Castlevania Anniversary Collection

A big ol bundle of classic Castlevania games. At this point, these weren't the Metroidvanias everyone expects from the series, but simple platformers with some fun gimmicks to them. I did experience some issues with the collection itself, such as it randomly not accepting controller inputs or the volume being kinda fucky at times. In addition, every game is emulated, which led into some problems with certain games. Overall, if you're just wanting to experience some old Castlevania history, or you're feeding nostalgia, or if you just want some platformers, I'd say this collection is pretty good. I have some very short reviews for each game below:
Castlevania (NES):
- For an 8-bit NES game, the graphics are quite well done. Every location feels distinct
- Music is legendary, especially Vampire Killer and Nothing to Lose
- Has the difficulty of an arcade game (egregious enemy placement and high quantity of enemies)
- Platforming is rough, had multiple times where I clip through objects I should have landed on
- Only game in this collection I've had crash (not the entire collection, just the emulation of it)

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES):
- "What a horrible night to have a curse" is a banger ass line
- Respect to the game for innovating so much, laying down foundations that would eventually cascade into games like Symphony of the Night
- Music slaps once again, Bloody Tears is a phenomenal song
- Gameplay loop and feedback can feel stale and mindnumbing at times, grinding required to buy essential items
- I can appreciate an open-ended adventure that allows you to explore at your own pace, but the absolute lack of direction and samey looking locations make the landscape a slog to traverse, rather than being an exciting cross-country journey for survival
- The final boss fight is hilariously easy, you can spam one item and it stunlocks the boss to DEATH
- Took me a while to come back to it, its an okayish entry in the series. Definitely prefer later titles

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES):
- Definitely my favourite of the bunch, especially after CV2 put a bad taste in my mouth
- Having 4 different playable characters elevated this game above the rest. Grant, Sypha and Alucard as noteworthy alternatives to Trevor makes the game worth multiple playthroughs
- Alternate routes increases replayability further, and its impossible to play every level in one run
- Music is once again a masterpiece, hearing the remix of Vampire Killer as I entered those final levels really got the blood pumping
- Game is obscenely difficult. It was a breeze early on, but it quickly spiked in difficulty, especially during that final boss fight (three phases really fucked me up!)

Super Castlevania IV (SNES):
- The upgrade from NES to SNES did wonders, the graphics are beautiful and Mode 7 only pushes it further
- The music is beautiful, at this point I'm wondering if any of the games have bad music
- Introduction of vertical whip swinging and limp swinging make the gameplay loop feel exceptional, if a little easier as a consequence
- The hook points are an extra little spice to the ClassicVanias that I didn't know I needed
- Platforming feels so buttery smooth, with proper air-strafing and Simon's general weight and feel being perfect
- Occasional lag and stutter when there is an overabundance of sprites on screen (due to this being a SNES emulation)

The Castlevania Adventure (GB):
- I get its an original Gameboy game but like holy hell it really hurts the eyes to look at, if it was on the original console it'd probably not be as bad
- Completely scrapping secondary weapons might have been necessary but it just really hurts the experience overall
- Game is constantly lagging when any projectile gets spawned, terrible
- The music is the only real saving grace of this game, it can be pretty good when it wants to be
- Movement feels terrible, Christopher is slow as molasses and his jumps feel super weird, he phases through everything sometimes
- Short game, has only four levels (good or bad, dependent on your perspective of the game)
- The Autoscroller level existing AT ALL with this garbage tier platforming really made me wonder what they were thinking here
- Besides the platforming being abysmal, this game is piss easy and if you want an easy completion, this game may just be that
- I know this game came out the same year as the GB (its old af), but unless you have some serious nostalgia for the game I'd just recommend skipping it

Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (GB):
- The Castlevania Adventure had no excuse, this game looks way more visually interesting AND it doesn't hurt my eyes
- SUBWEAPONS ARE BACK THANK GOD (This shouldn't have ever needed to be a good point)
- Christopher feels a lot better, still kinda sluggish and slow in movement but his jumps feel heaps better
- Framerate is more consistent, and not constantly dipping at the slightest inconvenience or projectile being spawned (can still lag though)
- Similar to TA, this game is quite short and only has 6 main levels (but there is no demonspawn autoscroller level with bad platforming at least)
- Having the Rock Castle have dark rooms that require active candles or Holy Water in order to see while platforming is actually awesome
- With this game existing, unless you want some VERYYY loose context to what happens prior (as this game is a direct sequel), you can just skip TA

