SIMON BELMONT GOES TO THE ARCADE
Enter At Your Own Risk!
If you think it's scary on the outside, wait'll you see the basement!
After the Contra marathon of reviews, how 'bout if we cut a break and check Arcade Archives VS Castlevania.
I've made a brief talk about Castlevania on my review of Castlevania Anniversary Collection, but this chance of playing the VS System version will give me the chance of a good talk about the first Castlevania.
You're in for the longest night of your life.
Ghosts, goblins, demons, wolves, bats - creatures lurking around every corner.
Castlevania, a flagship title of the Nintendo Entertainment System. One of the Non-Nintendo developed titles that were able to have what it takes to prove its worth on the NES and what a spectacular job this game made.
Originally debuting on the Nintendo Famicom Disk System as Akumajou Dracula (Demon Castle Dracula), the game's plot involves around a man called Simon Belmont, who was given the task of slaying Count Dracula and his evil legion of monsters and creatures of the night. Simon is no ordinary man, he's from a lineage of Vampire Hunters, the most powerful of all who are called upon when Dracula arises each 100 years to terrorize the world. But he's not gonna fight bare-handed. His main weapon is the Mystic Whip, a weapon utilized by the Belmonts throughout generations. In the game its a short-to-middle ranged weapon which requires to get close to your enemies, breaking with the common premise of game weapons which kept you safe from harm like Mario's fireballs or Contra's rifles.
Show them you are not afraid of a giant bat!
You're gonna need all of your courage to face what's coming next!
All NES oldschoolers and Belmont fans are familiarized with the weapons used by "Simon Simonazo" (and later Trevor, Richter and Alucard), but just in case and for the new generation gamers who are first-time playing this, here's the holy list.
Regardless of which weapon you pick, they consume ammo. In Castlevania, you'll be using Hearts, an odd decision since most people and gamers associate Hearts with life (Example: The Legend of Zelda), but considering the medieval setting of Castlevania, the word "Ammo" would sound odd. Thus, the decision of using hearts was probably their attempt to make it more "fitting" to the game despite the initial confusion.
DAGGER: The basic throwable projectile of the game. Good ol' Simon Belmont can throw a knife in a screenwide linear trajectory until it stabs an enemy damaging it. It is also known as "STAKE", "KNIFE", "THROWING KNIFE" and "THROWING DAGGER".
HOLY CROSS: Also called "CROSS" and "BOOMERANG". Simon uses the Holy Cross as a throwing boomerang that goes back and forth in a moderate range, damaging or killing enemies within its path.
HOLY WATER: Known as "FIRE BOMB" and sometimes "POISON", it drops a bottle that ignites with a short burn time, causing damages and immobilizing enemies during this time.
AXE: No, its not the deodorant. We're talking about medieval battle axe which flies on an arch trajectory, becoming effective with airborne enemies. It is also known as "BATTLE AXE" and "THROWING AXE".
POCKET WATCH: Also known as "CLOCK" and "STOPWATCH", this item is the defensive weapon of the game as it freezes all the enemies in place for a short time. This includes the game timer. Useful to save time but comes with a cost as it is the only special weapon which consumes five Heart Points and it can't be upgraded with the II or III upgrades.
There's additional upgrades that you can get as you fight your way to Dracula's tower.
CHAIN WHIP: Also known as Morning Star. This item upgrades Simon's Mystic Whip making it stronger and the second pick will increase its range allowing you to attack monsters at distance.
SMALL HEART: Remember what I said about ammunition?, The Small Heart grants you 1 ammunition point for your weapons
LARGE HEART: This one replenishes 5 points of your "ammunition".
ROSARY BEAD: Also known as "CROSS" and "HOLY CROSS" (not to be confused with the throwable Holy Cross), this item is the bomb of the game, killing all the enemies insight.
INVISIBILITY POTION: Makes you invisible and invincible for five seconds.
DOUBLE SHOT: Most of the times known as "II" (Two), The roman number refers to the ability of allow Simon to throw two special weapons on screen instead of one. It gives you a 700 point bonus if you don't have any Special Weapons.
