Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

aka: Akumajou Dracula II: Noroi no Fuuin
Moby ID: 10125
NES Specs
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Description official descriptions

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest is the second game in the Castlevania series. After the vampire killer Simon Belmont destroyed Count Dracula in the previous game, an evil curse possessed him. The only way Simon can break the count's curse is to find five of Dracula's body parts (which are mysteriously strewn throughout Transylvania) and burn them.

Gameplay-wise, Simon's Quest is quite different from its predecessor, combining side-scrolling action and platforming with strong role-playing elements. The game does not feature the traditional stages but allows the player to freely roam the land of Transylvania in the style of Nintendo's Metroid. The game world is divided into outdoor areas, dungeon-like mansions containing crucial quest items, and towns, where Simon can talk to non-player characters, rest, and buy items in shops. Some areas can only be accessed by equipping and using specific items that must be bought or found.

The RPG elements are present in character growth, monetary system, and weapon upgrades. Simon's initial whip can be replaced by more powerful variants that can be purchased in various towns. Hearts are used as currency in the game and are obtained from defeated enemies in different quantities. The same hearts also function as experience points: after Simon has accumulated a set amount, he levels up and his attributes are increased.

The game features a day and night cycle that occurs at accelerated pace in real time. At night, enemies inflict more damage, but also drop more hearts upon defeat. Shops are closed during nighttime, and townspeople are replaced by wandering zombies.

Spellings

  • ćƒ‰ćƒ©ć‚­ćƒ„ćƒ©IIå‘Ŗć„ć®å°å° - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (NES version)

12 People

Invincibility
Permanence
  • Iwasa
Philosophy
Masterpiece
  • Kawanishi
Sensitivity
Excellence
Ambivalence
  • Kuwahara
Flourish
  • Higasa
Admiration
  • Ohyama
Superiority
Synchronism
Circumstance
  • Konami

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 68% (based on 27 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.4 out of 5 (based on 115 ratings with 8 reviews)

A nice Castlevania action-RPG sequel

The Good
Back in 1986, Konami released Castlevania on the NES. It was a hugely successful game that was ported to other home systems such as the Amiga, Commodore 64, and PC. The game came in two forms. Most NES users back in the day would be familiar with the cartridge version; but those who lived in Japan could also obtain the Famicom Disk System (FDS) version. Each version has its advantages and disadvantages.

Simon Belmont was on a quest to put an end to Draculaā€™s reign; but unfortunately for him, the Prince of Darkness placed a curse on Simon in his final minutes, although the player was not made aware of this fact at the end of the first game. This curse will send him to an early grave unless he resurrects Dracula, but it can be lifted if he manages to recover eight of Draculaā€™s limbs scattered around in Transylvania and burn them. To make matters worse, monsters are out rampaging the land and terrorizing its inhabitants.

Konami wanted to do something different with the franchise, by mixing platforming and role-playing elements, similar to the likes of Metroid and Zelda II. This comes apparent when you explore seven towns, where you interact with the townspeople and buy items that help you throughout the adventure. The townspeople will give you hints on what to do. I suggest writing down these hints in case you forget. Each town consists of two floors (some with a platform in between) and have their own color schemes. There are also mansions which you need to get through in order to retrieve one of Draculaā€™s limbs, which are essential in completing your quest. For example, you have to present the Ferryman with a limb to make him get you across a large body of lava in his boat.

In between the towns and mansions, you have to negotiate rivers, forests, and graveyards, defeating monsters. The backgrounds contain a mixture of dark blue, dark gray, and sepia tones that blends in with the gameā€™s horror setting. Defeating a monster causes it to drop a heart that awards Simon with cash. The monsters boast good animations and they behave the same way they do in the first game. Your health is decreased every time you are attacked by a monster, but it can be replenished by entering churches that are in town. As with any other NES game out there, losing all your energy results in a loss of life, and it is game over if you run out of lives. You can still continue the game if you enter a password given to you on the game over screen. (Lucky FDS users can save their progress instead.)

I like how Konami got creative with this game. It starts off with the title being presented in a huge negative that scrolls to the right to reveal the prologue, and pressing Start allows you to go to the options screen, all the while listening to some spooky music. The password input screen is beautifully presented. It depicts a brick wall with two huge windows showing mountains. At the front are three panes showing the relevant information.

