AVGN: Castlevania Part 3
November 5, 2009
Here’s part 3 of the 4 part Castlevania marathon. Here we look at Super Castlevania IV and Castlevania for the N64.
In regards to your comments about Symphony of the Night, you need to understand that I’m not speaking in present tense. I’m talking about my own past, how I initially passed up a PlayStation for a N64. I obviously have owned a PS since. A lot of your comments seem to assume that to this day, I STILL haven’t played Symphony of the Night. Wait til part 4, when I continue my story.
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Comments (170)
great
first i guess XD
Fist comment! This one was awesome! Very happy that you reviewed the N64 version!
EDIT: TEMPLAR_ beat my first comment ‘attempt’ by several seconds…
Sweet! My favourite Castlevania-game.
This video was worth sitting up all night for
Way to put Dracula down for the Count!!!
woot, can’t wait to check this out
Is it just me? Or does James sound like he has a cold?
Fuck yeah! I love these games!
I don’t think the Frankenstein with a chainsaw was Frankenstein, I think it was Bruce Campbell.
This episode is up there with Godzilla, Dick Tracy, Ghostbusters, TMNT3 movie review and TMNT. What they all have in common is showing how disappointing it can get when you’re in such great anticipation of the next installment of a certain game, only to be let down so horribly.
Episodes done in this fashion really get some key themes across to viewers, such as the ‘angry’ nerd or taking people back to the past, who may not be aware of how life as a fan of games really used to be.
Even though these are the least exaggerated kind of episodes (Godzillathon and dressing up as Dick Tracy for Halloween really can’t be exaggerated), I love seeing these versions the most. You can really see James’ own experiences and not something a little more scripted/acted.
Also the double images of the first three games when music from all three were playing near the end was simply genius.
James i cant believe you passed up a ps1 for an n64! lol does that mean you missed out on symphony of the night? i would love to see your take on that game since you say you are a fan of the older more traditional CV games. Great video and great look back on an amazing series!!!
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a bit disappointed to see SOTN was not mentioned. I wonder how you feel about that game? Personally, it’s my favorite castlevania. All of the new castlevanias should follow that style and stop going 3d.
The third and fourth games are my favorites. The music from those is the best.
James, great job so far. I like these types of videos. It’s a nice break from the traditional “angry” nerd. It feels kind of more like a Spike TV review. Here’s hoping for SOTN next!
Great video! I can only assume the final video will cover games you didn’t know growing up… such as SOTN. Looking forward to your thoughts.
Would be nice if you could like…Spin while attacking or have some brawling moves with the whip.
I wish you will talk about the Megaman series some day,it is a whole another world.
Super Castlevania 4 was the shit. To this day no other Castlevania appeals to me as much as that one did.
I wasnt impressed with the ps1. I had a genisis myself.
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I stopped at SNES, from there it was just computer games for me… shame I never played any of the castlevania games, I would have loved them.
Thank you very much James for reviewing my favorite game. Great job as always.
Don’t pass up SotN. Just don’t.
Long time viewer, first time poster.
I really hope in the conclusion you really emphasize just how bullshit that Nitro moment is. Not to mention what happens if you play it on easy, which isn’t even easy. GAH, I hate that game!!!
Yes! I’ve been waiting for this
Castlevania was better on the playstation you should not have skipped it
This has so far been the highlight of my week =) I have always favored CotM out of the Castlevania games that ive played.
Now thats how you play a game, N64 at its best. Nah, not realy, I find that allmost all of N64’s games had crappy camera angle. Just a few like Zelda OOT and Majoras mask had not those flaws, at least not as much. But still sometimes you just got to take your time and wait for that damn camera. Buty about it was back then we didn’t know better so we just went along with it. Great review James.
haha i luuuved the ending of that one
never played the n64 castlevania… guess that makes me a lucky one^^
james i dont wanna bust ur balls or ruin the castlevainia video u might do next
but theres another n64 castlevania game i judt don think it got realesed in northamerica
cause i had it on my emulator
i just culdnt ever get an english version
im sure u could get to the bottm of it
before i ever could
Castlevania 4 is the best in the series in my opinion. But then again, I did grow up playing that game with my dad, so I’m a little biased.
After that would have to be Symphony of the Night for me.
James nailed it when he mentioned the amount of detail put into Castlevania 4. The Castlevania games (the good ones at least) have something my friend calls “atmosphere”, something that seems to be missing from a lot of modern games.
Im glad u mentioned dracula x for pcengine at least,its one of my alltime fav cv games and one of my favorite all-time games ever. I have it and play it on my turbo duo. I still have the egm magazine to this day when the game was annouced and that it would not becoming to the states,then out of the blue the watered down vesion that is the snes dracula x came out. Since u flew till 1999 and reviewed the shitty n64 castlevania what game will u do next? i thought bloodlines was next. U should just end it with symphony of the night,im sure u will surprise us with that.Theres no excuse not to own symphony of the night in one form or another if u have either a ps1,ps3,xbox 360, or psp. I have them all too.
Great video James. by the way have you heard that they’re coming out a Castlevania game for the 360/PS3?
If you haven’t check it out. Here’s the trailer:
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/14275421/lords-of-shadow/videos/gcom09_castlevania_trl.html
I was blow out of my mind when I saw this.
Please, please tell me you’re going to review Symphony of the Night next. Def one of the best games of all time and my personal fav Castlevania with IV a close second.
There’s really no other option than a SoTN review, except the GBA and DS games but those followed on its patented MetroidVania formula.
WOW!! One of the best reviews ever.
Surprisingly about a good game (part IV). Maybe you should take every year a good game on. I also hope for more SNES reviews.
The N64 part was also ingenious. LIFE SUCKS… ^^
Castlevania IV is indeed a masterpiece and I believe it has aged well, it never gets tiring of playing it, its just so good in every aspects, especially the music I’d say.