TRIPLE SHOT: Often called "III" (Three), this allows Simon to increase the Special Weapon throwing rate to three. You have to pick the Double Shot in order to get the Triple Shot.
Found a Crown? Lucky you.
Those rewards will cover your services as a Vampire Hunter damn well.
Last, but not least, there's the bonus items. From money bags to hidden treasures that requires you to break the wall and position Simon on a specific area (The broken gap in the wall of Level 2 for example)
RED MONEY BAG: This is a basic bonus rewarding item, it gives you 100 points.
PURPLE MONEY BAG: Gives you 400 points, making it an uncommon item.
WHITE MONEY BAG: This one grants you a not-so-bad amount of 700 points, being the least common of the three.
BALL OF DEMONIC ENERGY: Also known as "CRYSTAL", "MAGIC CRYSTAL", "ORB" and "SOURCE OF LIFE". This item appears after defeating a boss giving you bonus points for your spare Hearts and remaining time. It also replenishes Simon's health completely.
SECRET ITEMS: Hidden in certain spots that require certain conditions to reveal them, there's "SECRETS" or "TREASURES" such as color flashing money bags and even crowns which worth around 1,000 and 2,000 points.
Who cooked it anyway and hid it in the fucking wall? And if you were Simon Belmont,
¿Would you eat an old pork chop that you found in a wall? Must be fucking dirty.
We've already learned that hearts are now considered as "Ammunition Points", so the question is ¿How we can regain health?. Simple; finding hidden Meat (Also known as "Roasted Turkey", "Pork Chop" and "Pot Roast"). There's hidden blocks which can be crushed in order to reveal this valious item, so valious that finding one is a matter of pure luck for the player.
Do the math, they said.
They died doing the math for me.
Like Super Mario Bros. and the multi-kill Shell trick, Castlevania has its multiplier mechanics, and that's using either Holy Water or the Cross. As they have pass through capabilities and flame burning time, they can catch two or three enemies and that will multiply the score obtained as almost or even just like an acquired secret. But with the running timer pressing Simon Belmont (and you) that's a small detail that passes unnoticed most of the times.
Difficulty is a key player on Castlevania, and it tackles the player on various fronts. First is Time. Like Super Mario Bros., there's a time limit which will kill you if it reaches zero, so you'll be on a hurry. But you're given plenty of time to reach the goal, kill the boss and pick the Ball of Demonic Energy to complete the stage. The second is the enemy placement and the difficulty level implemented as the game progresses. You will be noticing the increase of difficulty as soon as you climb the stairs to the second segment of Level 2 ("Stage 5" according to your HUD) as you'll be facing more aggressive enemy patterns such as the flying Medusa heads and traps such as the ceiling spikes, better known as the "Contra traps". Third is (Like I said before) your main weapon. Unlike Super Mario's fire attack, your whip is a short ranged weapon, requiring to get close to your enemies in order to hit them. This makes you more prone to taking a hit from projectile-based enemies like the Bonepillar (or "Dragon Cannon"). Timing your whip attacks is everything because a fireball could take advantage of the time between consecutive whip attacks and score a hit before you do. While predicting where and when the enemy will attack (I'm looking at you Stage 4 cavern bat), the situation goes out of control on the final segments of the game, being the hall before Death the most infamous of all with the Medusa heads and armored knights altogether. The reutilization of the Level 1 boss as enemy at the beginning of the final stage is also a mess which requires expertise an a lot of trial and error. One suggested strategy is to avoid any attempt to fight the Darkwing Bats and keep running or if you have the Stopwatch, utilize it. The second strategy is required for beginners and amateurs on the second segment of the stage as the game will spam you with hawks carrying Flea-men (commonly known as "Monkeys", "Midgets", "Igors" and "Hunchbacks"), combined altogether with a handicap issue of the series: Pushback. Everytime you get hit you're pushed back and depending on where and when you are, you could fall off from a platform to a lower one or worse, to your death. Fortunately, you can continue the game as much as you need to.