Castlevania II is one of the first NES games to offer a day/night cycle. The flow of the game is unaffected, but how long you take to complete the game determines which of the three endings you will view at the end of the game. At night, shops and churches are shut, the townspeople are transformed into hideous monsters, and the monsters themselves are difficult to beat. At any time during the game, you can press the Start button to pause the game and view useful information such as time (measured in Days:Hours:Minutes), level, experience rating, number of hearts, and the type of whip, although Konami could have provided this information on the main screen. It is also here that your inventory can be accessed. Although it can be annoying that you canā€™t purchase items at night, it gives you a good reason to keep slaying enemies to make loads of money.

The music in the game is brilliantly composed by Kenichi Matsubara, and most of the soundtracks are memorable. The spooky night soundtrack blends in with the horror setting. I like the tune that plays when you are in the final mansion. The sound effects are quite similar to the ones from the first game. The soundtracks are slightly different between the two versions, with an extra sound channel provided for the FDS version; this was removed for the cartridge version.

Castlevania II can be played again; not just to experience the multiple endings, but to seek out the alternate routes the game provides. The endings share the same picture but each one contains different text. The fifteen-page manual for the game is well illustrated and goes into great detail about everything.

The Bad
I share the same concerns as The Angry Video Game Nerd, and one of them is the kickback that you receive when you are hit by an enemy; this is quite bad when it happens near water or lava. Imagine how angry you would feel if you are trying to jump on a narrow platform, only to have an enemy come out of nowhere and knock you in a body of water.

Also, the transition between day and night is annoying. A dialog box appears above you, and you canā€™t do anything.

The Bottom Line
I enjoyed playing through Castlevania II myself. I like to think of it as Zelda II, minus the overhead map. There are enemies to kill, items to buy, and people to interact with. Although I complained about the game not providing enough information on the main screen, the numerous remakes of the game address this. The graphics and sound are relevant to the horror setting, and the multiple endings are an incentive for fans to play the game again.

Konami wanted to do something different with the gameplay this time, but its poor sales made them go back to the original formula.

NES · by Katakis | ć‚«ć‚æć‚­ć‚¹ (43092) · 2021

Simon, is there ever a good night to have a curse?

The Good
I believe that itā€™s necessary to give a game a second chance. There are a lot of outside factors that affect how we view the games we play. Things like disappointment, anticipation, nostalgia, discomfort, or even sometimes illness can colour the games we play poorly. This is why I decided to give Castlevania 2: Simonā€™s Quest a second chance. As the legend goes, I acquired my NES in high school as my first retro system. Among the games I received with it was Simonā€™s Quest. I was disgusted with its poor controls, confusing design, and punishing difficulty, likely due to my inexperience with older titles. Nowadays, however, Iā€™m a bit better adjusted to the games of yesteryear, so I decided it was high-time that I went back to see if Castlevania 2 is as bad as I remember.

Sequels are a huge part of the video game industry, and why not? It gives developers a chance to expand on what made the first game good, or to take it in a new direction. Castlevania 2 leans heavily into the latter category. The gameplay itself will feel very familiar to anyone who has played the first Castlevania, but the way itā€™s presented and set up has been changed drastically. The stage by stage progression of the original has now been replaced by a more interconnected world. This is interesting, since this is more or less the direction that games later in the series decided to go.

Players are once again put in control of Simon Belmont. It seems that Dracula put a curse on him during their battle in the first game, and the only way he can break it is to gather up Draculaā€™s remains to resurrect him, and then defeat him again. I find this to be an interesting and involving storyline, even if it is a bit farfetched. Why, for example, would Draculaā€™s ring, or even his nail, be required for his resurrection? Then again, Iā€™m quite thankful that it isnā€™t necessary to gather up every part of Draculaā€™s corpse. This is partly because it would have made the game far longer and more tedious, but also because Iā€™m not sure how Iā€™d react to picking up Draculaā€™s penis.

People whoā€™ve played the first Castlevania will feel right at home with the controls. Simon still moves in the same stiff fashion, but once youā€™re used to it, the controls can be very comfortable. Whip upgrades also make a return, but now you must buy them and they will also remain with you after you die. Added is the ability to gain experience points and level up, which can increase Simonā€™s life bar. Besides that, Simonā€™s Quest feels a lot like the first Castlevania. It should be comforting to any fans of the previous game.

I think what is most important, however, is that the atmosphere from the first game is actually improved upon. Everything feels very oppressive and hopeless, which is difficult to pull off on the NES. I canā€™t help but question the decoration in the mansion stages. They look more like dungeons to me. At least hang a picture up. The music is also just as stellar as the originalā€™s, putting it right up there with the best on the NES.