Oh the mandragora & nitro part… that was a nightmare, I found it terrifying since getting killed was so easy and cheap. Still… you were playing with Carrie? Though the part with Dracula in Dracula X was crazy? Well if you choose Carrie, you get a stage with is basically absolute emptiness where you stand on platforms with some enemies ready to hit you as you jump and there’s disappearing platforms that you need to jump on that appears with a erratic pattern. Its crazy when the game because frightening because of such crap. The music of 64 kind of sucks but as you go further into the game, it has some good tracks.
Nice Video again, Dude! Awaiting the conclusion (the PSX titles)!
Great video !
It is true, most games on the N64 sucked.
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Nice. I played the Castlevania on N64 first (early-mid 90’s kid here, didn’t play much SNES until a couple years after N64) and I always thought it was a really weird game.
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If it was possible to make good Prince of Persia in 3D I think it is possible for Castlevania too! My most favourite one was Bloodlines, I hope to see it in part 4
Oooooooh Myyyyyy, Goooooooddddddd……
…I SO totally fucking remember Castlevania 64 and the whole “nitro” incident. I tried to return the game to Wal-Mart and they refused a refund saying, “I guess you just suck at video games.”
hmm didnt think part 3 was coming this early
thought u took a break James
cant wait for next part! 
Lol anyways great work, i really enjoyed this episode and im curios about the ending
Oh yeah, and by the way, I am AWESOME as these old school games. Not even going to pretend to be modest, because I know I kick ass. So when I find fundamental flaws like this I go ape shit, lol. Seriously, who tests this stuff, eh? I commend The Nerd for even attempting to understand the undermining fallacy of this cartridgicated excuse of a plug-in-play N64 game.
I equate N64 with Super Mario 64, the Holy Ocarina, and its Majora Sequel. I mean shit, this console delivered us the first Smash Bros. people! Shall we settle for some half-assed “omfg-a-big-bull-is-running-at-me-and-dudes-with-chainsaws-mimicking-Jason-Vorhees ‘Castlevania’ bullshit!?!?? I… think… not!!!
Dr. Brainsick has arisen… and he is ANGRY!
I like it when you switch between the Angry-mode and the Relax-mode.
Nice reviews, but good god where the 64-CVs crappy.
pleas AVGN you have to review robo cop for the gameboy pls omg i would die laughing in my sleep if you did well thats after you have everything done with CV sires thanks you humble fan dtech
Woot new nerd!
Man I don’t know what to say, Super Castlevania IV is by far my favorite and the best epic castlevania I know. I heard that they are making a new 3D castlevania called Lords of Shadow or something like that for Xbox360 and PS3, but why not on nintendo wii. I mean this new castlevania looks like a good one but its not on nintendo. Instead we get Castlevania judgment, a fighting game that should have never been made. Castlevania would have worked out really well for the wii if they made a good one that is, the wii mote could have utilized the belmont whip I guess that would of made “too” much sense. Anyway the new castlevania is not going to make me dislike super castlevania 4 that will always be my favorite.
Castlevania 64 was a slow game but for some reason I still kinda liked it. The fact that both games kept the same model of the castle made the castle seem a bit more real for its consistancy like it actually existed and there was a model of it. The graphics weren’t that awsome but those were the times you have to use your imagenation to make out the character expressions. Over all the character rolls are good and yeah some places don’t have music but that made it more realistic, you don’t here music when you go outside and where there was music it wasn’t that bad. However I can see how most wouldnt like castlevania 64 its just not as good as some of the others.
Oh by the way AVGN awsome reviewe, I was looking foward to this one. I was really excited to see this one as you can see by previous comment. Can’t wait for the conclusion.
I almost forgot to metion I finally beat castlevania for the nes for the first time in all my life by going off of james’ advice, thanks james.
Life sucks indeed ;/
Should have reviewed the PCEngine version of Dracula X. Better game. Doesn’t have that ridiculous battle with Dracula either.
I wish Konami would return the franchise back to its roots in traditional linear gameplay. Enough with the metroidvania already, at least for now.
Yes Castlevania 4 was my favorite. I was a little too young to play any of the NES castlevanias. I do remember watching my dad play them though. I wasn’t aware of Dracula X until I got into emulators a few years ago.
I finally played SotN last year and yeah, it’s great. It’s like Castlevania meets Metroid. I’ve always regretted telling my parents to get me an N64. Seems like all the true classic games of that time period came out on the PS. It’s one of the reasons I think the PS2 sold so well. It had that backwards compatibility and so I figured most people who got burned by the N64 used that as an opportunity to ‘catch up’.
Sure N64 had goldeneye and smash bros. Those were the two party games everyone liked. It also had the zeldas, mario kart, one mario game titled “mario 64″ and that was really about it. Well Starfox 64 was fun too.
Alright, only reason I’m up this early is to register for class for next semester. Seems like if you wait more than a day one of them gets full and you have to come up with a new schedule. So I’m going back to sleep now.
Great episode!Wonder what castlevania games will be in part 4.:D
awesome. can’t wait to see the final episode.
Super Castlevania 4 and Symphony of the Night are tied for my favorite Castlevania games. Btw, the Dracula X port for the PSP has Symphony of the Night as an unlockable game.
I really hope you will review “Aria of Sorrow” and/or “Harmony of Dissonance” for the GBA. Although tose Castlevania games aren´t that famous, I think they are the best in the whole series.
Yeah, Castlevania never really worked out in 3D. I’m so glad you can download a lot of these games on the virtual console, although I do have a copy of Castlevania 3 (somewhere).
I miss the simplicity of these games. Although I love SOTN, the series seemed to go war-wacky after that game, with all the soul catching and whatnot, and then Castlevania just kinda turned into Super Metroid.
