Topic: Your very first Castlevania experience

[DingusBelmondo]

 I remember i was around 6 and had my mom drive me 25 minutes to the next town because we had a major lack of videogame stores. I had saved up my money, and arrived at Gamestop, which was then called Funcoland. I huddled up against the gameboy game cabinet and saw a small gray cartridge. A muscular hero swung stood at the edge of a cliff, swinging a whip at a armored beast. A lightning explosion of a title read : "Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge" I asked the man at the counter if I could try it out. At this point, i knew nothing of castlevania, and assumed Belmont was the name of the villain and that he was tryin ta getcha. I skipped the intro and missed the dracula bit, but was instantly enticed by cloud castle, the first level i played. I bought it, my third gameboy game. At this point I only had Super Mario Land and Revenge of the Gator Pinball. My older brother wouldn't let me play his pokemon red. Anyways, i spent hours and hours at home and on carrides trying to beat that game. I think the farthest I got as a kid was destroying cloud castle and rock castle. A few years later i managed to get to Dracula. Eleven years later, I still have it, and I can't beat it.

[Profbeanburrito]

I know some time when I was like 4 I played Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse at my uncles but I can't really remember that, but the big moment for me was when my Dad got me it for my birthday. I remember him handing it to me, it wasn't even wrapped, I think he just went and picked it up. It was the greatest. I played it all the time, but I couldn't get past the swamp and I thought that was close to the end of the game! Then a few years later he got me Super Castlevania IV also for my birthday. I blame my Dad for getting me addicted!

[Kingshango]

Back in the summer of 1995 when I was about 7 years old my brothers borrowed a friends copy of Donkey Kong Country 2 Super Castlevania 4 and Castlevania Bloodlines. I beat Bloodlines first(rather my brother helped me) and beat DKC2 that following week, but for some reason I didn't finish SC4 untill Christmas. Such an epic weekend that was and as a matter of fact we never gave Super Castlevania back, it's sticking out of my SNES as I type.

I didn't play the NES versions untill 2000 during my retro gaming phase.

[secretagentBelmont]

KingShango, that is pretty hardcore beating Bloodlines at the age of 7!!!

I remember getting Castlevania around my 5th birthday.  I was into some of the classic Universal Monsters and seeing the Dracula connection led me to this game.  Never coming close to getting past more than the 2nd level back then.  A few years later I beat it (with a game genie).  I was still too young to appreciate the satisfaction of working hard to beat the difficult game and the feeling you get from finally beating it.  I never really went back and replayed many of my older games til the Gamecube era, and I finally made it my mission to beat my old nemesis that I could never conquer.  After roughly 20 years the score was settled, I finally ended Dracula's reign of terror.  Such a satisfying feeling beating a game that kicked my ass for so many years!!! Ninja Gaiden is still on that list of old NES games I still have a score to settle with though!

[shelverton.]

Back in 1988 or something, just before I got my very own NES, I used to play video games at my friends house. I remember him having four games - Kid Icarus, Ghost's n Goblins, Super Mario Bros 1 and Castlevania. I sucked at Castlevania so I always wanted him to get to level 3 so i could hear Wicked Child (didn't know the song had a name back then though). It was probably the first time I even thought about video game music at all. I borrowed Castlevania from him as soon as I got my NES and got pretty good at it. Never beat it until many years later though.

This reminds me of the first time I played Simon's Quest, which was released in Europe in early 1990 (I think?). I immediately started to whip the villagers! For a second I thought the game was broken, lol. Got hopelessly stuck in that game btw. I think most of us did.

[PFG9000]

Around 1988, my neighbor brought home two new NES games, Contra and Castlevania.  I was really drawn to Castlevania because of a cool screenshot on the back of the box of the hero fighting in this cool machine area (the clocktower).  My friend and I were both horrible at CV; neither of us could get past those dang crushers on the second stage.  But I was hooked.

I later played Simon's Quest and didn't care for it, because I couldn't find the friggin' castle.  I didn't grasp that it was a totally different kind of game from the first one.

And then Super CV4 came out, and I was hooked all over again.

