Super Castlevania IV
Description official descriptions
Super Castlevania IV is, story-wise, a remake of the first game in the series. Set in the year 1691, the game casts the player in the role of Simon Belmont, a vampire hunter armed with a powerful whip, on a quest to defeat the evil Count Dracula in his castle. Despite the identical plot, the six castle stages have different layouts and themes; also, five initial stages that depict Simon's advancement towards the castle through various environments have been added.
The gameplay consists of traversing timed, linear platform stages, defeating enemies with the whip or sub-weapons that require collecting hearts and can be found by destroying parts of the scenery. Simon's stand-out ability in this installment are eight-directional attacks with his whip, which allow him, among others, to damage enemies standing below and above him. Holding out the whip will block enemy attacks. Simon can also latch his whip on special grappling points to swing over pits and obstacles. Game progression is saved by passwords given to the player after a stage has been completed.
Visually, the game uses hardware "Mode 7" effects such as parallax scrolling, rotating rooms, and pseudo-3D objects in some locations.
Spellings
- 悪魔城ドラキュラ - Japanese spelling
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Credits (SNES version)
15 People (14 developers, 1 thanks)
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 88% (based on 44 ratings)
Players
Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 143 ratings with 7 reviews)
One of the best games for the SNES and of the entire Castlevania series
The Good
In this fourth installment of Konami's Castlevania series, the first for the Super NES (With the first three being for the NES which I haven't played) you play the role of Simon Belmont who comes from a family of vampire slayers who have passed down the knowledge from generation to generation and swore to keep the evil powers of Dracula from taking hold through the centuries. Every 100 years Dracula mysteriously regains his power and must be vanquished. This game is actually a remake of the first Castlevania released on the NES but at the same time is very different from the original.
Released in 1991, Super Castlevania IV is a visually stunning and musically historical 2D platform action game even to this day. It showcased the many graphical capabilities of the new Super NES with parallax scrolling, Mode-7 effects such as rotating and spinning rooms that were so convincing it gave some players motion sickness, and some level bosses that were as large as the screen! The graphics are extremely detailed and remains some of the best seen on the Super NES. The music in the game remains one of the best Castlevania soundtracks to this day and does very well in setting the eerie horror driven atmosphere of the game. Sound effects are well done from the sounds of bricks cracking, bones bursting or wolves howling, they're very well done and highly utilize the stereo functionality of the Super NES. Speaking of atmosphere, this game has plenty of it for your enjoyment. The combination of the creepy background graphics and colour palette and mesmerizingly haunting soundtrack and sound effects suck you in and edge you on until you finally vanquish the irrepressible Dracula.
Gameplay-wise it is very fluid and Simon can now whip in 8 directions (The first and only game in the series to date that features this). You also can collect sub-weapons throughout the game such as the axe, boomerang, fire bomb, knife or stop watch which freezes time. You collect hearts throughout the game which are stored in candles which you must whip in order to release them. Each time you use a sub-weapon, it depletes some of your hearts (Separate from your health meter). Difficulty is moderate with the game being enjoyable with the first few levels being relatively easy with progressing difficulty. Some higher levels can get a bit tedious but the atmosphere of the game makes you want to keep going to see more of it in the levels to come.
As far as replayability goes, you are able to play the game on a harder difficulty once you beat it and while you may not want to play it again right away, you can record your password and come back to it in a few weeks to enjoy all over again. This game has no battery-backed memory, so it uses the mentioned password continue system to allow you to continue your game later where you left off.
The Bad
There are times when the game has noticeable slow-down especially when there are many enemies on the screen or when you whip a couple of skeletons and all of their bones go flying around the screen. It can be annoying at times but rarely would cause you to lose a life.
Other than that, I can't think of much else I disliked about this game.
The Bottom Line
This is an example of a Castlevania game at it's finest. A 2D action side-scrolling platformer where your quest to kill Dracula, while not an overly original plot, makes for a delicious gameplay experience which is highly addictive. Definitely a classic. If you have a Super NES it is well worth checking out. Many hours of haunting enjoyment await you.
SNES · by Xantheous (1495) · 2005
The greatest 2-D platform game ever made. Period.