In terms of graphics, Castlevania innovated with the common fantasy settings of the then new NES by bringing horror elements from classic terror films with splendorous detailings that fully recreated what they were intended to be. From gothic architecture to dreadful caverns and a morgue-laboratory in the style of the Frankenstein films. The soundtrack calls the stage "Prisonhold", but it looks more like a laboratory and a morgue since there's bodies in the background and those head devices used to transfer electricity from lighting to give life to the undead (Believe it or not, Dracula was a science man). With horror film influenced scenery, it is very clear that the cast of enemies will be influenced by this genre: The Mummy (Akmodan II), Frankenstein's Monster, Medusa, Death and the mastermind of all: Count Dracula, all of them backed up with a legion of armored knights, bats, Medusa heads, Mermen and Flea-men. The sound department is also worth of mention as it features some of the timeless themes ever heard on the NES' library. "Vampire Killer" and "Wicked Child" are the best examples, since they fit on the levels pretty damn well, and Wicked Child fits on the insanity of the enemy attacks as you advance on the upper terrace of the castle
As an FDS title, Akumajou Dracula was already an instant classic, an essential of the Famicom's library and a great example of a challenging game. So, the game was ported to other hardware as well. Being the most famous of all the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the Family Computer (Famicom), where it become the triumphal consecration of the Belmont legacy. While the Disk System version had a save files like the Zelda games, the NES/Famicom was more of a Go-as-far-as-you-can in one session type of game, but aside from that, was the same monster slaying game we all know and love. The main difference between Famicom and NES aside from the title change was that the Famicom had a difficulty select option. Allowing us to choose from "Normal" or "Easy". The easy mode removes the afterhit push back, allows you to keep your weapon when you die and the small enemies will die on contact (after taking part of your HP, of course). But in a horrible twist of fate, the Famicom version was released in 1993, three years after the Super Famicom's release and two years after the Super Nintendo's debut!, It was kinda ironic that Konami decided to release the Famicom version near the 8-Bit's end of life. Computers took a part of the Castlevania terror-action packed adventure. Computers such as the Commodore Amiga by the fan-hated Novotrade International which had a great graphic overhaul, being the only saving grace, because things go all the way down the hell, starting off with the controllers. Having a Castlevania game with input lag is horrible, bordering it into the level of unplayability. Also, with the Amiga's use of pressing Up to jump, climbing the stairs is fucked up. To climb on stairs you have to press diagonally up to jump on the stairs and to make things far more unfair, the enemies are even more faster than the NES counterparts. The soundtrack has its issues too. To begin with, the music plays on a different order. For example "Wicked Child" plays on stage 1 instead of 3 and the pace was changed, sounding slower than the frenetic and memorable tune we've heard on the NES version. The MS-DOS version by Unlimited Software Inc. (formerly Distinctive Software and later Electronic Arts Canada) had its own variations such as the graveyard outside of the castle during attract mode, but it all falls down in graphic terms. Why Simon has gray skin? The animations are choppy and the controls feel sluggish. Aside from that, it makes a decent approach to the Nintendo game in graphics while the AdLib rendition of the soundtrack is quite interesting. A good work for a product of its time. Unlimited/Distinctive Software brought the game to the Commodore 64 as well. Another graphical and musical approach to the NES since it plays the music in a more NES-accurate order, but with flaws on gameplay. Plagued with constant pauses between screens due to the game being loaded from a disc and the return of the "Up is Jump" from the Amiga version but at least Simon homes in at the beginning of the stairs, making this problem a little better.
One of the best ports of the game was with no doubts the Sharp X68000 version which had an amazing intro cutscene and a redesigned level layout, making this the Castlevania you always knew, but at the same time, a Castlevania that was completely new. With surprising graphics and the not to mention the amazing reworked soundtrack that blends some electronic elements to the orchestrated soundtrack. New blood for an old game. Konami also ported this game to the PlayStation as Castlevania Chronicles. Being the X68000 game called "Original Mode" because as an added bonus for being a PlayStation game, the game had an additional mode called "Arrange Mode" which featured improved graphics and the music is kickass because we have a dance-club like soundtrack. Yeah!, It's the Castlevania Halloween Dance Club Party!! Party on, Simon Belmont!
