A Journey Through the Night

Along with Metroid, Castlevania ranks as one of the most iconic video game franchises in history. With every new game, it first revolutionized the side scrolling genre before redefining how an RPG looks and what it can do. Therefore, this Frightober, I bring you Noob’s history with Castlevania.

Hell, there’s even a genre of games called Metroidvania that highlights games that count both as inspiration. So, on this trip into gaming horror’s past, it makes sense to visit the Belmont family. As always on the page, I intend to introduce the games. Don’t take this, in any form, as a comprehensive collection or history of Castlevania. Additionally, I welcome any input for games that you enjoy that I missed.

The Origins: Birth of a Vampire Hunter

Castlevania got its start on the SNES in 1986. You take control of Simon Belmont, a member of the Belmont vampire hunting family. Like others before you, you take on the mission to find and defeat Count Dracula in his castle. No small feat, to be sure. Luckily, in addition to your impressive lineage, you also come equipped with a trusty whip.

As you play the game, you upgrade the whip to deal more damage. That allows you to more efficiently and effectively deal with stronger enemies. You also can pick up secondary weapons in the game that give you even further advantage against the more dangerous or devious of Dracula’s minions. As with the previous game in our trip to the past, Splatterhouse, the side scrolling nature of the game may turn modern gamers away. I implore you to try the game in spite of that.

Unlike Splatterhouse that only offers the side scrolling action, Castlevania (and especially later games in the series) allow for 2 dimensional motion by climbing stairs or descending into caverns. This added movement opens up new strategies for fighting enemies and boss fights. One of the things you need to figure out is when to ascend and when to crouch back on the ground.

Evolution of the Series on the NES and SNES

The second game previews some of the RPG elements further explored in future games. It gives you more freedom to explore towns and interact with the townspeople. They give you hints and point you along your way as you embark on your quest. I like the more open nature of this game, but understand the decision to make the next two games in the more traditional style of the first game.

Upon opening the third game, it gave me a familiar feeling. It looked and felt like the first game. Not a complete recreation. However, they took the Super Mario tact of going back to what worked in the first place after trying something new in the second game. I can’t argue with that decision. I like when people try new things. But, I also like the familiarity of knowing what to expect from a game when I start it. If I got deja vu from the third one, then Super Castlevania IV looked almost exactly like the first one with better graphics. That’s an oversimplification, because the game isn’t a shot for shot remake. But, it owes much to that first game.

A Brief Discussion About 3D vs. 2D

After being born on the NES, it grew up on other Super Nintendo consoles. However, unlike franchises like Mario and Zelda, Castlevania stumbled some on the Nintendo 64. I played through some of the first level (for the first time) to prepare for this article and I said to myself, “I can’t believe we ever though these games looked good.” The graphics are awkward, the animation is clunky, and it just doesn’t give off much of a Castlevania vibe at all.

Luckily, the Playstation version of the game, more than made up for that misfire. Symphony of the Night is considered by many to be the best entry in the series. Granted, it went back to the roots as a side scroller, but it brought in the RPG elements of the second game to give it a more robust feeling. What can you do? Some franchises just took longer to adjust to 3D. Some still haven’t.

The World of Castlevania

Music: From the first game, they enhanced the atmosphere of the game with unsettling and, sometimes, downright creepy music. Every time you load one of the games and hear that theme song start, you know that you’re in for an epic battle with the legions of undead and, finally, Dracula.

Aesthetic: Likewise, the graphics of the game evoke a particular style of horror. Drawing from the old monster movies of early Hollywood and the legacy of Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley. The backgrounds, the monsters, and the weapons all add to that style. When you get that dagger or crucifix, again, you know you’re in for one hell of a battle.

Dracula’s Castle: The castle itself can be considered a character in the story. It shifts from game to game and, sometimes, level to level. This all adds to the unsettling feeling of the games. In addition, this offers new and different challenges in each game. For puzzle lovers like me, that’s probably the biggest selling point.

Where to Start

Depending on your preferred game style, the series offers many starting points. Retro gamers might just start at the beginning with one of the online emulators that offer the NES or SNES games, depending on how far you want to go back. Old guy gamers who remember certain systems but somehow missed the Castlevania games on that system can pick one of the games that I highlighted here. Or, you can jump on with the Game Boy Advance trilogy.

Even if you shun the old games for the new, there’s Castlevania for you. Unfortunately, though, the most recent console games released for the PS3 generation. However, they released a couple of games on mobile for those who want the familiarity of that particular gaming device. If you happen to start playing the series, let us know which game and if you plan to continue.

The Verdict

Hopefully Noob’s History with Castlevania gave you some idea of the scope and influence of the games. We didn’t even talk about the games in pop culture, including the Netflix series. Perhaps, we can revisit at some point and bring you some of that content and more. If we missed one of your favorites, let us know. We’ll cover it in a future article.