical enhancements of Super Castlevania IV aren’t only beautiful, but they are the first instance of a Castlevania game’s graphics being practical.
Graphical enrichment is a notable point of advancement, but the gameplay is the far more important aspect. Throughout the NES era, the Castlevania series had been synonymous with rigid, stiff controls brought upon by the restrictions of the NES. However, the restraint proved somewhat of a positive to some because it provided a stark challenge to an already punishingly hard game. I am not one of these people, and the improvements that Super Castlevania IV makes with Simon’s controls are like laying on a fluffy new mattress after sleeping on a hard, dirty one for years. Simon Belmont moves as fluid as a hydroelectric plant in Super Castlevania IV, and controlling him even for the first few minutes of the game is a substantial relief. Simon Belmont is as buoyant as a plate of gelatin, moving with such vigor and gaiety like he just finished the final physical therapy session he’s been taking for the past five years. Jumping with Simon is now responsive, and the player can adjust the direction of the aerial movement in mid-air. Moving while crouching is also a new possibility as Simon shimmies on his knees, ducking down past tight obstacles or keeping up with the trajectories of the Ax Knights. Simon can even walk backward up staircases, a seemingly unfathomable feat considering how tense his movement was during the staircase sections in the previous games. The control in Super Castlevania IV is tight and refreshing, and a vampire hunter of Simon’s caliber needs to feel spry and capable considering what he’s up against.
By proxy, Simon’s signature whip has also been refined. The whip has always been at least competent, but winding back the whip and thrusting it in only one direction felt a tad debilitating for a game with so many enemies bombarding the screen at once in so many directions. Simon always had a plethora of items to assist him, but he could only use one of them at a time that may not have been useful for a certain situation. The whip can be swung in more than one direction for the first time in the series. Simon can swing his whip horizontally like always, but also vertically upward, angled upward, and angled downward. The player can also execute a new trick with the whip by holding down the whip button, granting them the ability to flail the whip around flaccidly. Most people see this as a novelty brought upon by the new freedoms of the controls, but using this move against enemies proved to be helpful at times. This range covers every conceivable base of direction, so Simon constantly feels capable of dispatching any enemy at every angle, and it is a blessing. Simon’s whipping capabilities are so fluid that the developers added whip swinging, a new mechanic for platforming sections. Hooks are found on ceilings, and rotating pulleys can be latched on by the whip as Simon accelerates himself by swinging from two and fro from them. The whip can also be lengthened mid-swing for a longer jump range.
All of these more kinetic involvements make the player feel more confident about the obstacles that Castlevania games present, but some people claim that this comes at a cost. Many people see this fluidity in the controls as a detriment because it makes for a much easier, accessible Castlevania experience. Succeeding in the first three Castlevania games after gnashing one’s teeth and turning their faces beet red in anger was one of the most gratifying feelings ever on the NES, and the impact of this feeling is diminished by the enhanced agility and smoother controls. In my perspective, the refinement present in Super Castlevania IV compared to the rudimentary clunkiness of the first three games on the NES make Super Castlevania IV objectively superior, and it would be ludicrous to argue against that. Suffering immensely due to the vestigial structure of early 2D platforming as opposed to the comfortable advancements of progress seems to be a matter of preference, and I’d easily take the latter without question. Accessibility is a byproduct of any point of progress for the gaming medium, and it’s not always to a point of condescension. Castlevania was ahead of the curve of most NES titles, offering more lenient mechanics like the ability to continue from the beginning of the level after receiving a game over instead of starting the entire game over again. Advanced hardware has granted this 16-bit iteration of Castlevania a save system, something desperately lacking in the first three games along with many other NES titles. The player will still have to start the level over when they’ve exhausted their lives, but at least they won’t have to ascend the tower and defeat Dracula in one sitting. Save features became more common after the NES era, and Castlevania was simply following suit. Whacking every single wall to find a whole roast as a health item is no longer necessary, for smaller turkey legs are found along with hearts to replenish a smaller amount of health. Super Mario World and A Link to the Past were much easier than their NES counterparts, utilizing some of these new features in Super Castlevania IV. Does Super Castlevania IV not get a break like the other SNES sequels because Castlevania is synonymous with being an exceptionally challenging experience?
There is one popular point of criticism that I must agree with, and that’s the fact that the whip is all too powerful. As much as I enjoy the whip’s newfound versatility, it outshines the other tools we’ve learned from the series. The ax, holy water, dagger, and all of the other pieces of Simon’s vampire-slaying arsenal make a return in Super Castlevania IV. These tools are also even easier to use thanks to being moved to a specific button trigger on the more complex SNES controller. Alas, the weapons are made obsolete by the range of utility of the whip. The purpose of these weapons in the NES games was to cover all bases of enemies, albeit with only one of these weapons in possession. Because the whip satisfies all angles of possible enemy placements, there is little to no incentive to use any other weapons, even if they are easier to use. The player will end up hoarding heart ammunition and not paying attention to which item they have. It’s a shame, really.
