Difference between revisions of "Castlevania"
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[[Image:Castlevania - NES - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|North American box art.]] | [[Image:Castlevania - NES - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|North American box art.]] | ||
| − | '''''Castlevania''''' | + | '''''Castlevania''''' is an action platformer by [[Konami]] released on the [[Famicom Disk System]] in 1986 and later ported to many other platforms. It is the first game in the [[Castlevania (universe)|Castlevania series]]. |
| − | I don't remember when I first played this game, but I'm pretty sure I played [[Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse]] first, and then this game after, and found it a bit lacking in comparison. | + | I don't remember when I first played this game, but I'm pretty sure I played [[Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse]] first, and then this game after, and found it a bit lacking in comparison. As a classic Castlevania game, I want to be good at it, but the game has some serious flaws that make it unlikely I'll ever try to beat it. |
==Status== | ==Status== | ||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
==Review== | ==Review== | ||
| − | * '''Overall:''' | + | * '''Overall:''' 4/10 |
* '''Best Version:''' NES | * '''Best Version:''' NES | ||
===Good=== | ===Good=== | ||
* The designers made good use of all the common horror tropes. | * The designers made good use of all the common horror tropes. | ||
| − | * The game has a | + | * The game has a good soundtrack composed by [[Kinuyo Yamashita]] and [[Satoe Terashima]]. |
* I like that Simon's weapon is a whip; kind of a unique choice. | * I like that Simon's weapon is a whip; kind of a unique choice. | ||
| + | * For such an early game, it has a pretty good amount of variation between enemies, stages, and bosses. | ||
| + | * The artists did a great job with the background scene approaching the final boss. | ||
| + | * It was a good idea to hide items which can only be revealed when crouching ("searching") as well as items hidden in blocks that are revealed when whipped. | ||
| + | * The Japanese manual is really informative. | ||
* The game has great box art. | * The game has great box art. | ||
| − | |||
===Bad=== | ===Bad=== | ||
| − | * The background graphics lack definition | + | * Simon is extremely vulnerable on stairs because he moves so slowly on them and can't jump off. Unfortunately, you spend a lot of the game on them. |
| − | + | * Despite having a large health meter, there are plenty of ways to instantly die including pits, water, and spikes. | |
| − | * | + | * The background graphics are really messy and lack color definition. They look as though they were drawn for a different resolution and palette and then ported without being fixed. Compare them to the backgrounds in ''[[Vampire Killer]]'' which use the same structure, but are much cleaner and properly colored. |
| − | + | * Several enemies are really annoying to deal with because the player's slow attack and movement. The medusa heads, hunchbacks, and ravens are particularly obnoxious. | |
| − | * The game | + | * The game has unnecessary arcade mechanics like points and time, even though they have no real bearing on the game. And, most of the hidden items are money bags and treasures which do nothing to help you. |
===Ugly=== | ===Ugly=== | ||
| − | * The game is annoyingly difficult to the point where I don't feel like | + | * The game has terrible player control. Attacking is sluggish, jumping is difficult to control, and getting hit knocks you back, often killing you. This makes the game is annoyingly difficult to the point where I don't feel like ever trying to get good at it. |
| − | ==Box Art== | + | ==Media== |
| + | ===Box Art=== | ||
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
| − | Castlevania - FDS - Japan.jpg|The original Japanese FDS box art. The painting is fantastic and sets the mood for the game. | + | Castlevania - FDS - Japan.jpg|The original Japanese FDS box art. The painting is fantastic and sets the mood for the game. I also like the sharp edges on the text. |
Castlevania - NES - USA.jpg|The North American and European art uses the same painting, but is partially obscured with the Konami gray frame. I love the Gothic Castlevania logo. | Castlevania - NES - USA.jpg|The North American and European art uses the same painting, but is partially obscured with the Konami gray frame. I love the Gothic Castlevania logo. | ||
Castlevania - NES - Japan.jpg|The Japanese re-release in cartridge form uses the full painting, which looks the best. | Castlevania - NES - Japan.jpg|The Japanese re-release in cartridge form uses the full painting, which looks the best. | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
| − | ==Documentation== | + | ===Documentation=== |
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
| − | Castlevania - NES - Manual.pdf| | + | Castlevania - NES - USA - Manual.pdf|North American manual (Uses [[Eras]] typeface). |
| + | Castlevania - NES - USA - Manual (Digital).pdf|North American manual (digital). | ||
| + | Castlevania - FDS - Japan - Manual (Digital).pdf|Japanese manual (digital). | ||
Castlevania - NES - Poster.jpg|A mostly-complete poster of the box art. | Castlevania - NES - Poster.jpg|A mostly-complete poster of the box art. | ||
| − | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 079.jpg|Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 1. | + | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 079.jpg|[[The Official Nintendo Player's Guide]], part 1. |
| − | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 080.jpg|Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 2. | + | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 080.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 2. |
| − | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 081-082.jpg|Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 3. | + | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 081-082.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 3. |
| − | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 083-084.jpg|Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 4. | + | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 083-084.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 4. |
| − | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 085-086.jpg|Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 5. | + | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 085-086.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 5. |
| − | Nintendo Power - 1988-06 - 052-053.jpg|Nintendo Power, boss help. | + | Nintendo Power - 1988-06 - 052-053.jpg|[[Nintendo Power]], boss help. |
| − | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 145.jpg|Official Nintendo Player's Guide, blurb. | + | Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 145.jpg|The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, blurb. |
