Super Castlevania 4 | The Complete Review

[Music] [Music] [Music] one of my favorite IPS ever is Castlevania which came out in 1986 for the NES it was the first time I saw myself whipping enemies it was such a brilliant concept and I don't believe I'd ever seen a game like this before combining Dracula and Indiana Jones into a stunning game that would become one of kanami's finest IPS to date then in 1988 Castlevania Simon Quest was released the game went from linear to nonlinear this was an action adventure with revisit locations I found it frustrating because it did not direct you where to go the third installment Castlevania Dracula's curse was what the second one should have been I've heard nothing but positive things about it some claim it's the best Castlevania on the NES unfortunately I never got to experience it because I switched from the NES to the Sega Genesis back in my adoles recent years I was lucky to have a job so I ordered a Japanese Super Nintendo known as the super famicom in Japan I bought the Japanese Castlevania 4 which had some differences from the US version and I was able to play it a few months before the US release then in 1991 Konami released the fourth installment in the Castlevania series known as Super Castlevania 4 for the US market on the Super Nintendo I'll be reviewing Super Castlevania 4 which happens to be my first video game review on my channel I'll talk about the regional differences introduction gameplay soundtrack and level design as I go through the game before I forget footage will be slow or fast forward throughout the game I will also rate the graphics and music of each level I will put a rating info on the bottom left corner of the [Applause] screen first I want to discuss the Box artwork from both regions my perspective is that I like the slightly more perhaps the color red is dominating the artwork or the closeup of Simon Belmont with his blue outfit however the US artwork is excellent on its own I wish that was a stance artwork rather than Simon swinging in his surroundings I have to confess that the Japanese artwork for Dracula's face is a little ridiculous perhaps they went with the 1970s approach when they casted older actors as Dracula who knows when it comes to the intro of both games the US totally missed the mark when they removed the blood from the Japanese edition I understand it was due to Nintendo's immature rules but they could have at least altered the blood color on the other hand alter the introduction when the opening pans from the bottom of the screen to the top it demonstrates where the blood droplets are originating from there is no point in panning the camera from bottom to top if there is no blood poool in the US for instance they could just begin the introduction with lightning striking the top and the bats flying away the blood was the most crucial component of this introduction in conveying Terror the Japanese version features a beautiful castle silhouette that could have been used for the Castlevania logo in the US this is how I updated the US logo Konami removed all of the crosses from the US version of the game I'm not sure why except perhaps not to disrespect the Catholic religion here are some screenshots comparing the us with Japan if you look closely at the password screen in the church window glass there was a priest drawn in it on the Japanese version but it has since been replaced with what appears to be an angel you can see that they took out all the crosses from the game but you still got the cross Boomerang what's amusing is that some of the pictures show red blood swapped with green blood yet they couldn't change the blood on the intro screen the sculptures breasts were covered with carved cloth it's ridiculous especially because Medusa in the US version of the game stays bare [Music] chested when it comes to Simon sprite animation it has been doubled the colors on Simon on NES is about three colors while on the Super NES Simon hits about 14 colors in Super Castlevania 4 players can use a range of Weaponry to confront Dracula's soldiers the game has both primary and secondary weapons here's an overview of the Weaponry available the cross a boomerang likee weapon that returns to the player stopwatch temporarily freezes time immobilizing most enemies holy water creates a small fire where it lands damaging enemies over time the axe an arcing projectile that is useful for hitting enemies above or below Simon Belmont the dagger a fast straightforward project TI in addition to these there are items that enhance the primary weapon or provide temporary boosts called secondary items the Morning Star increases the power of the whip in two levels small pork chop partially revives lost power large Port Chop revives more lost power large Hearts gives you five shots per weapon there is also small hearts that give you one shot per heart that I forgot to add in this section moneybag Awards you with points Rosario destroys all enemies on screen invisibility potion renders you safe from harm for a few seconds extra life adds a bonus life double shot allows use of throwing weapon twice in a row triple shot allows use of throwing weapon three times in a row and last item is the Magic Orb capture from boss character at the end of each level to earn time bonus and restore lost power in the past Castlevania on the NES it would only let you use the whip to hit opponents in front of you but with super Castlevania 4 Simon can whip in eight directions offering a wide range of attack angles Simon can also hold the whip out in a specific Direction and swing it around to deflect projectiles called whip