Super Castlevania IV

Infobox VG
title = Super Castlevania IV


developer = Konami
publisher = Konami
series = Castlevania
designer = Masahiro Ueno (director)
composer = Souji Taro
Masanori Adachi
engine =
released = SNES:
^{flagicon|Japan} October 31, 1991
^flagicon|USA December, 1991
^{flagicon|Europe} November 23, 1992 Virtual Console:
flagicon|JapanDecember 2, 2006
flagicon|USADecember 25, 2006
flagicon|EuropeDecember 29, 2006
genre = Platform game
modes = Single player
ratings =ESRB: Everyone 10+ (Wii Virtual Console)
platforms = Super NES, Virtual Console
media = 8-megabit cartridge (Super NES)
requirements =
input =

"Super Castlevania IV", known as nihongo|"Akumajō Dracula"|悪魔城ドラキュラ|Akumajō Dorakyura|lit. "Demon Castle Dracula" in Japan, is a platform game developed and published by Konami and the first "Castlevania" game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was also released on the Wii's Virtual Console on December 25, 2006. It is a retelling of Simon Belmont's foray into Castlevania, first told in the original "Castlevania". The game has all new levels (several featuring areas outside of the castle), 16-bit graphics featuring SNES graphics Mode 7, and the soundtrack consists mostly of brand new pieces including a handful of remixes of previous "Castlevania" songs.

Gameplay

The control scheme has been expanded upon from its predecessors, this includes the ability for Simon to whip in eight directions, as well as keeping the whip held out if the player holds the attack button. Holding the whip out lets Simon swing or spin it around, allowing the player to easily block enemy projectiles, or hit enemies rapidly (albeit for less damage than a normal strike). In addition, Simon can latch his whip onto grappling points, letting him swing over various obstacles.

Like most "Castlevania" games, Simon can use the sub-weapons and whip power-ups. Sub-weapons are powered by the hearts found in candles and from slain enemies. Since the control pad is used to aim the whip, another button is used to attack with sub weapons, rather than pressing Up and the attack button. The more powerful sub-weapons require more hearts to use. Whip power-ups increase the strength and length of the whip, as expected, and are usually found in candles.

Simon's jumps can now be controlled in the air, to a limited extent. This opens up the possibility to dodge and maneuver away from danger. Simon can also climb stairs in mid-jump, as well as crouch while moving forward.

Following the model set by the previous games, "Super Castlevania IV" employs the usage of many the series' recurring elements, such as moving platforms, pits with spikes, and stairs that one can traverse by pressing the Up or Down direction on the D-Pad.

Unique to "Super Castlevania IV"'s level design is its connection with Simon's whip, the Vampire Killer. Occasionally, objects similar to door knockers will appear in the player's view, and the player must use Simon's whip to grab onto them and swing across pits to gain access to the next part of the stage. Simon is also able to adjust the length of the whip while swinging if the player uses the D-pad accordingly.

The game took advantage of the SNES's then state-of-the-art technology to create levels which would have been impossible to render in the 8-bit NES version of the game, using a variety of optical illusions to foster a sense of fear and disorientation; one level involves the player running across stationary blocks in the center of a giant, rotating, cylindrical room, while another involves the player being made to jump from platforms suspended from a pseudo-3D chandelier while the screen slowly flashes red and black.

Like previous entries in the series, the game culls its enemies and their design from classic American and Eastern European horror movies and folklore. Many of the more powerful monsters are reproductions of the Universal Monsters, with Boris Karloff's depictions of Frankenstein's Monster and The Mummy serving as the bosses in two of the game's later levels. Other monsters culled from classical depiction are The Grim Reaper and a Golem.

Plot

Despite that it is a totally different game, Super Castlevania IV's plot is the same as the first Castlevania, taking place in the same setting and time period.

When the game was localized in North America as "Super Castlevania IV", the story within the manual was changed slightly to make it another story. [Citation |date= May 2008|title= Super Castlevania IV manual|url = http://castlevania.classicgaming.gamespy.com/Games/scv4manual.txt]

Audio

"Super Castlevania IVs soundtrack includes remixes of songs from past games. These include "Vampire Killer" (from "Castlevania"), and "Bloody Tears" (from "Simon's Quest"), two themes that would eventually reappear in many more games. "Beginning", the song played on Stage 1 from ', is also present.

"Theme of Simon Belmont", now considered to be the character's trademark theme song, was played on the last stage in "Castlevania Chronicles/Akumajō Dracula X68000", the last half of the final stage in ', and as a secret music track in '. The "Theme of Simon Belmont" victory fanfare, which was used in "Super Castlevania IV" whenever a crystal was obtained after defeating a boss, was also featured in "". If you rescued one of the 6 children in Henry Mode, this fanfare would play as a victory theme.

Development

Version differences

The American and PAL localizations of the game contain some differences from the original Japanese version, which, like most games in the series, is called "Akumajō Dracula".

The font used in the Japanese game is different from that used in the Western releases. The Western versions use a bright green font; the Japanese version uses a completely different font that is also significantly darker.

Some of the sound effects, such as the snap of the whip have been altered sounding less like a chain whip and with more of a whooshing sound.

In the Japanese version of the game, there were crosses on top of some of the tombstones in the introduction. This was removed for the American and PAL localizations to avoid religious controversies. The misspelled name "Dracura" (a case of Engrish) is also clearly written (in Roman letters) on the tombstone in the Japanese version; this was replaced with an unreadable smudge in the Western versions.

As with many games on the Super NES, there were censorship issues as well. The statues in Stage 6, which were originally topless, were redrawn wearing tunicas. Blood dripping from the ceilings as well as pools of blood in Stage 8 were re-colored from red to green, effectively turning it into slime or acid, and blood dripped from the opening logo in the Japanese version of the game which resembled the original "Akumajō Dracula" title screen from the Famicom Disk System.

Reception

Super Castlevania IV was rated the 66th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.Citation|year=February 2006| title=NP Top 200|periodical=Nintendo Power|volume=200|pages=58-66.]

References

External links