CastleVania 2: Simon's Quest

[sn8k]

I have never liked this game. I have always thought it was trash. I tried to play it so many times but always gave up 20-30 minutes in that.

 

Ive held this oppinion for over 20 years. CV2 is shit.

 

Well, I just beat Castlevania for the 2nd time a few days ago, was considering skipping 2 and just going straight to 3. But something said no. Play 2.

 

I dont know if it's because im older now. But I just saw the game differently. I couldn't stop playing. 2 days straight. Beat the game. I dont know where it stands on my list  now, but I felt it kicked total ass and I had unfairly labeled it as complete shit all these years.

 

Now, on to CV3 which I was never able to beat before but is one of my favorite games for some weird reason. Havent tried in years.

[bluejay]

Yep, I played Simon's Quest after finding one at a flea market, and I really enjoyed playing it. It was a bit easier than the original Castlevania(haven't played Dracula's Curse yet) but still, awesome gameplay, awesome graphics, awesome soundtrack. One of my favorite NES games of all time.

[+Black_Tiger]

I hated the first Castlevania when it came out, but loved the premise and appreciated the visual style they wrre attempting but didn't pull off (until the third game).

 

But I loved Simon's Quest. I managed to beat it without a guide bitd and hoped more series would make the switch to free roaming adventure.

 

Today it's harder to justify the time to play through again over so many other games and the flaws stand out more. The aesthetics were solid this time round but a hack to balance out the gameplay would be nice.

[Tanooki]

CV2 for decades has been given an unfair beating by people who heard this or that or mostly just refused to even give it a shot because it wasn't like the first.  The thing is, well two things, one the translation in a few places is awful so you can get easily confused which only the period magazine (NP) or a friend could fix.  The other, people may want to deny it, ignore it, whatever, but before people wanted to say SOTN was 'the shit' and that so was Super Metroid giving us that aggravating bastardization term metroidvania... castlevania2 was doing that before it was a real thought, cool, or anything else.  Think hard, look how it acts, the items, the leveling up your life bar and gear, etc... short of a build it yourself 'castle map' from those other newer games, it is what was, just a bit rougher, that's all.  The formula works, and works well, before people even realized it was one to get all hot and bothered over and IGA decided to beat to death 6x more on GBA and DS, then with Bloodstained too.  Castlevania II is a fantastic game, hard, but fair, just not hard as 1 or 3 that's all.  You still need to earn it, the worst of it was the cake of a last fight as you can squat and diamond death the guy basically.

 

I'd only strongly suggest a specific hack due to the crust on the edges.  Look up one in particular, this one: http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/1032/

 

MMC1 hack that cleans up the translation with accuracy, also adds an active overworld map so you don't get lost! (hence the MMC1 expansion)

Also view this to learn more: https://bisqwit.iki.fi/cv2fin/

And this too which shows each and every translation step by step as it's just fascinating: https://bisqwit.iki.fi/cv2fin/diff

 

I can't stand hacks normally, this rare one I'd call required use now if you don't want to rely on using NP #2 scans.

Edited January 7, 2021 by Tanooki

[Steven Pendleton]

I actually rather like Dracula 2 on the FDS aside from its loading times. I have yet to actually finish it since I typically turn the thing off immediately the first time I die for some reason so I've only gotten to what I'm assuming is about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way done, but I'll get around to it eventually, most likely sometime soon.

 

The reason that everyone hates it is AVGN. If he'd never posted that video and nobody else had done something similar, less people would hate it. I guess that video was not supposed to be something to take seriously, but everyone did anyway. Rather than actually play the game, people just repeat what they heard on the internet about it and then the whole confirmation bias thing happens.

[bluejay]

1 hour ago, Steven Pendleton said:

The reason that everyone hates it is AVGN. If he'd never posted that video and nobody else had done something similar, less people would hate it. I guess that video was not supposed to be something to take seriously, but everyone did anyway. Rather than actually play the game, people just repeat what they heard on the internet about it and then the whole confirmation bias thing happens.

James is funny. For whatever reason, having to wait 5 seconds for a tornado to come by makes SQ one of the worst NES games, and having to bomb random rocks and burn random bushes to find hidden rooms in Zelda doesn't matter and it's still a masterpiece.

[Steven Pendleton]

3 hours ago, bluejay said:

James is funny. For whatever reason, having to wait 5 seconds for a tornado to come by makes SQ one of the worst NES games, and having to bomb random rocks and burn random bushes to find hidden rooms in Zelda doesn't matter and it's still a masterpiece.

Yeah, that's how it goes, unfortunately. I know which one I'd rather play for sure. I might get around to it this weekend or next week, depending on how long it takes for me to do my 2 simultaneous playthroughs of Dracula X on the Saturn, which is another Castlevania game that gets more hate than it deserves, even if it is still a very disappointing port. It's not the worst I've seen, though.

[Tanooki]

22 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

I actually rather like Dracula 2 on the FDS aside from its loading times. I have yet to actually finish it since I typically turn the thing off immediately the first time I die for some reason so I've only gotten to what I'm assuming is about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way done, but I'll get around to it eventually, most likely sometime soon.

