The sinking sanctuary's visuals and music from Bloodlines still give me chills. Very strong showing for the Genesis sound system. I love Bloodlines, but I cant with a straight face and good conscience say that Bloodlines is better than SCV4, but I very much do get the criticisms. SCV4 was my second or third game purchase for my SNES back in '91/92. I have fond memories of it, especially the sound, whip mechanics, being able to jump onto stairs, and the general controls. The atmosphere and ambience in general is one of the best in the series. All that said, it does have a very different feel from CV 1,2, & 3 ...but then again, so does Bloodlines. I do recall that even back as a kid I thought it was good, but was never my favorite SNES title either. I may get crucified for saying this, but at the time I had to choose between SCV4 and Super Ghouls N Ghosts, money was limited-- I chose SVC4 but several months later I regretted my choice, and looking back I now understand why. Even to this day, I feel the "replayability" of SGNG is far greater than SCV4, and I find it to be much more challenging (and thus, rewarding), yet not a frustratingly cheap challenge. To me, its the near perfect challenge, which gives it its high replayability rating from me. Over the years I have played SGNG WAY more than SCV4 because of this.
Bloodlines has a very..."arcadey" feel to it--which is not a bad thing but its also different from the NES Castlevanias. Its an extremely good title, and along with GNG, one of the best action titles on the Genesis IMO. Its also VERY hard though, on equal ground with the Ghouls N Ghosts on Genesis and SNES, IMO. I do think that, in general, players of today going back to experience both of these classics for the first time would probably appreciate the audio/visual masterpiece that is SCV4 over Bloodlines, as it is just more of an "immersive experience" (if that makes sense), and the challenge is much more manageable compared to Bloodlines.
In closing, however, I think it must be said that the undisputed GOAT of the series, which gets absolutely everything right, has to be Castlevania 3. Its got the graphics, the soundtrack, the perfect CV feel, multiple and very different characters, near perfect difficulty, and multiple different routes to Dracula. In my eyes, CV3 will never be topped as far as what truly embodies Castlevania, IMO.
I made the above comment on a YT video that questioned IV vs Bloodllines. I have to clarify my comments by saying its probably been around 20-25 years since I did a proper playthrough of IV, so I picked it back up over the weekend. Wow the memories it brought back! In hindsight I think I was a bit harsh in my criticisms of IV above, even though I did still give it its props where it excels. It is by no means a bad, or even just a "good" Castlevania game. It is a GREAT game, lets get that out of the way real quick. Playing in a controlled light environment on my 36" FD Trinitron Wega from my RGB modded SNES Jr., it was, just like it was back in '91/'92, a near religious audio/visual experience. Even though I did mention the ambiance/atmosphere in my recollection above, playing it proper after so long hit me hard in the feels. I know some of it was pure bliss of nostalgia, but man, its hard to speak highly enough of the graphics and sound, especially for its time. The intro alone, with the eerie music playing as the fog starts creeping in at Draculas grave, I think is still the most legendary intro of all the 8/16/32bit Castlevanias (though 3's is a close second).
Its funny how memories of the contemporary time of your life can get locked away in these games and you dont realize which ones until you go back and play them again. I distinctly remember losing my paternal grandmother at the time I was playing this back when it first came out, and it wasnt until I hit a certain level that the memory came rushing back to me, like the day I found out. Deep man. Im 47 today, I was 12 when I first unwrapped this gem and fired it up on my SNES. I think it was the second or third game I got for the system (dont recall if I got it or Actraiser first, but Actraiser was a Christmas gift, this I bought with allowance money I think).
Super Castlevania IV is truly a work of 16 bit art, and its graphics and sound stand up well to the test of time. Its like a tech demo for all of the incredible things the SNES could do that werent possible on other 8 and 16 bit systems. This go round I played the "Fast ROM" version of it, which elminates probably a good 90% or so of the massive slowdown that plagued the original. It really does make the game feel more coherent IMO. Despite having the most controllable main character of all time, I have to agree that the fighting still felt somewhat "clunky", and during boss fights especially, it seemed that you really just had to give out damage faster than you took it to edge them out, rather than just being able to skillfully duck and dodge to avoid damage. Maybe thats just my rusty reflexes talking, I dont know.
In any case, as much as I like Bloodlines ( and I truly do), I cant sit here with a straight face and claim that Bloodlines is better than SCIV, I'd just be lying to myself. Replayability wise, as I mentioned with SGNG, yes, perhaps Bloodlines wins out because its one of those true challenges that pushes you to get better and excel, and that for me tends to drive replayability. In any case, I had a blast going back to the past and playing it. Just wanted to share my thoughts.
'tude
