Retro game review: Castlevania (Nintendo Entertainment System)

One of the most iconic video game series of all time is undoubtably Castlevania. Originally titled Vampire Killer when it was first released on the MSX computer system, the game didn’t become a phenomenon until the title was changed and it was released worldwide as Castlevania.

This game is heavily inspired by gothic horror films and Universal monster movies. You play as Simon Belmont, a member of a family who has made it their responsibility to destroy Dracula whenever he arises. In Castlevania, Dracula has risen once again so you take up your iconic whip and storm the gates of his castle in your quest to defeat him once again.

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The game is an absolute classic, but its also a relic of the early days of the NES. How does it hold up over 30 years after its release?

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Castlevania begins with our hero Simon Belmont entering dracula’s castle and fighting the monsters that live within its walls. You’re quickly besieged by zombies, bats, mermen and hellhounds in the first level alone. Each enemy has a specific behavior and pattern so while the zombies might wander mindlessly towards you while birds and the hugely annoying fleamen lay in wait for you to approach before they strike. Other creatures include knights, skeletons, fireball-shooting bone towers and the infamous medusa heads.

At the end of each of Castlevania’s six stages, you’ll find a boss to defeat. Bosses have their own life bar below your own, which is nice to know when you’re fighting them. Through the game, you’ll encounter the giant bat, Medusa, a pair of mummies, Frankenstein and Igor, the Grim Reaper and finally Dracula himself. The bosses are each unique and really drive home the monster movie feeling it’s going for.

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Simon has typical platforming abilities available to him, like jumping and crouching. His main attack is his legendary whip, the Vampire Killer, which can be powered up twice to become longer and more powerful. Each level has candles scattered throughout, which can drop money bags for points, sub weapons, hearts that serve as ammunition for your sub weapons and whip powerups. There’s a good variety of sub weapons to choose from, each having various pros and cons. The most basic being the dagger, though you’ll also discover an axe, boomerang, stopwatch and holy water. Other powerups include limited invincibility, a cross that destroys every enemy on screen and modifiers that let you fire your sub weapons faster.

There are many hidden items to discover in Castlevania, the most notorious being the chicken legs and roasts that refill your health. Where do you find these foods? Why embedded in the walls of Dracula’s castle, of course! Breaking certain bricks will drop these food items that you would naturally stuff in your face without a second thought. For high score chasers, there are hidden treasures scattered around the castle that will appear when you stand in certain areas for a few moments.

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The controls are fairly responsive, though Simon isn’t the most nimble hero on the NES. Climbing stairs can sometimes be problematic and descending stairs can cause you to fall to your death if you’re not careful. In contrast to most games of the era, Simon is not able to control his movement during jumps — you either jump left, right or straight up. While realistic, this makes tricky platforming sections even trickier if you’re used to being able to control your character in midair. In addition, taking damage results in knockback which can be a one-hit kill if you’re next to a ledge. Simon has a life bar, though finding health refills are uncommon and many enemies will drain a quarter of your health with a single hit.

One thing the game absolutely nails is its monster movie-inspired theme. The game is just dripping with gothic horror atmosphere, from the enemies to the chambers, tunnels, caves and catacombs you’ll explore.

Now to the uncomfortable section. This game is hard. DAMN hard. While the first two levels are a reasonable challenge, by the time you hit the third level the game ratchets up the difficulty quickly. Flying enemies, awkward spacing, enemies with erratic patterns and other tricky elements are added quickly. If you want to have any success with this game, you’ll either need to be playing on a device that lets you use save states or you’ll need to master enemy placement and movement patterns.

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Castlevania is a decent, but not great looking game on the NES. The environments present the gothic horror atmosphere clearly, but sprites are fairly basic and lack much animation. Backgrounds often look incomplete or rushed and many foreground graphics are basic and plain and bosses are fairly small compared to other games of the era. I also have to comment on the color palette, which ranges from dark and gloomy to garish and unappealing. Some of the stages feature some awful shades of orange in the foreground graphics and a light purple (or almost pink) on enemies, which simply isn't very appealing.

Music and sound fare much better though. Sound effects are clear, distinct and have a sufficient weight to them, though the standout here is the music. Four series on the NES seem to be the target of most video game cover bands and remixers and Castlevania is always among them. Each stage has a unique tune and they’re all wonderful. Few games on the NES have a soundtrack this iconic and well-known.

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The original Castlevania might be a bit hard to pick up after so many sequels that refined and improved the gameplay, but there’s something inspiring when you look at this game that was released so early in the NES era. It felt more mature than most games of the era, it has arguably the best NES box art of all time and it laid the foundation for a legendary series that would continue for the next 30+ years.

While its far from perfect, it has undoubtably earned its distinction as an absolute classic.

Current value:

Loose: $20.25 | Complete: $75.00

Thanks for reading. As always, upvotes, resteems and comments are appreciated!

^{Cover Image Source: Castlevania Crypt}