| Classic Game Series: Castlevania (Part 2)
- by Damien McFerran |
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Super Castlevania IV/Akumajou Dracula: Demon Castle Dracula (SNES)
One of the first Konami titles to emerge for Nintendo’s shiny new 16-bit super console, Castlevania IV was in actual fact a ‘re-imagining’ of the first game in the series (hence the fact that the Japanese name is identical to that of the premier Famicom title) rather than another installment in the story.
Notorious for being a slow starter, Castlevania IV has what is possibly one of the most misleading beginnings in the history of games. The first few levels roll by at an almost sedate pace and at the time of release the game was heavily criticised by reviewers who obviously didn’t bother playing past the first few stages. However, whether this pedestrian start was intentional or not on Komami’s part, it turned out to be a masterstroke. Creating an aura of calm through the use of some stunningly beautiful music, the game builds up in both terms of challenge and scope, and as soon as Simon Belmont enters Dracula’s castle proper (which isn’t until level four) the pace and atmosphere change tempo completely.
Using the special features offered by Nintendo’s new console, Konami exploited ‘Mode 7’ to good effect for some fantastically memorable set pieces. The ‘rotating room’ has gone down in videogame history as a truly jaw-dropping moment for many gamers. Smoothly swinging chandeliers, a 3D tunnel that spins around the player and a shrinking stone golem are other standout events. However, it never felt like these graphical touches were gimmicks – they genuinely added to the game. In fact, in spite of these moments, Konami showed remarkable restraint when it came to using the extra power under the hood of the SNES. Many developers at the time were falling over themselves to add needless scaling effects in their titles, to the detriment of game play. Konami gauged it just about right.
Other features worthy of note included some excellent control refinements. Simon could now whip upwards and diagonally and was also able to flail his weapon around to block projectile attacks. All of these additional skills made Simon a much more effective lead character, but strangely Konami never bestowed another Belmont with this level of skill, choosing to revert to the simple controls of the original NES games for the following installments of the series.
The music in this game was some of the finest ever committed to silicon (or CD, for that matter). At times it's hard to believe it’s not CD-based music, such was the stunning power of the SNES sound chip. Classic Castlevania themes appear in slightly updated form, and the original compositions are epic in scope and fit the gothic tone of the game perfectly. A stunning example of music expanding the atmosphere of the visuals was the theme to the underground cave level – a subtle, peaceful tune with delicate string plucks that echo the dripping water displayed onscreen.
Castlevania: Bloodlines/Castlevania: New Generation/Vampire Killer (Mega Drive)
Konami were a relative late-starter when it came to supporting Sega’s Mega Drive, but once they did, no time was wasted in bringing their most treasured franchise to Sega’s machine. Castlevania was one of the first titles to see the light of day, and it showed that the Japanese developer were taking things very seriously. From a purely developmental point of view, they made the Mega Drive do things it was never supposed to do – sprite rotation and scaling in particular – something that hadn’t been seen outside of the SNES. Although different in tone when compared to the beauty of the SNES title, the Sega game was still a worthy addition to the series.
In chronological terms, it was at the time of release the most ‘recent’ Castlevania (until Aria of Sorrow on the Game Boy Advance – which actually takes place in the future). Set in 1917, the masterstroke of this title was that you no longer controlled a Belmont, but the son of Quincy Morris, he of the original Dracula novel fame. Talk about referencing your source material! John Morris (for that was his name) controlled very much the same as the Belmonts that went before him. An additional character, the Spaniard Eric Lecarde, was equipped with a spear and looked a little out of place in his medieval garb. However his presence provided the player with another gameplay option, effectively doubling the replay value of the title. Whereas Morris was the traditional Belmont option and was able to use his whip to swing from objects, Lecarde used his spear to pole-vault over large distances.
Rather than attack Dracula’s castle directly, the player was forced on a road trip of famous European locations, including the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Palace of Versailles, Atlantis and a German Munitions factory, complete with helmet-wearing skeleton enemies! The final destination was Dracula’s castle in the north of England (presumably a reference to Whitby, where Dracula landed in Bram Stoker’s original book – another excellent piece of source material reference). As a result of this globetrotting, Bloodlines felt very different in tone to previous games. Fighting your way through a factory full of army skeletons is fun, but at times it didn’t feel like Castlevania should. Thankfully, there’s some inventive level design and the aforemented graphically trickery lent the game an undeniable ‘wow’ factor. Visually the game was pretty much standard for the Mega Drive – the small colour palette meant the game looked very much the poor relation of the gorgeous Castlevania IV – but there were some genuinely impressive stages (Atlantis springs to mind).
