User Reviews (1 - 11 of 15)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Best NES game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania, was by far the best game when it was released and maybe the best NES game of all time. To this day I'm amazed how great the graphics were. Each level is different, with different enemies. It was a little challenging, which is good because games from that time included approximately 7 levels of play.

I highly recommend this game.

Castlevania - NES

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania is a classic side scrolling action game in which you play a character by the name of Belmont. Armed with a whip and the occasional throwing cross, dagger or axe you set off to fight the evil minions of Dracula. Your goal is to put an end to Dracula, but to do that you must beat countless levels which will test your jumping and whipping capabilities. At the end of each level you will square off against a boss character such as Medusa, Frankenstein and Death. The graphics are not that great, but honestly it's an NES game so you can't hold that against it. What matters is the gameplay which is very simple. You can jump, duck and fire off your two weapons. You will have mastered Belmont after the first mission. What you won't master right away though is the difficulty of this game. No passwords and difficult enemies (especially bosses) are waiting for you. This can make the game frustrating at times, but once you memorize the patterns of the enemy you should do just fine. Overall, it's worth checking out this title and seeing the roots of such a great series.

This is not Simple Simon who eats pies, this is Simon the Knight!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is very hard, but very fun at the same time! In Castlevania, you get unlimited continues, not suprised.
Now for the scores...

Sound 9/10 Very good sound effects for a NES console!

Music 11/10 Awesome music!! The music on level (not stage) 3 is my favorite.

Gameplay 8/10 Very good gameplay!

Difficulty 7/10 This game is a little too hard!! Some of the enemies can be very frustrating. Like the Hunchback for instance.
You can't get passwords, what a shame...

Overall: 9.7/10

Take the Vampire Killer in Hand

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

No matter how you slice it, the original Castlevania on the NES was a milestone for its time. Great graphics, music and atmosphere made this one of the more popular NES titles to get. Of course, it suffers in a couple of key areas: particularly the difficulty. Wii owners now have a chance to download this classic for 500 Wii Points, and no classic controller is needed to enjoy it.

Castlevania revolves around the Belmont clan. You play as Simon Belmont out to stop Dracula, who has been revived and is going to wreck some havoc. It's the Belmont's job to stop him every time he is revived, and in this game you'll do it as Simon.

Castlevania is made up of six levels, and they're not really all that long. At the end of each level is a boss. Getting through the levels can prove to be an arduous task, however. Castlevania, like a lot of great NES classics, is hard. Very hard. Along with such classics as Mega Man and Contra, Castlevania ranks as one of the hardest games on the NES, and it's not all due to level design. Your movements feel a little stiff sometimes, and there are moments when things are just... not fair. Such as when you jump but you don't see the Medusa head coming at you, and so instead of landing, you get knocked into a pit. You also can't control your character while he jumps. If you're jumping to the left, you can't stop yourself from going left while in midair. Sometimes these small quarks can be a pain, but once you get used to it, the game is really quite fun.

As you progress through the levels Simon has the ability to upgrade his whip. It starts off as just a normal whip, but you can find an upgrade (usually early on in a level) to a morning star, and then a third time into a bigger morning star to extend his range. There are also subweapons you can use such as knives and axes. These consume hearts, which are easily replenished by smashing candles or killing enemies. For a first outing, Castlevania is fantastic.

The Castlevania series is known for having some of the greatest music in the video game industry. Even back 20 years ago, its clear that Castlevania was something else in terms of its music. Its gothic and dark, and just all around sounds really good. This is mainly because the music of the game clearly sets the mood. You won't hear anything light here, and it even gives the game's already dark tone a creepy atmosphere to boot. Countless tracks have been remixed in later installments. For an NES game, the music is some of the best you'll hear on the system.

Graphically Castlevania would've been considered a powerhouse. It's extremely colorful, the sprites are extremely detailed and so are your enemies. There are even things in the background that get some attention. Castlevania set a bar for the NES. Throughout all this, the game consistently keeps its dark atmospheric look in tact. There are times when the game flickers and whatnot, but this is an NES game, it's to be expected.

The only thing that really keeps Castlevania down is its unforgiving difficulty. You get an infinite amount of continues, at least, but those new to Castlevania will probably find themselves frustrated with it. Even some people who consider themselves gaming experts will have some frustration with this game the first time through. Thankfully, however, the game is fun, and if you really are getting tortured, just remember it's only for six levels.

The Good

+Graphically impressive for the time
+The music has definitely survived the test of time
+Dark, atmospheric look remains consistent and never changes
+Even for the first outing, Castlevania had quite a variety added to the gameplay

The Bad

-Really difficult game

One of the best video games ever made...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game impacted the gaming world in a way you'd never know. This video game started it all! This is the first of the series where you are Simon Belmont, and you are on your journey to slay Dracula. This game is creepy, this game, or should I say the whole Castlevania series has some of the best music ever compiled for a video game in history! That is saying alot seeing how games like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy and D-Force all had great music. This game has average graphics(what can you say for a NES game?). The gameplay is great, you will be having fun for a long time, and get the rest of the series as well, it's worth it guaranteed...

