Castlevania: The Adventure

Voices of: N/A
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Rating: E
Genre: Action-Adventure Platform
System: Game Boy
1989

Times Completed:
Tim: 1

Summary: Christopher Belmont embarks on a dangerous quest to destroy Dracula.

Review:
Tim: So, after two successful games on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Konami delivered their third game in the franchise, Castlevania: The Adventure onto the Game Boy. This was likely a smart move, branching the franchise out to a different device and allowing players to control a Belmont while on-the-go. After being so impressed with the first two games in the franchise, this one does feel like a significantly scaled-back experience. It's difficult to review this- because on the one hand, this is easily the weakest game in the franchise so far. However, it's also a surprisingly effective game, given the limitations of the handheld device. This was released about 6 months into the Game Boy's life, thus, it's one of the earlier games on the system and that needs to be factored in. So, it's simultaneously a bit disappointing and yet impressive.

I think, going into this game with the clear expectation that certain things would be limited because of the technology helps a ton. This game does feel short, overall, but it truly effectively ports the overall Castlevania experience to the Game Boy. The level design is impressive, the monsters are challenging. The music continues to be atmospheric and effective. The sound effects work. Even the absence of color helps- presenting this game in black and white doesn't feel like anything is missing, but it gives the whole experience a creepy, stark feeling. It works within the context of the story. This is all quite effective. However, franchise fans will recognize the experience itself is a bit diluted. There's no sub-weapons, for example. The movement is challenging, and I lost a lot of lives because I didn't quite hit a jump perfectly. That's annoying, for sure.

The game felt small to me, primarily because there are only four levels in the game! Now, a lot of people did complain that the levels themselves are incredibly long. This is true. I played this game on the Switch, though, and I did my continually-saving approach. This broke things up and let me focus on the action on the screen, verses wondering when the heck I'd reach the end of a level. For this reason, I beat the game extremely quickly. I think I finished the first level on day 1, two and three on day 2, and I finished the game on the third day. So, for me, it wasn't about constant replaying of levels. It never felt tedious, I beat it fairly quickly. While the controls are often a bit wonky from a movement perspective, and the game itself has multiple challenging parts, overall, I felt like it was considerably easier than the first two games. Sure, there were some difficult moments, but I mostly just flew through the levels.

Fighting Dracula to beat the game was the biggest challenge. The early parts of the battle mostly consisted of me trying to learn his moves and where to position Christopher to best deal damage without taking any myself. I absolutely died numerous times on him, until I could figure out the patterns. Once you do that, he's not especially difficult. Of the three games in the franchise, this was the easiest to beat. It took me a bit of time, but this wasn't a "multi-day" fight where I had to refine my skills. I learned it and took the Count out.

I finished the game with a score of 32,600. It was a fun experience and it broadens the franchise and the lore of the Belmont clan. Castlevania: The Adventure is a fun game, but it offers a basic, limited experience. Still, within the context of the broader franchise, this game brought the franchise to handheld devices successfully. I think it's a mixed reaction, but slightly more positive than not.



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



If You Enjoyed This Game, We Recommend: Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge