When you hear the name “Dracula”, you might likely call to mind the famous novel written by Bram Stoker, or maybe the numerous movies or TV shows featuring the blood-sucking antagonist. For years, the story of Count Dracula has been told many times over, with different spins of how he wrecked havoc on normal humans and such things. I dare say that there isn’t a person on Earth who hasn’t heard of the guy at least once in the course of their lifetime. So given the popularity of this character, it was only natural that Dracula would eventually be featured in video games in the mid-to-late 80’s, when gaming found a new life on the Nintendo Entertainment System. And sure enough, in 1987, Konami released Castlevania– a game that featured a whip-wielding hero on a mission to defend the local townsfolk and stop Dracula’s bite for good, or so he hoped.

You’ll have to help Simon battle zombies, bats, walking skeletons and sewer creatures known as “Fishmen”– just to name a few. Enemies like the zombies or bats are the easiest to get rid of, as they are among the weakest of your foes. Simon starts out with his trusty whip, which can be powered up twice by destroying candles or normal enemies along the way. With each power up, Simon’s whip gets longer, which will help you out greatly in those times when it’s more conducive to attack from a distance. There’s also a good selection of secondary items that can be used during your character’s journey. You’ll be able to utilize such weapons as the dagger, axe, holy water, and Boomerang. Simon has stamina points that get drained every time you use one of your secondary items. Stamina can be restored by collecting hearts from candles or fallen enemies just like all the other items in the game. Also, Simon’s health bar can be restored by finding roast beef dinners hidden in the faulty bricks in the castle. I guess we should give Dracula some credit for at least being kind enough to feed our hero before he makes an attempt on Simon’s life. Of course, only Dracula would be evil enough to hide these instant meals in the walls of his castle. Makes for a more challenging game actually.

Speaking of challenge, almost every section in the game presents its own particular tough spot. Some areas can be a bit daunting to pass through when you have to jump across chasms or water, while fighting off enemies conveniently placed in your path. But that’s really just a minor irritant, compared to what’s in store in the later levels. The major difficulties mostly come from the stronger common enemies, such as the skeleton snake, which block hallways and take about 6 hits to kill with your whip. It doesn’t help that the monster follows your every movement and spits fire.
The bosses at the end of each section are no walk in the park to kill either. You’ll be going up against the likes of Madusa, twin Mummies, and Frankenstein & Igor.
As difficult as Castlevania can get, Konami did well in placing a couple of continue points in each section that you’ll be traveling though in every level. In addition, you have unlimited continues at your disposal. The only downside to this is that you’re forced to start at the very beginning of that particular level when using a continue. Even so, it’s way better than only having a few chances to get it right, or start the whole game all over again.

Admittedly, the controls are a mixed bag. While on foot, Simon moves with ease and looks just fine. That changes a bit though, when he has to jump to different platforms. Part of the problem is that you can’t change direction while in the air, which means big time trouble if you suddenly have second thoughts about taking that leap just a second ago. It also would have been nice if Simon could strike with the whip a little faster too. This is really just a personal gripe, but he seems to attack maybe a half second slower between hits than I’m comfortable with at times. Also, when Simon takes a hit, he gets knocked backwards by about an inch. This presents a real challenge because enemies will constantly be a threat to your crossing platforms…especially when you’re on a short one with little or no room to safely dodge their attacks.
On a more positive note, the controller configuration is very easy and simple to use. This is very good because you’ll likely need to focus all of your concentration past those difficulties mentioned earlier. No complaints here.

Another high point for Castlevania is the quality audio that this game has. From start to finish, each tune selection is well composed and really goes well with the whole Dracula storyline. In fact, the often moody music goes hand in hand with the wonderful graphics mentioned above. It’s somewhat rare that these two things in particular fit together as well as they do in this game. My personal favorite is the music in the third level. It just sounds really cool, in my opinion.
The sound effects hold up just as nicely too. You’ll hear all the usual 8-bit Konami-type effects here. Mostly high pitched, bouncy sound effects add a lighthearted balance to the overall serious feel of the game. And really, Konami has always been very good at providing a nice audio experience in many of the games that they’ve produced over the years. Castlevania is certainly no slacker.

Play or Stay?Castlevania is truly an outstanding game from Konami. Despite the few irritations that can be found in this game, it doesn’t take anything away from the better parts of this fine title. Since 1987, Castlevania has had sequels across a great span of consoles, including the Sega Genesis, Playstation, and DS. In fact, I’m pretty sure that this is one of the longest running series that is still relevant to the gaming community today. In fact, it eclipses other well known games like Madden NFL and even Square’s Final Fantasy series. It’s definitely worth having in your collection and is also a great way to see how one of the most popular names in gaming history got its start.