CASTLEVANIA

I thought I'd make a post about what used to be my favourite series of all time: Castlevania. First, I want to get down all of the CV games I've played, and figure out which ones I've missed along the way. Second, I'm going to try to rank the top CV games as I see it.

The List:

NES
Castlevania
Castlevania II - Simon's Quest
Castelvania III - Dracula's Curse

GB
Castlevania The Adventure
Castlevania II - Belmont's Revenge
Castlevania Legends

SNES
Castlevania - Dracula X
Super Castlevania IV

TGSCD
Castlevania - Rondo of Blood

GEN
Castlevania: Bloodlines

GBA
Castlevania - Circle of the Moon
Castlevania - Harmony of Dissonance
Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow

PSX
Castlevania - Symphony of the Night

PS2
Castlevania - Lament of Innocence
Castlevania Chronicles

PSP
Castlevania - The Dracula X Chronicles

Whew. That's a lot of Castlevania. 17 games about Dracula.

I believe I've missed out on (debatable, really) the two N64 games, two DS games (Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin) and Curse of Darkness for PS2/Xbox. (And let's not forget the upcoming Quantum of Solace... :T) While I don't care to try the two N64 games, I'll probably finally get around to some CV action on my DS.

Anyway, here's my top five, out of the above pool:

5. Belmont's Revenge (GB)
4. Symphony of the Night (PSX)
3. Super Castlevania IV (SNES)
2. Lament of Innocence (PS2)
1. Dracula's Curse (NES)

If I've got the energy, I'll post some reasons later.

Comments 10

Suskie Aug 25, 2008

Yeah, the DS games are worth playing, but Curse of Darkness you might want to skip.

bluberry Aug 25, 2008

interesting. I thought Lament was pretty cool and had good combat, but second best? don't see that often.

Masters Blogger Aug 25, 2008

Yeah Mike, I heard CoD sucked, so I'll probably take that advice (or KEEP taking it) to stay away.

Blu: I recently replayed a lot of these games, so the nostalgia factor has been ripped off its hinges for me. I think that colours things a bit for folks. I always wanna ask: "have you played such-and-such lately?"

Lament, while flawed, holds up rather well. The glut of SotN also-rans do not... The first NES title holds up surprisingly well, but it's still a bit cheap and punishing and is outdone in all areas by the much more accomplished CVIII.

Dracula X can't help but be overrated, I know, due to the heavy doses of hype it was receiving back in the day--but with the 'new' PSP two-pack bringing Drac X out into the light so to speak, everyone can finally see that sure, it was a lost gem, but not at the top of the food chain as we were once told.

fair enough, I'll definitely agree that a lot of games can suck if you go back to them. I tried to replay Jedi Knight the other day... painful.

the GB Castlevania over Rondo, though? now I truly know you've gone mad.

Masters Blogger Aug 26, 2008

Have you played Belmont's Revenge? It's a lot of fun. Great music, too. Rondo is good -- I'd probably give it a 7 now -- but the 'getting bumped around eating damage' hit system sucks hard. And I generally just don't have as much fun with it, for all its obvious good points.

overdrive Staff Aug 27, 2008

I've never even considered playing any of the GB Castlevania, so you putting one in your series' top 5 intrigues me. I will have to look into them at some time.

Masters Blogger Aug 27, 2008

Rob: I don't know about putting 'them' in your head... leave Origins alone -- it's really, really weak. Probably in the BOTTOM 3 CV games ever made. The Adventure is challenging, but excruciatingly plodding with some imprecise controls (which adds unnecessarily to the challenge). Only Belmont's Revenge is any fun.

psychopenguin Aug 28, 2008

As long as we all agree Simon's Quest is the worst.

overdrive Staff Aug 28, 2008

So, save Origins for a fun bash-review day and play Belmont's Revenge for a good day.

Simon's Quest would probably be one of those games I'd file in that category of games I used to like that I can't stand anymore. I liked having a Castlevania game that was easy to beat, as I had to be in the right frame of mind to play the first or third. And, for the NES, the game looked pretty good. And, since I got Nintendo Power, I got answers to the game's bizarre idea of puzzles (kneeling for "x" amount of time at one specific spot to summon wind to take you somewhere else; invisible pits in mansions).

Now, it just sucks other than having a good atmosphere for an old game (I still like how, as you get closer to Dracula, things kinda unravel in the world, like how in the last town, the few people seem like they've gone a bit insane). And the presence of SotN and its far more effective methods of making a CV game with RPG elements completely makes SQ obsolete in every which way, shape or form.

Sometime, I'll have to get around to reviewing it. I see a 3-4 in its future.

Masters Blogger Aug 29, 2008

I totally agree with you both. Simon's Quest is definitely the worst CV game. Haha, "Craplevania" -- I just checked out PP's 2/10 review for it. Looks about right.