The original Castlevania games have a reputation for being some of the hardest games out there. I went into this game expecting it to be just average NES bullshit, with enemy spam and instant death pits everywhere. However, what I found was that the difficulty of this game is actually surprisingly fair. I mean sure, there ARE still a handful of those instant death pits in this game, but even with Simon taking approximately 4.3 nautical miles of knockback every time he stubs his toe, there are really only two or three rooms where you actively get knocked into them. Outside of those exceptions, the game is relatively "honest".
What I love about this game is that every room feels almost like a miniature boss fight. At first, many rooms may seem overwhelming and almost impossible to clear without taking damage. But as you keep retrying, you slowly start to learn the patterns of the enemies. You learn to predict how they spawn and behave, when they shoot their projectiles, and how to best avoid them. The slow and rigid movement options really highlight this, because they prevent you from just winging it. You really have to pay attention to how the monsters behave, so that you can predict their movements and know exactly when it's safe to weave through them.
This game is definitely hard and unforgiving, make no mistake about that. But despite how brutal the difficulty is, the game can be learned and mastered. It's a game that will take you many, many hours on your first playthrough, then when you boot it up the next day you'll beat 80% of it on a single continue. And that's exactly what I love about it.
What I love about this game is that every room feels almost like a miniature boss fight. At first, many rooms may seem overwhelming and almost impossible to clear without taking damage. But as you keep retrying, you slowly start to learn the patterns of the enemies. You learn to predict how they spawn and behave, when they shoot their projectiles, and how to best avoid them. The slow and rigid movement options really highlight this, because they prevent you from just winging it. You really have to pay attention to how the monsters behave, so that you can predict their movements and know exactly when it's safe to weave through them.
This game is definitely hard and unforgiving, make no mistake about that. But despite how brutal the difficulty is, the game can be learned and mastered. It's a game that will take you many, many hours on your first playthrough, then when you boot it up the next day you'll beat 80% of it on a single continue. And that's exactly what I love about it.