Castlevania (I) (1986 Video Game) User Reviews

The original terror, find and defeat Dracula and his castle full of nightmares

[Aaron1375 · 7/10 · 6 May 2012]

This is one of those early NES games that really set the NES apart from the old gaming systems such as the Atari. A game with multiple levels and stage bosses, a password system and an ending. It is a fun side scrolling game that is not quite as fast paced as Ninja Gaiden, but has a charm all its own. I especially like the horror theme of the game as the protagonist must fight many old monsters from stories and movies of old. The game is extremely difficult, but once again it is not as difficult as Ninja Gaiden and the three games that make up the Castlevania trilogy is a difficult one, but not as hard as the Ninja Gaiden one. Hard to say which of the two series I like more, this one though would go on to have life after the NES and on the SNES, the Genesis and all the way up to now without really missing a console.

The story is simple enough. Dracula terrorizes the countryside of Transylvania and it is up to Simon Belmont to brave Dracula's castle and destroy the prince of darkness! It will not be easy as he has many monsters roaming the halls of his castle including zombies, bats and Medusa heads! You will also have to take on other classic monsters such as Frankenstein and you will even have to challenge Death itself in a life or dead duel! The game play is standard side scrolling fashion, a fashion that this series pretty much helped shape. Other games would mimic this style of having a character going through a stage fighting monsters and overcoming obstacles before facing a boss at the end of each stage.

So a good game, not as good though after you play part IV which is a remake of this game. That one is longer, has better graphics and controlling Simon Belmont is much easier to do than here. However, the harder controllers here add to the challenge and thus extend the game play a bit. If you were able to use the 16-bit Simon from IV, the game would not last long or have any real challenge to it. So while it is not as good as the remake or the Castlevanias of the later systems, this one has a special charm all its own.

Very difficult

[bull-frog · 7/10 · 9 April 2007]

I remembered somewhat enjoying this game at times and completely hating it at other times. Castlevania I and III are both extremely difficult. The first few levels are relatively easy, but really get hard later on. Typical of many original NES games, you get three opportunities and after that you start all over from the beginning. That's one of the things that made it so difficult. Another thing I remembered were the controls - they weren't very intuitive, unlike those on Zelda or the Supermario series. I had a particularly difficult time timing my jumps, as I would all-too-often jump into a pit and die. I've used a game genie with little success on Castlevania. On the bright side, Castlevania had among the coolest video game background music.

A classic NES game

[Rautus · 10/10 · 7 July 2007]

Castlevania is a platform game where you go through various parts of Dracula's castle fighting a variety of monsters. Your main weapon is a special kind of whip called the Vampire Killer although you can find secondary weapons from killing enemies or whipping candles, using them gets rid of the hearts you collect so you can't keep over using them unless you have a load of hearts collected. The boss fights can be very challenging so you need to keep a lot of health and dodge their attacks.

The levels get more difficult as you progress through the game, you have harder monsters or more monsters to fight, tougher platforming sections and harder bosses. But that's what makes it fun because it's a challenge to play and if you get a game over you want to try again.

Castlevania is a great classic on the NES that should be played. 10/10

Dracula leads the horror all-stars against the world's greatest vampire hunter, Simon Belmont

[Lunchbox-3 · 25 January 2000]

In the country of Transylvania sits Count Dracula in his gothic castle fortress, Castlevania. He has kidnapped the girlfriend of Simon Belmont to goad him into a fight. To get to the Count, Simon must fight through level after level of zombies, bats and skeletons to name a few, armed with a whip and an assortment of strange secondary weapons including a cross-shaped boomerang, bottles of acid, throwing daggers, a stopwatch and the enigmatic 'multiplier.' Along the way Simon encounters increasingly difficult 'level bosses,' including Frankenstein's Monster and Igor, Medusa, the Mummies, and the Grim Reaper. Why all of these guys are working for a mere vampire I'll never know ... but in the world of Castlevania it's sure that Count Dracula is the King of all Monsters.

One of my favorites

[residentevil6901 · 10/10 · 26 January 2011]

This is one fun game and i still play it today. Holds it's replay value very well. This was the first game that i bought when i just got my drivers license and i was able to drive myself to the store to buy it lol. When i got home with it i stayed up all night playing it.

Everything about this game hooked me. The music is what stood out at first, i still find myself huming it today. The game play was fun and the first level is easy once you get used to it. Then they get progressively harder, the last level took me forever to beat. But wow what a game. I found myself at times screaming and throwing the controller down to the ground but then would come back with a vengeance to beat the level.

