"Hello there, fellow hunters--Simon Belmont here. Up till now, you've seen the games categorized and ranked for their individual achievements, but the obvious notion is that this method leaves us with some lingering questions. You may have wondered, for just a few instances, about the following: 'Which game is the best?' 'What are the top games, and how do they rank in comparison to each other?' 'And wouldn't a "Slow Children" sign be better placed on an IGN message board?'

I don't claim to know all the answers. So let us find out once and for all which games fill out Mr. P's best-of list, starting with the three most worthy of gold, silver and bronze status, the sacred trinity of greatness, if you will. To give you a sense of the games' impact, each entry will be accompanied by a review excerpt, which should tell you all you need to know.

This is Simon Belmont saying help control the population--have those NBA players spayed and neutered. Good-bye, everybody!"

Gold

          

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse / Akumajou Densetsu for the Nintendo Entertainment System!
Review Excerpt: "Thus, (Konami) introduced to us perhaps what represents the finest, most realized entry into this entire franchise: Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. And while based heavily on the formula of the original NES adventure, Dracula's Curse absolutely shatters the mold and breaks out to become one of the deepest, most satisfying and all-encompassing games available for the NES and, furthermore, for any system in any era, period."

 

Silver

          

Dracula X: Rondo of Blood for the PC Engine: Turbo Duo!
Review Excerpt: "Furthermore, Rondo aims to be and is a giant collection of all of the series' greatest triumphs. And yet it still successfully incorporates the little things: The whole town of Jova is its own stage, and its clock tower stage is ripped right out of the future Symphony. Why does that appeal to me so much? I don't know. When it works beyond explanation, I know they've done something very right. If you do happen to find any negatives, I'd bet that such an instance would be concurrent to, oh, your seventy-ninth play-through."

 

Bronze

          

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night / Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku for the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn!
Review Excerpt: "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is just an all-around masterpiece. Everything here is done to the highest of levels, and it's difficult to imagine the painstaking measures that were taken in its production. Combine factors like the extras, the capacity to explore 200%-plus worth of castle, and an insane amount of depth that can be uncovered even years later, and you'll surely want to play it over and over again. I don't even think they know how well they succeeded in creating what many consider the series' highest point. "

 

The Best of the Rest

Fourth Place

          

Super Castlevania IV / Akumajou Dracula for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System!
Review Excerpt: "Super Castlevania IV is easily one of the best games of the series. It took a gamble, but Konami made a wise choice in allowing a virtual second party to handle its production. The programmers brought in a fresh perspective that allowed them to succeed in supplying the heart-racing adventure for which fans clamor complemented by its own well-executed ideas. Everything has been expanded upon in a new way, and Super Castlevania IV's style and personality are unmistakable."

Fifth Place

          

Castlevania / Akumajou Dracula for the Nintendo Entertainment System!
Review Excerpt: "Castlevania is a true classic that every Castlevania fan must own. It's the type of game the likes of which you'll never see again--a package that blends together a 2D atmosphere, an award-winning musical score, a legendary challenge, and a classic feel that will never be matched. There are some negatives, certainly, when it comes to the controls and some other minor nuances, but this is in many ways the perfect prototype."

Sixth Place

          

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest / Dracula II: Noroi no Fuiin for the Nintendo Entertainment System!
Review Excerpt: "To this day, while not among the most superior of entries, (Simon's Quest) still remains one of my favorites due to its intense atmosphere; it chillingly recreates a playing environment that I envision is true of Transylvania and its landscape. While the price of that atmosphere comes at the expense of never actually navigating Dracula's castle beyond just the main halls, you'll know that Simon's Quest had to do an exceptional job to make you forget it."

Seventh Place

                     

Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge / Dracula Densetsu II for the classic Game Boy!
Review Excerpt: "Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge is the direct sequel to Castlevania: The Adventure and the second of three titles for the classic Game Boy, and it's by far the finest offering of the bunch. Konami's challenge here was to create a game that builds upon Adventure's style of play and actually make it playable while improving upon its many deficiencies. By tweaking the controls, rethinking its strategy in producing an action-adventure platformer, and deferring to common sense and working formulas, it succeeded in finally delivering to the world of portable gaming a true Castlevania title."

Eighth Place

          

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow / Akumajou Dracula: Sougetsu no Juujika for the Nintendo DS!
Review Excerpt: "It's tough, after a while, not to feel like I'm over and over again playing iterations of the exact same game, and Dawn of Sorrow doesn't do much to buck the trend. However, Dawn of Sorrow does a lot of things really well, and there's enough here to where it stands up defiantly to the rest of the DS' library; it is, so far, one of its standouts. I again reiterate that I can't call it superior to games of its ilk, but the amount of extras, especially the enjoyable 'Julius Mode,' push it to where Dawn of Sorrow shows hints that its creators are very slowly starting to get it."