The Bad
I can admire it when a developer takes their franchise in a new direction, but yeesh. The idea is to keep all the things that were good about the original and then expand upon them. I am actually kind of stunned by how many poor design choices were made in creating this game. Iā€™d use the analogy ā€œone step forward, two steps backā€ but that doesnā€™t begin to cover it. Some of the gameā€™s problems can be traced back to a lack of polish, others seem to indicate the game being rushed to market, but some are just baffling.

The biggest offender in the gameā€™s design is the puzzles. Castlevania 2 employs a very strange logic. For example, holy water is used to eliminate breakable blocks. Worse yet, nobody in the game world tells you that. You just have to hope that you throw holy water at the right place, and happen to make the connection. But wait, it gets worse. There are places in the game that require you to have a particular item equipped, then they require you to wait a relatively lengthy amount of time, and expect you to sit in a certain pose. Nowhere in the game does anyone or anything tell you this. Iā€™m not sure how weā€™re supposed to even know what a particular item is for. Even the instruction manual doesnā€™t adequately explain them.

I challenge you to complete this game without some sort of strategy guide, because I donā€™t think itā€™s possible. Iā€™m normally the sort of gamer who never employs any sort of outside help when it comes to my games, because I feel it cheapens the experience. Even despite my stubborn nature, however, I caved and checked a guide. Maybe itā€™s simply a product of its time. Perhaps, it was targeted more towards the Nintendo Power subscribers. Maybe itā€™s a case of poor translation. Whatever the reasons are, it comes across as obnoxious nowadays.

The day and night cycle is a form of irritation for me. In concept, itā€™s an interesting idea, but the way itā€™s employed makes it a nuisance. The game progresses on its own clock, so when it becomes night, enemies become stronger and the buildings in town lock their doors. The problem arises when you need to wait for the stores to open again. Night can last quite a while, especially if it occurs directly before you actually reach the village. Youā€™ll be left standing and waiting. Your best bet is to either get up and walk away from the controller, or go and grind for money.

A smaller complaint of mine is the lack of bosses. All in all, I counted three, if you can call them bosses, that is. Aside from them being sparse, they were also very simple and easily defeated. Especially the final boss, who, with very little effort, I vanquished before he could even fight back on my first attempt. To make things worse, thereā€™s no sense of accomplishment from beating them. After you leave the room and return, theyā€™re back, and you can just walk right on past them. Itā€™s very peculiar that the game only has three bosses, despite having several lairs. Why not put one in every mansion? I donā€™t understand.

The Bottom Line
Itā€™s a real shame. Most of the elements that make the Castlevania series good are still present and as enjoyable as ever in Simonā€™s Quest. Unfortunately, itā€™s all buried beneath some absolutely horrendous and frustrating game design. The inability to progress without any outside assistance is extremely vexing. If, however, youā€™re the type of gamer who normally looks at a strategy guides anyway, thereā€™s a good chance youā€™ll enjoy this game a lot more than I did. On the other hand, if youā€™re someone like me whoā€™d rather wander aimlessly for hours than consult a guide, then thereā€™s a good chance youā€™ll see the game as I have: BAD, bordering on broken.

NES · by Adzuken (836) · 2009

One of the best NES games out there...

The Good
Very well planned out strategy/RPG game. Twists, plots, and secrets everywhere. Beasts are stronger at night, weapons and armor get cooler by the hour, and the base storyline is unmatched, trying to reform Dracula so you can kill him once and for all.

The Bad
Nothing about this game was bad. It can drag at times when you are stuck, but thats the fun of old Zelda/RPG-styled games.

The Bottom Line
A must play. Many hours of fulfilling gameplay. One of the best RPG-style games ever made, compensating for its time period. You'd probably need a strategy guide to figure out all the hidden items and doors. Unmatched in originality of gameplay, depth of storyline, and feel.

NES · by Cormana6868 (12) · 2004

[ View all 8 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Also released May 2019, part of Anniversary Collection, including a Windows version. Andrew Fisher (697) Jun 23, 2023
Another "black sheep" turns out to be a gem Unicorn Lynx (181788) May 30, 2012

Trivia

Endings

The game features three different endings, which are activated based on the amount of game-time it took the player to finish the game. The first one is for three days or less, another is for eight days or less and the third is for any time playing over that. The endings are different between the US and Japanese versions of the game. It's debatable which of the three is the better ending (the fastest ending isn't considered the best), however it seems that in two of them, Simon Belmont does not survive the curse Dracula placed upon him.