The Good
The mark of a genuinely great game, is one that can capture your imagination, and truely bring an atmosphere of other-worldlyness through the screen. This game did just that.
The visuals are a vast improvement on the 8-bit versions of this classic series, as you would expect from Nintendo's new 16-bit box-of-tricks. The visual style is very gloomy and pixellated, which contrasts heavily with the clear, cartoon-style graphics of most games of the time. Despite this, though, the significant gameplay elements on the screen are normally clearly visible.
The enemies are generally very impressive-looking, and read like a who's-who of cliqued Transylvania-based characters. Ranging from the plentiful skelitons, to the heavily-armoured undead knights, and very impressive bosses, the spites are all very well drawn and animated. While Simon himself strolls across the screen with the self-assurance and arrogance that you come to expect from a member of the Belmont family. As for the level with the swinging chandaliers, well that, at the time, really had to be seen to be believed. Also, along with F-Zero and Super Star Wars, this was one of the first games the make use of the Super Nintendo's new 'Mode 7' capabilities, which allowed game worlds to rotate round an axis.
It's impossible to discuss the qualities of this game without paying homage to the soundtrack. It still stands out as one of the best ever, even when compared to wonderful audio present in more modern classics like Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy and, of course, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Gloomy, dark tracks add atmosphere to the more sedate levels, while the frantic all-action levels are played out to some brilliant fast beating music, which really contributes the feeling of danger.
The gameplay is typically Castlevania. Simon Belmont has his trusted whip, which can be slashed in 8 different directions. Special tricks with the whips also include a slingshot-style spin attack, and, best of all, the ability to snap the whip onto a hook, and swing vast distances Tarzan-style. Because of the versatility and flexibility of Simon's whip, the extra weapons don't play as big a role as they do in the sequal, Dracula X. Throwing knives are useful for taking out enemies from distance, and the clock, which freezes all on screen enemies, has occasional uses. Generally, though, the trusted whip is all you need to progress.
A general trend in Castlevania games is for them to be very difficult, and extremely frustrating, at times. This game, though, has the best difficulty curve of the whole series. It is truely challenging, without ever seeming unfair. The enemies are generally beatable, but health recovery items are rare. The bosses range from being very easy early-on, to being pretty tough towards the end of the game, but never seem unbeatable. Like most of the early Castlevania games, most lives will be lost through falling off platforms, or, to a greater extent, being knocked off by an enemy of some description. Again, though, this doesn't happen with sufficient frequency to make the game seem grossly unfair (unlike Dracula X, which truely is an unfair game).
The Bad
It's hard to think of much to say against this game. The password system, which consists of putting different items in a grid, was annoying. But this is a pretty trivial complaint.
I think the main sticking-point is over the hero's ability to jump (not an insignificant factor in a platform game). From the evidence of this game, and many others in the Castlevania series, the Belmont family members all seem to inherit the ability to jump like artheritic rhinos. The character feels heavy in the air, and cannot re-adjust once he's taken off. Furthermore, some gaps seem to be further than he's capable of jumping (normally the ones over spikes and bottom-less pits), which can lead to some frustrating moments. Also, there are issues with the responsiveness of the character when you press to jump. This again is a pretty minor complaint of the straw-clutching variety (although try telling that to someone who's just seen Simon walk of the platform to his doom, despite his efforts to make him do otherwise....).
The Bottom Line
A true 16-bit classic, and a game that remains extremely playable to this day. Blessed with some of the greatest visual effects of the time, and one of best soundtracks ever made, this game was brilliantly atmospheric, and brought weird and wonderful fictional world of Transylvania to life.
SNES · by Simon Wingate (30) · 2003
The Good
The Music. The Friggin' Music of game is Mesmerizing. My favorite track is Dracula's Theme. I put it on my myspace. This game surpasses all Castlevanias even the new ones coming out. I don't care about graphical improvements, CV4 is the darkest and most gothic game in the world. Atmospheres flow eerily and gives off that ominous feeling that I've only experienced in a few games. My favorite part or should I say scene of this game is "the Bat Bridge". As Simon walks across, the bridge crumbles and bats are awakened from under the bridge and follow him to the Gear Tower. I love it. The Scariest part of the game is the final stage with the staircase. At this point, you don't know how hard Dracula is gonna be... so u slowly ascend the steps in the moonlight. By the way, don't miss the invisible steps in the bottom left-hand corner. Then, there he is... AHHHH!!! Awesome.