Ninth Place

               

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon / Akumajou Dracula: Circle of the Moon for the Game Boy Advance!
Review Excerpt: "But this is an enduring game. There are some potentially big problems, yes, like the darkness and untimely control lapses, but what KCEK did well, it did to a great degree, and, therein, it did manage to create a level of depth similar to that found in Symphony of the Night--truly, you can return to the game even years from now and still discover new things. Really, Circle of the Moon serves very well to conjure up that classic atmosphere that Legends and the N64 clearly lacked."

Tenth Place

               

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow / Castlevania: Akatsuki no Minuet for the Game Boy Advance!
Review Excerpt: "All told, Aria of Sorrow is a game that surpasses expectations on the power of its story, which keeps everything cohesive, and its interesting 'Tactical Souls' weapon system. It's fortunate that these elements come together so well, too, because if you strip them away, Aria of Sorrow is simply a beefed-up Harmony of Dissonance, another in what's becoming a long line of Symphony of the Night clones."

Eleventh Place

          

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin / Akumajou Dracula: Gallery of Labyringth for the Nintendo DS!
Review Excerpt: "It's above all just plain fun to play. As did 'Julius Mode' for Dawn of Sorrow, it's the extra content, the unlockable heroes, that pushes Portrait of Ruin over the edge and allows it to attain greatness; sprinting through the castle, carefree and with bad intentions, doesn't get old and is in its own right a source of replayability (taking into account, too, the Nest of Evil, a secret-boss-filled hidden area through which you can proceed again and again). True, Portrait of Ruin has to it a certain magic that will keep you playing."

Twelfth Place


Castlevania: Bloodlines / Vampire Killer for the Sega Genesis!
Review Excerpt: "While Bloodlines tries hard and honors the classic Castlevania tradition, it's tough not to see it as a disappointment. I didn't get the chance to play it until three years after its release, when I bought a Genesis from a friend. I went in expecting something Super Castlevania IV-level, or, at the least, something that redefined the series in some way. The addition of Eric Lecarde as a secondary hero, while it lends the game a modicum of replay value, just isn't it."

Thirteenth Place

          

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia / Akumajou Dracula: Ubawareta Kokuin for the Nintendo DS!
Review Excerpt: "Judged in a vacuum, Ecclesia is a quality product and overall an enjoyable experience. Some new concepts are introduced, there's a lot of content, and it's certainly well-made; its storyline, while beholden to the series' brand of wackiness, is interesting and helps to define "the era of the missing Belmont" as introduced in the previous Portrait of Ruin. What haunts Ecclesia, and other adventure-RPG-based entries in the modern series, is that looming specter called Symphony of the Night, to which all of these games are compared in light of borrowing its award-winning formula."

Fourteenth Place

          

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance / Castlevania: Byakuya no Concerto for the Game Boy Advance!
Review Excerpt: "I referred to Circle of the Moon as 'solid,' and I reserve that same opinion for Harmony of Dissonance. It's a very good game. Therein, sadly, lies a trap that I feel Konami and its teams have been falling into: When you're as skilled as they, it becomes too easy to pump out 'solid' games. With Symphony of the Night, they found a successful formula, but it seems as though they're willing to repeat it again and again until it loses all luster. You can see it in the uninspired castle structure and in the crazy ideas that they have to begin using to mask it."

Fifteenth Place

          

Vampire Killer / Akumajou Dracula for the MSX!
Review Excerpt: "In the end, I can say that Vampire Killer is a game that's difficult not to like. Its problems are indicative of the early years of gaming and the limitations lofted upon developers, true, but the game has a curious charm that cannot be denied. Vampire Killer, somehow, is a game that gets better with age because its strongest attribute is clearly its growing mystique; it's almost eerie for someone who loves Castlevania, even years later, to see it exist in this wacky form, and those just discovering it are likely to be overwhelmed by a fit of nostalgia sure to be brought upon as a result of its similarities."

Sixteenth Place

          

Castlevania Chronicles / Castlevania Chronicle: Akumajou Dracula X68000 for the Sharp X68000 and Sony PlayStation!

Review Excerpt: "It's a good game that a diehard fan is likely to enjoy, yes, but I don't think that a more casual audience will 'get it' because stairway confliction, enemy pileups, superman bosses, and the diminished means to combat these dangers are a throwback to when games weren't capable of rising above their hardware's limitations, and most gamers would be apt to pass this title off as 'another one of those.' For every good idea Konami applies, there's a negative that cancels it out, and taken in heavy doses, this is an easy game to hate."


