CastleVania II: Simon's Quest

CastleVania II: Simon's Quest is the sequel to the classic game, CastleVania, 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: After Simon Belmont defeated Dracula in the original CastleVania, he was stricken with a curse. Simon must traverse the land of Transylvania and collect 5 of Dracula's body parts. Then he must enter CastleVania, bring Dracula back to life, and defeat him again.

The graphics are a step or two up from the original CastleVania and good for an NES game. Different colors are used.

The gameplay is different than the previous game. Whereas the original CastleVania was a sidescroller, CastleVania II: Simon's Quest is more like an RPG (role-playing game). There are no real stages - more like areas to explore: towns, forests, mansions, graveyards, etc. There is no timer in this game. You have three lives before you have to choose to continue or end the game. Fortunately, you get unlimited continues, and all you lose are your hearts. Unfortunately, the longer you take to finish the game, the worse the ending that you'll get (one of the three endings has Simon dying, and another ending implies it).

The area designs are nice, having a medieval, Eastern European look to them. There are fewer monster cameos in this game than in the first - only Count Dracula and Medusa (in this case, just the small heads) stand out.

The game controls are improved over the original CastleVania. The weapons are the same as in the first CastleVania but have a few variations. 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. Arguably even better than the music in the original CastleVania, CastleVania II: Simon's Quest features the beautiful, much-loved "Bloody Tears." It also has the cool "Monster Dance" and the peaceful "The Silence of Daylight." 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 II: Simon's Quest, the music is as much a part of the game as Simon, the monsters, and the locations.

CastleVania II: Simon's Quest is a worthy sequel to the original CastleVania and a must-play NES game. If you can find it used or download the ROM, please do so.

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

Review by Mark Moore