More accessibility and a better sense of fluidity do not make Super Castlevania IV a facile experience, even if it is dramatically easier than its predecessors. Super Castlevania IV has one of the smoothest difficulty curves in the series thus far. The earlier stages in the game serve well to acclimate the player to the fluency of the controls, and there are an appropriate number of levels to do so. After a certain point, the game starts to experiment with a touch of surrealism, something that could not have been conveyed in the NES titles. A highlight level that marks the progression into the more difficult sections in the game titled “Spinning Tales” is the point where the game lets go of the grip on the player’s hand. Simon will find himself in a room with abstract decor with one swing hook in the middle. Upon grappling to this hook, the entire room will spin and set Simon onto a lone platform where a series of Medusa Heads will ambush him. If the player is familiar with the roles of these notorious enemies, they’ll think they serve as obstacles moving forward. However, if the player attempts to progress while the Medusa Heads are present, they will fall to their deaths. It is not until Simon defeats every Medusa Head that they will be able to progress, and the room will rotate once more to a point of a clear, rational structure to traverse through. This section confused me, but I came to admire its unique ingenuity as I had never seen anything like this in a Castlevania game. The following room is a tubular space that spirals like a kaleidoscope, with Simon sparsely supported by fragile, falling wooden platforms. This section isn’t as disjointing as the previous one, but I enjoy its dizzying effect. I’d like to think that at a certain point of progression, Simon spirals further into madness as he gets closer to the Count sitting at the top of the castle, as if some evil, supernatural force is manipulating his mind. After that, the game gets increasingly more difficult and offers some naturally challenging obstacles. The clocktower level before fighting Dracula has some especially punishing segments that involve the grappling hook on a pulley. Enemies are situated on the edges of platforms that could knock the player off into the abyss, and the projectiles of Ax Knights can kill the player instantly if they are hit mid-flight.
While the bosses in Super Castlevania IV also fit the less taxing appeal of the game, this also doesn’t mean that they don’t pose as formidable foes. Players of the first three games will be readily familiar with the imposing, haunting forces of the night inspired by the Universal monster movies of the 1930s. Frankenstein’s monster, Medusa, the mummy, etc. reappear to halt Simon on his journey. Other bosses like the ghost couple, the crumbling golden bat, and the persistent Slogra are stand-out fights that offer a sizable challenge. The obligatory Grim Reaper fight is also present here but is much less arduous than his Castlevania debut. These bosses are, however, not the focal point of any Castlevania game, while they are certainly welcome additions. How does the big cheese of nocturnal baddies fare in a less strenuous Castlevania game? As everything else is in Super Castlevania IV, the final fight against Dracula fares reasonably. A checkpoint is offered before entering his lair, a relieving return from its absence in Castlevania III. Dracula will scurry around the stage in wide flashes of purple light and reappear for only a few seconds before disappearing again. He’ll launch a fat bolt of purple energy that will divide into three smaller bolts if the player jumps over it, guaranteeing the player is hit as punishment. The final boss here is why it is recommended to diversify Simon’s combat tactics and not rely solely on the whip. Using the cross weapon is incredibly useful against Dracula as the player can double-task offensive and defensive measures simultaneously in a brief window of opportunity. Hitting the spiraling energy balls that fly around the room like an insect will drop a turkey leg health item after sputtering small flickers of energy, a helpful inclusion is never before seen during a Dracula encounter. Dracula does not have the following phase, but he changes his attacks to include summoning flames from the floor with fiery skulls that follow the player and four large bolts of symmetrically placed lightning. Defeating Dracula here will cap off what is clearly the most manageable final boss in Castlevania history thus far.
There’s an old adage that states technology and progress should make life easier for humans, not harder. I can’t help but make parallels between this aphorism and the general design model of every game on the SNES, especially those from pre-existing franchises from the preceding NES era. While one of the biggest appeals of the SNES was the higher graphical fidelity, the main aspect I highly appreciate was more refinement in controls and features. Super Mario World gave the series a save feature and tighter platforming controls, and A Link to the Past did away with all of the cryptic progression found in the first Legend of Zelda. As for the particularly demanding Castlevania franchise, the fourth entry in the franchise, serving as a spiritual remake of the first game, refined the Castlevania formula to such a staggering degree that everything seemed too perfect. The stilted platforming controls now feel smooth and responsive, the player can competently manage any enemy thanks to the impressive range of the whip, and the additional save feature should’ve been implemented a long time ago. I’m not sure why these wonderful features seem to be a point of contention with many Castlevania fans. Are they suggesting that they’d rather endure the measures of toleration that come with many of the crude, debilitating frameworks found in the NES Castlevania games? No, thank you. I’d be singing a different song if Super Castlevania IV was a walk in the park, but the developers still understood what makes for an engaging Castlevania experience with all of the advancements, still making for a stiff challenge that takes practice to master. As it stands, the cultivated, visually arresting, smooth-as-silk Super Castlevania IV stands as my favorite entry among the Castlevania games with the traditional 2D platformer formula.
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Attribution: https://erockreview.blogspot.com