Retro Weekends Episode 73: Super Castlevania

"I liked the game, as Rich says its very cinematic and atmospheric and its a game that feels like it will draw you in and keep you entertained for hours on end. I don't agree with Rich about the difficulty curve though, I felt like the levels suddenly ramped up in difficulty out of nowhere to be honest, the game also felt a bit over long by the end but to be fair that might have been because of the way we played it all in one sitting. Its a great game but I didn't feel it brought anything new to the genre so its just missing that full score for me."

"This is a very polished early Super Nintendo game. The music is fantastic, the graphics are nice, the whole game is dripping with atmosphere and its very cinematic for a game of this time as well, with the music doing a fantastic job of setting the scene. Even the Super Nintendo's graphical features are used quite well, you've got the tube effect room and the rotating environment for example. The only criticisms I'd really level at the game is that I feel the secondary weapons aren't actually as balanced as they were in the NES games, the diagonal whipping feature undermines the axe weapon, and the cross is too overpowered. Its also disappointing that it doesn't have the multiple characters or branching pathways of Castlevania 3. Level design is polished and well thought out, but there's maybe not anything here that feels strikingly new, where the game really shines as I mentioned are in its cinematic qualities."