Castlevania II: Simon's Quest is an Awesome Mess

The Castlevania retrospective is back, this time with Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, the black sheep of the NES trilogy! I like it.
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[@54raynor]

The fact that this game gave us Bloody Tears is enough to secure its legacy in the history of gaming.

[@PurpleRupees]

It's not a good game. But I actually had some fun with it.

[@brandonmuse5532]

True

[@MidoseitoAkage]

And later, Iga has used the base of Simon's Quest for making Symphony of the Night. He knows the game isn't bad, it was just a mess.

[@hypnos9336]

the entire soundtrack is easily one of the best on the NES. konami absolutely dominated at that time, I really hope they can make a comeback with the upcoming SIlent Hill titles

[@Limit5482]

I just used the code and went straight to Dracula like 10 times

[@Arkholt2]

I loved Simon's Quest as a kid. It wasn't until I became an adult that I realized it was generally not well liked. I loved the exploration and the upgrades, and the overall vibe. I was disappointed to find that the next couple sequels didn't follow this pattern. The fact that you can literally die in the very first town, in the daytime, by falling into a pit two steps from where you start the game still gets me, though.

[@javiervasquez625]

Same thing with me and Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link. Both great games which have saddly gotten a bad rep because of difficulty and "breaking of the formula" from it's predecessor leading to one of the most unique games in their respective franchises. I'm still hoping Nintendo and Konami will reconsider remaking both games someday for i feel they could be reinvented into high quality Metroidvanias on par with modern Metroidvania games.

[@bartsullivan4866]

@@javiervasquez625 My only problem with Zelda 2 as a kid is when your NES would battery reset and you wanted to scream and cry to the high heavens losing your progress especially when you were nearly to Death Mountain.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@bartsullivan4866 All while having to die to save the game due to Nintendo dismissing a save feature without need of a gameover to do so.

[@bartsullivan4866]

@@javiervasquez625 pretty much, the simple passwords were sometimes better than the in game battery metroid and this game come to mind having to die to get to that feature was irritating for sure.

[@fighterck6241]

@@javiervasquez625 Same here. I loved it as a kid. Plus I knew all of the shortcuts and learned everything that needed to be done by word of mouth since I didn't have Nintendo Power or a strategy guide. People talked at lunch and then you went home and applied what you learned. Nothing really bothered me and I felt a sense of accomplishment when I beat it. It was the only Castlevania game I'd ever play until Symphony of the Night.

[@EnjoySackLunch]

I think the fact that the final mansion is completely bereft of enemies to be incredibly creepy and off putting. I loved it.

[@zitherq5761]

Honestly same. It's definitely spooky

[@INFPGamer]

especially with that music

[@claudeyanly5356]

The town you go through before the final mansion is also empty too if I'm remembering correctly. I also love the fact that some townspeople lie to you or spout nonsense. Pure genius

[@johncameron4500]

I always thought the same! And then that weird part that you can’t climb out of after falling down it

[@rdrrr]

@@claudeyanly5356 I think the idea is that Simon's trying to collect all 7 scattered pieces of Dracula so he can permanently kill him but townspeople who catch wind of this understandably don't like the idea that you're _reassembling Dracula_ so they feed you lies to hinder you

[@thatchadlmiller]

This game is badass and the soundtrack is one of the best to come from the NES

[@shadowhenge7118]

I actually borrowed my mom's tape recorder and hooked a cable from the tv's headphone jack to it so i could make a mixtape of the songs from this game and mega man 2

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

The music usually loops in like 30 seconds but its still so good

[@hypnos9336]

I was by no means an above-average intelligent kid. I had trouble paying attention, doing simple things, even just sitting still. I was obsessed with playing nintendo and if my parents let me, I'd probably play NES for days on end before I nearly starved to death because I'd forget to eat. Despite all of this, I actually managed to figure out the tornado part and most of the other cryptic parts of the game when I was a young kid. To this day I have no idea how I did it, but I'm pretty impressed with my younger self.

[@eightcoins4401]

You could argue figuring out moon logic like this is more intuition than intelligence

[@mayipluginmycordless]

My dad made a legitimate map and guide for Simon's Quest when I was a kid. It was very detailed and spawned my love of maps.

[@Darkkfated]

My dad did this for lots of games, but I think my favorite was renting Shadowgate on multiple weekends and leaving our "guide" in the plastic rental case under the instruction manual so that anyone else who rented the game could have a leg up if they wanted it.

[@sixten8493]

@@Darkkfated I like your dad

[@mayipluginmycordless]

@@Darkkfated class act!

