Famicom World

Intro (Storyline) 4.0

Akumajou Dracula, or Demon Castle Dracula, is the very first Castlevania game. For many Famicom gamers, this landmark title was the beginning of the saga that we know today. This game was first released on the Famicom Disk System in 1987, and was later re-released in 1993 in cart format, and then of course it was re-released one more time in 2004 for the Famicom Mini Series (in the States it was known as the Classic NES Series). In case you didn't know, this is exactly like Castlevania for the NES, except for the fact that you can save in one of three save slots and you have the option of easy or normal difficulty levels.

It is the year 1691 and you are the heir to the Belmont family lineage, Simon Belmont. As a Belmont, Simon is the strongest vampire hunter around and also has the duty of destroying the almighty and evil Count Dracula! Simon must travel to Dracula's castle in Castlevania and use his mighty whip, which was passed down through centuries by his ancestors.  Although Simon has trained for years for this moment, nothing can prepare him for what he is about to encounter in Dracula's castle.

Graphics 5.0

The graphics of Akumajou Dracula are eerie and rightfully so. From the broken down walls inside the Count's mansion to underneath the ground within the caves, each place was designed to take advantage of every last bit of graphics it could in 1986! One of my favorite stages is the Stage 3, where you're on the tower or balcony and you can see other towers in the background and forests and the night sky. It definitely pays attention to the details of the real Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's Dracula (the novel).

The enemies were flawlessly crafted and without question (maybe an exception would be the zombies with the purple rags) done right. The enemies in this game were all taken from historical movies, novels, and stories and were designed to be exactly like their counterparts. For example, the monster from Frankenstein moved slow and wandered aimlessly and the Grim Reaper floated and disappeared exactly as if you were to encounter him (God forbid!). The candles that harbor items are easy to see and the whip Simon uses was nicely designed and looks to have the texture of an whip in real life.

Audio 5.0

Akumajou Dracula has some of the best Famicom adventure music offered in any game. The opening theme to the game ("Vampire Killer") is one of the most awesome tunes ever, and it sets the tune for the whole game, as a warrior braves the dangerous castle in search of the wicked count (take that fourth grade English!). The music keeps on getting better throughout the game, Stage 3's music is poetry for the ears and Dracula's theme kicks ass!

The sound effects are pretty much average, with the real effects coming from small explosions of Simon's enemies as he whips them and the overall sound of his whip as he flings it around! The sound from Simon when he gets hurt can be heard in the other Castlevania games -- as well as in Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link, when Link gets hurt.

Gameplay 4.0

Well, the game's actually pretty short, I'm afraid. There's only six stages for Simon to fight his way through, but each stage has multiple parts to it and will take a good 10 or so minutes to get through. It's short, but boy, it DOES give you a challenge. Not only do you have a health bar, but it does NOT refill unless you find the VERY rare piece of meat to heal Simon or you beat the stage, which gives Simon his health back. So, you must get through a stage, THEN you must, with your remaining health, take on one of Dracula's underlings, including a giant bat, Frankenstein, Death and more -- and they are not easy. Not to mention, Simon's whip can be upgraded to make it stronger and so that it can have a longer reach, but if Simon is killed, he start out with a Leather Whip and you must get two attachments to make it a Chain Whip once again.

There are of course other weapons. These include a cross-boomerang, an axe, a stop watch, a cross, and some holy water. The boomerang shaped like a cross will come back to Simon once thrown; the axe is thrown upward and can hurt enemies too far to reach; the stop watch will freeze all enemies on the screen; the cross will kill all enemies on the screen; and the holy water hurts anything it touches, creating fire on the ground. These weapons run on the hearts Simon collects and cannot be used without the right amount.

Controls 3.0

Simon jumps with the press of A, whip with B, and with Up + B he uses the weapon he has. As for moving the udde...well...like many Castlevania games that only came later on; the Belmont clan suffers a lot from stiff jumping and slow walking. Basically, Simon can't change direction in mid-air which makes it hard to dodge attacks from enemies. Also, almost any enemy can outrun Simon: zombies, flea men, bats, etc.

Oh, we can't forget about drunken-paralysis Simon, who come into play when he climbs a staircase? You can climb the staircase by pressing Up; however, you can't jump on the stairs as easy as you would like to believe. Also, when you want to climb down a staircase you must press Down, and if there is a pit below (which happens near the end of the game) you, might just fall straight down by mistake!

Frustrations 3.5

Well, first is the horrid jumping Simon is capable of, and then there's the stairs problem. The other main problem is the level of difficulty. At the beginning of the game, Simon can take eight hits before dying, but enemies grow stronger as the game progresses. By the time Simon get to the end of Level Four, get hit but four times and you're dead. The difficulty of many of the bosses, primarily Frankenstein and the Grim Reaper, have sent people to the madhouse, and the fight against Dracula is perhaps one of the most difficult in gaming history. (It took me at least four hours and God knows how many attempts to finally beat him.) Fortunately, you do get unlimited continues, but this game takes lots of patience. Let's not forget about the distance you are set back when Simon gets hit. That alone sent me the "Game Over" screen many times as a kid -- and caused another controller-shaped dent in the wall!

Fun Factor 4.0

What isn't fun? Using your vampire killing whip to beat some monsters and undead, traveling through all of Castlevania to finally meet Dracula and kick his ass? Definitely more easy said than done! But still, with awesome tunes, decent graphics, especially on a stormy night -- or even Halloween night. I mean, it's even on the Game Boy Advance as part of the Classic NES Series (Famicom Mini in Japan)! The game, despite being near 20 years old, is still very fun!

Overall 4.0

Akumajou Dracula will always be rated one of the greatest games of all time. With non-stop horrifying action and the age-old battle against the prince of darkness himself, what are you waiting for? If you already haven't, pick up this game and start slaying some undead!