Akumajô Dorakyura

This is one of those early NES games that really set the NES apart from the old gaming systems such as the Atari. A game with multiple levels and stage bosses, a password system and an ending. It is a fun side scrolling game that is not quite as fast paced as Ninja Gaiden, but has a charm all its own. I especially like the horror theme of the game as the protagonist must fight many old monsters from stories and movies of old. The game is extremely difficult, but once again it is not as difficult as Ninja Gaiden and the three games that make up the Castlevania trilogy is a difficult one, but not as hard as the Ninja Gaiden one. Hard to say which of the two series I like more, this one though would go on to have life after the NES and on the SNES, the Genesis and all the way up to now without really missing a console.

The story is simple enough. Dracula terrorizes the countryside of Transylvania and it is up to Simon Belmont to brave Dracula's castle and destroy the prince of darkness! It will not be easy as he has many monsters roaming the halls of his castle including zombies, bats and Medusa heads! You will also have to take on other classic monsters such as Frankenstein and you will even have to challenge Death itself in a life or dead duel! The game play is standard side scrolling fashion, a fashion that this series pretty much helped shape. Other games would mimic this style of having a character going through a stage fighting monsters and overcoming obstacles before facing a boss at the end of each stage.

So a good game, not as good though after you play part IV which is a remake of this game. That one is longer, has better graphics and controlling Simon Belmont is much easier to do than here. However, the harder controllers here add to the challenge and thus extend the game play a bit. If you were able to use the 16-bit Simon from IV, the game would not last long or have any real challenge to it. So while it is not as good as the remake or the Castlevanias of the later systems, this one has a special charm all its own.

Castlevania is a platform game where you go through various parts of Dracula's castle fighting a variety of monsters. Your main weapon is a special kind of whip called the Vampire Killer although you can find secondary weapons from killing enemies or whipping candles, using them gets rid of the hearts you collect so you can't keep over using them unless you have a load of hearts collected. The boss fights can be very challenging so you need to keep a lot of health and dodge their attacks.

The levels get more difficult as you progress through the game, you have harder monsters or more monsters to fight, tougher platforming sections and harder bosses. But that's what makes it fun because it's a challenge to play and if you get a game over you want to try again.

Castlevania is a great classic on the NES that should be played. 10/10

In the country of Transylvania sits Count Dracula in his gothic castle fortress, Castlevania. He has kidnapped the girlfriend of Simon Belmont to goad him into a fight. To get to the Count, Simon must fight through level after level of zombies, bats and skeletons to name a few, armed with a whip and an assortment of strange secondary weapons including a cross-shaped boomerang, bottles of acid, throwing daggers, a stopwatch and the enigmatic 'multiplier.' Along the way Simon encounters increasingly difficult 'level bosses,' including Frankenstein's Monster and Igor, Medusa, the Mummies, and the Grim Reaper. Why all of these guys are working for a mere vampire I'll never know ... but in the world of Castlevania it's sure that Count Dracula is the King of all Monsters.

This is one fun game and i still play it today. Holds it's replay value very well. This was the first game that i bought when i just got my drivers license and i was able to drive myself to the store to buy it lol. When i got home with it i stayed up all night playing it.

Everything about this game hooked me. The music is what stood out at first, i still find myself huming it today. The game play was fun and the first level is easy once you get used to it. Then they get progressively harder, the last level took me forever to beat. But wow what a game. I found myself at times screaming and throwing the controller down to the ground but then would come back with a vengeance to beat the level.

This is in my top ten games of all time. My kids, who were not born until 15 years after this game came out, love to play it as well. I really enjoy this style of play compared to the new CGI overload games and movies of today.

When I was growing up, Pizza Hut had the arcade version of this and it was actually pretty fun to be able to sit down at the table and play a version of this with slightly better graphics as you waited for your parents to order.

But... nostalgia aside, it was a Gothic and moody side scroller that did a good job of playing to the horror vibe, right down to the music (which was impressive for 80s NES fair).

It almost felt like you were in a horror film.