CastleVania

CastleVania is a classic game for the NES. If you owned an NES, chances are that you've at least seen this game at a friend's house if not owned it yourself.

The story goes like this: Simon Belmont is the latest person in the family line to become a vampire hunter. Every 100 years (or more often, usually), the evil Count Dracula rises from the dead, and a Belmont must enter his castle and defeat him.

Even though this was (technically) the first game in the series (it's really a remake of a game called Vampire Killer), Simon will turn out to not be the first Belmont to fight Dracula.

The graphics are pretty good for an NES game. The colors are repetitive, but the lack of diversity adds to the nostalgia.

The gameplay is pretty difficult (as is the case for most CastleVania games). There are 7 stages. There is a timer. When time runs out, you lose a life. Fortunately, you get unlimited continues.

The level designs and choice of characters are nice, putting different fictional characters (Count Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the mummies, Medusa, etc.) into the same game.

The game controls are pretty stiff, but the weapons are okay. Simon starts out with a whip, which can be upgraded. Collecting hearts will allow Simon to use an alternate weapon that he picks up for a certain number of times. The alternate weapons available in the game are a throwing knife (to kill enemies from a distance), a jar of holy water (to burn enemies), a stopwatch (to freeze enemies), an axe (again, to kill enemies), and a cross (ditto).

The music is one of the game's best features. Who can forget the first stage's "Vampire Killer," the second's "Stalker," or the third's "Wicked Child"? In a lot of previous NES games, the music's only function was to get rid of the silence; it didn't really have anything to do with the games. In CastleVania, the music is as much a part of the game as Simon, the monsters, and the castle.

CastleVania is a must-play NES game. If you can find it used or download the ROM, please do so.

Challenge: 7
Level Design: 8
Graphics: 6
Music: 8
Play Control: 6
Enjoyment: 9
Replay Value: 8
Overall: 7

Review by Mark Moore