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

Metroid

"DEFEAT THE METROID OF THE PLANET ZEBETH AND DESTROY THE MOTHER BRAIN THE MECHANICAL LIFE VEIN

GALAXY FEDERAL POLICE

M510"

Metroid was one of the first games that appeared on the NES, and is an adventure plaforming game with a vey heavy emphasys on exploration. You play the role of Samus Aran, an avid bounty hunter as she explores planet Zebes. She starts out equiped with a somewhat limited suit, but as she explores the strange planet she finds many items that give her enhancements as well as new abilites. Much like in Zelda games, she'll need these abilities to gain access to many areas that are out reach at first.

However unlike most games of its kin, she'll find herself alone throughout her journey. The sound and visuals make this even more notable. Much of its music is actually more of a sound texture that emphasices one aspect from the zone of Zebes she's exploring.

Not unlike Zelda, Mario, Megaman, Metal Gear, and some others. Metroid has managed to generate a large and succsesful franchise. And while the gameplay mechanics may have changed in some installments, there is usually a strong emphasys on exploration.

Metroid's challenge lies in the vast laberinthical structure, rather than survival. Finding the necesary objects as well as applying them efficiently in order to further your exploration can prove to be a daunting task. So if you're up to the challenge then by all means give it a try:

Play metroid online at virtualnes.com

Aditional Links

These sites contain some information related to metroid (not that much though):

• Metroid headquarters
• Metroid Wikia

Also this last site has a 3d voxel near complete recreation of metroid:

• Metroid Cubed

Faxanadu

"I've been on a long journey. I came back to my home town to find it is almost deserted. The gate is closed, people are gone, and the walls are crumbling. I wonder what happened."

Faxanadu can be considered a side-story of Xanadu, which is the second installment of Falcom's long-running RPG series, Dragon Slayer. The title Faxanadu is a portmanteau formed from the names Famicom and Xanadu.



This game is a side scrolling adventure platfomer. It has many types of weapons, armor and magic that are obtained as the game progresses. Also, like many games of its genre it has an experience based level up. However its approach is very unusual. First you must accumulate enough experience and then visit a priest in order to receive your new title (level up). Also this title allows you to obtain a greater amount of money if you die or start over, rather than make you stronger (which is still very useful).

The world is very vast, but not overwhelming. It all flows in a very natural manner; you basically explore sections of this world in order to advance, and backtracking is limited to the actual section being explored (unlike say, Metroid and mostly its hacks). There are many towns whose inhabitants are willing to offer clues, services, items, etc.

Its gameplay is somewhat stiff. First of all, like the first Castlevanias, you can't control the hero in the middle of the air (save when he's flying). Also like the first Megamans you cant duck, so at first some enemies can't be killed by means of a weapon attack. Also its limited color palette might turn some people down.

Personally I don't see these as limitations. I found the gameplay very satisfactory. I really enjoyed all these locations and all the elements related to this unnamed hero's quest. Also to me, its graphics and sound were crafted with great care so that the NES limitations were less notable. The end result being a very involving game with a design that has more in common with games of the 16 bit and 32 bit era, offering a very well crafted storyline and a very beautiful scenery with interesting characters that perfectly match the mood and setting.

Still as usual the most reliable opinion is no doubt your own. So if you like Zelda (specially Zelda 2 which came out after this game), Metroid, Action-RPG's or any related type of games you should give it a try.

Also, while I won't host any roms or links to them, the following link has a vnes emulation of this game (so you may play on your browser). So give this beautiful game a try:

Play Faxanadu online at nintendo8.com

While there are no sequels, if you just can't get enough of this beautiful piece of art. You might want to check out other Action RPG's such as the Zelda series or Crystalis. As for the Dragonslayer series, I can say legacy of the wizard has very little in common with this game. But maybe the original Xanadu game might be more in line with this gem (I honestly haven't played them yet, but will edit this once I do).

Aditional links

The following links have more information about this game:

• RPGClassics
• Hardcore Gaming 101
• romhacking.net: "Uncensored version patch". The Japanese version had some religious imagery that was left out of the US release. I honestly thought that maybe elves had their own religious beliefs or something. In any case, if you want to experience this game as it was designed you may want to apply this patch.

The Legend of Zelda

MANY YEARS AGO PRINCE DARKNESS " GANNON " STOLE ONE OF THE TRIFORCE WITH POWER. PRINCESS ZELDA HAD ONE OF THE TRIFORCE WITH WISDOM. SHE DIVIDED IT INTO " 8 "UNITS TO HIDE IT FROM " GANNNON " BEFORE SHE WAS CAPTURED.
GO FIND THE " 8 " UNITS " LINK " TO SAVE HER.

The Legend of Zelda offers plenty of action, exploration and puzzle solving. It is the foundation of one of the most consistently acclaimed series. But most importantly is a very fun game.

You are link an adventurer who on his journey to rescue princess Zelda. In order to do so, you must obtain the pieces of the triforce which are hidden in 8 different dungeons filled with traps, monsters and a strong guardian. Also each dungeon also has a special item that will help link on his journey (though some key items may also be found outside these dungeons). By clever use of these items, link obtains access to once restricted areas on the map.



There are many derivative works such as:

* Zelda classic: Zelda Classic is a tribute to (what we think is) the greatest video game of all time: Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda. It has been developed into an exact replica of the NES version that we all know and love. Beyond that, Zelda Classic allows the development of new quests that can use either the traditional graphics or enhanced graphics, as well as new enemies, items, and challenges.

* BS Zelda maps: TheSatellaview was a satellite uplink unit. It linked up to a system called "St GIGA" which is just a normal digital satellite channel, except instead of just downloading video images, you instead download games, demos, cheats, etc. StGIGA was a normal TV channel as well and the data you could download only made up a small fraction of the channel's air-time. You couldn't download something any time you wanted, only at a certain time... just like watching a movie on the TV.

Two of these are basically Zelda 1 remakes: BS The Legend of Zelda - Map 1 and Map 2 (BS Zelda no Densetsu: Map 1 and Map 2). And may also be known as third and fourth quests (because of the second quest modality of zelda). These however have 16 bit sound and graphics (along with a few surprises such as better text).

* Zelda Outlands: A very through rom hack that basically makes a completely new adventure that is very similar to Zelda 1 (basically players of Zelda can jump right into this game but that's it). With different enemies, dungeons, etc.

All of these deserve their own article and time permitting they'll have them...

In any case Zelda is one of the most iconic games of one of the most iconic consoles ever released. If you like action and exploration this beautiful platformer is definitely worth checking out!

Finally, while I won't host any roms or links to them, the following link has a vnes emulation of this game (so you may play on your browser). So give this beautiful game a try:

Play The Legend of Zelda online at nintendo8.com

Additional Links

The following sites have more information on this game:

• RPGClassics
• LEGEND OF ZELDA.COM
• ZELDA DUNGEON
• ZELDAPEDIA