tethering these abilities were missing on the past games on the NES additionally Simon is capable of whip swinging which gives platforming a new Twist by allowing him to swing across gaps by grabbing onto hooks with his whip even though I mentioned the opening comparison across different locations I'd want to discuss the music and the rest of the intro in my view the start to this game is one of the best in any 16bit video game the creepiness and mood of this intro highlight konami's Talent back in the 1990s the way they employed the Super NES sound chip when used correctly set it apart from many other games of the period the translucent fog thunder and lightning are so perfectly done that the Super NES was an enormous leap over the Genesis when done correctly the composition instrumentation and quality all sound like they came from a 32-bit CD ROM system my favorite part of this song is this one [Music] very powerful emotions coming from this amazing [Music] song After the introduction hit start enter your name and get ready to progress through 11 stages even by today's standards this scene looks fantastic thanks to the Super NES graphic capabilities this is merely a practice level with no enemies all you have to do is get ready before the first fight I find this level's vibe to be very appealing it creeped me out when I first saw it especially that giant skull in the background the music compliments the level design really well here those organs sound so good thanks to Sony for that amazing sound chip the composer I bet closed his eyes and pretend he was walking in Transylvania in order to pull off this amazing track this level is really great especially with all the greenery I also like how the spike fence goes up before the level starts I really like the how you can go from the foreground to the background via the metal door I wished Konami would have used this feature throughout the game if you look closely you can see that the statue's eyes are glowing behind the castle it's nice to have it in the game though I'm not sure what it means exactly after passing a Castle's front door it appears that the next level will either be the same castle or a brand new Castle that has collapsed I really enjoy the level's reddish Hue which depicts a lovely forest with a lake in distant mountains this is the first of many levels where you can use the whip swinging feature once you pass this section of the level you will get to what looks like a haunted horse stable I will say this this part of the level really let me down this is one of the weaker levels in my opinion there are other enemies in this game that I have no idea what they are like this kind of enemy that resembles a seaweed Bush what is that supposed to be as I mentioned before I'm not a huge fan of this level because some of the background has little detail but I suppose sacrifices had to be made because so many levels were jammed into an 8 megabit cart when you reach the end of this section it's time to take on the level boss one of my favorite game soundtracks is the Boss [Music] music since the boss is a skeleton Knight riding a skeleton horse it makes sense that the level is set in a horse stable I feel that most of the bosses in this game is very easy to beat especially if you have a primary weapon equipped like a dagger the organs drums percussion and flute all add a sense of unease to this excellent sound [Music] track you are presented with a new map screen after completing the first level I adore how beautifully it was designed it's one of my favorite map screens of any 16-bit game because of the scaling the Eerie soundtrack and the dark environment this was the Proto type map before the final map design was changed I am so glad they didn't go with this design because it looks like a pixelated mess here is another level that I believe is unimpressive I'm not sure why but I believe it has to do with the art style it simply looks bad The Parallax scrolling sky is lovely but the rest isn't I believe they tried too hard here then as you descend it looks bad particularly the background layer however the music in this level as with most of the songs in the game is incredible when you reach the top of this level you will enter a swamp-like environment the music continues in this level I really like the way this level looks the colors are dark and it doesn't look like a pixel mess like the last level the forest since the sky is so overcast and black it would have been nice to have some lightning in the background and this scene with the bridge showcasing the night sky is one of my favorites in the game it looks fantastic you battle Medusa when you get to the end of this level I will admit that Medusa has incredible animation and [Music] detail this is the last section of stage two it has a flowing river with a strong current the water effect reminds me of the signal interference of RCA cables back in the 1990s you know what I mean if you are over 40 like me the rainbow effect I like the design of this level it doesn't try too hard it looks like a crystal Cavern with water flowing over large pools made out of rock once you get to the end of this level there is no boss to fight since the Medusa you fought earlier was the boss of this [Music] stage once you get to this level the music is very mellow although I think the colors are a bit tooo vibrant for a scary cave level the designs are still quite fantastic this kind of vignette effect is something I would have included in the game's development of this level it simply Blends in better with the environment but I don't think it will look this good since this