 

The reason that everyone hates it is AVGN. If he'd never posted that video and nobody else had done something similar, less people would hate it. I guess that video was not supposed to be something to take seriously, but everyone did anyway. Rather than actually play the game, people just repeat what they heard on the internet about it and then the whole confirmation bias thing happens.

Have to agree with that, as much as I have to agree if it was him or those cinemassacre morons before hand having to so called original youtube(or precursor) bullshit exposee on how Nintendo is a lying pack of dogs who conned stupid americans into thinking SMB2 was a Mario game and not some reskinned japanese licensed bunk title.  Few people hated the game in the 80s and 90s, those who did, not one bitched about it being bad for feeling different or being a cheap knockoff.  They genuinely just didn't care for the game, a real taste issue, and that's fair.  But ever since that garbage got shoveled, even when the master himself Miyamoto in a decade old now IGN interview from the Mario 25th anniversary period said it was originally a Mario game that got retooled, then restored, and furthermore it was his favorite of the 2D style games -- it still didn't matter, the game was still crap to the mindless video believing conspiracy loving sheeple.  It's basically the same problem Castlevania 2 got.  Popular internet troll on video games in video format gets taken seriously and an opinion based pile of garbage that was even debunked by the company still stands because he said so.

 

As much as I enjoy the entire pre-SOTN style series of titles, Castlevania II is one I like to return to, if anything, because of the unique exploration and growth aspects of it.  Any of the others are fine if you just want a harder than average old platforming hellscape of a video game, but Castlevania II has an ounce of class to it, even under the tarnish of poor translation that makes it rewarding to drop hours on.

[Razzie.P]

Yeah, I could plop out several pages about what this game means to me (and have in the past years, actually) but I’ll keep it short n’ simple

 

Simon’s Quest is easily my favorite of the original 3, and one of my favorite NES game of all time.  I can still remember renting it as a kid and being amazed at how it was everything I wanted video games to be.   It may have been the first video game I played where you really needed to “think” to advance the story, instead of simply treating it like any other action/skill based type of game.

 

I can see why people may have been disappointed by the change from C1 to C2, because I was a bit disappointed at the change back from C2 to C3.  I wanted to continue that open, “explore and solve” type of adventure.  Not just another “go forward and kill stuff” type of game.  We had enough of those out there.

 

I’ve never understood the constant “it’s impossible without a guide” mentality, either.  Kid me figured it out, no internet, no magazines, no friends who had played it.  Just the in game clues and a bit of “maybe if I try this” type of thinking.

 

Kinda related – I also had the same feelings regarding Zelda 2 when compared to Zelda 1, so my opinions on “NES greatness” seemed to be at odds with most people, I suppose.

[Tanooki]

I'd have to kind of agree with that, would entirely had I not bought Legend of Zelda first as it is like a year and a half older, but nothing else on nes came out between them that would have made you really think about progression other than Zelda II which I think came out the same day/month as Castlevania II so I'm not sure which was second then in that case.  IT would have been the first third party game that made you think though to advance the story.  Before Zelda1/2 and Simon's Quest it was all single screen, platformers, point racking stuff, button masher types, shooters, etc.  If you just start running around in this game (like a zelda one) you'll be dead soon enough.

 

I figured out most of the game without help, but I did have NP so those translation foul ups with the crystals weren't a problem.  But all the other garbage, such as those evil invisible missing floor blocks, those were until paranoia set in and I'd just run everywhere the first time mashing the holy water toss button

[sn8k]

I don't know what made this playthrogh attempt different. I just got hooked and could not stop. I actually want to play through it again.

 

Lately Ive been beating games I never stood a chance against before.

 

I was never good at Captain Skyhawk or Trojan, just beat those. 

 

Still working at CV3. Its harder than I expected it to be in the later levels but Ive never seen these levels after a certain point before, so it's all progress.

Im thinking Total Recall and Snakes Revenge next. 2 games I really liked but could never beat before.

[atarilovesyou]

I'd take it easy on AVGN, that bit was hilarious from way back when. Considering it was parody, it wasn't far from the truth. I don't knowniw anybody who liked Simon's Quest back in the day, mainly because games were expensive and renting wasn't as big a thing as it would become. The game was slow paced, the translations were terrible and was just too much of a departure from Castlevania. Simply put, nobody was clamoring for that game back then...especially when so many better options were there. Konami had plenty of misses back then and this was one of them...more, if you consider Ultra games. 

 

It's not a truly terrible game and I don't think it was considered one, then or now.  I'd surely give it another go, particularly with the updated translations.  

[Tanooki]

Umm I know lots did, just your bubble didn't I guess?  And what basis do you have to make a claim that it was a departure?  A departure of what, one game?  That's like saying Zelda II when it arrived was such a gross departure from the franchise people hated it.  You can't depart from having one game before it, for all we know, had it been far better loved Nintendo would have flip flopped releases between styles or even come up with another.

