This game is one of my favorite video games of all time, as it's one of my favorite entries in the "Castlevania" series and games for the "Genesis" console. This was the first and only game that was ever released on the Genesis console and it's an awesome one.
The plot is the typical kind from Castlevania which is on a countess trying to resurrect Dracula again along with the forces of darkness trying to rule over the land. But here it's different as we see the head vamp is female but the biggest change is the setting doesn't take place in the past, but it moves forwards in time as it takes place in the 1900s. In a way this was the first game that really brought the series into different timelines. But what I like about this plot line is this time it's more of a globetrotting adventure which is cool, it's sort of Castlevania doing "Indiana Jones."
The graphical presentation is very good, it's not as great as the one for Castlevania 4 for the SNES but it's still good enough in my book. I really like the dark fantasy gothic structure you see but most importantly the layout of the levels. And each of the levels are different as each are based on a regional location. Really like the variety in monsters but I really like that they used some different types of monsters from the realm of horror and fantasy, mainly ones from Greek Mythology like the Minator as well as Harpies which keeps the bump in the night roster colorful.
The gameplay is great as usual, in this game you have two different characters to play as, whom are both decendents of the Belmont family. One is of course armed with the trademark weapon the chain whip and the other is armed with a spear, both characters play about the same just with different weapons. Personally, I play as the character with the chain whip because that's my favorite weapon in the franchise.
You can whip and thrust in the usual directions left and right, but you also are able to attack in other directions like diagonal. I even like that with the whip you can use it as a grappling hook, where you can hit the celing and then swing like "Indiana Jones" or "Batman" from point A to B.
You have the usual power ups but one thing that is different is there is this power up where you are supercharged and depending on which your armed with when you whip or thrust you produce a fireball. This over course have been common in some of the other "Castlevania" games over the years but it's still a cool feature. However, the only bad news is it's a temporary one because if you get hit once you lose the ability, so make sure you don't get hit.
The boss battles are solid, their each beatable and kind of easy (I said kind of), but each battle is always different which really keeps things fresh and you guessing as you never sure how it will go down next. And the difficulty in the game is at a medium level, it's not too hard but not too easy as there is a trick spot or two, it is "Castlevania" after all.
And of course, one of my absolute favorite features is the music itself which is just excellent, it's the kind of music I would love to download onto my iPod, may 'be even play at a Halloween party. Each of the tracks are memorable I just love the music all of them are practically my favorite tracks though if I must pick favorite it's the First, Second, and Forth level tracks.
Overall this is another very solid entry in the series, if you're a Castlevania fan it's another entry worth including as it just bleeds with excitement and fun.
Rating: 4 stars