In 2004, the Gameboy Advance had a port of Castlevania as part of the NES Classic Series. There's not too much to say, it's the same NES gameplay, but with an annoyingly brighter screen due to the GBA's screen and the graphics look slightly squashed to fit on the GBA just like Super Mario Bros. and both re-releases of Metroid (Classic NES and Zero Mission unlockable). Java based cellphones also had a port of Castlevania which was a "meh!". The graphics look overpixelated, the water effect on the mer-men segment of Stage 1 is pathetic and looks more like a bad emulation issue, the MIDI music is your average MIDI tune as well. It was later updated with better graphics and sound and the mer-man part of Level 1 was improved as well, now the water looks like water and the background looks like an underground level of the castle as well. Good Ol' Castlevania was also ported on XBOX One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC as part of Castlevania Anniversary Collection. No need to talk further, it's same NES classic that we all remember. The MSX had a port of some sorts called Vampire Killer, but unlike the more linear NES and PC versions, this one took some liberties on gameplay and played more like an RPG in the style of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest as you had to collect hearts to buy upgrades and find keys in a more maze-like castle.
How we can't forget Haunted Castle/Akumajou Dracula, which was the first Castlevania arcade game. This game changes the plot line from Simon being called to slay Dracula to "Simon's wife Selene was kidnapped by Dracula". (Are you a bad enough dude to rescue her?) As an arcade adaptation it takes great liberties with the gameplay as you face newer stage hazards and ambushing monsters from trees and have new weapons like the bombs, but the arcade attributes are also its "Achilles Heel". The use of larger sprites made dodging attacks much harder, the difficulty spike was increased, making it a "Quarter Muncher" and like Contra arcade games, the game limits you to four continues. Predating the concept of microtransactions (even before Dynamite Duke and Double Dragon 3), the game allows you to burn a credit to replenish health, but that will consume 1 of the continues you're given to the game, so you can refill four times and no continues. That's not fun. Last but not least, Super Castlevania IV, considered a re-tell of the first Castlevania and the glorious debut of the saga on the Super Nintendo, with an incredible playability that allowed an unsurpassed control of the whip by holding the attack button this allowed Simon to halt enemies while slightly damage them, you can also grapple with the whip in pure Super Metroid style, perfecting all what we've learned on the NES. With a epic memorable soundtrack and unrivaled graphics that surpassed even the Arcade classics, Super Castlevania IV cemented its legacy as the definitive 16-Bit Castlevania experience.
Believe it or not, Nintendo took the horror of Dracula and the courage of Simon Belmont to the arcade scenery as a title for the PlayChoice-10, which was your timed NES just like Contra and Gradius. But before the PlayChoice-10 release, Castlevania had its first "NES-cade" (Portmanteau of NES and Arcade) incursion as part of the Nintendo VS System (which made its way to the Arcade Archives series), so it had to make adjustments to differ from the PlayChoice.
While most of the VS System games were destined to be forgotten to the sands of time (VS The Goonies, VS Top Gun, VS Dr. Mario), Castlevania, along with Gradius and recently Namco's Super Xevious: Mystery of Gump found their way to the Arcade Archives.
Being a VS System port of the NES game means it needs to differ from your "Home Experience" NES cartridge. Since there's no cheat codes like the NES. So, the Pause button is toggled off. Needed to pause? Sorry kid, you're in Dracula's castle until your lives and credits die out. Speaking of credits, the unlimited continues from the NES port were removed and replaced with an Arcade credit counter. But the real challenge factor of the VS version comes from restrictions and damages. The restrictions come principally in the form of the "Time Crunch". ¿What is a Time Crunch (or Timecrunch)? Simple, the game will give you LESS time than normal.
LEVEL 1: 170 Seconds (NES = 300)
LEVEL 2: 170 Seconds (NES = 400)
LEVEL 3: 170 Seconds (NES = 500)
LEVEL 4: 370 Seconds (NES = 400)
LEVEL 5: 470 Seconds (NES = 500)
LEVEL 6: 670 Seconds (NES = 700)
You can still do the "Stock up on hearts" trick before fighting Dracula on the VS version if you don't waste any time.