[@ThejokerNSorrow99]

@Darkkfated that was humble and dope of ya to do for other gamers, hopefully they paid it forward 👌🙌

[@Darkkfated]

@@ThejokerNSorrow99 It was also back in the mid-80's - no way to look up solutions since the Internet was a full decade away. I hope it helped somebody, but who knows? We might have been the only people renting the game!

[@gregster1016]

What a horrible night to celebrate Christmas! It's still funny to me how the "bad ending" is better than the "normal ending", and ironically the "good ending" is the only one where we see Dracula rising from the grave :P

[@russellmania5349]

Their are 2 ending in this game?

[@JGComments]

I know! I worked really hard to get the “good” ending as a kid and was like, “what?“

[@JGComments]

@@russellmania5349 yessir. The “good” one is unlocked based on a timer.

[@legros731]

@@russellmania5349 there actually 3 ending not much change but still 3 possible ending

[@nickelouscage]

I thought that was a coding error that resulted in the endings getting screwed up

[@TANKTREAD]

Yup, everyone can bitch and moan about this game that's 100% fine. However, this was the first Castlevania game that introduced RPG elements, not "Symphony of the Night"(which is a really great game). "Castlevania II: Simon's Quest" STILL and always WILL be my favorite game in the massive franchise.

[@saintmatthew956]

As a kid (when this game was new), it was amazing and we loved it. Most of the secrets we found by accident.

[@spaceghostcqc2137]

I always loved the production values on this game. The tile sets are so atmospheric and the music is incredible. It's too cryptic though with no real way to intuit solutions to certain progress gates. Zelda 2 delivered this approach successfully by actually having some clues that players could use.

[@JGComments]

Two of my favorite games. Tell Brak and Gorak Happy New Year for me.

[@legros731]

I am error that was some helpful hint lol

[@Darkkfated]

The problem was that the dev team wanted to have townsfolk who were untrustworthy and would lie to you or mislead you - but in the English version, this is never communicated to the player in any way (aside from maybe a vague hint about it in the Instruction Manual?) and you chalk up all the lying townsfolk to standard 80's Engrish transration. This is something that might work today with a proper localization effort, but on the NES? No fucking way.

[@Smaxx]

True, but Zelda two had its own rather cryptic moments with hidden places or that one run-around dungeon.😉

[@lightfeather9953]

​@@Darkkfatedthere's a romhack with the translations fixed and a map and other improvements. It's easy to patch on a rom, there's a website you can patch it with without having to download any executables. Easy to google

[@nicholas3354]

When I was a kid, we didn't use a strategy guide for Zelda, but instead the necessary secrets were shared by word of mouth. When I did eventually beat it (decades later), I don't think I used a guide, but I sure used save-states.

[@lapthom]

Dude, did the same for Simon's quest. I discovered quite a lot by sheer trial and error, but somebody dropped hints in the schoolbus about kneeling with a crystal in different places. I finally beat it after having ditched it to begin with 😁

[@serin20]

Back then, any secrets I learned were from trial and error, off the school playground, or Nintendo Power. Those twos were good enough to beat both Simons Quest and Zelda 2.

[@MeatSnax]

This game really is fucking crazy. You can probably count on 1 hand the amount of games that had a town with a shop that you could buy items at in 1987, let alone a game with a day night cycle and random NPCs you could talk to. It's funny to imagine somebody being like "woah this game is so realistic" but it kinda is head and shoulders above everything thing else at the time. Also I was looking up the release dates of this vs Legend of Zelda 2, and it's pretty funny that both games came out in '87, have basically the same title (Simon's Quest vs Adventure of Link), both have some of the earliest video game RPG mechanics that aren't in a strict RPG, AND they're both hopelessly cryptic. I'm assuming Konami just copied Nintendo's homework for their Zelda-esque adventure game, but it's pretty uncanny either way.

[@allnamesaretakenful]

"I got the shit ending" You just described my entire gaming experience throughout the decades.

[@antiantifa886]

This game had three endings.

[@zitherq5761]

Some special fact I read. In the Famicom: version if u beat the game 69 days in, it will add "see you next time" to the credits. Wow 69 was a special number in japan too in the 80s too huh lol

[@johnforkner]

Although we expect games to be fully self-contained experiences now, games from this era-like Zelda, Metroid, or Castlevania 2-were designed with hint guides and gaming magazines in mind. Souls games provide a similar level of obscurity. Rushing online to find hints for Elden Ring reminded me of those days reading Nintendo Power for gameplay secrets.