I have a different remembrance of Castlevania on the N64, and that’s because I played Legacy of Darkness, which added new content and fixed a lot of issues fans complained about. It was pretty much a major patch in cartridge form.
I’m disappointed you reviewed the original, even if it was the first personal experience.
It’s true the game still has issues, but I think it’s the best 3D Castlevania, and if you’re forgiving you can get a lot of fun and enjoyment out of Legacy of Darkness.
Ahh, so many great memories from this review. Castlevania IV is still one of my all-time favorite games. The final battle with Dracula easily ranks up among the most epic boss battles in SNES history.
As for Castlevania 64, I agree that the first version was horribly flawed, but Legacy of Darkness is a decent revision. The story is deeper, the graphics are improved, and the camera is at least manageable. Nevertheless, the nitro/mandragora sequence drove me absolutely insane. It was the scariest part of that game by far!
i really in joy this one ^_^
You have convinced me to track down a copy of Super Castlevania IV and give it a shot. It looks amazing. I’m so out of touch when it comes to Castlevania games; the only one I’ve played in its entirety has been Symphony of the Night (which I hope will be in your next review ♥). I tried to play the PS2 Castlevanias and never got very far before giving up. The NES ones are too hard for me, but Super Castlevania IV might just be the perfect balance.
GREAT! Good Work!
Great review. Looking forward to part 4.
Did you know Castlevania (64) was Game of the Month for January 1999 over at IGN?
http://ign64.ign.com/articles/066/066371p1.html
From your review, I can’t see why.
Awesome.
The spooky part, with the clouds creeping in. xD
Yeah Super Castlevania was awesome.
What happened to the AVGN Intro music Kyles usually plays? Are you phasing that out?
I_is_Batman, he isn’t phasing it out! He just isn’t using it for the Castlevania marathon that he’s doing. The Nerd theme will be back next month when James goes back to reviewing shitty games!
I was surprised to see so many familiar enemies in Super Castlevania IV, which I’ve never played before. It really looks like they’ve just been using the exact same SNES sprites (sometimes palette-swapped) for SoTN and every Game Boy Castlevania since.
Super Castlevania IV is truly a masterpiece. Probobly the best SNES game ever made. And its 2nd best Castlevania game second only too Symphony of the night. I really hope you have symphony on the last review.
By the way, that title card is awesome. It’s one of Mike’s best! It gives off a sort of haunting feeling.
really really good episode
Funny that I waited till now to comment here. Must have somethin to do with my love for Super Castlevania IV ^^
SVIV was not only the very first Castlevania I ever played (this game boy game I once owned doesn’t count XD ), but after playing a lot of other games in the series, it’s still my favorite. The atmosphere is superb, and the soundtrack is easily the best in the entire series. There are just too many memorable tracks to, well, keep track of!
I think it’s real shame than none of the following titles used the “crouch-walk”, or the awesome 8-direction-whip. Some allowed you to flip around the whip while standing, but it’s just not as fun or useful. The first PS2-game, Lament of Innocence, allowed you to sort of “swing” – aka “hit the pole and you can jump again”. Yeah, swinging looks much better on a SNES game than on the PS2…
Speaking of the PS2-games: They are much better than the N64 ones. They look nice, have also pretty cool soundtracks, but the level design is pretty poor. I think Lament of Innocence is the better one, since it didn’t had a real RPG-system – and every Castlevania-game with a RPG-system sooner or later starts to become too easy.
And the N64-games wasn’t the first one to have a school girl: Rondo of Blood featured a secret playable character, Maria. She would later reappear in Symphony of the Night. But here in Rondo, she’s much younger (around 16, but she looks like a 12-year-old with boobs Oo ).
And the most funny part: This cute little girl can absolutely ANNIHILATE every boss in the game. She’s somehow much stronger than Richter!!
My favorite Castlevania games are the three DS one!
Hey James. I’ve been a big fan since I was first introduced to your review of the first Bible games review.
I figure I mention that not only was Rondo of Blood released on the PSP but the original version was re-released on the Japanese Virtual Console for 800 Wii Points.
The final fight with Dracula does not include platforms though instead is in a solid room and is not extremely difficult.
Great review.
I gotta agree with Gravemind…the entries on the DS are the best!
Another great AVGN, James!
http://www.livingwithanerd.com
Man, I love these videos. I’ve literally watched EVERY SINGLE AVGN, MOVIE REVIEW, MONSTER MADNESS, FILM, BOARD JAMES, Everything! It’s such an awesome way of reviewing that I just cannot get over. Glad you’re reviewing the Castlevania series. Lol, the only problem is the rest of the games sucked so there wont be any good reviews. Hope you don’t forget to mention the new one coming out Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Hideo Kojima is even helping in its production. Has the voice acting from the guys in X-men the movie. The guy from Angelas Ashes and someone else. Looks really good. I hope you mention it. You might even get a demo if they like your review enough.
he music sucks? THE MUSIC SUCKS?
You wouldn’t believe how excluded I feel, seemingly being the only person to have genuinely awesome memories of this game. Castlevania (64) was CREEPY and FASCINATING. The Boss battle Theme, the Stairway to Dracula theme and this game’s rendition of the Dance of Illusion are three of the most memorable musical pieces in videogames EVER.
Then, Skeletons on motorcycles in the 1800s, huh? What about the las0rz Dracula has in his Tower of Science? I am reluctant to question one of my favorite internet personality’s integrity, BUT IT’S CALLED FANTASY, YOU … dang
I was looking forward to finally having someone with authority who shared my opinion about this game, and again I was let down.
PS: The Nitro/Mandragora (That’s Latin for Mandrake, if anybody cares…) thing is really an unforgivable mistake in programming, that’s where you’re absolutely right. Again, I remember me and my friends trying to get through the level with the Nitro with sweat on our faces. It was awesome.
