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
Groups +
Screenshots
Promos
Credits (SNES version)
15 People (14 developers, 1 thanks)
| Main Programmer |
|
| Player Programmer |
|
| Enemy Programmer |
|
| Main Designer |
|
| VRam Designer |
|
| Object Designer |
|
| Sound Designer |
|
| Super Voice |
|
| Total Director |
|
| Producer |
|
| Special Thanks |
|
| Presented by |
|
| Cover Artwork by |
Reviews
Discussion
| Subject | User | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Odd resolution | Mobygamesisreanimated (11072) | 2007-07-12 13:57:49 |
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
Related Games
Released 2001 on PlayStation, 2008 on PSP, PlayStation 3...
Released 1989 on Amiga, DOS, Game Boy Advance...
Released 2019 on Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One...
Released 2010 on Xbox 360, 2011 on PlayStation 3, 2019 on Xbox One
Released 1986 on MSX, 2014 on Wii U
Released 2007 on PSP
Released 1995 on SNES, 2014 on Wii U, New Nintendo 3DS
Released 1999 on Nintendo 64
Released 1988 on Arcade, 2017 on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Related Sites +
-
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 <em>Super Castlevania IV</em>. -
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 <i>Super Castlevania IV</i> and <i>Castlevania: Dracula X</i>, both on SNES as well as <i>Castlevania</i> on Nintendo 64. He mentions <i>Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness</i> but does not review it.
Identifiers +
- MobyGames ID: 6619
Contribute
Know about this game? Add your expertise to help preserve this entry in video game history!
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 7th, 2002. Last modified April 3rd, 2023.