Holy Diver (NES, 1989)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-7 Control-7.5 Challenge-7.5 Story-
Level Design-7 Frustration-9 Fun-6.5 Originality-5
Overall Score-6.5
+
Castlevania style gameplay with improved controls (controllable jump in mid-air, shoot up)
Upgradeable health bar
Gain magic spells (freeze (CV3/MM1), double shot, etc.)
Good variety
Turn into a dragon for short segments (not very interesting though)
Fast paced (up until stage 4)
Forgiving checkpoints and MP refill upon death
+/-
Freeze spell also freezes all enemies (with a few exceptions) in an area
Can't move while shooting
Fairly easy to grind for MP/HP
Dropped items disappear quickly
Break spell is overpowered
Ammo (MP) based spells
Quickly respawning enemies in some segments
Counters unavoidable damage with extra lives
-
Some cheap hits (enemies spawning from within the ground on narrow platforms you're jumping to (stage 3), twin statues appearing in front of and behind you, flying enemies spawning right at a door you're going through, the screen gets crowded by fast enemies in certain points if you move backwards slightly)
Some slowdown
Flicker makes some of the stage 5 boss's projectiles invisible
Some trial & error (need to save MP for the freeze spell in some parts, boss patterns, some mechanics)
Some unkillable enemies (flying eyeballs)
So-so jump height control
Can't move while crouching
Uneven difficulty (very easy second boss (safe spot), need to play very defensively in stage 3, becomes a lot harder from stage 4 onwards, stage 5 boss without the break spell)
Tedious enemies which take too many hits to kill (snakes, stone men)
Tedious final stage
Huge knockback
Some annoying music (boss music, final stage), Music resets when accessing the pause menu
Glitchy and strange transitions
No difficulty options
Level Design-7 Frustration-9 Fun-6.5 Originality-5
Overall Score-6.5
+
Castlevania style gameplay with improved controls (controllable jump in mid-air, shoot up)
Upgradeable health bar
Gain magic spells (freeze (CV3/MM1), double shot, etc.)
Good variety
Turn into a dragon for short segments (not very interesting though)
Fast paced (up until stage 4)
Forgiving checkpoints and MP refill upon death
+/-
Freeze spell also freezes all enemies (with a few exceptions) in an area
Can't move while shooting
Fairly easy to grind for MP/HP
Dropped items disappear quickly
Break spell is overpowered
Ammo (MP) based spells
Quickly respawning enemies in some segments
Counters unavoidable damage with extra lives
-
Some cheap hits (enemies spawning from within the ground on narrow platforms you're jumping to (stage 3), twin statues appearing in front of and behind you, flying enemies spawning right at a door you're going through, the screen gets crowded by fast enemies in certain points if you move backwards slightly)
Some slowdown
Flicker makes some of the stage 5 boss's projectiles invisible
Some trial & error (need to save MP for the freeze spell in some parts, boss patterns, some mechanics)
Some unkillable enemies (flying eyeballs)
So-so jump height control
Can't move while crouching
Uneven difficulty (very easy second boss (safe spot), need to play very defensively in stage 3, becomes a lot harder from stage 4 onwards, stage 5 boss without the break spell)
Tedious enemies which take too many hits to kill (snakes, stone men)
Tedious final stage
Huge knockback
Some annoying music (boss music, final stage), Music resets when accessing the pause menu
Glitchy and strange transitions
No difficulty options