Castlevania 2: Simon's quest (Retro)
User Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): December 1, 1988
- Release Date (EU): April 27, 1990
- Release Date (JP): August 28, 1987
- Publisher: Konami
- Developer: Konami
- Genres: Action role-playing, metroidvania
- Also For: Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative
Review Approach:
Im not original so part of this is probably copypasted from the Castlevania wiki lol. And I did this Review using what I remember of the game as a base too.
(my first review here)
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest is a 1987 action role-playing game developed and published by Konami. It was originally released in Japan in 1987 for the Famicom Disk System, and in North America in 1988 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
It's the second entry of the Castlevania game series and the first to implement a non linear gameplay.
The game has several differences compared to the gameplay of its predecesor like a level up and exp system; weapons that you can equip or unequip, a day-night cycle, and most importantly an open world.
The game is known to be quite cryptic due to the translation work of the game affecting the NPCs' dialogues and sometimes they don't telling you anything you need to know to progress or straight up lie. I remember the game sometimes being unfair due to some questionable área design like having fake platforms or several enemies being annoying like the slimes for example.
In comparison, the games' few bosses are quite easy, and although Drácula in his fight is somewhat unpredictable and a bit hard to land a hit on him, you can kill him before the actual battle begins by throwing sacred flames at him in the opening sequence of his boss fight.
But, the game was also innovative in the sense that it tried to have an open and freely explorable world before symphony of the night came out, though it wasnt that greatly executed in this game.
The game is known to be quite cryptic due to the translation work of the game affecting the NPCs' dialogues and sometimes they don't telling you anything you need to know to progress or straight up lie. I remember the game sometimes being unfair due to some questionable área design like having fake platforms or several enemies being annoying like the slimes for example.
In comparison, the games' few bosses are quite easy, and although Drácula in his fight is somewhat unpredictable and a bit hard to land a hit on him, you can kill him before the actual battle begins by throwing sacred flames at him in the opening sequence of his boss fight.
But, the game was also innovative in the sense that it tried to have an open and freely explorable world before symphony of the night came out, though it wasnt that greatly executed in this game.
Verdict
What I Liked ...
- Introduced concepts that later Castlevania games would have.
- Great soundtrack.
- Decent graphics for the time
What I Didn't Like ...
- Cryptic and unbalanced
- Badly translated.
- The game sends you back to the first Town after losing all your lives (you can't obtain more during gameplay and you only have 3)
- It's quite easy to get lost on the overworld
4
Gameplay
8
Presentation
5
Lasting Appeal
5.4
out of 10
