Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest

Castlevania was a cakewalk compared to this bloody curse. You thought you had the Prince of Darkness defanged - eh, Simon Belmont? Well think again, 'cause according to a damsel in distress, evil Count Dracula has left a horrifying curse in his wake. And the only hope you have of ending the terror is to destroy his missing body parts! Talk about your frightening quest, searching a maze of mansions, graveyards and dark, eerie forests - each guarded by man-eating werewolves, fire-throwing zombies and other devilish demons. Your grim chances are kept alive in Transylvania, where cowardly villagers offer clues to the whereabouts of Dracula's remains. And where you'll purchase magic weapons, including silver knives and flame whips. But beware the night. For when the sun disappears, Dracula's curse grows deadlier. And your chances grow dimmer and dimmer.


Castlevania 2 is in many ways the forerunner of what is now usually associated with the Castlevania franchise; an action title with nonlinear based gameplay with various RPG elements woven into the mix (making this more of a sequel to Vampire Killer, see Castlevania). 


In Castlevania 2 you retake the role of the whip bearing hero Simon Belmont 7 years after the defeat of his nemesis. Besides receiving terrible injuries, after the confrotation Simon was cursed. The only way of ridding himself of the curse is to summon Dracula again and destroy. But to summon the dark lord, he must first search for all of his body parts which are scattered across the land. 


Like in many adventure titles, Simon starts out relatively weak but during his travels, but he may acquire different weapons and items to aid him in his quest. These items are sometimes purchased in to salesmen in different towns. Others are scattered through the land and must be searched for. Also, leveling up is very useful as it increases your life bar (hit points). 


Like its predecessor its graphics and sound are some of the best the NES produced, and it has an even more eerie quality to it. Most of the series defining traits are there (skeletons, mermen, hearts, among others), and those introduced are of the same quality. Also it has three different endings (depending on how long you take) which gives it more replay value. 

As great as those attributes may be, it does have some limitations. For starters 8 bit sound and graphics might not be enough for some gamers. Controls are very similar to the previous game and might seem a little stiff and unresponsive for younger gamers (though many fangame makers intentionally incorporate these elements into their games). Also unless you play the Famicom version, there will be no save just long passwords (though emulation may solve this issue). However its main drawback is it's clue system. 


The original Japanese version had false clues to make things a little more interesting. However poor translation made some clues too misleading, and one of the puzzles in the game lacks any clues. This has been the cause of much criticism and hence there is usually mixed opinions of this game. 


In any case this is certainly one of the NES and even Action/Adventure/RPG's classics. Future installments (such as Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow) owe much to this game which gave birth to the term metroidvania which is more than enough proof of its legacy. So if you are a fan of this series, or like NES hard 8 bit challenges and exploration you should give this game a try (just give it a little slack and I'm sure you'll be more than glad you did). However impatient gamers beware, this game can get on your nerves and you may not be able to enjoy it.


As for my own opinion, I can only say some of my most cherished memories are linked to this game so it is just not possible for me to be objective. However I can point out that I was capable of completing the game without cheating when it came out and hence it can be done (however I did have plenty of free time back then)...


Play Castlevania 2 : Simon's Quest online at nintendo8.com


Related Games

• Castlevania
• Symphony of the Night: One of the most acclaimed games in the series that features the son of Dracula (and platformers period). This game reaped the RPG/exploration seeds in this game. Since this game came out most Castlevanias adhere to the "metroidvania" tradition. 

Additional links


Some useful romhacks that correct the problems mentioned:

• Castlevania-fan wikia - Castlevania II : Simon's redaction; fixes typos and poor translation making it posible to finish the game without relying on strategy guides.
• Romhacking.net - Castlevania II SRAM Hack; adds savegame feature (an emulator can do that though).

Some tips to help you get through it:

• GameFAQs.com
• Cheat code guides.com

And finally a few sources of information on this and other Castlevania titles:

• Castlevania wikia
• The Inverted Dungeon
• Chapel of Resonance