[Fearnavigatr]

Very very very shamefully, I was untouched by the grace of this series until as recently as 2007, at the age of 17. I knew about the series long prior to that, but only through fleeting mentions. My general video game interest has been much more long-lived, and it was during AIM discussions with other such gamers that I became convinced to try out Super Castlevania IV through Virtual Console. I was instantly impressed and inspired by the setting, the gameplay and notably the music (Theme of Simon has forever changed my life), and knew from the start that it was a perfect hit. I began doing research about the rest of the series and became very fascinated about the 1000-year storyline, and of course fell in love with more of the music. Sometime later, I got my first Castleroid experience with Dawn of Sorrow, borrowed from a friend, and it all escalated from there. My interest for the series, platformers, Castleroids and 3D-games alike (more or less for some games), and especially its music, has grown at a steady rate ever since, currently peaking at near-obsession.

While I may lack the childhood nostalgia that so many Castlevania fans have, I do not lack the love. I hope to be looked at with the same eyes as one would for anyone who's followed the series for the past 20-or-so years.

[darkwzrd4]

It was Christmas 1993, and I got SNES and two games (one of which was SCV4).  I've always loved stuff about monsters.  So, I started playing it as soon as my dad hooked it up.  I immediately loved the music, but I was intimidated by the levels (the enemies scared me, I was only 6 years old after all).  It actually took me until the summer of 2004 to get past the third level and the rest of that summer to complete the game.

[Aridale]

I was so young I barely remember it but I used to send the night with my cousins alot and my oldest cousin had an NES. They were the kinda kids that always got whatever they wanted when they wanted so they always had everything new. I think it was 87 or 88 so I was 7 or 8. But I remember us playin the HELL outta mario 1 and duck hunt and then one time when I was there he had CV1 and he wouldnt let me play it but I watch him play it for hours

Then some time passed I forgot all about it and my bday rolled around and I got my own NES and my best friend would come over and spend the night at my house and bring various games he had over and wed play em. This time he brought CV2 and that was it for me. It was all over

I remembered everythin about the first game at my cousins and it all came back to me how awesome it was. I played CV2 that night and didnt stop til I bout passed out. I got him to let me borrow it and its been my fav game of all time ever since

[Kale]

I remember i was around 6 and had my mom drive me 25 minutes to the next town because we had a major lack of videogame stores. I had saved up my money, and arrived at Gamestop, which was then called Funcoland.

Woah! Wait, WHAT?! Gamestop is Funcoland!??

[shelverton.]

and then one time when I was there he had CV1 and he wouldnt let me play it but I watch him play it for hours

LOL! That's actually really funny. We all had a friend (or two) who owned a game that they wouldn't let us play! What is up with that anyway? Another friend of mine wouldn't let me play Silent Service, he said that I didn't understand hw to play (and how would I ever understand if he never handed me the controller?). Not that I really wanted to play Silent Service because the game bored the hell out of me, but still - what's up with kids and their possessive nature?

[Aridale]

Woah! Wait, WHAT?! Gamestop is Funcoland!??

yes... yes it is

And I dunno whats up with those kids... I always let my friends play my games hell a lot of the time on my own game. Only time it ever pissed me off and I didnt let him play anymore was when I was stuck on koopa at the end of Super Mario World right after the release of the SNES. I just couldnt beat him for some reason my friend said "let me try" I did and he beat him in 1 try... man oh man

[Inccubus]

First CV I ever played was CV3. It rocked. Then I played CV1 and it kicked my ass.

[Kamirine]

I think I was around 5 or 6. I walked into the living room, my brother was playing Castlevania 3. I sat down and began to watch him as he was just beating the clock tower, humming the music. Then he got to the forest and I FELL IN LOVE with that theme. Seriously, it's how I found the series again years later: remembering that particular song. Anywho, I didn't get to play the game (my brother was very stingy with his system) but whenever he played, I'd sit, watch, and hum the music to the point of annoying him.

I actually didn't get to play the game until I was like 12, when I finally got my own game systems. Castlevania 3 was the first game in the series I played.

[Wallachia]

the 1st time I put the game in and saw this opening, I knew I was in for something that would totally capture me, and I was right, haha.. I was probably 11 or so.