Castlevania (NES) turns 25 years old today!

[NintendoLegend]

I did a little write-up of the event, but I am more curious about what you guys think of the Castlevania series. What are your fondest memories of the original game or titles since then? Let's celebrate a worthy silver anniversary!

Note: Should have been clearer originally, but in terms of the May 1 1987, I am specifically referring to the North American NES release.

[theantmeister]

I'm ashamed to admit that I've only ever beaten Castlevania on an emulator with save states. That last section of the game is murder!

I absolutely loved Castlevania from the moment I saw it. The theme is just perfect videogame fodder. The graphics, sound and gameplay are all rock solid, even today. My favourite of the series has to be Super Castlevania. I recently finished it and it is one of the most excellent experiences on the SNES. The remixed music from the NES version near the end of the game is a nice touch. It is also a lot more forgiving than the original game, because you can continue using the password system.

And you can't have a Castlevania discussion without linking to the AVGN's brilliant three part round up of the series: http://cinemassacre.com/2009/10/08/castlevania-part-1/

[Darran@Retro Gamer]

I love Castlevania games, particularly the 16-bit ones and Symphony Of The Night. Also wasn't the original Famicom came released in September?

[NintendoLegend]

I love Castlevania games, particularly the 16-bit ones and Symphony Of The Night. Also wasn't the original Famicom came released in September?

Yes -- My bad, should have been clearer that I was just referring to the North American NES release. Thanks!

[Darran@Retro Gamer]

I love Castlevania games, particularly the 16-bit ones and Symphony Of The Night. Also wasn't the original Famicom came released in September?

Yes -- My bad, should have been clearer that I was just referring to the North American NES release. Thanks!

No worries. We make mistakes all the time

[JetSetWilly]

Absolutely love the Castlevania games, even the PS2 ones Im ashamed to say. The first one is a bit of a bastard, though, and I never got into them properly until Symphony of the Night. The worst one is Castlevania HD. Just plain terrible.

[Dam]

I'm ashamed to admit that I've only ever beaten Castlevania on an emulator with save states. That last section of the game is murder!

[/url]

The GBA NES classics has a save feature, thankfully! I still have never beaten the final boss though

Castlevania 3, IV, Bloodlines and Rondo are all amazing, and SOTN should have been one of the best games ever, but they had to ruin it with that levelling up sh!t didn't they. I haven't played any of the others that came after.

[ToxieDogg]

The worst one is Castlevania HD. Just plain terrible.

If you're talking about that one that's on XBLA and PSN (Harmony of Despair), then yeah, I agree with you...just don't like that one at all. But I enjoy the rest of the series, some a lot more than others though. I'm one of the people who doesn't think the N64 games are that bad, never mind the PS2 ones. I think Lords Of Shadow is brilliant as well, and more people would also think so too if they gave it a chance and didn't just write it off as another 'God Of War clone'.

Actually, I'm not a huge fan of Haunted Castle (the arcade game) either, it's clunky and way too dificult (makes the NES games look easy in comparison) but I'm not really sure if that's a proper part of the series or not.

[weakboson]

I do like me some Castlevania. I've only beaten the original on the Wii using the suspend feature. It's a great game though. My favourite is proabbly Order of Ecclesia. Having just played the six metroidvanias that preceded it I thought I might be burnt out with the series but I ended up playing it most of all. Everything you could want from a Castlevania game; challenge, exploration, atmosphere and cool boss battles. I ended up going on to beat it on a clean hard mode level 1 cap file. I sure hope they keep making 2D titles - the lack of which is what's stopping me getting a 3DS.

I liked Lords of Shadow for what it was but it's not really how I want the series to progress. At least Curse of Darkness on the PS2 still felt like a Castlevania game. Come to think of it that's proabbly one of the games I come back to most, and I've yet to discover all its secrets, never mind making progress on crazy difficulty. Under rated for sure.

[Shinobi]

The worst one is Castlevania HD. Just plain terrible.

If you're talking about that one that's on XBLA and PSN (Harmony of Despair), then yeah, I agree with you...just don't like that one at all. But I enjoy the rest of the series, some a lot more than others though. I'm one of the people who doesn't think the N64 games are that bad, never mind the PS2 ones. I think Lords Of Shadow is brilliant as well, and more people would also think so too if they gave it a chance and didn't just write it off as another 'God Of War clone'.

Actually, I'm not a huge fan of Haunted Castle (the arcade game) either, it's clunky and way too dificult (makes the NES games look easy in comparison) but I'm not really sure if that's a proper part of the series or not.

I got the PS2 Haunted Castle and it has the Nes Cover it also comes with a second disc with some Japanese Ninja 1 crediting it(Clock freeze's Bosses btw) and it has all the Castlevania enemies.. One of the other freebies that comes with it classes it in the Castlevania time line.. Agree with the N64 version especially the version with Cornell, the N64 version is what 'Lord of Shadows' should have been