Topic: Rate the NES Castlevanias

[Belmont Stakes]

Rate the NES games from a standpoint of control, graphics, theme and bosses.

For control
Castlevania
I like the way Simon is animated and more crisp when he trodds and jumps.
Then I like Simon's Quest even though the game is slow as fuck.
Trevor just does not seem to move like the other Belmont in
Dracula's Curse. He moves his feet when he whips and is just more rigid.
Now I realize this question is kind of a difficult one to answer since Grant is very easy to manuever and Alucard can change into a bat. Sypha is fixed in her movement.

Graphics
Dracula's Curse is just very vibrant and edges out Castlevania by a slight bit.
Egoraptor has said all that needs to be said about Simon's Quest so I will just skip it.

Theme
Simon's Quest more so for the potential of what may have been as opposed to what the final product turned out to be.
Castlevania set the tone for what the NES series should be as opposed to this oversaturation of SOTN clones.
Dracula's Curse is great but it is missing that fadeout music aspect that the other two games have. That stuff really sets the
atmosphere.

Boss Battles
I like Castlevania I even though DC has more enemies they just seem more fluid in movement. Once again Simon's Quest is the bastard child of this series in this aspect. 

[X]

Castlevania:

The game that started it all.
Hard as F@#k.
A classic all on its own.

Castlevania 2:

First CV experience.
Difficult only to the aspect of getting turned around and not knowing where to go or where to get what you need.
A different gaming experience but a worthy sequel to a true classic.

Castlevania 3:

I took what made the original castlevania good and expanded upon it.
Over twice as long as the original and every bit as enjoyable.
A whole slew of great characters to choose from.
A worthy prequel to a great classic.

 

[Maedhros]

Castlevania
My first impression of it was: "This shit is hard, goddamit!".
The game has nice design level, the controls are too stiff, but they add to the difficult of the game without being too cheap. The music was never a problem with the series, so I'll not comment on it.
Castlevania 2
Just like Zelda 2, Metroid 2... I think these games are really full of potential, but that's it. Terrible outdated in seriously need of remakes. About Simon Quest in specific, it's impossible to finish it without a guide because the hints are simply ridiculous. It was a good idea, but baddly implemented. The praise goes, again to the music. And the open world was really cool idea that I want to see back in Castlevania series someday (Order of Ecclesia almost got that alright). The bosses... that game has bosses? I don't even remember them in my gameplay. That was a shame, because Castlevania has to have memorable boss fights in my oppinion.
Castlevania 3
There are some people who says this game needs a remake. I say bullshit, this game is perfect already as it is. I really think that, if they try it, they'll make it worse than it already is. This game takes CV 1 and makes it 100% better. Alternative paths, multiple characters, better level design, better atmosphere... everything blends together perfectly.

tl;dr: CV 1 and 3 are great. CV 2 needs a remake because of it's potential.

[Munchy]

Castlevania 3
There are some people who says this game needs a remake. I say bullshit, this game is perfect already as it is. I really think that, if they try it, they'll make it worse than it already is. This game takes CV 1 and makes it 100% better. Alternative paths, multiple characters, better level design, better atmosphere... everything blends together perfectly.

tl;dr: CV 1 and 3 are great. CV 2 needs a remake because of it's potential.

Really, the only changes CV3 needs are the bullshit checkpoints on the last level and maybe the falling block parts, because those were boring and bullshit.

Anyway, I rate the games (best to worst) 3-1-2. 2 isn't a bad game, but it has a lot of problems that need fixing.

[Arcraith]

all i know is that i sucked at all of them

[Belmont Stakes]

When I played CVII so many years ago (God I am so old) I sadly could not find any of the hidden mansions without asking people for help. I finished it before beathng Castlevania and then I defeated Akumajo Densetsu which had music that should have been ported to the American version VRC6 chip or no chip. They could have added a Triangle Bass line channel and it would have sounded much better than a lot of the tracks that are on there now.

I will put it this way though out of all of them Castlevania 1 was a fucking bitch and was a landmark game for me to beat.
Stack this game up with the first Ninja Gaiden for the NES and you have two of the most brutally hard games in history.

[Alutwon]

Although annoying at times, III is great fun and a must for any fan.
As quirky as II is, it still has a certain charm to it. I find myself playing it often.
The original CV is perfect and should be the blueprint for any Castlevania made.

My vote is 1,2,3

[Vampire Killer]

#1 - Castlevania III

The gameplay is just like Cv1, but with a lot more variety. Controls are tight, the only exception being Grant's wall-climbing ability (I could never get that to work perfectly). I loved the multiple paths, and even though some of the boss fights appeared multiple times (the coffin bosses) it had enough original boss fights to make it a non-issue imo.  As always the music was great, but not particularly better than it's predecessors. I loved the fact that the multiple playable characters allowed for different strategies to be used in how one got from point A to B and during boss fights.

Been doing some pixel art in my spare time, and it's really given me an appreciation for what the designers were able to accomplish with what little they had. Almost minimalistic.


#2 - Castlevania

Great little game that still stands the test of time. My only gripe is that some of the bosses are nigh impossible to beat w/o using the cheap holywater tactic (Frankenstein, Reaper). Yes, I have beaten them w/o using holywater, but it's a pain in the ass, and largely based on luck. One thing I do love though, is that it can be played through in one sitting.


#3 - Castlevania II

Cv2 is a low point in the series for me. I think it had a lot going for it, it just wasn't properly executed. What really killed it (besides the crappy translation), was the almost complete lack of boss fights. There are what, like 3 bosses in the game, Dracula included, 2 of them you can just walk right past, and all of them are ridiculously easy. It's like Konami read some of the complaints about the difficulty in Cv1, and decided to go in the exact opposite direction. The only high points in this game for me is the music and the flame whip.

[Thunderbrand]

CV III

Just EPIC! The game (for it's time) was pretty damn big and it had a great blend of challenge, graphics, music and atmosphere. It was insanely difficult at times but it was the "good" kind of difficult, where you really felt accomplished once you got through it. Great story and characters too.

CV II

A much different game but it was innovative for the series. It was the 1st game to be largely non-linear, give us multiple whips, items and the day/night cycles. Sure it was hair-pulling trying to figure out where to go and what to get, and those "clues" were total BS, but that was part of the fun. Plus the music was excellent and the overall atmosphere was outstanding.

CV I

The original and always a classic. In general the game was pretty simplified and no-frills, but it was quite challenging, had good atmosphere and gave us all the original great songs on the score we know & love.

[JooohnShaft]

one word; EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPIIIIIIIII IIICCCCCCCCCCCCCC!