Party at Drac's castle.
Castlevania
The game that started everything, you play as this little vampire hunter that wields a whip as his weapon of choice. Stiff jump-arcs that you commit to once your feet leave the ground, sub-weapons that consume hearts(Including the Dagger, the Axe, the Holy Water, the Cross and the Stop-watch) as well as a high difficulty level. You'll learn to hate the fleamen and the medusa heads. The game has aged a bit, definitely, but I had fun. While a Rewind feature is sorely missed, Save States made the game more enjoyable in this modern age.
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Talk about a game with a bad rep! I tried the game before, using emulators, and it always felt boring and needlessly boring. And the poor translation does make a somewhat confusing game even more confusing. But it was fun. Instead of it being a linear romp, this is more of an adventure game, as you get an open world-ish to explore, and you'll need to get items to get through obstacles... as if it was a proto-Metroidvania. I managed to reach the first Manor by myself, but afterwards, feeling lost, I started using a guide. With a guide in hand, the game is fun, as long as you can live with having to consult a guide as you play. And you need a guide. What does each item do? Where to use the garlic? Why would you try using holy water on empty houses? Forget your pride, and start the game while using a guide.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Castlevania 1 is a great game that has aged a bit. Castlevania 2 is a great game under the right conditions, but Castlevania 3 is sublime. It takes after the first CV, so back to stiff movement and linear stages. But now you can recruit one of three possible characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Add to that the fact that the game features multiple choices as well as different bosses. This game is amazing. That said, it's also cheap and hard, like most games of the era. Once again, Save States help alleviate this.
Super Castlevania IV
You can whip in 8 different directions, the future is now. That aside, it feels like a smoother take on the Classicvania formula, as Simon is slightly more nimble this time around. This was the first CV game on the SNES and it looks the part. It's pretty lengthy and features fun stages. While it starts off super easy, the latter stages are TOUGH.
Castlevania: The Adventure
The first entry on the Gameboy, this game is.... the worst game in this collection, and it might very well be the worst Castlevania game out there. Sub weapons are not a thing in this game, for the first time ine the series, and you lose your whip power ups when you get hit, which is just criminal. The cherry on top? The game is super slow.
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
But oldschool Konami, the good Konami, wasn't about to give up on the system. Sub-weapons are back into the mix, you no longer lose your whip power ups and it plays faster, making it very enjoyable. In a bit of a twist, you can play the initial four stages in any order. It's not as good as the console games, but for a GB entry, it gets the job done and then some.
Castlevania Bloodlines
The only Castlevania on Genesis, this one is the weird one of the bunch. It plays like a cross of CV1 with CV4. You get two playable characters, one fights with a spear, can attack upwards and perform high jumps, while the other one fights with a whip, can swing on ceilings and attack downwards when jumping. There are four different sub-weapons in the game, the Dagger, Holy Water, the Boomerang and a special subweapon you can only use when fully powered up. Subweapons consume crystals instead of hearts, your maximum weapon power up only lasts until you get hit, and the game features a very unique set of bosses that you haven't seen before, except Dracula and Death. It's... I wouldn't say it's among my favorites, but it's not a bad game by any means.
Kid Dracula
Now this one is even weirder, as the connection with Castlevania is a bit tenuous. While you could argue weather Kid Dracula is, well, a Kid version of Drac or if he is Alucard, one thing is certain: This feels like a parody of Castlevania. You'll come across familiar obstacles as well as familiar, but cute-ified versions of enemies from Castlevania. As for the game itself, it's a pretty easy 2-D platformer, and you get new powers pretty much after every level, keeping things interesting.
Overall, I thought Castlevania Anniversary Collection was a great way to relieve these classics. I would've liked a rewind feature, but having a save state is enough... even if it's the bare minimum. There are a few other bells and whistles, such as Japanese versions of every game as well as an art gallery too. All in all, I had a blast finally playing these games from beginning to end.
8.0
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