Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 1991)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-9 Control-7.5 Challenge-7.5/8.5* Story-5
Level Design-8 Frustration-8 Fun-8 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-8
*Hard
+
Great medieval horror (Teutonic/Gothic?) atmosphere - except for Dracula handing out chicken
Better whip control (8 directions when jumping)
Good special/sub weapons
Good bosses overall (first boss, medusa, twin dragons and mummy are way too easy, skull boss is a button masher)
Mini-bosses
Good variety (gets a bit repetitive towards the end though)
Jump onto and off of stairs
Improved jump control (can't control jump height though)
Shinobi-style double layer segment in the first level
Good use of effects like transparency and scaling & rotation
Unlockable hard mode (beat the game or use a password - check GameFAQs)
Great buildup to the final boss
Unlimited continues
Some secrets (hidden items, one room with a dog owning ghost who cries if you kill his dog)
Password save
-
Too many safe-spots (due to the improved whip control)
Somewhat slow walking speed
Huge knockback (none when on stairs)
Odd whip physics (limp whip can be held straight out into the air)
No alternate paths or characters (CV3 had both)
Unbalanced weapons and no weapon inventory - when you pick up a new weapon you lose the previous one (and you can't tell if a lantern holds a weapon)
Some tedious parts (cellar, stairs in treasury, floating books in library, clock tower, having to redo a section in 6-2 if you miss a jump, the chandelier segment)
Slowdown (more of it in hard mode)
Can’t jump upwards off of a staircase
Some trial & error (bats/medusa heads and traps, auto scrolling part in 4-4 and final level (vertically upwards), dancing couple boss, enemies appearing out of nowhere or right after a difficult jump, last part of the clock tower, falling rubble during boss fights)
Instant death from walking into the side of static spikes
Somewhat sloppy hit detection on larger sprites
A few cheap hits (death’s swoop attack after sucking you in, a few enemies close to stairs)
Inconsistent visual quality at times (some backgrounds and tiles look 8-bit – 16x16 block design)
Bosses are not affected by the harder difficulty (enemies take more hits and there are more enemies in cheap spots)
Can't move back to a previous sub-area of a level (can move backwards within a sub-area, prevents item farming though they could've solved that differently)
Some odd color choices, Somewhat poor animation
Level Design-8 Frustration-8 Fun-8 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-8
*Hard
+
Great medieval horror (Teutonic/Gothic?) atmosphere - except for Dracula handing out chicken
Better whip control (8 directions when jumping)
Good special/sub weapons
Good bosses overall (first boss, medusa, twin dragons and mummy are way too easy, skull boss is a button masher)
Mini-bosses
Good variety (gets a bit repetitive towards the end though)
Jump onto and off of stairs
Improved jump control (can't control jump height though)
Shinobi-style double layer segment in the first level
Good use of effects like transparency and scaling & rotation
Unlockable hard mode (beat the game or use a password - check GameFAQs)
Great buildup to the final boss
Unlimited continues
Some secrets (hidden items, one room with a dog owning ghost who cries if you kill his dog)
Password save
-
Too many safe-spots (due to the improved whip control)
Somewhat slow walking speed
Huge knockback (none when on stairs)
Odd whip physics (limp whip can be held straight out into the air)
No alternate paths or characters (CV3 had both)
Unbalanced weapons and no weapon inventory - when you pick up a new weapon you lose the previous one (and you can't tell if a lantern holds a weapon)
Some tedious parts (cellar, stairs in treasury, floating books in library, clock tower, having to redo a section in 6-2 if you miss a jump, the chandelier segment)
Slowdown (more of it in hard mode)
Can’t jump upwards off of a staircase
Some trial & error (bats/medusa heads and traps, auto scrolling part in 4-4 and final level (vertically upwards), dancing couple boss, enemies appearing out of nowhere or right after a difficult jump, last part of the clock tower, falling rubble during boss fights)
Instant death from walking into the side of static spikes
Somewhat sloppy hit detection on larger sprites
A few cheap hits (death’s swoop attack after sucking you in, a few enemies close to stairs)
Inconsistent visual quality at times (some backgrounds and tiles look 8-bit – 16x16 block design)
Bosses are not affected by the harder difficulty (enemies take more hits and there are more enemies in cheap spots)
Can't move back to a previous sub-area of a level (can move backwards within a sub-area, prevents item farming though they could've solved that differently)
Some odd color choices, Somewhat poor animation