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jlb1185's Castlevania (NES)
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| [February 28, 2013 11:33:49 AM]
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Castlevania: Wednesday, February 27, 2012
Castlevania is single player horror themed action game originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in which the player is cased as the vampire slayer Simon Belmont. The player’s objective is to travel though Dracula’s castle, fighting various monstrous enemies and bosses, until the player finally reaches Dracula for a dual to the end.
= Console =
Though Castlevania was originally released on the NES, from my play though, I utilized an NES emulator on my computer called Jnes, website below, and an X-Box Afterglow Wired remote, link to picture below, to mimic the play and feel of the original NES. I didn’t find much difference in the overall game play using this system as opposed to using a genuine NES, except the moment in which the game would glitch, would have to determine if that was an issue with the emulator or the game itself. All the glitches I came across I determined that it was an issue with the game not the emulator. As far as the feel of the game was concerned, nothing can replace the original feel of an NES rectangular controller playing the game on an old box TV, but my current setup is a nice substitute which doesn’t take away from game play despite the fact that the X-box controller’s D-pad is a little inconvenient. Another minor issue with not owning the original game is the lack of an owner’s manual. This is a problem because the player then has to learn to use their secondary attack by shear trial and error.
The controls for Castlevania are as follows:
Move left and right -> (NES) left and right on D-pad (Jnes) left and right on D-pad of xbox controller
Jump -> (NES) A (Jnes) A
Primary Attack -> (NES) B (Jnes) X
Secondary Attack -> (NES) Up + B (Jnes) Up + X
Crouch -> (NES) Down (Jnes) Down
= Graphics and Sound =
The graphics and sound are what set up the horror theme to the whole game. As far as the graphics go, they do a good job of depicting a creepy old castle with the level of technology of the NES time. The levels of the game are rendered pretty well though, there is an issue of knowing when something is a block that can be moved upon or is just a part of the background due to the fact that they can sometimes blind together because of the color scheme used. There is also the issue with the graphic glitching causing you or an enemy to phase and sometimes be complete invisible for a second or two. This can be an issue for players when an enemy glitches though an attack or a player gets hit and keeps getting hit because they cannot see themselves. Unfortunately, this was a problem with some of the games for the NES just due to the technology constraint.
As far as sound goes, Castlevania manages well when it comes to sound. The music of the game is an upbeat 8-bit style with a horror undertone to provide the horror feel while keeping it fast enough for the action game play. The game also does well by providing sounds for almost all possible actions. From a throwing a dagger to pausing the game, it has a sound for that.
Overall, both the graphics and the sounds were the best for the time that the game was released.
= Play though =
Though the first three levels, I really didn’t have much of a hard time. The level designs seemed really basic and the face that the play practically starts out with the strongest whip at the beginning of the game helps the player get through these levels really quickly. The only real challenge though these levels occurs in every level and that is the small monsters. With their small hit box it can be easy to miss them, which become even more of a problem in later levels because all monsters do the same amount of damage based on the current level you are in. Another issue I had on these levels was the fact that I would accidently fall off the edge of the platforms. This was due to the fact that in order to actually go up and down stairs, the player must hold the respective button when first getting on the stairs. This means that if a player were to just hold right hoping he would automatically go down the stairs, he would then proceed to fall through those stairs rather than go down them. This was an issue for me do to modern gaming normally allowing for such a function. Level four isn’t hard as far as progressing though the level. What makes it difficult is the boss fight. At the fourth level, the play actually fights two enemies at once, Igor and Frankenstein. A similar issue presents itself in level five when fighting Death. Death has 4 flying scythes that track the player dealing 4 damage if they manage to land a hit. Since a player is only allowed 16 life, if a player is hit with all 4 scythes in a short period of time, they are dead and have to restart the level. Finally, the last level was the most difficult. The reason for this is the way the level is set up. It is nearly impossible to go through this level by destroying all of the enemies. The level begins with 4 of the level one boss bats in a row that deal 4 damage if they hit you. Then the next have of the level has imps being dropped in randomly by ravens coming into the screen. The best way I found to get though the level is to run until you make it to Dracula’s bed chamber. Now comes the big boss fight. I actually had a lot of difficulty beating him, ie. I died a lot, but thank fully, the game allows for a continue that the beginning of a level and the game considers Dracula’s chamber as a new level. It takes a lot of practice and a bit of luck. Dracula has two forms. In my opinion, his first form is much more difficult than his second. In both form, the objective is to hit his face with an attack. In his first form, his vanishes and appears at random as well as having a small head and throwing fire ball. In his second from, he becomes bigger, jumps around, and still shots fireballs. With the bigger face to hit as well as a set jump path, his second form is actually easier to handle. At the end of the game, Dracula’s castle crumbles into itself and the credits roll.
= Overall =
Castlevania is an interesting challenge for the more serious gamer. More casual gamers, though, may find that the later level designs and boss fights too frustrating to allocate the hours to finish the game. Regardless, it is still a landmark in game design by developing a stepping stone when which action side-scrollers can improve upon.
=Sources=
Jnes: http://www.jabosoft.com/categories/1
Controller: http://bwone.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/pdp-xbox360-afterglow-1.jpg
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 28th, 2013 at 11:34:48.
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jlb1185's Castlevania (NES)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Wednesday 27 February, 2013
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