PPS: CVI whips my balls off in 8 directions! Great.
I thought that Castlevania: Lament of Innocence was a good Castlevania game, but nowhere near as good as the first 3 NES games, Super Castlevania 4, Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, or Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but I think that it did an awesome job with telling the origins of the Belmont Clan as well as the origins of how the legendary Vampire Killer whip came into existence as well, and the origin of Dracula!
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness in my mind, I thought was a crappy sequel to Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse on the NES in terms of the level design, but the basic plot and storyline were pretty decent to say the least.
Both Lament of Innocence as well as Curse of Darkness just absolutely sucked in the level design department, as if the level designers just got totally lazy and couldn’t come up with anything better and just kept using the same level designs they already made and just ran out of creativity!
Ah Super Castlevania IV, the only one I had until SOTN (years of Speccy, C64GS & Master system ownership removed the chance for the first 3 from me at the time) a damn fine introduction to the series that brings back many memories (well some anyway but that’s a misfiring brain rather than the quality of the game).
It’s a shame really that the X68000 version never escaped Japan (except for the Playstation port Castlevania Chronicles that is) as having tried it under emulation it’s easily a match for IV & SOTN in terms of quality, possibly more than a match even, it certainly shamed the Amiga port of the first one.
I got stuck at the same spot. fuck that game.
haha. good review james. castlevania 4 looks like alot of fun. im not a fan of snes but ill have to try it for this game. looks as good as super mario world
Great Review. Once again it brought back some fond memories. Well…at least for Castlevania IV for SNES. That really was a great game at a great time. That was the last one I played. Once I found out they were going 3D I knew that they were going to be complete trash and didn’t bother wasting my money.
Anyways, great review man. Looking forward to the conclusion.
I was somewhat surprised that you put your review of Castlevania 4 in with the others. Its a great game so why lump it in a AVGN vid? Great review though. I see there is a new Castlevania game now available through the WII download service but it has the old controls. Whay cant Konami make another game using the controls from CV4? Oh by the way James while you hate CV2, I personally love it.
Good review, but more in a informative and less in a weird Nerd way. Good review nontheless. Will you review the Genesis/Mega Drive Castlevania, too?
Great vid! Loved the Nerd wrapped in the blanket. Was he hiding or was the fog rolling out of the SNES cold? Maybe there’s dry ice in it.
My first Castlevania was the one for the 64. I didn’t like it. Carrying that nitro around was just painful. I did get past it and fight that bull that comes out, but I never got past the platforming that comes later, I think because of the awkward control. Some fan made high rez textures for the emulated version ( http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=326031 ,) which looks great, but of course doesn’t address the camera and control problems.
But Castlevania IV looks like a great game. I somehow missed that one during the SNES years. Now I want to buy a copy! The Nerd is his own brand of economic stimulus.
As just about everyone else said, i’d like to hear your take on symphony of the night for the ps1
damn, i forgot about castlevania:blood lines for the sega
That’s another great title card by Mike! He’s also a hilarious actor, and more intense than should humanly be possible. I think he must eat way too much sugar-coated cereal for breakfast! I love his Cowardly Lion. “Dick dick dick dick dick dick dick dick!” He must make you do a lot of retakes.
Awesome episode, had many good laughs.
Can’t wait for the next one!
Thank you, James!
nice review james keep um comen
Boom…
James, the review was ok but you really should have reviewed Legacy of Darkness instead why? because it has the entire Castlevania 64 campaigns of Reinhardt and Carrie along with Cornell and another character! Not only that it updates the graphics a bit and fixes the Control and Camera issues (Especially noticeable in the Towers of Science and Sorcery)
I personally loved the game you said there is no music… that’s a lie you were in the hedge maze which is supposed to be silent and creepy (And freakish when the dog statues are chasing you along with Chainsaw Frankenstein!) the other music in the game is great!
Why are you complaining about how Carrie looks? the games don’t need to fit your perception of what they “should be” and Carrie isn’t supposed to be a big bad ass whip toting man she is just supposed to be a normal girl with some powers!
The Skeletons with Motorcycles are kind of Cheesy but remember Dracula seems to have advanced quite a bit beyond normal society at that point which you can see in many of the games (And in the Tower of Science with the Laser turrets and things).
The Nitro part is I must admit game breaking I tried that part at least 50 times (Getting stuck with the Mandragora the first time) before going on Gamefaqs to figure out what to do!
But really the review was unfair and it flat out lied about some things (The music is there and it is awesome) the game blew me away when it first came out and it still has quite a creepy atmosphere to this day. I still love you James but this review was a disappointment.
I skipped both the PS and the N64 back then(couldn’t afford neither). Only later did I pick up some of the best games from that generation(like OoT and Xenogears)…
This video did however make me want to try the Castlevania for N64, no matter how bad it made the game look.
Don’t take everything the Nerd says too serious. He is a character and doing it for entertainment. I have liked(more or less) several of the games he has ripped a new one… I actually expected him to get more pissed at Super Castlevania IV too….after all, even if it is easier than the NES-trilogy, it does have a few really frustrating parts.
Holy shit, I watch a lot of my friends play many Castlevanias, but I never get interested to play any of those, I guess I just don’t like Castlevania. :/
But I love your Castlevanias reviews. Thanks a lot.
Towards the end with the explosives going off was awesome. Great review, man!
Love the suicide ending. Put the theme song up next time! i missed it
. I watched all your old ones again just for the song!
