Super Castlevania IV (Super Nintendo) Review

The setting of the game is none other than the old tale of good versus evil, with protagonist Simon Belmont readying his trusty whip to head off on a journey to despatch the villainous Dracula. And that is about it; ‘simply’ work your way through the hordes of minions along the way and break into Dracula’s castle to meet him in a tête-à-tête. Hurray for short, concise and easy-to-follow stories…

You may be surprised to know that for an early 16-bit game, Super Castlevania IV looks very impressive indeed, with detailed characters and enemies, full of rich colours and smooth animation. And the levels you work your way through are equally easy on the eye, showing that Konami really did pour its heart into making this one of the more attractive first generation SNES games. And the same goes for the soundtrack, with all the usual favourites from today still present and correct, along with many haunting tunes that sadly seem to have been left in the past. Everything on the presentation side really smacks of high quality and there are definitely no complaints!

As for the way it actually plays, the game is more of a linear platform romp than the Metroid-esque adventure game you may be used to from recent outings on the GBA and Nintendo DS. But that is not to say things are for the worse in this old edition – far from it. The majority of the elements from the Castlevania world are still featured, with the exception of the adventure taking place on a large-scale map. Instead the game plays out across various stages with a timer counting down and a final boss at the end of each level.

For those thinking this may lead to a decreased challenge overall, that is certainly not the case as if anything things are rather more difficult thanks to the game being a lot less forgiving (purposely and for good reason) than in new editions. Not only do enemies have a habit of randomly popping up out of nowhere (like water-spurting beasts from underwater or Medusa heads that come flying at you from off-screen), but if you drop down from a platform you die, simple as that. The screen does the old trick of following your character and then freezing, meaning there is no possibility for back-tracking. Head back off the screen and you lose a life and when that happens you are transported all the way back to the beginning of the level (each one is split into different sub-stages and wherever you die the game takes you all the way back…harsh, but it hones your skills!).

Your character (none other than Simon Belmont himself) comes equipped with the standard whip that can be lashed out forwards, backwards, upwards and even diagonally and holding the attack button results in it falling limp, ready to be spun around by rotating the D-pad with your thumb to reach awkwardly placed enemies. But in addition to this, there are various sub-weapons (holy water bottles, spinning crosses, daggers and so on and so forth...) that can be used against the evil in your path. However, you need to be careful as these particular weapons can only be used in short supply, being restocked by slashing at candles strewn throughout levels and collecting the hearts that are dropped (either that or new weapons are actually dropped).

And going back to the whip for a moment, it can be used to navigate your way round the cleverly structured levels (that include 3D rotating sections later on as well!). For example, there are instances where you simply cannot make the required jump from platform to the next. However, look around and you will likely see a hook that your whip can latch onto in order to swing Belmont across the void to safety. Aspects such as this help to make the adventure rip-roaringly fun and ensure the game retains its classic status well over a decade after its original release.