Sonically, the hardware again is the restraining factor here. The tunes were on the whole brilliant, but the Mega Drive’s sound chip simply isn’t up to the task. On more capable hardware the soundtrack would have sounded much better. Regardless of this, there’s still plenty here to like. The first stage theme is packed full of pomp and really gets the pulse going for the adventure ahead.
All in all, Mega Drive fans had no reason to feel short-changed. Konami had really gone to town on the only Sega Castlevania (up to this point) in terms of plot, effects and stage design.
Bloodlines was released as Castlevania: The New Generation in Europe, and the game suffered many pointless changes (the title screen was changed from a pool of blood to a pool of water). Most, if not all of these alterations were due to Germany's rather strict censorship laws.
Dracula X – Rondo of Blood (PC Engine Super CD-ROM)
The ‘lost’ Castlevania, this much sought-after title regularly changes hands for triple-figure sums. The only Castlevania game to never see a release outside of Japan, Dracula X remains a firm fan favourite and is often spoken about in hushed tones. The fact that it’s such a collector’s item obviously counts towards the near-legendary status it has attained. Regardless of this, it’s an amazing achievement, even more so when you consider the relative lowliness of the hardware.
The game marked a turning point for the series in terms of visuals – Konami elected to introduce an ‘anime’ style previously unseen in the franchise. The lead character is Richter Belmont, and as well as fulfilling his family duty he has an extra incentive to tackle big bad Drac – his girlfriend Annette has been kidnapped by the Evil Count, who intends to sacrifice her along with several other girls.
Being the first Castlevania to embrace the medium of CD, you’d expect something special. What we got was sumptuous anime cutscenes, a brilliant soundtrack and a mind-boggling number of levels. The branching structure of Dracula’s Curse made a reappearance, however this time around it’s less obvious what choices you have. Rather than being prompted at the end of the level to pick your next location, as in the NES title, the route taken by the player was determined by different factors whilst playing. This gave many of the routes a ‘secret’ feel, and in the days before FAQs and the internet, finding them all was a real challenge – and it obviously added an incredible amount of replay value, not to mention a genuine feeling of achievement.
Another challenge presented by the game was the locating of hostages. To get the ‘best’ ending you had to free all of the girls kidnapped by Dracula. One of the hostages, the 12-year-old Maria Renard, actually became playable when she was rescued. Ironically she turned out to be a more effective character than Richter himself, and her rather cheap attacks made the game easier to complete. Maria’s character was to reappear, older and wiser, in the 32-bit sequel.
The game was rightly hailed as a masterpiece, and has been ever since. However it would foolish to deny that the reason this game is held in such high regard is partly due to the fact that it never made it to the West, which lends it a sense of almost untouchable mystery. It was supposed to, but a petty falling out between NEC’s American arm, TTI and Konami scuppered any chances of an appearance on Western shores. With the recent release of Castlevania Chronicles for the PlayStation and Konami’s strict policy of closing down any sites that offer the ROM for download, many people are speculating that this classic title will soon be ported to a current generation format. Konami has fallen silent on this matter since the release of Chronicles, but time will tell.
Castlevania: Vampire’s Kiss/Castlevania: Dracula X/Akumajo Dracula XX (SNES)
After the tremendous critical success of the PC Engine Dracula X, Konami made the decision to port the game to the leading console of the moment, the SNES. A sensible move on paper, but one that sadly backfired.
To put it simply, the SNES port was a mess. The most obvious differences are those Konami couldn’t really do anything about – the CD soundtrack is gone (although it has to be stated that the superb SNES sound chip does an excellent job of replicating the PCE originals), as are the anime cutscenes. The number of levels was reduced due to the restrictions of the cartridge format. The stages themselves were only very roughly based on those found in the PCE original, with different enemies and backgrounds. Although the opening stage impresses with its Mode 7 flames, the rest of the game was uninspiring when compared to the excellence and imagination shown in Rondo of Blood. Some of the later level design was downright idiotic. Although there were still hostages to rescue, the player is not given the option to control Maria Renard. Some saw this as a blessing, but most bemoaned the lack of an additional playable character.
Because it was based on what was regarded by many fans as the greatest Castlevania game, Dracula XX was up against it from the start. It’s not a spectacularly bad game by any means. However, coming after a title that had revolutionised the series, it seemed like a step backwards. Due to the fact that it was on more successful hardware, the game did see a Western (and European) release, but in very limited numbers. Consequently, copies exchange hands on eBay for high prices these days but to be brutally honest only completists need apply.
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discuss Classic Game Series: Castlevania (Part 2) feature on the NTSC-uk forums
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Castlevania 4
Castlevania Bloodlines
Dracula X
Dracula XX
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