vignette is pushing more colors than what the Super NES is capable of you get the idea as I mentioned before the song's major focal point is the flute and harp which makes for the amazing music [Music] this waterfall level seems fantastic I adore how the remote setting is accentuated by the Deep Crimson sky in the background the waterfall animation is like two to three frames I wish it was smoother but it's probably a Ram or video RAM limitation on the console the music is amazing and the settings are enhanced by the emotional piano [Music] notes this level's Vivid purple background and the clear blue water that flows through it are both incredibly appealing to me and the waterfall motion is really fluid I'm not sure why it wasn't utilized in the previous level the organ piano and bass guitar all complement one another beautifully in this amazing piece of [Music] music once you reach the boss the water level rises I love that effect you will fight a two-headed snake I like the motion of the snake and it has very good detail although he is simple to kill exercise caution as he has the ability to knock you off the ledge [Music] as you progress through the game to this point the graphics improve there are numerous traps in this level that could kill you if you don't jump quickly this level appears to be a section of a massive castle where you begin in a dungeon and Ascend to the top to face a massive skull although it's unclear to me whether the background or the skull are transparent I like the transparent effect in this instance it is quite easy to kill him he's a mini boss in my [Music] opinion this scene effectively demonstrates the console's mode 7 capabilities [Music] I was astounded by this mode 7 effect when I first saw it it resembles a tower that is rolling on its side there is a lot of slowdown in this part of the game due to mode 7 being used and enemies popping into your view I really like the Distortion of this mode 7 effect and it has a light to darkk vignette that starts from the outside of the screen into the middle this level can be a bit tricky you need to be careful not to get crushed stepping on the huge levitating platform this background kind of reminds me of Castlevania for the NES I'm not sure why it can get confusing as to where to [Music] go but once you reach the boss it shows off the mode 7 scaling and rotation I think they did this just to show off the console's capabilities it's all for show here he is very easy to kill just be careful of the falling blocks that he throws when you whip him as I said earlier the graphics from here get much better throughout the game I love the outside of this level the foreground layer looks sweet but I wish they would blur it out a little bit to give it a depth of field effect I saw it done with other 16-bit games here's what I mean the music here is absolutely amazing and one of the best in the game just hear that amazing drum blasting through the level and very clear Konami was among the best putting the sound chip to the test I also like the fact that the foliage animates very well the background looks similar to the forest which I didn't like but the foreground is very detailed when Konami started thinking about which levels to put more detail into they chose the later levels in the game this level is one of them I really love the colors of the ground here and the background looks spectacular once you make it up the stairs I really love those trees in the background and the entrance to the castle also looks great once you make it inside the castle the map changes and the difficulty ramps up from here on out the graphics on the new map looks amazing and the music [Music] changes this level pays tribute to the original Castlevania Game even the layout is kind of similar the enemies you encounter are also very similar to the original game the music is spectacular on this level and I really love that sound that Konami used throughout this whole game it's so [Music] emotional this part of the game blew me away the mode 7 chandelier swinging from right to left while the background dims back and forth is amazing and the music sounds so good I don't have words to describe how I felt back in the day when I first heard [Music] it this level has a nice variety of colors from the grayish background to the green cement blocks on the floor to me this looks like a dining room with tables in the background the game has some secret rooms that you uncover by accident basically this hidden room is an extra level where you can get more hearts and other goodies the shift in tone from dark to more relaxed is noticeable in the [Music] music continuing through this level there's some really cool transparency effects imitating Supernatural Spirits Konami had some clever ideas on how to use the system's Graphics capabilities in the game once you pass this level you enter a long hallway that reminds me a lot of the Prince of Persia game the colors are beautiful here which changes the vibe of the whole game most of the levels are dark when you get to the boss of the this level the background shifts and you fight two spirits that are dancing together the effect is amazing and the animation in the rotation is so smooth the music is different from previous boss soundtrack the beginning of the song rattles your speaker with a very powerful sound it was quite a departure from the original soundtrack [Music] this Library level looks great but I wish the background was just a tad darker maybe lower the contrast a bit the blacks are a bit overblown it could be me here is a sample I enjoy the music here because it differs from the