Famicom Disk System Version

The original Japanese version of the game, named Dracula II: Noroi no Fuuin, was not released on a cart. It was available for the Famicom Disk System, an add-on that lets the Famicom play video games straight from a special floppy disk.

There are some differences between this version and the US one:

  • It does not use passwords to record the player's progress, it saves the data to one of three save files on the disk.
  • It has different music because the Famicom Disk System has an extra sound channel that was not available via other means.
  • The mansion music also plays when the player is at their outside entrances.
  • There are some sound differences: the glass-shattering effect of holy water doesn't exist, the sound effect for Simon falling into water is altered, the secret-discovering sound plays only when the player initially talks to hidden souls and not after, and there are snazzier sounds for the Ferryman's actions and the Deborah Cliff tornado-soul ride.
  • There are deviations on some names (most notably, Simon's last name in the Japanese version, as is usually the case with the family name, is Belmondo. Also, Camilla Cemetery is instead called Carmilla Cemetery).
  • It has a slightly higher enemy rate.
  • It's possible to purchase garlic and laurels even after Simon's stock is filled.

Garlic Exploit

In the original Japanese Famicom Disk System-only version of the game, it is possible to beat the last boss using only a single piece of garlic. Doing this really takes a long time though. Just drop a piece of garlic on the floor, move and wait for the boss to hit the garlic. It will be hit 256 times without having the ability to move, then die. In the western cartridge port of the game, Konami made the supply of garlic vanish for the final battle, probably because this trick was well-known in Japan.

Innovations

It was the first game to feature a day/night cycle.

Novel

A 1990 novella based on this game was published by Scholastic as part of their Worlds of Power series for children at risk of losing their literacy to video gaming -- books based on non-Nintendo-owned NES games, all attributed to the author F.X. Nine (though this one is also credited: written by Christopher Howell, a Seth Godin Production). At the ends of chapters, hints for the completion of the video game appear in spoiler-secured upside-down text.

Nintendo Power Controversy

The second issue of Nintendo Power had a cover based on Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. It depicted a man in a suit of armor (probably Simon Belmont) holding Dracula's severed head. The cover prompted several phone calls from mothers who claimed it gave their children nightmares.

The Black Dahlia Murder

The American death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder, used this game as inspiration for their first release, What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse. The title is derived from the phrase "What a horrible night to have a curse" which appears onscreen during transitions from day to night. The song What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse from their third album Nocturnal is a downloadable track in Rock Band, bringing Castlevania to that franchise in a sort of round-about way.

Awards

  • Power Play
    • Issue 01/1990 - #3 Best Nintendo Game in 1989

Information also contributed by Andreas VilƩn, Bregalad, CaptainCanuck, Dracula Marth, Pseudo_Intellectual, ResidentHazard and WildKard.

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Related Sites +

  • Castlevania Dungeon
    Fansite dedicated to everything and anything Castlevania.
  • Howard & Nester do Castlevania 2
    A regular feature in Nintendo Power magazine, Howard & Nester was a comic strip about two game whizzes who would one-up each other, while disclosing hints and tips, in the settings of various recently-released games for the NES platform. In the November / December 1988 two-page installment, they figure out how to find Bodley Mansion.
  • OC ReMix Game Profile
    Fan remixes of music from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, including the album "Sonata of the Damned".
  • Play "Castlevania II: Simon's Quest" online!
    The entire game can be played on this website, which uses a Java-based NES emulator called vNES to call up ROMs for its visitors.
  • Video review of Castlevania II
    The Angry Video Game Nerd, Jame Rolfe, reviews Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. This is Jame Rolfe's first Angry Video Game Nerd review.
  • Video review of the Castlevania series (WARNING: Language)
    The Angry Video Game Nerd, James Rolfe, reviews games in the Castlevania series. In part 2, he takes a second look at Castlevania II: Simon's Quest and reviews Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, both on NES.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Roedie.

Wii U, Nintendo 3DS added by GTramp. Wii added by Sciere.

Additional contributors: Guy Chapman, Foxhack, Pseudo_Intellectual, Echidna Boy, LepricahnsGold, jsbrigo, Cantillon, Patrick Bregger, Thomas Thompson, MobyReed.

Game added August 24, 2003. Last modified March 3, 2024.