James, I took a whip of your past videos and compared them to today, and I’m loosing your angry mood as the AVGN, i don’t know, I just feel your calm now and.. yeah.
but still most of it made my day! and i Hope you don’t skip symphony of the night because that game was always played most of my playstation lifespan.
castlevania 4 was certainly a masterpiece, but i actually found rondo of the blood to be even better. it’s my personal favorite of all time, and the psp remake is a GODSEND. to anybody who has never experienced rondo of blood, you need to play this on the psp. if you don’t have one of those, check out the original on an emulator if you must. just fantastic, perfect, classic castlevania action. oh, and it’s most certainly hard.
why the hell did i type rondo of the blood? goddamnit
When it came to the N64/PSX debate, I was really into RPG games, and the PlayStation had an improved version of Ogre Battle that I’d liked on the SNES. The Final Fantasy series and other games just cinched it for me. I can’t wait for the next installment, because I just loved the crap out of SotN. You got to play as Alucard from Castlevania 3, use familiars and spells, and once you thought you were done, freeing the Belmont of the time from mind control, and beating the one who controlled him, you had the freakin’ inverted castle with more bosses, succubi-made fake save points, and more.
What more can be said about avgn. You my friend are a genius. I have watched every single episode and love them all. There have been some that try to emulate your awesomeness but they just fail. Go Nerd!!!
Great video again.
So much details, so fun to watch.
Great job.
I had never seen those two N64 Castlevania games, now I know why ^^
Well, my Castlevania experience has been quite different from yours, since I grew up with the Sega Master System, and then the Genesis, and then the Playstation, and actually, the first Castlevania game I ever played was the first one on game boy, and damn it was hard.
I only started to play the older castlevania recently, and I’ve to say, they’re pretty awesome.
Also, for long, when you said “Castlevania”, my greatest reference was “Circle of the moon”, that game I finished at least 6 times, the musics (lots of remix, as I now know) are terrific, the gameplays is awesome with the card system, and you don’t really have to bother with leveling that much.
Well anyway, I think I’m being boring, when I’ll want to share my experience, I’ll try to make a video AVGN style, but I promise you nothing, it’s like saying “oh, I’ll try to bring you back the moon, but don’t get too excited ok ?”
Hey James! Love the reviews and all that. I’d just like to say that Dracula X is more than a butchered port. It’s more like an “Inspiration”. It’s “Inspired” by Rondo of Blood, in the same way that a crappy $1 dance remix CD by a cover band is “inspired” by the original.
Sure hope you review SotN, though!
Its nice to see a straight-forward review. GJ
When I was playing Castlevania VI, it was very disappointing to me. I never liked the new whip and the whole game was much to easy. Thats while I was very happy, when Dracula X (or Vampires Kiss here in Europe) came out and went back to the classic castlevania gameplay. But when I got my hands on the original game for the pc engine, I knew why a lot of peoples were disapointed by the snes-version.
But what I don’t understand: You can beat games like Transformers, but Castlevania III oder Dracula X are to difficult? With some practice you can beat these games without dying once. It’s like Mega Man 9, where a lot of gamers say it’s to difficult or unfair, but that’s not true. There is every time a way to get out of the situation wthout loosing health – but you have to find it. That’s the way how the classic games worked – and I love that.
Great review. Kind of sad that you didn’t mention Castlevania Bloodlines for the Genesis, although you might mention that in your next video.
Another great review James.
I wish I still had my SNES. Oh well, no one is perfect. I also wish I got more into the Castlevania games as well.
i’m glad that other people like otimus and seppatoni got to enjoy rondo of blood in its original form before it became the butchered pile that is dracula x. all of this has inspired me to give it another playthrough now. i seriously recommend it to all castlevania fans that missed out or got burned by drac x
Another great review.
I was slightly disappointed that you didn’t mention the item crash (super sub-weapon move) from Dracula X. That being the one major innovation from that game (and the most memorable part IMO.)
Can’t wait til Ep-4. I hope you review Symphony of the Night as that is probably the best Castlevania ever. And is the sequel to Dracula X.
i never played the nintendo castlevanias. i got my start with bloodlines on the genesis (my personal favorite of the series). i like the ones on the n64 more than most, despite their many flaws. this was a well produced video. not as funny as most, but really well paced and it definitely portrays the affection you have for these games very well.
My first Comment!
This one is one of your weakest revews…
You should at least mention the TONS of differences betwin Rondo of Blood and Dracula X. They are like two completely different games! And it is extremely easy to film a PSP game especially if you have one of the Latest PSP models with the TV output, and even if you don’t It is still extremely to do it with a CFW threw you PC…
Also I can’t believe you actually passed the PS1. Any Castlevania Fan who haven’t play “Symphony of the Night” may as well stop considering him self as a Castlevania fan.
With the exception of Bloodlines, the 8-direction whipping was discontinued for all the rest 2D castlevania games that were about to follow, so it’s not like it is a big deal…
And by the way, you have forgotten to mention Bloodlines that came out for the Genesis around that period. This game is about to get a PSP remake as well.
Kite, why would you say anyone who hasn’t played SotN doesn’t deserve to call themself a Castlevania fan, then turn around and state Bloodlines has 8-direction whipping (I know, I know, nerdy nit-picking… But if you’d played the game, and are a fan, you’d know that), and… What? PSP Bloodlines? That’s not true at all. There are no PSP Castlevanias coming out in the known future.
SotN is probably the best Metroidvania-style Castlevania, but I have to say you’re overrating it by saying that. Would you say “no one can call themself a Zelda fan unless they’ve played OoT,” as well?
Anyway, great review of one of my three-way-tied-for-favorite Castlevanias! If your cut-off point is the N64-PSX-era games you played, what is next…? Going through those you missed?
I have never played a single Castlevania game but still it´s fun to watch these reviews. I guess thats the whole point don´t ya think?
I remember my brother rented Castlevania 64 and wouldn’t let me play. I grew a bit jealous he had a game I couldn’t play or see. He even went to the distance of taking the rental to a friend’s house to play.