rest of the songs in the game it is simultaneously soothing and relaxing this section of the level is excellent climbing down is uncommon in this game most of the time you climb up the next level looks fantastic I love the checkered walls with rare weapons and paintings hanging the colors are fantastic dark blue and dark green make an excellent combination this is a haunted museum by the way paintings and statues come to life the boss of this stage is a massive Knight in a display that comes to life the first thing that Springs to mind is the Dark Souls [Music] [Music] game this point is when you see where most of the storage in the 8 megabit cart went the graphics are some of the best on the system this is what I truly like about this level the dark background with amazing detail and the music oh my gosh it's so freaking good the drums piano and synths blend together to create some of the best songs in this [Music] game both graphics and music get almost a 10 out of 10 for me here's another level in the game where you can descend the graphics are incredible makes use of the super NE s's 256 colors everything is meticulously detailed [Music] here once you reach the boss you have to fight Frankenstein it takes place in his lab and he animates really well he could be difficult without some kind of weapon this treasured level also looks amazing from the color of the gold the transparent spirits and the old beat up curtains hanging down the music is good but it gets weird in the later half I love the way everything glows here and so many spirits coming up but there's some slowdown the level detail is spectacular and look at those beautiful backgrounds compared to past levels it's like a different game this level requires a lot of whip swinging in order to [Music] advance the boss in this level is so impressive a huge bat made out of gold and gems there is hardly any slowdown once you hit it a bunch of times it splits into smaller bats the detail is so impressive down to his smallest pixel once you destroy it a staircase comes down from the top of the screen the classic tune is back and it sounds fantastic on the Sony Sound [Music] chip this level is also absolutely stunning this clock tower level has excellent animation look how intricately those massive gears rotate it is definitely done with animation frames rather than Hardware like mode 7 rotation rotating so many Sprites at once would be impossible [Music] this level will put your skills to the test it becomes extremely difficult and requires you to whip swing your way up the music is so good here that it becomes intense and ethereal adding to the game's atmosphere when you reach the top of the clock tower get ready to fight the level's boss you fight the mummy which has excellent animation the scene appears dark and Eerie I really enjoy the vibe of this [Music] environment another classic tune appears in this game and it sounds incredible I really like the synthesizers they added to this song in this level you descend down the castle the detail is incredible but this scene is so stunning that it almost looks like a 32-bit game the dark color stand out on my screen making them ideal for a desktop wallpaper after you pass this section you must Ascend the castle and I like the fog they added which blends well here's another classic Castlevania song rendered in 16-bit glory it sounds incredible as always this is one of the most difficult parts of the game you must stay on top of the floating Rock and Float upward without being hit by the spikes it can be frustrating after completing that section of the level you'll find yourself in a room with a window overlooking a scene of the Setting Sun checkerboard floor tiles a cold stone wall and classic draperies the boss looks like a weird bird once you defeat him you climb higher and see a stunning scene from a few hundred feet above the ground get past this mini boss and proceed I would give the music in this level segment a 10 out of 10 because it is excellent the way those pianos play makes you feel as though something ominous is about to happen to you but then it shifts to a more epic tone go up the stairs you will notice some beautiful long drapery as you approach you must fight death to the death sorry about the pun beat him and keep going this scene in the hallway with the lights on is breathtaking the level of detail Konami put into this game is [Music] staggering this scene for me is a 10 out of 10 it is absolutely stunning this scene looks like it came out of a Sega Saturn and Playstation console once you enter his chamber the fight begins I love Dracula's design it does not appear childish like some other games I like when you hit him because he pixelates throughout the fight he changes his tactics but once you've defeated him it's over I love how the window breaks and the sunlight enters to finish him off for good so how is the game overall the game holds up well but toward the end it was very challenging I must have died a lot of times to death and Dracula the graphics are spe spectacular and the music sounds fresh by modern standards it feels like a well polished indie game after that the game shows the ending which depicts the Castle's [Music] destruction I hope you enjoy this video it was long but it was worth it please give this video a thumbs up and subscribe I'm PL alysis and I'll see you in the next video [Music] [Music]

Channel: Playnalisis

Views: 500

Keywords: PLAYNALISIS, Retrogaming, Arcade, Video Game Music, Video Game Music Comparison

Id: q9lMlHAAWVQ

Length: 29min 47sec (1787 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 07 2024