Super Castlevania IV

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.

The Good
For years now, fans of the Castlevania series have stood and argued their corner for what they feel is the greatest triumph of the series. For me, and for many others, it is surely Castlevania IV.

The game is a masterclass of music, environment and atmosphere. This game in the series inspires an almost macabre emotion within the gamer, a sense of spine-tingling dark excitement—emotion we use to bolster and enthuse our hero, Simon Belmont, that his diminutive strength overcome the many dark denizens and perils of the night.

Almost from the go you’ll encounter garishly drawn backgrounds, use of dark colours such as purples and greys—dismal tones indeed—the game establishing its setting through an impressive gloomy palette. Graphics appear at times insipid and tasteless, flawed, yet therein lies perfection in capturing setting, locality and feel. In Castlevania IV the experience of the game is everything. Landscapes are anxious, small crumbling towers decay in the backdrop, fell fogs roll in and out, the moon remains vacant in the night sky.

Musical compositions go a long way to assisting the immersive quality of the game. You’ll quickly come to realise this: the sinister introduction sequence is particularly effective through the use of a disquieting piece of music. You will literally feel your spine shudder. Even this is followed up with an eerie title display and music vaguely reminiscent of a Hammer Horror. Orchestral value is significant, with use of strings, cello, flute, and many more—the instruments frequently (and very comfortably) lying atop bass. Compositions are generally short, but take nothing away from them: each is a masterpiece; the collection a remarkable feat of instrument sound engineering and programming.

Castlevania IV doesn’t disappoint with the gameplay. It’s the only 2D game in the series to let Simon cast his whip around at any angle, let if freely dangle as a means of protection, or use it to swing off objects. There’s nothing more satisfying than whipping and dispatching an enemy with a downward forty-five degree angle assault, or making two or three successive whip swings and jumps to a rewarding platter of fowl (yum). There are eleven levels in the game, so it’s by no means small, and the levels vary significantly in feel and design.

The Bad
Admittedly, the game isn’t too difficult, and being able to flick the whip out at angles makes it easy to kill some enemies above you, for example, without becoming embroiled in direct hand-to-hand. The main character, Simon Belmont, is a little slow and sluggish, occasionally unresponsive. That said, when you get into the game, and become more adept at controlling the character and his whip, the fun will begin.

The Bottom Line
The game doesn’t have the depth of Symphony of the Night, the wealth of collectables, the size of the castle, etc. It more than makes up for this however with atmospheric action. Rondo of Blood is often argued a better game, although I think this depends on whether you like its anime style or not. Castlevania IV is infinitely darker, more mature, for the Hammer Horror in you.

The Good
As one of the first SNES games, Castlevania 4 is also considered one of the finest. Even though it was released fresh into the SNES's life, CV4 is undeniably one of the best-looking games on the system. Some of the game's detail reaches the level of PS1 classic Symphony of the Night, and quite frankly blows away the muddy look of fellow SNES 'Vania Dracula X.

And the sound... in terms of music, CV4 is the most atmospheric of the entire series. The music for each respective level fits the environment like a glove. From a slow piano and flute accompanying a drippy cave to dense bongos and a low-toned piano for a intimidating dungeon, the music was made for the level's look and feel extremely well, and vice-versa.

The controls are a HUGE improvement over the NES Castlevania's scheme. Simon can swing his whip in any direction you wish- up, down, left, right, and diagonally. While jumping, you can move Simon freely through the air, and a new crouch-walk maneuver makes it easy to dodge enemy attacks while creeping up for multiple attacks.

Almost TOO easy, in fact. In terms of challenge, CV4 is considerably easier compared to the NES installments. This is undoubtedly due to the big control improvement. If CV4 didn't have the improved controls it has, it would be just as difficult as Castlevania 3 for NES, if not much harder. The game's more forgiving difficulty may be considered a good thing.

The Bad
The one thing I didn't like about CV4 was how it lacked the multiple path option of CV3, but being a retelling of sorts for the first Castlevania, this minor complaint is understandable.

The Bottom Line
All-in-all, Castlevania 4 is simply one of the best games in the series, and for the SNES. You shouldn't have much problem tracking this game down, since it only runs for about $10 on eBay, and is also available for download on the Wii's Virtual Console service for $8. So go out and experience this masterpiece in game design, and thank Treasure (the same company responsible for Gunstar Heroes and Wario World) for making this beautiful land-mark in the Castlevania series.