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Computer Versions
Commodore
64
- This version is clearly inferior in regard to its graphics, music and
sound design, but more troublingly it suffers from some very unfortunate
mechanical and mechanical issues. You'll find that nothing about its performance
is one-to-one.
- Most notably, Simon's movement is completely off: He moves with blistering,
almost-uncrontrollable speed, and his jumps carry so much momentum that
in some cases he's able to effectively break the level design and access
higher-positioned platforms that weren't meant to traversed upon that
early. Also, he can inch forward while unleashing series of whip-snaps,
which allows him to plow his way forward, however slowly, and generally
overcome what's intended to be a built-in limitation; in addition, your
whip speed is such that you rapidly take down what are supposed
to be super-tough bosses (Frankenstein and the Grim Reaper).
- Being that this is a Commodore 64 game, there's a difference in screen
resolution: 300x200 pixels compared to the NES' 256x240. Though, the display
wasn't properly adapted; for whatever reason, the graphic designer disproportionately
stretched the visuals horizontally and as a result reduced the display
by two-and-a-half blocks----by
four blocks, two on either side.
This has the most glaring effect on boss rooms, whose side portions are
cut short.
- Enemies' timing, patterns and a.i. differ to varying degrees.
-
Enemies aren't stunned by attacks and continue moving forward unabated.
- Enemies respawn if you scroll as much as a single pixel from
their original spawning point.
- There's no demo sequence. In its place, we get a credits listing, a
cool image of the castle and its graveyard, and then a peek at the high-score
screen ("Dracula's Hall of Blame," as it's called here).
-
The game's copy protection requires that you type in
certain four-digit codes before you can play it. You can view the codes
here.
- You can save your game at any time by pressing Control + S. If you suffer
a Game Over, you'll be taken to the high-score screen and thereafter be
given the option to "Start Over" or "End." If you
choose the former, you'll then be asked if you want to "Start a New
Game" or "Continue a Saved Game."
- Commodore 64 controllers feature only one button, so there are two major
input alterations: (1) You have to push "Up" to jump. And (2)
since "Up" is now assigned exclusively to jumping, you have
to hold down the attack button to use your sub-weapon.
- There's no screen transition when you move past a door. Instead, the
action simply jumps to the next screen after a short loading time.
- There are prolonged loading times between stages.
- Holy water doesn't freeze enemies.
- There's some differing item-placement for candelabras. Also, Stage 3's
second pop-up treasure is moved three blocks inward due to the aforementioned
resolution issue.
-
There's no boss music. Instead the normal stage theme continues to play
during battles.
- Due to a memory issue, the battle with the Mummies
takes place on a separate screen.
-
Boss battles don't trigger until you pass the three-quarters point of
the screen in question.
- Minor enemies can remain present during boss battles.
- Nothing to Lose doesn't play in Stage 6's final area. Instead
you get the Game Over ditty on loop. However, Black Knight does
play during the second phase of the Dracula battle.
- There's no Game Over theme. Upon
death, instead, the game asks you to flip over the disk and thereafter
takes you to the
start-or-continue selection screen.
- The ending theme, Voyager, is abbreviated, and sections of it
are rearranged in weird ways; this is done to compensate for the music's
inexplicably slow tempo.
- The second quest and all subsequent quests have no change in difficulty.
Amiga
Home Computer
- This version features a cinematic introduction. A uniquely composed
opening theme fades and in and guides us through the title screen and
then an exclusive intro sequence wherein lightning strikes and draws attention
to the castle as surrounded by forest. Its Simon-sizes-up-the-castle theme
is also a unique work.
-
The game's copy protection requires that you type in
certain four-digit codes before you can play it. You can view the codes
here.
- The game features key technical and mechanical differences, some beneficial,
others detrimental. Simon moves with blazing speed and increased whip
range. At full power, the whip covers five blocks--roughly a third of
the screen--whereas its NES counterpart covers four; also, it now has
a huge hitbox both horizontally and vertically. Otherwise, Simon can jump
onto and off of stairs, though awkwardly. This is possible because stairways
are treated as sloped platforms.
- The game features a completely new, funky art style that exhibits Novotrade's
distinct vision for this "conversion" effort. Also working to
express as much are jazzed-up
musical compositions and pronounced sound effects. Most notably, bosses
grunt when struck, and Simon screams when he dies.
- Being
that this is an Amiga game, there's a difference in screen resolution:
300x200
pixels compared to the NES' 256x240. Though,
the display wasn't properly adapted; for whatever reason, the graphic
designer disproportionately stretched the visuals horizontally and as
a result reduced the display by two-and-a-half blocks--by four blocks,
two on either side. This
has the most glaring effect on boss rooms, whose side portions are cut
short.
-
You can save your game at any time by pressing Control + S. If you suffer
a Game Over, you'll be taken to the high-score screen and thereafter be
given the option to "Start Over" or "End." If you
choose the former, you'll then be asked if you want to "Start a New
Game" or "Continue a Saved Game."
If you choose to continue, you start in whichever stage area you saved.
- Music tracks aren't correctly paired with stages. Wicked Child
plays on Stage 1. Walking on the Edge plays on Stage 2. Heart
of Fire plays on Stage 3. Vampire Killer plays on Stage 4.
And Stalker plays on Stage 5. However, Out of Time is correctly
plays on Stage 6, and it's in fact the only Stage 6 theme; it continues
to play even in the stage's final area, bumping out Black Knight.
- This is a one-button game, so you have to push "Up" to jump.
