Super Castlevania IV

Review by Evan G

The fourth game in the Castlevania series see the rise of Dracula once again. As the story goes, the forces of evil grow stronger every 100 years and the forces of good grow weak. This is when one in the Belmont family will rise up to destroy Dracula. In this game, you take control of Simon Belmont through 11 levels. This game showcased the superiority of the Snes and remains one of the greatest games available to the system.

Graphics: 100

Simply amazing. It did not take long to see how much superior the Snes was to all other video game platforms with this game. Even though it was one of the first games, its graphics are some of the best for the system. The backgrounds are amazingly detailed, and the enemies look very good when you compare them to past Castlevania games. There are some very neat Mode 7 rotation effects. The rotating chamber level was very impressive, even if it did have slowdown. 2D graphics didn't look this good until the Saturn came around.

Sound: 100

Again, simply amazing. When the snes was released, the sound chip was better than what was in most computers at the time. And its power is shown here. The music sounds awesome and you can almost swear that it isn't in midi format. The symphonies set the mood for the game, making it a feast for the ears. The sound effects are equally well done. You hear lots of moaning and whip cracking as you defeat the enemies. Never turn the sound down when playing this game.

Control: 90

The controls in this game are excellent. Simon is far more versatile than in his NES adventures. The ability to wave your whip in all directions make enemy killing easier than ever. The only tough spots are climbing stairs is not always precise and landing when swinging with your whip is a bit tough.

Summary:

You can't go wrong with this game. It presents a challenge to platform newbies, but the gameplay is simply excellent. The only gripe I have is that it isn't nonlinear and it has lost the multiple characters that were in the NES classic, Castlevania III. However, the brilliant level designs and spectacular graphics and sound should be reason enough to visit the land of Transylvania.

Overall Score: 100%