castlevania gameboys: typos
This commit is contained in:
parent
0bca5ec558
commit
8ebeaa829f
|
|
@ -19,10 +19,12 @@ After the giant failure of [Castlevania: The Adventure](/games/gameboy/castlevan
|
|||
- More level and enemy variation is needed;
|
||||
- Sub-weapons should be present.
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
I'm pleased to say that the above points are all present and accounted for. In this installment, Christopher Belmont is searching for his lost son, and luckily for us, Christopher moves and controls much better than its Game Boy predecessor Trevor. Christopher has access to classic subweapons such as an overhead throwing axe, a holy cross, and holy water. What's more, the game is suddenly a non-linear affair akin to the _Mega Man_ games, where you can choose which of the four stages to tackle, before Dracula's "real" castle appears. Each stage still is a castle, but with its own design: Cloud Castle, Plant Castle, Rock Castle, etc.
|
||||
|
||||
In a way, _Belmont's Revenge_ is what [Turtles II: Back from the Sewers](/games/gameboy/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-back-from-the-sewers/) is to the original GB Turtles game, [Fall of the Foot Clan](/games/gameboy/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-fall-of-the-foot-clan/): nearly every aspect of the game was improved, yet it still doesn't make for a superb game with a lasting impression.
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
The stages are broken up by sections, just like in the NES game, where you open a door that also signifies a respawn point---which was _very_ unclear in _The Adventure_. The development team did their best to apply more unique flair to each of the castles, with a (still very much limited) amount of unique backgrounds and monster designs. If you play with save states---and you should, as this is still very much a punishingly difficult game---and take it slow, one castle won't take up more than twenty minutes of your time.
|
||||
|
|
@ -33,6 +35,6 @@ In line with the first installment, the soundtrack is quite good for being a rel
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
To be honest, I'd still rather play the NES original, but can't take that with me. And this one either, as I played it as part of the _Anniversary Collection_, since getting hold of a _Belmont's Revenge_ cartridge will set you back at least `$50`---and it's not _that_ good (or lengthy).
|
||||
To be honest, I'd still rather play the NES original, but can't take that with me. And this one neither, as I played it as part of the _Anniversary Collection_, since getting hold of a _Belmont's Revenge_ cartridge will set you back at least `$60` according to [Price Charting](https://www.pricecharting.com/game/pal-gameboy/castlevania-ii-belmont%27s-revenge)---and it's not _that_ good (or lengthy).
|
||||
|
||||
_Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge_ is an interesting curiosity that, compared to _The Adventure_, perhaps _is_ worth playing if you're a Castlevania fan. If you're just looking for a solid Game Boy platformer, perhaps look elsewhere.
|
||||
_Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge_ is an interesting curiosity that, compared to _The Adventure_, perhaps _is_ worth playing if you're a Castlevania fan. It could almost pass as a a generic solid Game Boy platformer, but more recent games with tighter mechanics quickly outclassed this Belmont.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -12,29 +12,27 @@ game_developer: 'Konami'
|
|||
|
||||
In 1989, The Nintendo's handheld [Game Boy](/games/gameboy) made its debut in Japan, suddenly creating a demand for bite-sized adventures that could work on the go. Konami decided to translate their 1987 NES Castlevania franchise to the new platform, but in doing so, both the Belmonts and the vampires lost their iconic characteristics.
|
||||
|
||||
In short, the game is one of the worst platformers I've ever played on the Game Boy.
|
||||
|
||||
I don't even think it's worth devoting a review to this shitty [Castlevania](/tags/castlevania) entry---and that comes from someone who loves the series.
|
||||
In short, the game is one of the worst platformers I've ever played on the Game Boy. I don't even think it's worth devoting a review to this shitty [Castlevania](/tags/castlevania) entry---and that comes from someone who loves the series.
|
||||
|
||||
But since you're reading this, I might as well quickly summarize why it's as bad as everyone says it is. As soon as you take the control of the protagonist, Trevor Belmont---an ancestor of Simon, since the game supposedly takes place a century before the events of the NES game---it immediately becomes apparent that you're not going to have fun playing this game: Trevor moves slower than your average garden snail, you can't whip enemies while climbing or on ropes (and there are a _lot_ of ropes in this game), there are no subweapons, and the game only offers four stages with plenty of opportunities for cheap deaths.
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
Yes, the NES game is famous for it's difficulty and "staircase of death" since getting hit by a bat means falling backwards, through the cases, into a bottomless pit. But if you play _The Adventure_, and immediately after that go back to the NES version, you'll release a giant sigh of relief: at least Simon is more or less controllable. This longplay video better illustrates my main gripes:
|
||||
Yes, the NES game is also particularly famous for it's grueling difficulty and "staircase of death" since getting hit by a bat means falling backwards, through the cases, into a bottomless pit. But if you play _The Adventure_, and immediately after that go back to the NES version, you'll release a giant sigh of relief: at least Simon is more or less controllable. This longplay video better illustrates my main gripes:
|
||||
|
||||
{{< youtube 1oj7AdERJHc >}}
|
||||
|
||||
As you can hear, the musical tunes are no doubt up to snuff, probably to disguise the otherwise hideous gameplay elements. What kind of a vampire killer can't throw a holy cross or an axe? Trevor can't, and he sure does need it: at certain points, the game throws all kinds of weird enemies at you: rolling eyeballs that explode on impact, pillars that puke out diagonally bouncing balls at an alarming rate, the carefully placed bat here and there, ...
|
||||
|
||||
For a Game Boy platform game, precise controls are of paramount importance, while in _The Adventure_, trying to navigate Trevor over a set of floating bricks with pits in-between (in stage 1, only five minutes after booting the game!) truly is a nightmare come to life. In stage 3, the spiked wall starts coming down and then moving to the right, meaning you'll have to hurry up, except that you can't. I played this as part of the _Anniversary Collection_ while heavily abusing save states. I have no idea how this could be finished on an actual Game Boy in the early nineties.
|
||||
For a Game Boy platform game, precise controls are of paramount importance, while in _The Adventure_, trying to navigate Trevor over a set of floating bricks with pits in-between (in stage 1, only five minutes after booting the game!) truly is a nightmare come to life. In stage 3, the spiked wall starts coming down and then moving to the right, meaning you'll have to hurry up, except that you simply can't. I played this as part of the _Anniversary Collection_ while heavily abusing save states. I have no idea how this could be finished on an actual Game Boy in the early nineties.
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
I realize that a lot of GB launch games weren't too impressive, but even compared to the first average Mario adventure, [Super Mario Land](/games/gameboy/super-mario-land), _Castlevania: The Adventure_ is something to be ashamed of, perhaps even as a player. According to Wikipedia, design choices also were questionable:
|
||||
I realize that a lot of GB launch games weren't too impressive, but even compared to the first average Mario adventure, [Super Mario Land](/games/gameboy/super-mario-land), releasing _Castlevania: The Adventure_ is something to be ashamed of, perhaps even playing it. According to Wikipedia, design choices also were questionable:
|
||||
|
||||
> [...] The second stage becomes impossible to beat if the player goes left instead of right on the first set of ropes and goes all the way down the bridge. They will be faced with a dead-end, Belmont will respawn there when he dies, and there is no way to get back up. The only way for the player to continue is to lose all of their lives, which will put them at the beginning of the stage.
|
||||
|
||||
I think I now understand why the remake _The Adventure: ReBirth_ by M2 on WiiWare in 2009, was very much needed. There is literally no reason to play the GB original except if you want to punish yourself. All the more strange that the ReBirth version wasn't included in the _Anniversary Collection_ set.
|
||||
|
||||
Luckily, the Game Boy successor called [Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge](/games/gameboy/castlevania-ii-belmonts-revenge), came with much-needed improvements, making it a vastly handheld Castlevania experience.
|
||||
Luckily, the Game Boy successor called [Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge](/games/gameboy/castlevania-ii-belmonts-revenge), came with much-needed improvements, making it a vastly superior handheld Castlevania experience.
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -1,4 +1,32 @@
|
|||
[
|
||||
{
|
||||
"author": {
|
||||
"name": "Jefklak",
|
||||
"picture": "/pictures/jefklakscodex.com"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"name": "Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge",
|
||||
"content": "After the giant failure of Castlevania: The Adventure, Konami still had the guts to continue its handheld Castlevania line in 1991, by going back to the drawing board and fixing nany of The Adventure’s shortcomings. A design document from the Anniv...",
|
||||
"published": "2023-01-15T00:00:00+00:00",
|
||||
"url": "https://jefklakscodex.com/games/gameboy/castlevania-ii-belmonts-revenge/",
|
||||
"type": "mention",
|
||||
"source": "https://jefklakscodex.com/games/gameboy/castlevania-ii-belmonts-revenge/",
|
||||
"target": "https://jefklakscodex.com/tags/castlevania",
|
||||
"relativeTarget": "/tags/castlevania"
|
||||
},
|
||||
{
|
||||
"author": {
|
||||
"name": "Jefklak",
|
||||
"picture": "/pictures/jefklakscodex.com"
|
||||
},
|
||||
"name": "Castlevania: The (Terrible) Adventure",
|
||||
"content": "In 1989, The Nintendo’s handheld Game Boy made its debut in Japan, suddenly creating a demand for bite-sized adventures that could work on the go. Konami decided to translate their 1987 NES Castlevania franchise to the new platform, but in doing so...",
|
||||
"published": "2023-01-15T00:00:00+00:00",
|
||||
"url": "https://jefklakscodex.com/games/gameboy/castlevania-the-adventure/",
|
||||
"type": "mention",
|
||||
"source": "https://jefklakscodex.com/games/gameboy/castlevania-the-adventure/",
|
||||
"target": "https://jefklakscodex.com/games/gameboy",
|
||||
"relativeTarget": "/games/gameboy"
|
||||
},
|
||||
{
|
||||
"author": {
|
||||
"name": "Wouter Groeneveld",
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
Loading…
Reference in New Issue