[@jamiekelley5856]

I love this game, and unashamedly, so this was cool to see! One thing you might find interesting in the game is that time freezes in mansions - so if you want the best ending, do all your farming there (even the initial farm). I also tend to use an oak stake, then buy another from the same vendor to use in the next mansion, then buy the oak stake in that on for the next mansion, etc.

[@BigBearHgX]

With you 100% including the stake thing!

[@jamiekelley5856]

@@BigBearHgX Yep - for me, it's one of those games that's fun to come back to after you know it well enough. I probably play it once a year or so.

[@BigBearHgX]

@@jamiekelley5856 every time I see someone talking about it I end up doing a run! So once or twice a year. This game created my love for metroidvaina

[@jamiekelley5856]

@@BigBearHgX Same, on both counts! I always wished they'd made a Castlevania All-Stars the way they did Super Mario All-Stars (or even Ninja Gaiden Trilogy)for SNES.

[@BigBearHgX]

@@jamiekelley5856 I suck at 1 and 3 but still love them. Shame we had to wait until the castlevania collection but it is still excellent

[@ExaltedDuck]

Whether you want to call it a good game or a bad game, it's hard to ignore the fact that it just doesn't feel like a *whole* game. Like, maybe it's 3/4 of a game. 3/4 of anything can be really frustrating but when those 3/4 are pretty good, then it becomes that much moreso. It's a notable game because the developers tried to do things that - at the time - were new and different. And they were definitely onto something because the formula they came up with - once it was refined a bit more - became an enduring trope. But this game itself, whether it's a good most-of-a-game or a bad a whole-game, kind of falls flat on its own merits despite that incredible legacy.

[@shadowhenge7118]

I have so many fond memories of this game as a kid. I remember wanting to shout it from the rooftops when i finally beat it. It was the first nintendo game i ever beat with a little help from the nintendo power issue, of course.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

I just beat this game in like 4 hours got lucky without getting stuck and I remembered the Red Crystal wall thing. Still I can see how you could take 10 hours to win even if you knew all the secrets

[@glebkorniyenko1084]

these must be the same guys who translated the warning signs like "caution: you are stairs"

[@SpaceOink]

Thank you for showing the love to one of my childhood games that everyone else seem to hate.

[@OHG_Fawx]

I replayed this game yesterday on the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. As a kid, i had no idea what i was supposed to be doing after the first mansion, i didn't know holy water broke walls and revealed "clues", and i didn't know you could level up. Having said that, i still really enjoy this game for its iconic music and creepy atmosphere. A lot of the enjoyment also comes from knowing all the things i didn't know as a kid. When i got to the first area where i kneeled with the blue crystal by the water, i laughed to myself because despite talking to every villager up to this point, nobody had said a word about kneeling by the water. I have no idea where (in game) you are supposed to learn this and I think that sums up CV2 perfectly. It can be a lot of fun as long as you go in already knowing exactly what to do 😂

[@ZeroKitsune]

Yeah I feel like that's the big problem with this game. If you play it with a guide, it's fine, and kinda cool even. Without a guide, it's a mess.

[@VaultBoy13]

@@ZeroKitsune Exactly, that's the problem, the translation issues make the game unbeatable. Plus, the day/night transitions get annoying due to how long they take.

[@snarkymcsnarkface1863]

The horror is they are random vague hints from folks in town mostly. That or a lot of trial and error and error and error and error.

[@worsethanhitlerpt.2539]

Wish this game was bigger and more well done but its very cool and unique as it is could have been epic as fuck though

[@ZealSeraph]

The sad fact is that AVGN has shaped many gamers' opinions about this game, wether they played it for themselves or not. Many other games have experienced that exact same fate. Before his video I don't recall anyone saying anything negative about Simon's Quest. In fact back in the day people were blown away by how much bigger the adventure felt, only to be disappointed how Castlevania 3 took a step back and returned to the style of the original. The game has its glaring issues, there's no denying that, but it's still a good game well worth playing.

[@jamesthomas759]

It was frustrating when I was a kid but, it was still a lot of fun! Once I figured out what to do it became my favorite in the franchise! Endless replay value on it to this day.

[@c2_pikalee73]

I have been waiting for this video ever since the first castlevania vid dropped, it got me really into the castlevania series (except 2 but I hope this video changes my mind) you make great videos prof keep up the good work :)

[@czbeasley]

This was the first game I played as a child. It was my favorite out of the NES games that were at my grandparent’s house. I was the only one in the house who could get anywhere in the game; the adults had no clue what to do🤣

[@dalegleneagles5072]

The graphics, music, and settings in this game are what make it good. For me, the main drawback is the translations which make a game guide necessary. Everyone craps on the map from Nintendo Power at the time, but it does make total and complete sense in terms of locations and pathways. Legit boss fights would have helped too.

