Game:

Super Castlevania IV (1991)

Duration: 10:28

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16

I was originally uncertain what I'd replace Aladdin with in the rotation once it wrapped, up...there were actually a couple of fine choices in the running, but that all changed today when I was brought to a realization. September 26th marks the 25th anniversary of Castlevania!

Yes, that's right, 25 years ago, Akumajō Dracula touched down and started the struggle between an old man and a family of fashion-conscious, often leather-laden vampire killers that we all know and love.

So you get one guess as to what I decided to do today immediately after hearing the news regarding the anniversary! ...except you're unfortunately disqualified, because you already read the video title, thus spoiling the big surprise. (I hope you're proud of yourself!)

I present, for your timely consideration...Super Castlevania IV, interestingly due to celebrate its own 20th anniversary at the end of October.

Since I actually got my start on YouTube playing the original Castlevania, this feels entirely appropriate, as Super Castlevania IV is a remake of the original...but only in the loosest sense of the word. It features an entirely original collection of stages and is itself one of the strongest contenders for the reigning champion of the old school, stage-based Castlevania games.

This game is a true labor of love on the part of its creators, and a worthy successor to the series, and its influences can be seen in the decades that would follow, even into the free-roaming item-collecting games which even into the DS era would reuse a lot of the detailed enemy sprites with minimal touch-ups. They were just that detailed and ahead of their time.

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The introduction makes one little stumble compared in the solidarity of its storyline...it sounds as if they're talking about a remake, of course, then they end with "Once again Simon Belmont is called upon to destroy Dracula"...even after they stated that it has been one hundred years since the dark lord's previous encounter with the Belmont family...oops!

This is, of course, largely based on the idea of marketing the game effectively to western audiences. You couldn't release a game with the same title (in Japan, it was simply titled Akumajō Dracula, just as the original was) and expect it to mean the same thing to all prospective buyers. Indeed, it's the fourth game in the Castlevania series outside Japan, therefore they felt they needed to sell it as a fourth game.

Besides that, there ARE a few graphical changes that were necessary in order to make the game more appropriate for standards and sensibilities of the time. No crosses on gravestones, statues must wear full clothing, extreme quantities of blood are either removed or recolored, and so on.

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Stage I

As you can see, in this edition, Simon has picked up quite a variety of new tricks this time around. He is, in fact, one the most mobile and varied Castlevania protagonists in the old style, even donating a trick or two to successor games.

Simon has free control over his movement mid-jump, he can lash his whip out in any of the eight cardinal and diagonal directions, he can jump onto stairs and jump off of them, he can walk around while crouched, he can let his whip fall slack and swing it around freely, and he can even use his whip for latching onto grappling points.

Another small change with big implications is that the subweapon has been assigned to its own button, whereas before there wasn't the luxury of extra face buttons, so this frees him up to throw his weapons while crouched down low.

In a lot of ways this makes Simon, in his incredible variety of actions available, among the most powerful members of Belmont family ever...literally! Not in some kind of obscure mythos surrounding the clan, I mean Simon can perform several feats that many Belmonts before (including himself in the original game!) and after could only dream of doing.

Due to a slightly interesting side effect to how the stair-climbing is programmed, you can even make Simon walk up and down them backwards...which I'm not ashamed to say you'll likely see me do now and again.

Besides that, the first stage itself doesn't do much that isn't readily apparent to the observer...a lot of it is showing off things that are the culmination of all the previous generation of Castlevania games' worth of accumulated ideas plus some of neat graphical tricks, and this game's defining anthem, known thenceforth as the official theme of Simon Belmont. (Though it goes without saying, Vampire Killer is the song more closely associated with him over the years.)

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