Castlevania Bloodlines (Genesis):
- Despite its shorter length compared to other games in the series, this is my other favourite in this collection (alongside Castlevania III)
- In my opinion, this is the most beautiful game in the entire collection. The Genesis-era graphics and audio just oozes charm
- Having 2 playable characters available right from the get-go (as opposed to CV3 where you have to find them during your playthrough) is splendid
- Eric being an easier character to pick up and use compared to John also allows more people to enjoy Bloodlines, when some may be pushed away due to the difficulty
- Great setup, having a cross-Europe trip in order to stop an evil countess is an awesome setup, and a good shakeup from the other ClassicVania games
- Faster pace and flow to the gameplay when compared to the NES and GB games. Its elating to blitz through stages like a speedy tank
- Difficulty is quite high up there, the enemies can be pretty brutal if you make any mistake. Not many I-frames to work with
- Subweapons having something akin to an EX attack depending on what direction you're holding is FUCKING AWESOME

Kid Dracula (Famicom):
- Goofy ass aesthetic perfectly fits this type of parody spin-off game, reminds me of something like Cat Mario
- Unlocking a new power after each stage is very rewarding, even if some powers are just blatantly OP (homing shot)
- Minigames after each level in order to obtain more extra lives is a fun little activity, if kinda pointless due to difficulty
- Besides a couple points where they just throw a lot of shit at you, this game is pretty easy. There are multiple health restores during a level and the bosses are not that hard
- Visual tearing and game lag are especially bad in this game, worse than most games in the collection
- Fun little game I'd probably only play once, it doesn't have much appeal in terms of replayability (no score system)

Getting ping-ponged by a bat into a water to instantly lose all HP is my favourite form of amusement...

I just finished completing every game and getting every trophy, so I figured it was fitting to write this. Overall, this is an amazing collection of the early Castlevania games, some of which I played when I was younger with my dad, and some I played for the first time. Being a collection, I think it's only fair that they get reviewed individually:

Castlevania I
Overall Rating: 8/10
This is a great game. Just wanted to get that out of the way. While playing I really tried to contextualize this within the era of games this came out around; in doing so, this game is one of the best of its class. From the visual design, to the soundtrack, to the challenging boss encounters at the end of each level, this game really does pack quite the punch in such a unique experience. My experience playing this game really felt like a classic "hard but fair," where the game really rewards you for learning it through and through.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Overall Rating: 5/10
Full transparency: I played this entire game with a guide on another monitor. To me, that's the only way I would really recommend this game to another person asking if they should play it. I don't know, this game does have a lot going for it, and definitely lays some solid foundations for what the Metroidvania genre would eventually become. However, to me that's all that's interesting about this game: seeing the early glimpses of mechanics and gameplay elements that would later inspire other titles that I enjoy. The ideas are cool, but it definitely screams that 80's sequel to a popular game that is nothing like the first. The bosses are ridiculously easy, being only like 3 of them, including Dracula. Worse yet, the translation is horrible, with most townspeople straight up saying nonsense, whereas they would give general clues to progression in the original Japanese version. It's a very hard game to enjoy on its own; a walkthrough is the only way I finished this game.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Overall Rating: 9.9/10
Okay, this is by far my favorite game in this collection, and from reading other reviews and forums I know I'm not alone. It takes everything that was great about the original and dials it to 11 with an even more levels, as well as the ability to have one of three allies fight alongside you. Each character is fun to play, and each brings something new to the table to make you consider keeping them around. I will be honest, while I did find the game difficult, I really don't think it's that difficult. Most of my difficultly came from my own impatience. Once I shifted my mindset to thinking of each stage as a puzzle to be solved on how to progress, it became a lot more manageable of a game to digest given it's ruthless difficulty. The Dracula fight was a bit underwhelming however, which is why I didn't make it a true 10/10. The final phase specifically is what did it for me. Though that does not detract from the insanely enjoyable experience playing this game was. Easy recommend.