[@DopeyDragonz]

Lovely video! Hope you're staying warm, Bopper.

[@justsomeperson5110]

I don't know, I always liked Castlevania II. I wish more were like it. Grinding was just a mechanic of early games. I even enjoyed the cryptic messages to solve the confusing puzzles. Honestly, until now, I didn't even know they were supposed to be blatantly obvious that were only confusing due to mistranslations. Learn something new every day! But then I also liked Metroid. Sure, maps were confusing and death was punishing, but you were "rewarded" for speedrunning, so memorizing the madness and getting good were intentional parts of the game design. It was intended for replayability. It worked. No complaints.

[@Dman3827]

I don't know anyone who could possibly have thought to crouch for 5 seconds by the wall to summon a tornado. Or use a certain crystal and hold down to reveal a lower level without looking it up. The quote from star wars also.

[@xenxander]

I'm the only one I know who LIKED this game, because I was way more into RPGs and strategy games than action games. To put it into perspective, I have 100's of undocumented hours on "Shingen- the Ruler" and that game is hard to understand if you don't have the patience. Though I did love this clue: Hit Deborah Cliff with your head to make a hole I don't know why this 'clue' exists. I walked endlessly into the cliff but it didn't do anything. But somehow I knelt with the crystal and figured it out without a strategy guide. I was a very persistent player.

[@spaceghostcqc2137]

It's def a very cool game imo, but the cryptic bs puzzle keep it from being the all-time classic it could have been. The ingredients are all there for greatness (mechanics are solid, production is top notch for 1988, and audiences were primed for complex open world action-adventure style games from cutting their teeth on Zelda 2 the previous year) so it's unfortunate that its flaws have left it less fondly remembered than it could have been.

[@xenxander]

@@spaceghostcqc2137 it just needed a better translation team, and the transitions from day to night should have let you skip the dialog and should have been swifter. Time doesn't pass in mansions so those are perfect to grind your 6 levels.

[@uria2001]

I remember getting this game for Christmas. I beat it in 3 days with no guide at the age of 10. i have always absolutely loved the castlevania games. I was stoked to beat the game that quickly but also sad. Sad the fact that I didn't. I also received the PXL2000 camcorder that used regular audio cassettes. I would make these black and white home movies. It was my most memorable Christmas as a kid. I only got 2 gifts other than clothes but they were two memorable gifts for sure.

[@BowsettesFury]

No, just a mess. But with a great soundtrack. It’s only redeeming quality.

[@MastaGambit]

CV2 is only "underrated" in the same way that Megaman X6 is "underrated". They may not be quite as bad as most people make them out to be, but god damn are they still ass to play for their own reasons.

[@hendie3rd]

The Super Mario Bros games’ theme tunes are for sure the standards of video games but my all time favorite has always been Simon’s Quest.

[@azathoth7587]

So excited for you to get to dracula's curse! That's always been my favourite, even if I still can't beat it without savestates... but I absolutely love the ost and characters so much. It's one of the most complex and creative NES games.

[@themidcentrist]

I needed savestates to beat the final boss of super castlevania. I am ashamed of this fact, especially since Dracula only has one form in that game.

[@damonke79]

I've only ever beaten any classic Castlevania games with save states. I can beat the Igavania games fine but the classic Castlevania games kick my ass

[@ericcarver9250]

I know it's a mess, but it's been my favorite for decades.

[@blueberriesinmycoffee1234]

What a wonderful night for a lecture! Thank you kindly for the structured thoughts, Bopper! The nuance you put into explaining your enjoyment of the game while not only acknowledging but exploring the flaws is, for lack of a better.. uh, comparison? Cultural comparison point, I guess? - the elixir to the discomfort people feel when something they like gets dismissed as "mid." I get flowery with my language when I should be thinking about word economy a bit more, but yeah, if it helps serve the sincerity of what I'm trying to say, while I am aware you aren't the only person on KZbin who puts this much care into what you say, the fact that you do is admirable and a lot more creatively nourishing for other writers, and that's what I'm thankful for this old Eve. Peace and Warmth to you, dude!

[@ferusgratia]

THANK YOU for giving some love for Simon's Quest!

[@MistyKathrine]

It might not have been the most popular game of the series but it's the one with the most iconic music of the series.