The Bad
Well, the difficulty of the game and the Torture Chambers. I HATE THE TORTURE CHAMBERS!!! That level is too hard for my taste.
The Bottom Line
A game good enough to leave in a death will.
By the way if u wanna hear Dracula's Theme. Here Ya go.
http://www.fileden.com/files/1235/Dracula.mp3
SNES · by Lake Hylia (2) · 2006
Discussion
Subject | By | Date |
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Also released May 2019, part of Anniversary Collection, including a Windows version. | Andrew Fisher (697) | Jun 23, 2023 |
Odd resolution | Mobygamesisreanimated (11069) | Jul 12, 2007 |
Trivia
1001 Video Games
The SNES version of Super Castlevania IV appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.
Boss names
There are some interesting and quirky boss names in this game. The level 4 mid-boss "Puwexil", the skull with the lashing tongue, when spelled backwards is "Lix Ew Up". The level 4 end boss, a huge rock monster named "Koronot", when spelled backwards is "Ton O Rok". The level 6 end boss, the dancing spectres "Fred Askare & Paula Abgoul" is an obvious and very quirky play on names for Fred Astaire & Paula Abdul.
Version differences
There are differences between the US and Japanese releases of Super Castlevania IV. In Japan, the game is simply known as Akumajo Dracula. The cross on the tombstone at the beginning of the game was removed, for fear that people would be offended by lightning destroying the icon. Also, the name "Dracura" is visible in the Japanese version, but is merely a smudge in the American one.
There was also another censorship issue...the statues in level 6 were originally topless, but a toga was added for American release (why they changed this and not the nude Medusa is unclear). The font used in menus and the status bar is entirely different.
Then there is the gore. The opening logo drips blood. All of that green slime in level 8 was original red, and even bits of gore were cleaned off the spikes in the English release. Cryptically enough, the tears of the crying eyeball thing are still red.
Awards
- Electronic Gaming Monthly
- November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #20 (Best 100 Games of All Time)
- Retro Gamer Magazine
- (Issue 37) - voted #19 in the "Top 25 Platformers of All Time" poll
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Related Sites +
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Mr. P's Castlevania Realm
A comprehensive hosted fan "shrine" site dedicated to everything and anything related to Castlevania including Super Castlevania IV. Tips, cheats, walkthroughs, enemy lists, backstories, collectors collections, the Castlevania timeline and more. -
OC ReMix Game Profile
Fan remixes of music from Super Castlevania IV. -
Super Castlevania IV is Hard
Alex explains why he thinks Super Castlevania IV is too hard -
The Castlevania Dungeon
A hosted fan "shrine" site devoted to all the games of the Castlevania series, including the SNES game Super Castlevania IV. Content includes game info/descriptions, plot summaries, various kinds of media (images, MP3s, etc.) and links to other Castlevania-related sites. -
The Castlevania Treasury
A fan "shrine" site dedicated to all the games in the Castlevania series including Super Castlevania IV. Includes music from the games, backstories, walkthroughs, trivia details and much more. -
Video review of the Castlevania series (WARNING: Language)
The Angry Video Game Nerd, James Rolfe, reviews games in the Castlevania series. In part 3, he reviews Super Castlevania IV and Castlevania: Dracula X, both on SNES as well as Castlevania on Nintendo 64. He mentions Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness but does not review it.
Identifiers +
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by PCGamer77.
Wii added by Corn Popper. Wii U, New Nintendo 3DS added by Michael Cassidy.
Additional contributors: Xantheous, Satoshi Kunsai, Alaka, CaptainCanuck, Игги Друге, LepricahnsGold, Thomas Thompson, FatherJack, A.J. Maciejewski.
Game added June 7, 2002. Last modified April 8, 2024.