Looking at it now, I’m no longer jealous and I pity him instead. Thanks James, years of psychological torture all flushed away
. I am a free man now!
I enjoyed this review. I do like it better when you do the reviews in a more personal level where your actually playing but I am sure you probably didn’t have the time to. You probably went the quicker route. I thought the other parts were better but I enjoyed this part nonetheless. I was happy to see you reviewed one of my favorite Castlevania games.
Castlevania IV is one of my all time favorites so much I actually have a tattoo of the boxart on my arm http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b132/DraimanBelieve/?action=view¤t=100_3998-4.jpg. Castlevania 64 wasn’t very good but Legacy of Darkness is what CV64 should’ve been. It still has it’s flaws but it is much more refined. You should review Castlevania Bloodlines and Symphony of the Night next and maybe even mention that Castlevania The Adventure Rebirth is coming to WiiWare and will have that old-school feel to it since it will be in 2D. Looks to be solid based on youtube videos I seen of it and how it sports the Bloodlines style artwork. You should also possibly talk about the “Metroidvanias” and what a Metroidvania is and do a quick rundown on the GBA and DS ones as well. I love it when you review games that I love and the Castlevania series is one of my all time favorite third party franchises.
Letting the whip hang down under you is good for enemies that walk on the ledge below – they suicide.
Castlevania IV was certainly up there in my SNES library of all time favorites. I skipped the N64 and instead got a Playstation in Christmas ‘97 of which I had “Symphony of the Night” which after some adjusting I thought was indeed the worthy successor to Castlevania IV.
It was fall, ‘98 when I finally got my N64 along with Castlevania 64. Here I was already used to Playstation style and graphics so I wasn’t sure what to expect from the ‘64… I was disappointed. Zelda, Quest, Castlevania, Mario; every game looked almost identical to me, sporting the same 3d graphics with just a different color platte depending on the game; I hated it.
Onward… I hated Castlevania 64 a lot. I thought I could give it the benefit of the doubt and tried to play through it for hours. It turned out to be awkward, stiff, and I kept thinking “Castlevania is NOT a 3d platform game”. Sure the ‘64 was advertising “next generation in 3d” but honestly would it have killed them to make a few non-3d games?
I remember your Atari Jag review, how you commented “take f-zero, 48bits less but a million times more pleasing to the eye”. This was what I thought about Playstation vs. N64 – half the bits but looks so much better.
This was the turning point for me when I chose the Playstation over Nintendo and that choice stuck with me. I don’t like the Wii very much and didn’t really fall in love wit the Gamecube (though with the game boy adapter that fits onto the bottom, I got some good use for the console in general).
So I think the crowning jewel for Castlevania is Castlevania IV, with “Symphony of the Night” being a tie.
Aside:
I don’t like the gameboy Castlevania games, like “Harmony of Dissonance” or “Lament of Innocence” because to me all they are doing is trying to cash in on the success of “Symphony of the Night” with similar game play, just different characters.
Personally, I gave up getting new games after the 16-bit era when the original playstation and N64 came out (maybe cos I never had either), so to be honest I can never see the appeal in any of these ‘New Era’ 3D games, nor am I ever blown away by them (except for WWE games, which aside from watching DVDs are the only reason I got a PS2)
CastleVania is definitely one of those quintessential ‘2D Games’ that in my opinion would only be ruined by a 3D conversion, like Sonic (whose 3D titles are imo unappealing and quickly forgettable) TBH I wasn’t even aware there were non 8/16-bit versions of Castlevania, so its all news to me
Thank god for Emulators!!!
Great review BTW
So which CV games are awaiting us for the 4th vid? Besides hopefully a conclusion to 64, I’m betting the Game Boy releases. Maybe even a Tiger Handheld?
Actually,Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo is the tenth game in the series,chronologically.Also,its title is a lame ass pun since “輪廻” is normally read as “rinne” which is the Buddhist cycle of death and rebirth,if not for the furigana next to it which change its meaning into rondo.
Just wanted to say that there is no game breaking bug in Castlevania 64. Id doesn’t matter if you pick up the mandragora or the nitro first; both can be placed in front of the cracked wall(s) by pressing the “Use/Check”-Button (the C-Right button).
The same button used for opening doors, checking stuff or using levers.
It may be a bit unintuitive (because many items are used from the item menu) but I find it rather amusing that you didn’t try the Use-Button to, well, use the mandragora and instead started the game from the beginning
It’s like when you pick up a key. You don’t stop in front of the locked door, go the item menu and use the key. You just press the use-button.
Oh, and btw: You were playing Castlevania on easy mode, right? Big mistake! The game stops after level 5 and tells you to “try another difficulty to see the rest of the game!”. Yeah…
Like alot of people said you really missed out on
castlevania symphony of the night.
In regards to your comments about Symphony of the Night, you need to understand that I’m not speaking in present tense. I’m talking about my own past, how I initially passed up a PlayStation for a N64. I obviously have owned a PS since. A lot of your comments seem to assume that to this day, I STILL haven’t played Symphony of the Night. Wait til part 4, when I continue my story.
great review!
cant wait for the next!
I’ll be honest and say that this particular review was refreshing for me. This one and Castlevania Part I.
The anger this year was a bit acted I guess, it isn’t as genuine as in Silver Surfer or Karate Kid, but it doesn’t matter as long as the reviews are like this, honest. I felt your passion about Castlevania and how much you loved it. I really enjoyed watching this one and, as I said, the first part. I don’t know why, but Part II didn’t do it for me.
Well, that’s my opinion, good work, keep it up.
Entertaining as usual but I feel like Jame’s voice was lacking energy thus less effectively portraying an Angry Video Game Nerd. I mean when he starts talking about the shitty N64 game towards the end.
