What a horrible night to have a curse...
Castlevania II was the perfect game to play in 1988. Sitting in your basement with your NES, accompanied by a couple of friends and copy of Nintendo Power – together deciphering the game's cryptic clues and passing the controller around the room to help lessen the boredom of the tedious parts. It was a game tailor-made for what the culture of being a Nintendo gamer was, 20 years ago. But removed from that context, it's lost some of its original appeal.
While the first Castlevania was a linear adventure, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest took the series in a new, free-roaming direction. Similar to the style first seen in Nintendo's Metroid, it was the first time Konami's vampire-hunting series tried its hand at a go-anywhere, fully interconnected game world – which is important, today, because that's how the core Castlevania series has continued to evolve over the years. It was a rough first step in that bold new direction, though, because while Castlevania II's attempt to present an open-ended, explorable Transylvanian countryside was daring, it also came across as incredibly confusing.
You don't know which way to go. Or when to go which way. Or what to do when you do get there – wherever there is. The story of Simon's Quest is that our hero, Simon Belmont, was cursed by Dracula at the end of their last encounter and that Simon must reunite the Count's scattered body parts to resurrect the dark lord, then kill him all over again. And that's all well and good, but, in-game, there isn't sufficient information presented to you to tell you where those body parts are. Or how to acquire them when you do manage to find them.
You were in good shape, in 1988, if you had your friends and your Nintendo Power at the ready – because the gaming guides and general collective knowledge of other players in that age were the perfect solution. And, again today, you can try to reclaim some of that bygone era by pointing your browser to a walkthrough or FAQ. But it's not the same. Advancing through Simon's Quest means knowing abstract answers to obtuse riddles, like how to summon the boatman to take you across the lake. Or what crystal to equip to summon the tornado. Or how to destroy the orb encasing Dracula's rib.
And even if the extreme lack of direction in the game isn't an issue for you, there are still several other potentially frustrating elements introduced here that you'll need to adapt to – like the monotonous money-gathering required when you need to purchase new items or weapons from hidden shopkeepers, and random holes in labyrinth floors that look like they should be perfectly solid surfaces to walk across. Additionally, an ever-present night/day time progression system randomly asserts, every few minutes, that evening has either fallen or been banished by the rising sun – when it's night time, enemies are twice as strong and townspeople, including healers, disappear.
What Castlevania II does right, though, is be a Castlevania game. In look and feel, in control and especially in its audio presentation, Simon's Quest is a true entry into the franchise series – Simon Belmont is once again the hero, he's once again wielding his whip and jumping, stiffly, through the air with unalterable trajectory, and his soundtrack is still absolutely amazing. This sequel's score is especially impressive for its introduction of Bloody Tears, the song that has gone on to become one of the signature musical pieces for the entire series.Read full review