Castlevania IV
Overall Rating: 9/10
A clear runner up to my favorite, but that doesn't take away from my love of this game. I could tell this game was going to be special just from the first level, and now I'm looking on eBay for a physical copy of it. This game is just so cool! Simon received a well deserved polish, and now looks like a person, instead of just a bunch of pixels resembling a person. The movement felt a lot sharper and responsive, which made the platforming sections easier. What shined the best for me however was the visual design hands down. I don't know if it's just that 16-bit charm, but it looks so clean to me. This one for sure gave me the hardest time with the final boss, as Dracula beat my ass for hours while I tried to figure out how to beat him. I was so pressed while attempting it I actually took a break, played through all of Adventure, and then returned back to IV. This game is such an easy recommend, I would've paid the price of admission even if it was just IV.

Castlevania: The Adventure
Overall Rating: 5.5/10
As stated above, I played this while taking a breather from IV. It's only 4 levels, but man what a grueling 4 levels it is. Christopher moves so damn slow, and I know that's mainly from the limitations of the Game Boy, but man is it slow. There are no sub-weapons, which is a weird choice. The only semblance of it is once the whip is fully upgraded, it shoots a fireball out of it. This alone would normally be great and I wouldn't normally call it a negative, but I will only because I hardly got to use it; because for whatever reason when the devs were making this game, you lose the fireball ability whenever you take any form of damage. It's a really frustrating facet of the game and I don't know why it's there other than to make it arbitrarily harder, because it does come in handy in a couple moments and I wished I had it more often. It is hard to recommend, as the whole time it just felt a bit rushed, as if Konami just really wanted a Castlevania title in your hands (literally) as fast as possible.

Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
Overall Rating: 7/10
This game kind of shocked me, because I played it right after defeating Dracula in IV, so the Adventure was very fresh in my mind. This is what a Castlevania game was meant to be like on the Game Boy. I thought it was really unique that you can pick what level you wanted to play in the first 4, rather than it just having you run through it in a predetermined order. Definitely reminds me of Mega Man in that respect. Personally, I found the hardest part to be the Soleil fight, and not the Dracula fight. Not much else to say about it, as it is also a fairly short experience.

Castlevania Bloodlines
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
This game really shocked me. I haven't heard of this one before buying this collection, and man was I missing out. Such a unique experience under an unsuspecting title. The entire time playing it I was kept in awe of how beautiful the game design was, and how varied each location was from the rest. I thought it was an interesting change to have John trotting through all of Europe, rather than just through Wallachia like previous games. Playing as John is a cool, standard experience that reminds me of playing through III with some IV elements, but then I booted up the game as Eric and the whole game was flipped on its head. You get to use a SPEAR?? Who decided that? Give them a raise immediately because it was so much fun to do the whole thing over again but with a completely different skill set. The main thing I noticed was just how much longer each stage was, with each of the 6 stages being around 8-11 levels long; a noticeable bump from previous titles. Had a great time all the way through, and was not expecting to like it as much as I did.


Kid Dracula
Overall Rating: 6/10
While I am happy that this game is included in the bundle, as it's the first time it's released in English, I wouldn't be lying if I said I wouldn't be upset if it wasn't there. I started playing it as a joke, but then I kinda just couldn't wait to be done with it. It's cute, clearly for kids, and just not made for me, which is fine. I don't know if it's something wrong with my copy, but every time there was more than 5 entities on screen (which was pretty often) the frame rate would drop pretty significantly, which only added to any frustration I had while playing. I thought the one boss that turned out to just be a game show host giving a quiz was pretty cute, definitely wasn't expecting that. Could not shake the thought of how weird it was for there to be a whole section made just for gambling for more 1ups in between levels, especially being a game for made more for children as a spin-off game.