Heh, sorry but these comments are always just blatant praise, need some more constructive criticism.
Awww, Castlevania 64 was one of my absolute favorite games back then.
I never had any problems with the nitro though. Don’t know, what you did wrong.
Oh, just forgot that this Lecarde-guy in Bloodlines uses a 8-direction-spear – which makes him even more strange: He’s one of only two Castlevania characters who can actually attack in several directions, and he’s the only one with a spear weapon – which is pretty awesome.
And if you’re going to play Bloodlines, be ready for a world of pain: This game doesn’t have normal Castlevania passwords (1 for each stage). NO! The password you get after completing a stage depends on how many continues you have. So if you complete Stage 3 without any continues left, your password for Stage 4 starts you with zero continues, too. Nice, isn’t it?
Sorry for not commenting for a while, but I’ve had to cut back on Internet time, so ah. Anyway, I felt incredibly guilty for not commenting on all the Monster Madness and new AVGN videos.
You give a lot of quality entertainment, what can I say.
The Castlevania series is just…no words really will do. I’ve beaten I & III, not II because well..don’t tar and feather me everyone, but I can never manage to force myself to beat it, although the music is classic and there’s still a lot to like.
Super Castlevania IV is something I’ve yet to beat, but that’s ok since it’s an experience many would love to redo, right?
Thanks again for the laughs and insights, James!
P.S. For what it’s worth, I find part I the hardest between that and III.
Super Castlevania is last great Castlevania game,and yes it’s a remake of Castlevania 1 according to The Castlevania Dungeon(I don’t like Symphony of the Night since it too much like Castlevania 2 much like current Castlevania games)I don’t own Super Castlevania anymore for my SNES but I play it on the Wii with the SNES Retroport adapter(for SNES controllers)from Retrozone’s website,check it out.I hated the N64,thus I got a Playstion,but I did play Castlevania 64 later and to use the Mandragora and Nitro you have to press Right C at the wall in the correct spot(it does not matter what you collect first)Most items work this way in the game,Castlevania Legacy of Darkness is the complete game and Castlevania 64 is the rushed incomplete one,but an Expansion Pak is needed for LOD.
Your awesome James. That shit took me back to the good old days. Just got outta work dead tired but this shit cheered me up man. Castlevania IV was the shiznit too. I hated the 64 one. I forgot how shitty it was until you MADE me remember lol. Keep up the good work buddy.
I first picked up SotN a year ago on the Xbox Live Arcade, and loved every minute of it. So it’s never too late
Though, I still prefer Castlevania IV…it feels more Castlevaniaish to me I guess…
Oh man I love symphony of the night and the pc engine version of dracula x , I feel like those are the hallmarks of the series. I hope you enjoy sotn as much as I did , have a huge attachment to that game.
Btw to all the other users , buy the playstation version of sotn the music is kind of muted in the xbox live version last time I played.
man i cant watch it i dont know y but i think its my crappy computer
well….
james,please see this
you well find Castlevania N64
Nitro and Mandragora answer
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=688C588D8EF8DE2F
I’m not sure why, but this is the third time (the first two were during Monster Madness) that I start the video and it abrubtly stops, giving me the option to ‘replay’ even though I was only able to get 30 seconds into it. Can someone give me some insight? Do I need to download something, or is my PC just pissed off at me??
(oo)
>o<
" "
I just bought my first SNES yesterday at the age of 15, the games I got are Mortal Kombat 3, Super Mario Kart,Super Mario World, Mega Man X, and Wolfenstien 3-D. I was going to get Chrono Trigger but the price tag on it was $45!!!! But, for a system that came out in
….1991, but it is still as good as my PS3, or maybe even better, ty avgn to opening my eyes to classic systems!
I think the best Castlevania is a toss up between IV and SOTN. SOTN definately has the best music, but IV to me just feels more…”real”.
James,you really should play castlevania SOTN.Its is simply masterpiece,its is superior game.Classic.Ritcher is much more skillful in SOTN than in dracula X,even thought he is unlockable character.Super castlevania IV is also really great,i played super castlevania IW first time last year,and it instantly became my one fav old school game.But i still prefer SOTM over super castlevaniaIV.I just wonder what will be in next episode?
Awesome stuff.
Any chance of seeing you cover Castlevania: Bloodlines for Genesis in the next vid, too? That was a really good game; miles ahead of the SNES Dracula X, IMHO.
Thanks for a superb review.
You must be on speed. I have never seen such a high production rate before. And still every review is wonderful. You’re virtually a creative railgun. The emotional eruption over the last game really made my day. “It sucks..”
The flaw in the N64 game reminds of the flaw in Metroid Prime Echoes which prevents you from advancing if you don’t kill all enemies in one of the rooms in Sky Temple before leaving it. Fucking stupid shit! I had to start all over again and walk through the whole damn game to reach that room. It made me fucking furious.
But, I like the N64 3D graphics. Ocarina of Time was a beautiful game. I loved it and I loved the cell shading rough Lego-graphics. I never got bored of playing Eponas song just to see him coming galloping over the field.
James, I just wanted to let you know that you still have fans that are not completely retarded. I was not under the impression even for a second that you “passed up” an entire gaming console (that you show in more than a few videos) or that you have not played Symphony of the Night. Even if someone did not pick up on this just from the context clues, they know you are a professional game reviewer and game collector…I mean what the hell? Of course you’ve played that game. How dumb can someone be? I didn’t even read the comments on this video until you posted that comment below the link. It’s kind of sad.
hey james what do you think of the lords of the shadow do you think you might get it?
I figured you’d review SotN in part 4.
I wouldn’t be surprised if James likes Super Castlevania 4 better. So many people flipping out that James didn’t touch on SOTN in this one… please don’t do a disservice to the game by overrating it. It has its fair share of flaws just like any other Castlevania game, in fact it isn’t even a traditional Castlevania game, it takes on Super Metroid’s core gameplay.
