There’s a brief moment halfway through Castlevania where you’re scaling a crumbling castle wall. As you march forwards, you catch a glimpse of a tower in the background. The game doesn’t even really draw any attention to it, but any player who takes notice would immediately understand—that must be Dracula’s tower. In an instant you’re struck by how much progress you’ve made since first storming his gates, how expansive this castle truly is, and how much farther your enemy may still lie in wait. It’s this really remarkable moment of honest-to-god world building in an NES game, a testament to the unparalleled attention to detail that covers every corner of Castlevania.
And then, in all likelihood, you get hit by a fireball and fall to your death.
It’s always great when you can play a classic for the first time and discover that it still absolutely holds up. Everything about Castlevania is still just the absolute shit. This is a video game’s video game, through and through. Tight gameplay, killer presentation and a truly insane soundtrack. Seriously, there’s only like 30 minutes of music total and somehow every note is iconic. It’s a game that’s schlocky and thoughtful in equal measure—just the way I like ‘em. I really can’t believe it took me this long to finally give it a shot.
More than anything, I find myself completely obsessed with how Castlevania feels to control. Simon Belmont moves like a sack of bricks, whips like he’s shaking off carpal tunnel and jumps with all the flexibility of a steel beam. It’s stiff, incredibly stiff, but everything in the game is designed around it. You don’t have the mobility to brute force through stages like you can in comparable action platformers, and even if you could, the overbearing enemy placement would bite you in the ass. It forced me to play very deliberately, assessing each step carefully, while still being aggressive enough that I didn’t leave any openings for enemies. It’s a game that asks a lot of the player, but if you’re willing to rise to the challenge, I found it to be an incredibly rich, rewarding experience.
For what it’s worth, aside from allowing myself some practice runs on Death’s Hallway and circumventing grinding for hearts before each Dracula attempt, I beat this without the use of save states. And I’m really glad I did, as I don’t think this would have been nearly as captivating had I allowed myself to save after each tough section. The fun of Castlevania lies in the trial and error, in getting better with each attempt, figuring out the perfect route, building muscle memory, committing each stage to memory to the point it becomes second nature until finally, FINALLY you overcome a challenge that once seemed insurmountable. I can totally respect why that gameplay loop won’t connect with some, but personally, I loved it. The sheer thrill of shoving holy water so far up Dracula’s ass that it causes his entire infrastructure to crumble and finally seeing those goofy-ass credits roll is some of the most satisfied I’ve felt beating a game in my life. Man, what an adventure.
Recently, I’ve found myself in possession of a lot of free time and a brand-new Retroid Pocket 2S. I wanted a chance to test out some of the emulators, so I decided I’m gonna marathon some more classic Castlevania. But since I’m a sicko, I’m ALSO going to be marathoning some 2D Metroid. At the same time. I’ve got 14 more games to go across both franchises, so wish me luck. If this first step was any indication, I’m gonna need it.
And then, in all likelihood, you get hit by a fireball and fall to your death.
It’s always great when you can play a classic for the first time and discover that it still absolutely holds up. Everything about Castlevania is still just the absolute shit. This is a video game’s video game, through and through. Tight gameplay, killer presentation and a truly insane soundtrack. Seriously, there’s only like 30 minutes of music total and somehow every note is iconic. It’s a game that’s schlocky and thoughtful in equal measure—just the way I like ‘em. I really can’t believe it took me this long to finally give it a shot.
More than anything, I find myself completely obsessed with how Castlevania feels to control. Simon Belmont moves like a sack of bricks, whips like he’s shaking off carpal tunnel and jumps with all the flexibility of a steel beam. It’s stiff, incredibly stiff, but everything in the game is designed around it. You don’t have the mobility to brute force through stages like you can in comparable action platformers, and even if you could, the overbearing enemy placement would bite you in the ass. It forced me to play very deliberately, assessing each step carefully, while still being aggressive enough that I didn’t leave any openings for enemies. It’s a game that asks a lot of the player, but if you’re willing to rise to the challenge, I found it to be an incredibly rich, rewarding experience.
For what it’s worth, aside from allowing myself some practice runs on Death’s Hallway and circumventing grinding for hearts before each Dracula attempt, I beat this without the use of save states. And I’m really glad I did, as I don’t think this would have been nearly as captivating had I allowed myself to save after each tough section. The fun of Castlevania lies in the trial and error, in getting better with each attempt, figuring out the perfect route, building muscle memory, committing each stage to memory to the point it becomes second nature until finally, FINALLY you overcome a challenge that once seemed insurmountable. I can totally respect why that gameplay loop won’t connect with some, but personally, I loved it. The sheer thrill of shoving holy water so far up Dracula’s ass that it causes his entire infrastructure to crumble and finally seeing those goofy-ass credits roll is some of the most satisfied I’ve felt beating a game in my life. Man, what an adventure.
Recently, I’ve found myself in possession of a lot of free time and a brand-new Retroid Pocket 2S. I wanted a chance to test out some of the emulators, so I decided I’m gonna marathon some more classic Castlevania. But since I’m a sicko, I’m ALSO going to be marathoning some 2D Metroid. At the same time. I’ve got 14 more games to go across both franchises, so wish me luck. If this first step was any indication, I’m gonna need it.
plexible
6 months ago