Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest is a direct follow up to Konami’s
Castlevania and is a sequel in terms of story. It seems like Konami, like other
developers, attempted to do something creatively with their sequel instead of
rehashing the same Call of Duty/Halo/Madden game all over again (No offense
Call of Duty/Halo/Madden fans). Here in American, Super Mario Brothers 2 was
radically different from Super Mario Brothers 1. Additionally Zelda 2 was completely
different from Zelda 1.  Likewise, Konami
decided to do something different now, which I think paved the way for games
like it and for the direction the series would eventually take in the future.

Story: After Simon Belmont defeated the evil Count Dracula
in the previous game Castlevania, Simon discovered that Dracula placed a curse
on him before he died. This curse would cause Simon to quench in excruciating pain,
until his eventual and early death. Simon now has to travel the countryside of
Transylvania (I think), find the five different pieces of Dracula’s body  which are residing in different mansions,
take them back to Dracula’s castle, resurrect Dracula and then defeat him once
again. I think this story is explained in the old instruction booklet, but I do
not remember. The in-game story is not well explained. In fact I always thought
the in-game story never made any sense.

Music: There are only a few tracts in this game, but boy did
they get them right! The famous “vampire killer” came from this game. This song
itself is worth the price of admission. This song continues itself down the line
of Castlevania games and has MANY official and unofficial renditions. I am
aware this game gets a lot of hate, but if this thing does anything right, it
is the music.

Game Play: This game is a 2-d side scrolling adventure in a
similar fashion to Metroid, and thus makes it the first “Metroidvania” game
(even before Symphony of the Night). Right from the start, you are allowed to
go almost anywhere you want with little direction as to where to go. There is a
general series of events and items to be obtained before progression can be had
at certain points of the game, but you are free to do things in any order. You can
go to any of the mansions in any order you want. You will be obtaining a white
crystal, which can be exchanged for a blue crystal and this crystal is necessary
for you to get into one mansion. This blue crystal has to be exchanged for a
red crystal which is needed to call a tornado to pick you up and take you to
another area of the game. If that all sounded weird and cryptic, then you are
normal. I have played this game so many times that all the secrets are second
nature to me. However if I were new to the game, I would be completely clueless
without a Nintendo Power magazine or Gamefaqs. This game also has several sub weapons;
all but two of them are optional. The required sub weapons are the holy water
which is used to break blocks and locate pitfalls, and the other is an oak
stake which is used to throw at an orb in one of the five mansions and turn it
into one of Dracula’s body parts. All of Dracula’s body parts also have a
function. The eye allows you to see hidden objects. The heart allows a ferry
man to take you to different path to another mansion. The rib acts like a
shield and will probably be the most used passive item in the game. I think the
nail allows you to whip blocks that would normally be taken out with by the
holy water. I do not believe the ring has any function.

This is also one of the first games to have multiple endings
depending on how fast you beat it. One quick note; time stops while you are in
the mansions. This makes any supposed grinding in the mansions more worthwhile.

Speaking of grinding, this game also has minor RPG elements.
Defeated monsters drop hearts. Hearts act as both monetary currency and ammo
for sub weapons. Money can be used to buy oak stakes, whip upgrades, and other
items.

Difficulty: This game is on the easy sides of gaming. It is
only difficult if you do not know what to do. Other than that the plat forming
is easy, all three (yes, only three bosses) bosses are ridiculously easy, and
traversing the countryside is easy. You will occasionally run into some small
blobs which can be a nuisance.

Addictiveness: I found this very addictive and I have tried
to make up different rules/objectives for beating the game for fun. I go
through binges with Castlevania 2/Castlevania 2-type games.

Final Thoughts: This is one of those games that it seems
everybody loves to hate on…but I never understood them. I have ALWAYS had a ton
of fun playing this game whether it be as a youth, teenager, or as an adult. This
game is not as bad as everybody says it is. Just like Super Mario Brothers 2
(American version), this game is fun, innovative, and overall brings a lot to
the table.