Caslevania

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is a true classic. It can be challenging, but it is definetly worth playing. If you don't have it, I recommend buying it.

A Classic!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 04, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game brings back so many fond memories. It was a very tough game, no saving or passwords, so you had to start over every time you wanted to play. In my opinion this game features some of the best video game music of the time. Some of the themes in this game have been redone in newer castlevania games. Titles such as "Vampire Killer" are classic and add to the creepiness of this game. The levels are challanging, and overall a highly addictive game.

Where it all began

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Over the years, Konami has become one of the best-known video gaming third party corporations out there - for a number of reasons. But, their most popular series of all would have to be the vampire-killing franchise, Castlevania. Konami released the first installment of the series on Japanese consoles in 1986. The American arcade game got its release the same year. And the following year, 1987, the game reached American consoles. Read on for my review of Castlevania - the first game in a now-legendary franchise.

PROS:
-FOR ITS DAY AND AGE, THESE WERE SOME OF THE BEST VIDEO GAME GRAPHICS OUT THERE. The on-screen graphics move along at a pretty decent pace, and slow-down is very minimal. As far as the NES in the eighties goes, the graphics didn't get a whole lot better than this.
-PLAY CONTROL IS SIMPLE AND TO THE POINT. Basically you move, crouch, jump, attack, and attack with a secondary weapon. This was one of the first video games to feature a secondary weapon - a video gaming feature which has since been copied countless times.
-IT'S CHALLENGING. If you're a fan of side-scrolling platformers and you're looking for a good challenge, this game will give you the best of both worlds!

CONS:
-THERE ARE NO PASSWORDS OR BATTERIES IN THE GAME, SO YOU MUST START OVER EVERY TIME YOU PLAY! This is just inexcusable, and it greatly hurts the replay value. Hopefully if Konami rereleases the game as part of a "classics" collection, they will fix this problem.

-PLAY CONTROL CAN SEEM VERY STIFF AT TIMES. Your character has no midair jump control whatsoever, which can make life a living hell. Also, having to hold up on the control pad to use a secondary weapon can be a pain. And let's not forget about scaling flights of stairs - that's where the control is at its worse.
-THIS GAME IS MORE OF A CHALLENGE THAN THE AVERAGE GAMER WILL WANT. I know, there are some die-hard gamers out there that live for a good challenge - but I bet this game will be too difficult even for them.

OVERALL:
Overall this is a very good game for being the first entry in the series, but in comparison to later games in the series it just isn't that great. The NES follow-ups, Simon's Quest and Dracula's Curse, are WAY better (even if Simon's Quest is a drastically different game.) Still, if you're a sucker for eight-bit side-scrollers, you can't go wrong with this game.

Good intro to a classic series

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: July 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Here's the 1987 debut of a now legendary series. Unfortunately, it was not without its flaws. Read on for pros and cons:

PROS:

-Excellent arcade style gameplay
-Secondary weapons add to the experience

CONS:

-Sometimes lacking variety
-Midair jump control extremely sluggish
-Some sections EXTREMELY difficult
-NO PASSWORDS! Gotta start over in every sitting

A decent game overall but not a great one. Only get it if you're a collector, or just desperate to try it. The game itself isn't great, but it's got high nostalgia value.

The Start of the Series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: December 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

"Castlevania" was one of the first games for the NES; as a result, you can expect somewhat stiff, challenging gameplay, placed in an extremely addictive formula.

As Simon Belmont you are required to kill Dracula for some reason. Although it wouldn't be explained WHY until Castlevania II, all you need to know for this game is that Dracula is bad and must die. Dracula knows this, and so has a cast of minions at his disposal, including Medusa, Frankenstein, and the Mummy.

Because the game was made in 1986, quite a few of the religous undertones were axed for the game. Holy Water is called the "firebomb," whereas the Cross is called the boomerang. Still, everybody knew what these sub-weapons REALLY were.

The game offers detailed graphics (for the time) as well as absolutely amazing music and sound effects (it took a lot of work on Konami's part to get Simon to grunt when he was hurt.) The music for the first level has become a staple of the game series.

The game, however, is hard. Very, very hard. The furthest I ever got was to the dungeon, right after you beat Frankenstein and Igor. With no password feature, this means that you'll be playing the game for quiet some time before you fight Dracula--provided, of course, you ever get that far in the game.

Still, a great game that deserves a place in any classic video game collection.

Review Page: 1 2 Next 

Actions