This is in my top ten games of all time. My kids, who were not born until 15 years after this game came out, love to play it as well. I really enjoy this style of play compared to the new CGI overload games and movies of today.

An Honest Review

[generationofswine · 10/10 · 4 November 2020]

When I was growing up, Pizza Hut had the arcade version of this and it was actually pretty fun to be able to sit down at the table and play a version of this with slightly better graphics as you waited for your parents to order.

But... nostalgia aside, it was a Gothic and moody side scroller that did a good job of playing to the horror vibe, right down to the music (which was impressive for 80s NES fair).

It almost felt like you were in a horror film.

This is the worst Castlevania game on NES and it's torture to play.

[crosswalkx · 4/10 · 8 December 2019]

I have played this Castlevania game on NES because you play as Simon who only whips left and right, seriously, why didn't the programmers allow the player to whip upwards? Legend of Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link at least allowed for Link to stab above and below him. Metroid allowed Samus to fire upwards and Kid Icarus allowed for the player to fire upwards.

I also hate it that enemies like those annoying floating Medusa heads knock Simon back real hard and cause him to fall in the pit which sucks, I'd rather play Ninja Gaiden 3 which is more forgiving.

I like the sub weapons like Dagger but it gets overshadowed by the boomerang and I like the throwing axe weapon. But I don't like the Holy Water or Stopwatch Item which are useless by the way.

I don't like fighting the bosses especially the Grim Reaper who's a pain in the to fight with floating sickles around the player. Dracula is hard to fight unless you use the boomerang weapon, the throwing axe can be hard to use in this game though.

I don't know why the NES version gets praised by video game critics or Castlevania fans, this game has terrible gameplay design and it's literally hell to play through and will make the player angry or rage quit due to the lousy gameplay design.

I would rather play this game on the Famicom Mini console instead since it's easier to play than the gaming torture on the NES version. I would skip this game and play Ninja Gaiden 3, or Castlevania 2: Simons Quest, or Super Castlevania 4 or Castlevania: Dracula X since they're more forgiving to play. Please don't play this game, skip this game or play it until you beat Dracula and then forget about this horrible NES game, there's better games to replay like Ninja Gaiden 3 instead.

A 80's Classic!

[Skyrcket · 6 December 1999]

Castlevania was one of the first, and best, games released on the old NES system.

The story is pretty simple: You're Simon Belmont, vampire hunter. That jerk the Count has kidnaped your girlfriend, Sophia, and it's up to you to save her before the Count makes her into a snack. Armed with a variety of whips and other magic items (stakes, garlic, holy water, diamonds...) you must fight your way though the armies of zombies, ghouls, bats, hunchbacks, werewolves, Frankinstiens and other monsters that serve the Count.

Once you've made in though that you get to go man-to-monster with the main man himself. Can you put the Count down for the count?

Okay, enough. The fact is that Castlevania was one of the best video games of the 80s. It was challenging, fun and for the time had great graphics. But best off all was the music. I still remember the awesome Castlevania theme. It just rocked! The perfect music to go along with kicking some vampire butt!

Castlevania

[bombersflyup · 3/10 · 25 January 2019]

Castlevania is a difficult game. The controls aren't great, I die way too much to enjoy repeating the levels, only to miss a jump or get knocked off and plummet to my death. Trying to avoid things tends to get you killed more than just trying to kill everything, I think. I'm not feeling the vibe of the graphics and sound to be immersed in the setting, that others are.

Castelvania!

[Movie Nuttball · 19 October 2004]

Castelvania is one of the most different adventure video games! The characters, the action, and the sure thrill of adventure makes this game a fun non-stop playing time! Below is a brief look how I think the game is!

Game Play: The game play is very good. There is really basic controls here and is easy to perform. Novice gamers should have a good time here!

Graphics: The graphics are wonderful especially for the first Nintendo. The backgrounds are really beautiful!

Difficulty: The game is easy but as it goes on you find out that it will become more difficult!

Music: The music is great! Just fantastic catchy tunes through out the game! In My opinion its some of the best music ever in a video game!

Sound: The sound is great. Nuff said!

Overall: I have always loved Castelvania! If you like excellent adventure games that has Dracula, Werewolves, Ghosts, and more then I strongly recommend you play this game!

To purchase this video game check out Amazon.com!