Castlevania makes its jump to the Super Nintendo, with Super Castlevania IV!
In spite of its title, this game is more of a re-imagining of the events of the original Castlevania, rather than being a sequel or anything of the sort.
There are some similarities with the original NES title, but a lot that you'll see here is brand new, and also showcases the power that the Super Nintendo has.
Super Castlevania IV is perhaps one of the best showcases of a console I've seen. Like yeah, it's not perfect, and there's plenty of slowdown when there's many things of screens, or when you're in one of those Mode 7 sections, but graphically, this game is very impressive.
Sprites are very detailed, backgrounds have many colors to them, and you can instantly recognize what type of stage it is by them, and there's so much variety in the places you traverse.
Just like Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, it takes a while for Simon Belmont to get to the actual castle.
You go from forests, to caves, to aquatic ruins up until you reach Castlevania itself in Stage 6. Then certain things will play out like the original game, but only really in concept, like falling down a hole to reach an underground layer of the castle, but the stage here looks much different than last time, and it takes a while longer for Simon to reach to the top of the castle.
While this game has some hard parts here and there, like Slogra being the bane of my existence, or Stage 8 having many spikes that are one-hit kills, Super Castlevania IV is much easier than Castlevania I and especially Castlevania III.
Not only is the level design this time around much less punishing, and there's way less bullshit enemy placements, Simon himself not only has mid-air control, but he can also whip in multiple directions, and jump off or on stairs with ease!
In addition to him being able to use the Vampire Killer to swing from specific chains, this game has some of the best controls in a Classic Castlevania game!
And the soundtrack, oh baby, that soundtrack!
Even though I never grew up with a Super Nintendo, I've always been a fan of its sound chip ever since I was young, and Super Castlevania IV puts it to good use, being able to pull off atmospheric music, while being pretty catchy!
There are so many themes I like, from Stage 2's theme, to the Prologue theme, to the theme that plays at the end of Stage 5, to Stage 9's theme, to of course, Simon's theme, which makes you feel like a badass, especially when it plays during the final part of Dracula's fight!
As you can probably tell already, while it's not perfect, Super Castlevania IV is my favourite Classic Castlevania game, and one of my favourites in the franchise. For being a game that came close to the Super Nintendo's launch, it's amazing how well this game has aged, and how fun it still is to this day!
It's a high recommendation from me!
In spite of its title, this game is more of a re-imagining of the events of the original Castlevania, rather than being a sequel or anything of the sort.
There are some similarities with the original NES title, but a lot that you'll see here is brand new, and also showcases the power that the Super Nintendo has.
Super Castlevania IV is perhaps one of the best showcases of a console I've seen. Like yeah, it's not perfect, and there's plenty of slowdown when there's many things of screens, or when you're in one of those Mode 7 sections, but graphically, this game is very impressive.
Sprites are very detailed, backgrounds have many colors to them, and you can instantly recognize what type of stage it is by them, and there's so much variety in the places you traverse.
Just like Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, it takes a while for Simon Belmont to get to the actual castle.
You go from forests, to caves, to aquatic ruins up until you reach Castlevania itself in Stage 6. Then certain things will play out like the original game, but only really in concept, like falling down a hole to reach an underground layer of the castle, but the stage here looks much different than last time, and it takes a while longer for Simon to reach to the top of the castle.
While this game has some hard parts here and there, like Slogra being the bane of my existence, or Stage 8 having many spikes that are one-hit kills, Super Castlevania IV is much easier than Castlevania I and especially Castlevania III.
Not only is the level design this time around much less punishing, and there's way less bullshit enemy placements, Simon himself not only has mid-air control, but he can also whip in multiple directions, and jump off or on stairs with ease!
In addition to him being able to use the Vampire Killer to swing from specific chains, this game has some of the best controls in a Classic Castlevania game!
And the soundtrack, oh baby, that soundtrack!
Even though I never grew up with a Super Nintendo, I've always been a fan of its sound chip ever since I was young, and Super Castlevania IV puts it to good use, being able to pull off atmospheric music, while being pretty catchy!
There are so many themes I like, from Stage 2's theme, to the Prologue theme, to the theme that plays at the end of Stage 5, to Stage 9's theme, to of course, Simon's theme, which makes you feel like a badass, especially when it plays during the final part of Dracula's fight!
As you can probably tell already, while it's not perfect, Super Castlevania IV is my favourite Classic Castlevania game, and one of my favourites in the franchise. For being a game that came close to the Super Nintendo's launch, it's amazing how well this game has aged, and how fun it still is to this day!
It's a high recommendation from me!