So I decided to give Castlevania another shot with the Anniversary Collection, and I finished it. Let's talk about it
Castlevania is iconic for a reason. All of the enemies, bosses, and gothic castle designs were pulled from classic horror tropes that have become staples in future games. The game centers around Simon Belmont. A vampire killer enters Dracula's Castle to defeat, well, Dracula. It's a simple plot, but the real star of the show here is the gameplay. Simon can walk, duck, jump, and attack with his signature whip. When you get the timing right of when to attack the enemies, it feels so satisfying. The same can be said with the bosses, finding the weakness with the sub-weapons or attacking them with the whip. Speaking of the sub-weapons, there are four of them in the game. These include the axe, cross, knife, and holy water (which you are going to need for later stages)
Not to say this game has some bullshit in it, because there is. A few enemies can be an absolute nuisance throughout your playthrough. The Medusa Heads, the Ravens, and my least favorite, the Hunchbacks. These little critters can short hop and a big hop, which seems easy to remember, right? Well no, because they can mess you up if you're not careful. Sometimes they can make a giant leap whenever they want, which feels like they predict your every move. So if you have holy water, burn those sons of bitches
Another complaint is the ramp in difficulty in the later levels. Stages 13-18 were where I had to use save states because there is so much shit coming at you that it is sometimes aggravating
Despite my rage, I enjoyed my time with Castlevania. Maybe someday I'll come back to the game and replay it without needing to use save states, but as it stands, this is a solid 3.5/5. It may be too old school for some, but I say give it a shot
I can't wait to try the rest of the games in the series
Update: I beat the game without save states, raising it to 4 stars. I think the game is tightly designed, and yeah, there is some bullshit, but it's challenging in a way that is fair by NES standards. There's just something about this game that makes me want to replay it again and again to master it, and it feels satisfying to accomplish it
Castlevania is iconic for a reason. All of the enemies, bosses, and gothic castle designs were pulled from classic horror tropes that have become staples in future games. The game centers around Simon Belmont. A vampire killer enters Dracula's Castle to defeat, well, Dracula. It's a simple plot, but the real star of the show here is the gameplay. Simon can walk, duck, jump, and attack with his signature whip. When you get the timing right of when to attack the enemies, it feels so satisfying. The same can be said with the bosses, finding the weakness with the sub-weapons or attacking them with the whip. Speaking of the sub-weapons, there are four of them in the game. These include the axe, cross, knife, and holy water (which you are going to need for later stages)
Not to say this game has some bullshit in it, because there is. A few enemies can be an absolute nuisance throughout your playthrough. The Medusa Heads, the Ravens, and my least favorite, the Hunchbacks. These little critters can short hop and a big hop, which seems easy to remember, right? Well no, because they can mess you up if you're not careful. Sometimes they can make a giant leap whenever they want, which feels like they predict your every move. So if you have holy water, burn those sons of bitches
Another complaint is the ramp in difficulty in the later levels. Stages 13-18 were where I had to use save states because there is so much shit coming at you that it is sometimes aggravating
Despite my rage, I enjoyed my time with Castlevania. Maybe someday I'll come back to the game and replay it without needing to use save states, but as it stands, this is a solid 3.5/5. It may be too old school for some, but I say give it a shot
I can't wait to try the rest of the games in the series
Update: I beat the game without save states, raising it to 4 stars. I think the game is tightly designed, and yeah, there is some bullshit, but it's challenging in a way that is fair by NES standards. There's just something about this game that makes me want to replay it again and again to master it, and it feels satisfying to accomplish it