 

Unlike Zelda though, Castlevania did, only took nearly a decade.  When they decided to copy cat Super Metroid on SOTN/PS1 they returned to the roots they already had some design history with on Simon's Quest and now Simon's Quest is the style 2D Castlevania games have played out with since, just more refined.  CV2 is to SOTN as Metroid1 is to Metroid 3.  Same thing, just far less lacking in many ways.

Edited January 12, 2021 by Tanooki

[bubufubu]

2 hours ago, Tanooki said:

And what basis do you have to make a claim that it was a departure?  A departure of what, one game?  That's like saying Zelda II when it arrived was such a gross departure from the franchise people hated it.  You can't depart from having one game before it, for all we know, had it been far better loved Nintendo would have flip flopped releases between styles or even come up with another.

It was more than one game.  Look up "Vampire Killer" (MSX).  It's possible that the Vs. version was released ahead of it, too.  That being said, Dracula II wouldn't qualify as a departure.

[Razzie.P]

On 1/10/2021 at 7:06 PM, atarilovesyou said:

Simply put, nobody was clamoring for that game back then...

 

I guess I'm nobody  ?

[Tanooki]

I'm aware of Vampire Killer, similar sure, even if it was all stuck just within the castle considering that's more or less what SOTN does too.

[Austin]

Yeah, Castlevania 2 is definitely not crap. Cryptic, yes, but with the right knowledge it's a lot of fun. Very unique atmosphere as well for the era.

[sn8k]

Update since I first posted this. I have been on a war path. I have completed:

 

Castlevania 3

Super CastleVania IV

Dracula X

 

Next up is BloodLines. Another game I played the shit out of but never beat. So far  so far my top 3

 

Castlevania

Castlevania 2 

SCV 4

 

This can change with  BloodLines.

 

Dracula X is my least favorite. So im expecting alot out of Rondo of Blood when I finally get to that.

[Xork]

I like this game back when it came out. I haven't tried to play it recently. We were coming off of games like Zelda and Metroid and were just enthralled with adventure/RPG games for a console. This was during a time when we really wanted to play CRPGs but almost all of us couldn't afford computers. So after playing Castlevania, this game was just awesome that we could go wherever. We fell into the classic issues of translation failure as we too waited to see a Nintendo Power about the tornado squat trick...but we still enjoyed it.

[Rhomaios]

On 1/14/2021 at 7:57 PM, sn8k said:

Dracula X is my least favorite. So im expecting alot out of Rondo of Blood when I finally get to that.

Did you play the SNES game or the far superior PC Engine CD game? They're not actually the same game.

[Tanooki]

Your own comment contradicts itself.  The PCE CD game is not superior, as you said, they're not the same game so one can't be better than the other.  For decades now people been unfairly dumping on the SNES game despite it's quality presentation it has but once people learned of the CD game, and due to the very similar name, it gets tagged with a bad rep.

[bubufubu]

1 hour ago, Tanooki said:

Your own comment contradicts itself.  The PCE CD game is not superior, as you said, they're not the same game so one can't be better than the other.  For decades now people been unfairly dumping on the SNES game despite it's quality presentation it has but once people learned of the CD game, and due to the very similar name, it gets tagged with a bad rep.

People have been fairly dumping on Dracula X (SNES) for decades because it's a fucking terrible re-imagining of Chi no Rondo.  You're kidding yourself if you believe them to be completely different games.  Once people in North America found out about Chi no Rondo, they hated Dracula X due to the similarities and, ultimately, because we got stuck with a very, very inferior version.  Absolutely everything about it is a downgrade.  The PC Engine version is vastly superior.  It's not even remotely close.

 

If you removed all similarities/references to Chi no Rondo from Dracula X, then it could have at least been a decent standalone game (e.g. Bloodlines).

[Rhomaios]

8 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Your own comment contradicts itself.  The PCE CD game is not superior, as you said, they're not the same game so one can't be better than the other.  For decades now people been unfairly dumping on the SNES game despite it's quality presentation it has but once people learned of the CD game, and due to the very similar name, it gets tagged with a bad rep.

You can definitely compare the two games. I unequivocally think Rondo of Blood is better than Bubsy. People rank games of different series all the time. What on earth are you thinking?

 

And anyway, what makes a negative review "unfair"? Just because you don't like what the review says?

[sn8k]

18 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Your own comment contradicts itself.  The PCE CD game is not superior, as you said, they're not the same game so one can't be better than the other.  For decades now people been unfairly dumping on the SNES game despite it's quality presentation it has but once people learned of the CD game, and due to the very similar name, it gets tagged with a bad rep.

What kind of stupid ass logic is that? There is nothing contradictory about what I said. Dracula X is my least favorite. Too floaty, controls suck. And I dont want Rondo of Blood to play the same way and I wouldn't know if it did because I never played it.

 

Open a dictionary and review big words before using them.

[Razzie.P]

34 minutes ago, sn8k said:

What kind of stupid ass logic is that? There is nothing contradictory about what I said. Dracula X is my least favorite. Too floaty, controls suck. And I dont want Rondo of Blood to play the same way and I wouldn't know if it did because I never played it.

 

Open a dictionary and review big words before using them.

I don't think Tanooki was referring to you or your post.  ?    Seems like it was directed at the post after yours, by Rhomaios.