| + | Castlevania - VS - USA - Ad.jpg|Vs. System advertisement. | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
| − | ==Maps== | + | ===Maps=== |
<gallery> | <gallery> | ||
Castlevania - NES - Map.png|Map without spoilers. | Castlevania - NES - Map.png|Map without spoilers. | ||
Castlevania - NES - Map - Spoilers.png|Map with spoilers. | Castlevania - NES - Map - Spoilers.png|Map with spoilers. | ||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===Videos=== | ||
| + | * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOTUVXrAOE8 youtube.com/watch?v=mOTUVXrAOE8] - Longplay, all secrets. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Titles== | ||
| + | {| class="wikitable" | ||
| + | ! Language !! Native !! Transliteration !! Translation | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | English || Castlevania || || | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | Japanese || 悪魔城ドラキュラ || Akumajo Dorakyura || Devil's Castle Dracula | ||
| + | |} | ||
==Links== | ==Links== | ||
| Line 60: | Line 79: | ||
* [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Castlevania_(NES) vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Castlevania_(NES)] - Music. | * [http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Castlevania_(NES) vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Castlevania_(NES)] - Music. | ||
* [http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Games/Hacking/Wiki/index.php?title=Castlevania thealmightyguru.com/Games/Hacking/Wiki/index.php?title=Castlevania] - NES Hacker Database. | * [http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Games/Hacking/Wiki/index.php?title=Castlevania thealmightyguru.com/Games/Hacking/Wiki/index.php?title=Castlevania] - NES Hacker Database. | ||
| + | * [https://tcrf.net/Castlevania_(NES) tcrf.net/Castlevania_(NES)] - The Cutting Room Floor. | ||
[[Category: Games]] | [[Category: Games]] | ||
[[Category: Video Games]] | [[Category: Video Games]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Amiga Games]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Arcade Games]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Commodore 64 Games]] | ||
| + | [[Category: DOS Games]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Game Boy Advance Games]] | ||
| + | [[Category: J2ME Games]] | ||
[[Category: NES Games]] | [[Category: NES Games]] | ||
[[Category: Action]] | [[Category: Action]] | ||
[[Category: Platformer]] | [[Category: Platformer]] | ||
[[Category: Horror]] | [[Category: Horror]] | ||
| + | [[Category: 4-bit Color Graphics]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Monochrome Graphics]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Vampires]] | ||
Revision as of 15:46, 21 January 2019
Castlevania is an action platformer by Konami released on the Famicom Disk System in 1986 and later ported to many other platforms. It is the first game in the Castlevania series.
I don't remember when I first played this game, but I'm pretty sure I played Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse first, and then this game after, and found it a bit lacking in comparison. As a classic Castlevania game, I want to be good at it, but the game has some serious flaws that make it unlikely I'll ever try to beat it.
Contents
Status
I own this game on the NES, but I have never even come close to beating it.
Review
- Overall: 4/10
- Best Version: NES
Good
- The designers made good use of all the common horror tropes.
- The game has a good soundtrack composed by Kinuyo Yamashita and Satoe Terashima.
- I like that Simon's weapon is a whip; kind of a unique choice.
- For such an early game, it has a pretty good amount of variation between enemies, stages, and bosses.
- The artists did a great job with the background scene approaching the final boss.
- It was a good idea to hide items which can only be revealed when crouching ("searching") as well as items hidden in blocks that are revealed when whipped.
- The Japanese manual is really informative.
- The game has great box art.
Bad
- Simon is extremely vulnerable on stairs because he moves so slowly on them and can't jump off. Unfortunately, you spend a lot of the game on them.
- Despite having a large health meter, there are plenty of ways to instantly die including pits, water, and spikes.
- The background graphics are really messy and lack color definition. They look as though they were drawn for a different resolution and palette and then ported without being fixed. Compare them to the backgrounds in Vampire Killer which use the same structure, but are much cleaner and properly colored.
- Several enemies are really annoying to deal with because the player's slow attack and movement. The medusa heads, hunchbacks, and ravens are particularly obnoxious.
- The game has unnecessary arcade mechanics like points and time, even though they have no real bearing on the game. And, most of the hidden items are money bags and treasures which do nothing to help you.
Ugly
- The game has terrible player control. Attacking is sluggish, jumping is difficult to control, and getting hit knocks you back, often killing you. This makes the game is annoyingly difficult to the point where I don't feel like ever trying to get good at it.
Media
Box Art
The original Japanese FDS box art. The painting is fantastic and sets the mood for the game. I also like the sharp edges on the text.
The North American and European art uses the same painting, but is partially obscured with the Konami gray frame. I love the Gothic Castlevania logo.
The Japanese re-release in cartridge form uses the full painting, which looks the best.
Documentation
North American manual (Uses Eras typeface).
North American manual (digital).
Japanese manual (digital).
A mostly-complete poster of the box art.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 1.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 2.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 3.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 4.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 5.
Nintendo Power, boss help.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, blurb.
Vs. System advertisement.
Maps
Map without spoilers.
Map with spoilers.
Videos
- youtube.com/watch?v=mOTUVXrAOE8 - Longplay, all secrets.
Titles
| Language | Native | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Castlevania | ||
| Japanese | 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Akumajo Dorakyura | Devil's Castle Dracula |
Links
- mobygames.com/game/castlevania - MobyGames.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania_(1986_video_game) - Wikipedia.
- vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Castlevania_(NES) - Music.
- thealmightyguru.com/Games/Hacking/Wiki/index.php?title=Castlevania - NES Hacker Database.
- tcrf.net/Castlevania_(NES) - The Cutting Room Floor.