This sudden drop on the time given reduces the chances of exploring the stages, switching from exploration to "Reach the Goal" as if it was a speedrun of some sorts ("Timecrunch of the Night" indeed). As for the "Damages", the enemies will cause you more damage than normal (Losing 6 HP instead of 4) reducing the room for error in this game. The difficulty scale goes further because it also reduces the points given at the end of each level, making 1up achieveing more difficult than normal. Speaking of extra lives, the amonut of starting lives is also reduced, being 2 lives the default number unlike the default 3 of the NES. Its like someone at Konami didn't knew the game was already challenging enough. I mean, I don't have a problem with greater enemy placements as long as they're tough-but-fair or bosses with major "pain tolerance" than the console counterparts, but drastically reducing the player's time limit is outrageous unless you're a hardcore Castlevania player AND speedrunner familiarized with the ins-and-outs of the game. But guess what? If you finish the first loop, the game will pull the cruelest prank on a Castlevania game: Make Simon even more weaker. While on the NES version the second loop the damage from any attack or contact in the game caused you a 4HP drop, in the VS System version, any hit during the second loop will cause you a devastating 50% of damage, effectively throwing you out of the game. I mean, as if Castlevania wasn't hard enough already, this is a downright unfair trick proper of a Kaizo hack. If you can make it out of the second loop alive or without using continues, you're one hell of a pro.
While graphically is the 8-Bit Castlevania you've rented from the videostore or got for birthday or Christmas, the color palette is brighter than the NES due to the video output of the Nintendo VS System, making the game look more colorful and alive in some aspects while strange in others. For instance, levels 1, 3, 4 and 6 doesn't look too bad because the brighter palette lifts up the dark colors used on the NES becoming an unexpected, yet visually appealing change, but in Stage 2, the red is between magenta and pink, combined with red stairs is somewhat eyesoring, which is the same thing for Dracula's room in Stage 6. Stage 5 is somewhat washed out, but the worst part there are the courtains and its odd orange tones used there. Death looks like a DOS CGA rendition of the NES sprite with the bright purple and sky blue colors used. This palette change was later carried on the PlayChoice-10 version of Castlevania as well. At least, the sound department (in both versions) remains intact with the glorious 8-Bit soundtrack from the NES such as the epic Vampire Killer and Wicked Child.
CASTLETRIVIA
- The VS System version was the second "NES-to-Arcade" transition, being the PlayChoice-10 version the first.
- The reason of why Castlevania was exported was because the original Akumajou Dracula version became a massive commercial success in Japan and Konami decided to give the game a well deserved worldwide release.
- For some reason the promotional package of the NES didn't called Dracula by its name, simply calling him the "Count".
- Nintendo's VS Castlevania flyer called him the "Evil Count" as if he was another vampire of the bunch.
- The Arcade Archives manual omits "Belmont" on Simon's name, and censors the name "Vampire Hunter" with "Heroes", but at least calls Count Dracula by its name.
- Calling the boss orb "Ball of Demonic Energy" may explain why Castlevania collapses after Dracula's death. Without the Demonic Energy providing life and power to the castle, Castlevania "dies" (¿Remember Alucard's "This castle is a creature of chaos" explanation on Symphony Of The Night?).
- The changes of "Less Time, More Damage" are eeriely reminiscent of Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom.
- Speaking of Ninja Gaiden, the NES trilogy shares the same "push back" hit like Castlevania.
- The Switch port paints out the "LICENSED EXCLUSIVELY TO NINTENDO" on the title screen despite being ported on a Nintendo Console.
Mission complete, destiny fulfilled.
Aside from the negative issues that make it differ from the NES and PlayChoice-10 versions, Castlevania is a game that plays on the NES, but feels like an arcade. It would definitely pass as an arcade title if back in the 80's you've never heard or played the NES game and played the VS. version first, I mean, Castlevania proves its worth to be on the Arcade-league.
If you're familiar with the NES Castlevania and its inside-outs and you want a tougher challenge that doesn't involve HardType/Kaizo hacks you'll surely want to give the VS version a try as it brings a few new challenge elements to an already difficult game. Speedrunners and "No Damage" enthusiasts will definitely love it.
¿Why Konami didn't included this version in the Anniversary Collection compilation? Kinda baffles me 'cos it's like ignoring a piece of history of this franchise.