Seventeenth Place


Castlevania: Curse of Darkness / Akumajou Dracula: Yami no Juin for the PlayStation 2!
Review Excerpt: "For what it is, it's another solid entry that doesn't do much to alleviate fears that the series is continuing to move in a direction where soon only the most impoverished will nest. I did feel compelled to keep playing, despite the endless repetition, because the story kept me glued and I was hoping to see some big-time references to Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. What I found out was that Curse of Darkness doesn't really think too much of its world. ... I was actively rooting the game on, but it was content to deliver to me only the world as populated by Hector, Isaac and their weird friends."

Eighteenth Place


Castlevania: Lament of Innocence / Castlevania for the PlayStation 2!
Review Excerpt: "In the end, I don't know that I can call Lament of Innocence a 'good base' for the series' trek back into the realm of 3D. What KCET did well, it did very well, but, unfortunately, Lament also became a collection of some old, bad gaming cliches--finding keys to open doors, hitting one switch to activate another, major last-minute comebacks by weakened bosses, a wacky camera system, a bevy of useless items, and so on. ... I liked its combat system, true, but I'm not sure that this is what Castlevania is supposed to be about."

Nineteenth Place


Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness / Akumajou Dracula Mokushiroku Gaiden: Legend of Cornell for the Nintendo 64!
Review Excerpt: "Nothing has changed in regard to its mechanics, its controls, its camera system and the rest, but because they've better mastered and have a better understanding of the hardware, KCEK has managed to improve upon Castlevania 64's many deficiencies through little adjustments. Combined with the increased number of playable characters and stages, Legacy of Darkness turns out to be only a slightly different yet surprisingly enjoyable experience."

 

"And there you have it--the series' most memorable games!

Now, so far, we've dealt with the very best of 'Castlevania.' We've learned about great play control, superb musical scores and all-around excellence in craftsmanship and design. But there's a dark side to this legendary series, you see. Oh, that's right--there's the very worst of 'Castlevania'! There's no hiding it.

In this, the second part of the 'awards' ceremony, if we can still call it that, we'll take a gander at nine categories worth of the most horrid, wretched waste of microchips ever produced by Konami. To begin the dreaded excursion, we welcome our next speaker--the mysterious Spaniard Eric Lecarde!"

"It's good to be here, Master Barbarian."           

     "That's, uh, 'Master Librarian.' And how are you today, sir?"

"The feeling is mutual."                              

               "Right."

"Now on to the Mr. Orifice Castlevania Rewards!"  



"Hooooold it there, buddy--we've already started. And it's the 'Mr. P Castlevania Awards.' Understand?"





"You have insulted me, Master Libertarian. Prepare to die."

          "NOOOOO, I just--"




    "Yo, HAHA, turn, spin, guard, parry, thrust, STRIKE!"

          "You're not doing anything..."




    "Spin, turn, dive, parry, sweep, dodge, STAB!"

          "Nope."



"You've fought well. And though on this day you have been tamed, there will be other meetings. For now, you can only look deeply into my eyes and remember the name: Lecarde. Eric Lecarde."

          "Nine more pages to go. Just nine more pages to go."

"SILENCE, old traveler! For you have spoken, but the day is mine. Beckoning are the nominees for the 'Worst Enemy Selection,' and I will not fail them.

You see: The enemies of 'Castlevania' have always held the closest association--we watch for them and celebrate their appearances. Part of the joy of experiencing a new title is finding out which baddies, this time, populate Dracula's estate and if there's any correlation to previous meetings. 'What can those bone pillars do this time around?' we ask. By 1997, the series, and specifically Symphony of the Night, began to bear this attribute as a trademark, with the list growing exponentially from one release to the next. It's the job of the successors, we expect, to keep alive and follow this trend. However, there were 'those' titles developed by people who didn't seem to share this (or any logical) sentiment, and we proudly dump all over their work. The nominees for Worst Enemy Selection are:

  • Castlevania II: Simon's Quest: While hardly unimpressive, Simon's Quest cheats in recycling the same enemies over and over--just in different colors.
  • Castlevania: The Adventure: Its enemies aren't that bad-looking, but there aren't enough of them, and the selection is hardly what one would call 'interesting.'
  • Castlevania Legends: Not only is its enemy selection horribly drawn--to match the rest of the game--but it's so lifeless that you'll wonder if they were trying.
  • Castlevania: Dracula X: So you take Rondo's enemy selection, strip it down, discolorize it, misuse it completely, and you call yourself a 'Castlevania' game?
  • Haunted Castle: The enemies are nice-looking, but they're poorly conceived, boring in their lacking animation, and annoying in ways we don't write about.
And now, fans of 'Castlemania,' click the link and bask in futility."

Page 11: The Award for Worst Enemy Selection