And since "Up"
is assigned exclusively to jumping, you have to hold down the attack button
to use your sub-weapon.
-
The action doesn't pause when you pick up a morning-star symbol.
- Enemies'
timing, patterns and a.i. differ to varying degrees.
- Some enemies take more hits to kill. Knights, for example, now take
three.
- There are no doors or door-opening animations. Instead, screen transitions
are handled via a quick jump after a short loading time.
- Boss
battles don't trigger until you pass the three-quarters point of the screen
in question.
-
There's no boss music. Instead the normal stage theme continues to play
during battles.
-
Enemies' timing, patterns and a.i. Differ to varying degrees.
-
Enemies aren't stunned by attacks and continue moving forward unabated.
- The pop-up treasure in Stage 1's fishman area is activated differently;
you have to crouch on the lower platform to trigger its appearance.
- Medusa heads home in on Simon rather than wave through the air.
- There's no 1up pop-up
treasure in Stage 5 nor in the game for that matter.
- Certain enemies are missing from their posts. The second bone pillar
in block 15, for instance, is notably absent.
- Holy water doesn't freeze enemies.
-
There's some differing item-placement for candelabras. Also, Stage 3's
second pop-up treasure is moved three blocks inward due to the aforementioned
resolution issue.
-
There's no death music. Instead the stage theme continues uninterrupted
(unless it's your final life).
- When you Game Over, it plays Voyager, which is usually tied to
the ending sequence. It continues to play as you're taken to the high-score
screen--the "Hall of Blame," as it's called here.
-
When Dracula's second form appears, we hear the All Clear music and then
silence in following; thus the battle is fought to no musical accompaniment.
When you grab the final crystal, it plays the normal stage-clear theme.
- Dracula's second form doesn't spew fireballs.
- The ending sequence consists of the castle being struck by lightning
while the Game Over music plays. We're then taken to the high-score screen,
where finally Voyager (now correctly, though a bit late) begins
to play.
- There's no second quest. After you enter your name on the high-score
screen, you're immediately taken back to the game's start-or-continue
selection screen.
IBM
PC / DOS
- The DOS version is the closest to the NES version in terms of graphics,
technical performance and mechanics, though there are still plenty of
marked differences. It's generally faster-paced, and the whip has increased
range.
At full power, the whip covers five blocks--roughly a third of the screen--whereas
its NES counterpart covers four.
And Simon's hitbox is expanded to where he can't jump over enemies who
are 32 pixels in height.
- Its audio quality is dependent upon the sound card you're using. There
are three such options: PC Speaker, AdLib and Tandy, each producing soundtracks
that vary in quality. If you desire to compare them, check the "Soundtrack
and Credits" portion of this page and click the appropriate link.
Due to audio limitations, the music and sound effects can't play at the
same time; rather, the music stops to allow sound effects to blare.
- There's
no demo sequence. In its place, we get a credits listing with a cool accompanying
visual of the castle and its graveyard.
-
The action doesn't pause when you pick up a morning-star symbol.
- Enemies'
timing, patterns and a.i. differ to varying degrees.
- Enemies
aren't stunned by attacks and continue moving forward unabated.
- Being
that this is a DOS game, there's a difference in screen resolution: 300x200
pixels compared to the NES' 256x240. Though,
the display wasn't properly adapted; for whatever reason, the graphic
designer disproportionately stretched the visuals horizontally and as
a result reduced the display by two-and-a-half blocks--by four blocks,
two on either side. This has the most glaring effect on boss rooms, whose
side portions are cut short.
- You can save your game at any time--create a one-time save (virtually
a save-state)--and continue from that area of the stage, though with the
same health-total and number of lives you had at the time the save was
recorded.
- There's
some differing item-placement for candelabras. Also, Stage 3's second
pop-up treasure is moved to the other side of the screen, two blocks removed
from the trigger point, due to the aforementioned resolution issue.
-
The pop-up treasure in Stage 1's fishman area is activated differently;
you have to crouch on the lower platform to trigger its appearance.
-
Boss
battles don't trigger until you pass the three-quarters point of the screen
in question.
-
There's no boss music. Instead the normal stage theme continues to play
during battles.
-
Holy water doesn't freeze enemies.
- Strangely, some of the second-quest pop-up treasures are present in
the first quest. Stage 2, in particular, has the 1up found near
the crushers and the Moaui Head near the moving platforms.
-
The 1up pop-up treasure is missing from Stage 5.
- Some
music tracks aren't correctly paired with stages. Wicked Child
plays in Stage 4. Walking on the Edge plays in Stage 5. Nothing
to Lose is not heard in the final area of Stage 6; instead Out
of Time continues to play.
- There's no Game Over music. Upon death, instead, you're taken to the
silent high-score screen.
- There are some notable changes to enemy placement. Some are missing
from their posts, like the second bone pillar in block 15. And in one
particular space--the final leg of Stage 5--two additional axe
knights appear.
- Dracula's second form doesn't spew fireballs.
- When you grab the final crystal, it plays the normal stage-clearing
theme instead of the more-rewarding All Clear theme.
- The
ending theme, Voyager, is abbreviated, and its final section continues
to loop. It continues to do so on the following high-score screen (the
"Hall of Blame," as it's called). As the music and the credits
seem to line up perfectly in this version, there's no logical reason for
why the composer chose to take this route.
-
There's no second quest. After you enter your name on the high-score screen,
you're immediately taken back to the game's start-or-continue selection
screen.
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