Awsome as always
Can’t wait for the next one, hoping to see some SOTN 
I don’t understand the hype about SotN. Sure, it’s a good game, but compared to the GBA- and DS-parts, it’s the weakest “Metroidvania”.
yeah as james said,this part is still part where he share his memories from past castlevania games of his youth.Because he didnt own ps1 back then,of course he didnt review SOTN or some other games other castlevania games.On other hand i should not say that castlevania SOTN is best castlevania as i have played only castevaniaIV and SOTN.I own xboxlivearcade version of SOTN.So i first time played SOTN in this year.pointless to mention,but just saying
one thing you forgot to mention james was the soundtrack of super castlevania 4. for me it is the best thing about the game. every time i hear the first stage music… i am pumped up with adrenaline and just wanna rip dracula limb from limb using my trustee whip!
On my “Chronicles” game, there is an interview with the director of SOTN, and he claims “III” is his favorite game in the series. Love “Rondo”, but “X” is too freakin’ hard, although those jumps really aren’t that difficult… with the back flip and all.
Awesome video, congrats avgn on finishing them so quick. Castlevania IV is a fucking masterpiece (classic whip abilities lol) and my first castlevania game, I still remember when my brother got it in ‘91 or so. I wish they would have kept that style. Not that Dracula X on snes was *bad*, but the game just seems alot less “dirty”, not to mention gettinig rid of the controls from IV. I’m probably going to rebuild my snes library after I graduate in a few months – definitely gotta find these two.
also rofl @ nitro explosions…
Nice video!
juz wander hv u ever played “Castlevania X Nocturne in the Moonlight”
its the 1st Castlevania game i ever play! and its awesome!!
LOL
here is some game play
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ew4GWY0McE
or this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=457r4QGBJdU
Woohoo! I just bought Dracula X Chronicles for PSP. That’s like 3 Castlevania games for the price of one! I was never that much into Castlevania series, but thanks to AVGN I’ve been converted
This film trilogy sounds really awesome, I’m gonna check it out. But please, next time, put spoiler warnings
xD Wrong comment, too many tabs open on firefox ^^
Good episode!
In regards to the titling, it pretty much works like this:
US vs. JP
Castlevania = Akumajo Dracula, aka, Demon Castle Dracula.
So the english title for Rondo of Blood probably should’ve been more like: Castlevania X: Rondo of Blood instead of Castlevania: Dracula X. I think the Japanese title of the SNES game is actually just Akumajo Dracula XX, which would be Castlevania XX, I guess. Confused yet?
Fun fact, in the Japanese version of SOTN, after the text scroll (which is in English!), it looks like it says DRACULAX.
Downloaded Super castlevania IV and played it for the first time today… awesome. The music is great, gameplay is great.
Just goes to show you graphics < Gameplay.
I recently connected my Xbox 360 to net (I had some trouble with my local network) and found out that I have over 1000 microsoft points. I’ve spent 800 on Castlevania: Symphony of the night because I saw this review. I’ve played a Castlevania before on DS, but that was so different. Anyway, I love this Castlevania and I’m really grateful I’ve started playing it.
I’m really looking forward to conclusion of this review.
hey is anyone else having trouble watching this, every time i click on the video, it just plays some commercial and then ends and asks if i want to replay the video and suggest a couple others, its like i already watched the video when i only so the ad before it. i watched another video on that website and it worked fine, but when i click this video it just doesn’t work
Fantastic review James. Been a big fan of all your video game reviews for a few years now and I am totally stoked that you are doing the Castlevania series. I really hope you do SOTN because its still my favorite Castlevania of all time. I really enjoyed a few of the games for GBA and NDS also. If you really want to make a big fan happy do a review of the Final Fantasy series by console NES,SNES,PS1, and “the rest”
.
unlike most people here I am not surprised you did not mention sotn. But I am kinda surprised that you did not mention castlevainia:bloodlines for sega genesis. But then I assume it may be becuase you never had a chance to play it.
correction on my comment. I check out your collection page looks like you do have it.
hopefully i will get a response this time, is anyone else having trouble watching this, every time i click on the video, it just plays some commercial and then ends and asks if i want to replay the video and suggest a couple others, its like i already watched the video when i only so the ad before it. i watched another video on that website and it worked fine, but when i click this video it just doesn’t work
Thank you James again for doing Castlevania! This is my favorite series of all time.
I hated the SNES X version. They really striped what made X a masterpiece and thank god we got it in the states. Took forever but we finnaly got it.lol
I hate to say it but I have sadly played castlevania on N64. I got it cheap at gamestop with they were doing a clearance sale…I have to say it was indeed the worst game ever. Only played it for a few minutes and that was it.
I wish you luck on your ebay sales and thank you again for doing this series. It deserved it.
PS: I wonder..are you gonna do one for Monster Party on NES? It was an ok game but it did have its flaws.
I most confess to enjoying the 2nd game (NES) out of all three made for the 8-bit system. I have a certain love of role playing and graphic adventure games and good ones were rare on the system.
I never played the SNES game, because I defected to the Genesis and I dont think I played the version that came out for that system.
Well now I know its not just my computer that wont play this video, I tried to watch this on one of my schools labtops and i had the exact same problem, so please james, or anyone else here who would know how to solve this problem, any advice would be great.
Something bother me: I did a little research about Bracula X and Castlevania 64, watched some movies on YouTube and nothing fits to what you said James. Final battle in SNES version is prety generic for a last boss, and placing nitro/mandragora in Castlevania 64 is as easy as walking directly into the cracked wall. There’s also background music. What gives?
Um, sorry for the typos ;P
seriously, no one else is having problems watching this video