Summary: Recommended, but only if you are already a Castlevania fan. There are just too many middling games in the package for you to put your foot in the water.
The biggest problem is overall, a difficulty level that is all over the map. Ultimately how frustrating each game ends up being really boils down to how little you want to use the save-state feature, but that does not change the fact that there is some very shoddy design in some of these otherwise excellent games.
In order of listing:
Castlevaia 1: The OG and the GOAT. The best balanced, and best challenge of the collection. Some eccentricities to be sure (I wish there was some kind of indication a candle had a sub-weapon in it or not), but this will forever be the first, and maybe the best.
Castlevania 2: Surprisingly underrated. The game is difficult in all the wrong ways. Boss fights are a joke: there are two separate ways to stun-lock the final boss, and it is the only boss you can't just walk away from. Instead, the difficulty comes in deciphering the really obtuse "puzzles" that fill the playtime. That said, the open world and RPG nature of the game is really interesting and well-executed. With a re-translation to give better hints and a re-balance, this game could be great.
Castlevania 3: Very strong. High amount of replayability, excellent visuals and sound- and hard as hell. Really, the only problem is that it's a bit too unrelenting. Especially towards the end of the game, it falls in love with the idea of enemies attacking you within a second of you entering a new screen. You can lose a quarter of your life within 2 seconds of starting the final level. Combined with the fact that enemy respawning rules seem to change arbitrarily- the game feels a lot better to have 'have beat' than to actually 'beat'.
Super Castlevania: Absurdly overrated by Nintoddlers. Presentation is good, and the movement is great, but the actual gameplay is severely lacking. Tons of pointless gimmicks that existed just to sell the SNES's graphical capabilities, awful platforming, and 2/3rds of the way through the game becomes obsessed with instant-kill traps to the point where you forget you even have a health bar. The boss fights do deliver though so it's hard to call it a bad game.
Castlevania Adventure 1: Castlevania Adventure 1 would be a better game if everything instantly killed you and there were no checkpoints. Why? Well, some of early Castlevania games have a problem where if you die you may as well restart the level because you'll need all the strength you can get to make it past the challenges at the end of the level. Deciding to double down on this, Castlevania Adventure weakens you if you take damage. That's right, you better do the 10 minute final level hitless if you want a shot at the final boss. Oh, and there's no permanent checkpoint at the end either, so you'll have to do this multiple times. Designed to waste your time and your life. This game became playable with the invention of save-scumming. Fuck you. Devs should suffer.
Castlevania Adventure 2: An outstanding improvement over the original. Starts a bit slow and easy, really picks up towards the end for a tough but very fair gauntlet. Only soured by what has to be the worst boss fight I've ever seen right at the end. This, in a way that makes you say "I'm sorry Bed of Chaos, you were really interesting and experimental". Must have guest-starred the programmers from the last game.
Castlevania Bloodlines: Looks great, sounds excellent, plays phenomenally. The whole game borders on being too short and too easy, but the Hard Mode gives the game the added kick it needs. Limited continues means that lives actually matter, and the password system encourages replaying levels to complete them better than you have before. Two playable characters and a lot actually gameplay-relevant visual gimmicks makes this especially memorable.
Kid Dracula: I'm not sure why they added this but not Castlevania Legends, but okay. Fun little platform-shooter that starts to outstay its welcome. Final level expects you to beat 3 new bosses and go through two tight insta-kill platforming sections on 3 hits. Haha, fuck you.
Tierlist:
Castelvania 1
Castlevania Bloodlines
Castlevania 3
Super Castlevania
Castlevania Adventure 2
Castlevania 2
Visit to the Dentist
Kid Dracula
Literal Dog Shit
Terminal Cancer
Castlevania Adventure 1

Re-release Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, and my life is yours!

Castlevania: It's a classic and it's great, aside from the last stage.

Simon's Quest: Boring bland and needlessly confusing, once you adjust to that it's mostly okayish.

Dracula's Curse: It's another classic, but the difficulty makes it way more frustrating than fun.

Super Castlevania 4: It's just amazing, it gets overboard with the platforming towards the end, but besides that it is still one of the best in the series.

The Adventure: Just horrible, terrible enemy and level design, only redeeming quality is the soundtrack.

Belmont's Revenge: Meh, very boring and annoying level design with some terrible enemies sprinkled in. If I had any goodwill towards this game the outrageous final boss wasted it, which might be one of the worst in the series.

Bloodlines: One of the best in the series, but not even close to Super Castlevania 4 or Rondo of Blood, still it's an enjoyable one.

Kid Dracula: It seems fun and charming at first, but once the game starts to throw curveballs at you, you'll see how difficult it is, but for all the wrong reasons. Not to mention the annoying gambling mini games, for fucks sake just let me get to the next stage!

Great games, but they're very hard. Get them while they're on sale instead of paying them at full price. Also good for nostalgic reasons.