Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (Nintendo, 1988)

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.

In Castlevania II, a curse has filled the land of Transylvania since the last time Dracula was defeated. You embark on a quest as Simon Belmont to gather Dracula's parts in order to resurrect him and defeat him again to rid the curse. The game is a side scrolling action-adventure, with role-playing elements. It alternates between day and night about every 7 minutes. During the day, you will come across towns where you can gather clues and information from the town's folk about where to find Dracula's parts, hidden castles, and other goodies. You will have to buy weapon upgrades, and other items with hearts that enemies drop after being defeated. In most towns there is a healer in the church that can refill your health. At night, all the people go inside and lock their doors while evil creatures terrorize the neighborhood. This is a good time to start racking up hearts, because although the enemies take twice as many hits to kill, they also pay out twice as much.

Compared to other Castlevania titles, this is one of the easiest to get through because of unlimited lives, but you probably won't make it the first time without consulting a walk through. Knowing where to go or what to do next isn't always obvious and can sometimes be very frustrating. At least with unlimited lives, you can keep trudging on until you eventually figure out what you need to do, or you summon the aforementioned walk through on the internet. There is also a password feature to save your progress.

The music is some of the most memorable of the NES era. The songs are catchy and capture the mood of the game very well.

Castlevania II is one of my favorite NES games, and one of my favorite games of all time for that matter.

-Joe Enriquez

Many people do not like this game.
I love it.
Start with the first Castlevania if you are new to the series, and keep in mind this is nothing like the 3D versions.

Did you know that The Black Dahlia Murder (metal band) took a phrase from this game to title a song & album?
As night falls, everything transforms into the dead, the screen reads -What a horrible night to have a curse-

The darkhorse of the NES Castlevania trilogy, and really doesnt resemble any other Castlevania ever made. Its a love it or hate it game, and personally I love it.

The open worlds you get to explore in between the towns are an exciting change from the normal atmosphere of Draculas castle. There are swamps, mountains, graveyards, and large lakes to explore. Its a different feel from other Castlevanias but I love it for its creativity and execution.

The one downside is the fact that its not straight forward at all. Its a "Nintendo Power game" where you need to flip through the pages of your strategy guide in order to figure out where to go next.

Another flaw is the fact that the bosses are a HUGE letdown. Castlevania bosses are traditionally epic encounters that will beat you down repeatedly. But here they are real pushovers and provide no challenge whatsoever, not to mention there are only 3 of them in the whole game.

Shortcummings aside its fantastic and should be played by all fans of the NES, Castlevania, or just videogames in general.

One of the hardest Castlevania games ever, but the graphics and music are exceptional and make up for the difficulty level for the 8-bit NES system. it has more of a non-linear style with RPG elements. kind of like Zelda ||, it has sort of a back and forth kind of game play which is enjoyable and pulls you into the game more. although it doesn't save, like many of the NES games at the time, it does have an easy to use password system to save the game without using a save battery.