Recent reviews by user #23

Castlevania Bloodlines and Super Castlevania 4 are definitely the two darlings of this collection. The Sega Genesis sound chip is peanut butter and it helps Bloodlines soundtrack feel like one of the best in video game history. The graphics in Bloodlines are perhaps the best of the 16 bit era as well, the platforming, in level 4 in particular is incredibly challenging but also fun as hell. Super Castlevania 4 has the best controls in the series, and a great soundtrack as well. The Castlevania series is at least always consistent in the value of it's music.

The first Castlevania on NES is a staple for a reason, still very fun to this day. But also incredibly choppy and a lot of the challenge stems from NES ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and not good game design. But the boss fights are fantastic, Death and Dracula of course being the best parts. Castlevania 2 Simons Quest on the other hand is virtually unplayable. There is no way to understand what you are supposed to do to continue without using a walkthrough. Being stuck in the area before the waterfall because you have to crouch down holding an orb, something the game NEVER tells you to do is the most disgusting incompetence I think ive ever seen from a Konami game. The soundtrack is at least amazing as always. Castlevania 3 Draculas Curse is the hardest game I have ever played bar none. The final level genuinely made me give up. It is incredibly fun and the diverse character pool and branching paths makes it feel the most advanced in gameplay that the NES could possibly offer. The nes ones are certainly worth checking out too if you enjoy retro games. But they havent aged quite as gracefully in terms of how they control. I havent even checked out the gameboy castlevanias yet.

Even if the nes ones arent your style, Definitely recommend this collection if not for the two 16 bit games alone. It may be just two games out of the collection, but they are two of the greatest games ever made. Bloodlines in particular being an underrated entry in the franchise