Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

Voices of: N/A
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Directed by: Hitoshi Akamatsu
Rating: E
Genre: Action-Adventure Platformer
System: NES
1988

Times Completed:
Tim: 1

Summary:Seven years after defeating Dracula, Simon Belmont must retrieve the body parts of Dracula scattered across the land to undo a curse placed upon him.

Review:
Tim: The original Castlevania was a tough playing experience, and a year later, Konami releases Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, a video game sequel that retains the best parts of the original and rapidly advances the game in big ways. When I compare the experience of the first game to the second game, I'm fairly stunned at what Konami was able to do. This game is bigger, better, more involved and better designed in nearly every way. It's once again a tough game, but a wildly impressive one. I do recall owning this game- I loved the cover. At the time, being probably 7 years old, I can't imagine I got very far. My siblings and I played the game a lot, but it was tough. I don't recall how deep we got into the game. I remember having fun, but feeling a bit lost.

As an adult, I can appreciate that we don't often see leaps in games like the one taken here. The first game was a linear action role-playing game- you proceed forward, defeat one boss after another, until you reach Dracula. This game completely upends that- it's an open-world experience that provides players a world map, and they can explore in multiple directions. The non-linear aspect feels so shocking after the linear experience of the first game, 1 year earlier! He engages with villagers- some of whom tell him falsities. This game introduces an experience system, so Simon can level up and get stronger. There's also a recurring day/night mechanic. The monsters Simon faces in the day are relatively weak, but the ones he has to battle at night are much stronger. Simon freely travels around the world map, going to 5 different mansions, to retrieve Dracula's Rib, Heart, Eyeball, Nail, and Ring. This approach makes the game feel incredibly epic, at a much larger scale than the first game. I also love the idea of Simon collecting pieces of Dracula's body- such a gory, creepy concept that perfectly fits within this franchise.

Now, when I played this, I absolutely used a guide. I liked the scale of the game, but I wasn't interested in investing the time to blindly explore this world. I really like Castlevania, but I don't love this franchise. I tried to play the levels all myself and explore a bit, but I definitely got broader directions from an online guide. Like the previous game, I also saved quite frequently. Time is precious, and this approach allows me to play the game, experience the narrative, but save time from replaying levels ad nauseam. While playing, I got Simon to Level 4- I ended with 222 experience. I had 256 hearts. I did get the Flame Whip. I had a lot of fun playing through the different mansions. This game was still pretty unforgiving, but in a fun way. The controls felt a little better than the first game, so I had fewer unnecessary deaths. The controls weren't great, but I did notice a slight improvement. The game itself is well-designed. For the time period in which it was released, the graphics were strong. The music is once again haunting and excellent. That's absolutely one of the standouts.

I felt like the bosses were tough but fair. I don't recall any bouts of extreme frustration while playing this game. I did take down Death, Camilla, and then faced off against Dracula once again. This time around, he only has 1 form. The spinning and attacks he use are tough, but if you attack him aggressively, he felt less challenging the second time around. It absolutely took me multiple attempts to learn his moves and how to approach him, but I struggled less this time than in the first game. I got the "Good" Ending, by finishing the game in 7 days or fewer. Even with my intentional shortcuts, I invested 14:12:20 in playing this game.

With Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, I feel like Konami really puts this budding franchise on the map. The first game was great, and then the sequel ups the ante in nearly every single way. This game might have felt a tad easier, but it's larger, more complex and complicated. I got lost more than a few times and without a guide, I'd have been wandering around for quite a while. The size and scope of the game increased, and with the experience system, the day/night cycle, the villagers and their information and misinformation, Konami has created a stunning video game experience. In 1988, this game really pushed boundaries. With two immediate successes, you have to start considering the influence, impact, and success of Castlevania. This isn't a fluke, but it's one of the essential video game franchises.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Game, We Recommend: Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Castlevania: The Adventure, Metroid