Castlevania

The original Nintendo is one of the most important game consoles in history. It almost single-handedly brought the video game industry back from the dead. While Nintendo's first-party IPs like Super Mario Bros. & Donkey Kong can claim a lot of the credit, the third-parties did their share, too. One of the games that made playing Nintendo a cool pastime was the original Castlevania. However, while many of the games that were popular during the era just don't hold up anymore, Simon Belmont's first mission to destroy Dracula does ... for the most part.

Those who started the series with Symphony of the Night or Lords of Shadow would probably be confounded when they take control of Simon. His whip can be strengthened via pick-ups twice, and he can hold one sub-weapon powered by heart pick-ups, but that's it as far as his abilities are concerned. His movements and attacks are very mechanical. He can only jump straight up or in mostly fixed arcs. Course correction while in mid-air is very limited. Likewise, he can only use his whip in a horizontal manner. The only variety to his attacks come from the sub-weapons. Those would be sufficient for a game this old, except for one thing: the difficulty. This is one of the games that defined the concept of "NES hard". While the enemy placements and attacks never reach the level of unfairness like games like Silver Surfer, they can still reach a level of nerve-wracking that modern gamers aren't used to. Dodging Medusa heads while hopping platforms can get aggravating enough to make people throw in the towel right there, especially since hits knock Simon back, usually right into the nearest pit.

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Fortunately, there's plenty of good stuff to make the frustration bearable. The level design is challenging without being confusing. Even the levels that involve going up or down multiple levels are still very straightforward to navigate. Believe me, the game is tough enough without having to worry about getting lost. The variety of monsters keep every level interesting. Aside from the haunted house stand-bys like skeletons and bats, there are also famous creatures like the Frankenstein monster and Medusa. The visuals and music have also held up remarkably well. The art design survived its 8-bit trappings largely intact. The bit-tunes making the soundtrack still have a great feel even now.

The original Castlevania is not for everyone. Let's face it; its relentless difficulty is a huge hurdle for new players to get over. However, unlike other fiendishly difficult games like Chakan, I felt compelled to push my way through this one without giving up. The atmosphere stayed pleasing throughout, and the unlimited continues were a godsend. While not a lot of NES games are worth loading up nowadays, Simon's first quest is still worth taking.