[@thatgamingkiwi1630]

I'm glad to find the 3 other people in existence who actually like Simon's Quest, the first time through you're definitely gonna want a guide but once you've played it a few times and know where everything is it's a blast. This game catches way more flak than it deserves and I'd probably say AVGN's video is at least part of the reason for that.

[@nicoloenricorimoldi7425]

I’ve never heard anyone glorify Metroid. Most people agree that, much like Castlevania 2, it’s only a dated precursor to the genre that would be born with Super Metroid.

[@TheLegendOf43]

As a kid during that time (born in 84) other kids never spoke of metroid fondly, only discussing its difficulties, passwords and glitches. It wasnt bad, but it sure wasnt anything great either.

[@BGGardner]

What the hell? What a bizarre thing to say. Look at any NES ranking?

[@nicoloenricorimoldi7425]

@@BGGardner Most of the video reviews and “best NES games” lists I could find mention how the game is “tough to return to today” and that Super Metroid and Zero Mission overshadow it. The game does have a better reputation than Castlevania 2, but “glorify” isn’t the best term to describe a game who’s remembered only as a pioneer, and whose merits are limited to its atmosphere and soundtrack.

[@BGGardner]

@Nicolò Enrico Rimoldi I think you are speaking for a tiny minority here. As shown by nearly any reputable list. Again, no shortage of bad takes or people hungry for attention by dunking on classics.

[@nicoloenricorimoldi7425]

@@BGGardner I had genuinely never heard of much praise for Metroid 1 before, so I didn't find it very fair to prop up Castlevania 2 by treating it as an underdog compared to Metroid. Even the official Nintendo magazine of my country back in the late 00s/early 10s recommended playing Zero Mission instead of Metroid 1 because of the latter having aged badly, so that among other reviews affected my view of the game's reception. If I really cared about attention, I wouldn't seek it on a video with barely 7000 views, I can tell you that much.

[@Mr.Rexfires]

Just started playing this game a little after Halloween. Couldn't agree more with the video title!

[@adamsunderland0823]

Simons quest walked so Symphony of the night could run.

[@MyPisceanNature]

I actually enjoyed this one more than the original Castlevania. I suspect it would be much more fondly remembered if it were an original title instead of a sequel. I also enjoyed Super Mario Bros 2 more than the other NES Mario games.

[@Fender178]

I usually skip the Thorn whip and go to the Chain Whip because of how big the difference in difference in dmg boost you get form the Leather Whip to the Chain Whip on top of saving 100 hearts in the process. Yeah according to IGA the head dog behind the Metroidvainia games including Symphony of the Night it was Simon's Quest's success that helped them get the green light from Konami to make Symphony of the Night. Also thanks to rom hacks of this game there are massive improvements from the OG game.

[@chevynap]

This game will always have a special place in my heart. I actually won it from a Chips Ahoy scratch off giveaway, the year it was released! I was over the moon when it showed up in my mailbox 4 weeks later!

[@bjnartowt]

Wow, was that the chips ahoy giveaway that also did Mario 3??

[@chevynap]

@@bjnartowt it probably was. I think there may have been a thrid game they were giving away too. We're talking the late 80's. I'm lucky to remember what I did an hour ago! 😂

[@DeadCatX2]

15:02 "For SotN and the entire Metroidvania genre to run, Simon's Quest had to walk, fall over, bust its ass, fart, shit, and barf its way to the finish line" 😂😂🤣🤣

[@thorny3218]

I love that game. Couldn’t beat it until the age of the internet, but I finally did. We figured out everything except kneeling by the wall. It was a huge revolution when I finally knew what to do.

[@presidentsnow7315]

I have a funny story about Castlevania 2: I was a kid living in Riverside, California with my parents and was on the final boss, (Dracula), and he was basically impossible! The game was brand new so there was no internet to look for clues back then. My mom came in to the room to tell me to get ready for church and saw that I was getting frustrated, so she said to look for clues in the instruction manual. Keep in mind my mom knew absolutely NOTHING about video games, and still doesn't. I was being a spoiled, bratty kid and rolled my eyes, basically saying something like, "ya ya mom, the instruction manual is not going to tell me how to beat this IMPOSSIBLE boss!!!" But she confidentially, and somewhat naively started going through the NES instruction manual for the game and came across the item description section. Upon looking at the description for the "Golden Knife", (or maybe it was "Golden Dagger"; I can't remember) she started reading from the manual, "contains a mysterious power." She basically said with excitement, "It says here that the Golden Knife has mysterious power! I bet the mysterious power is that it can beat Dracula!" But I wasn't hearing any of it because what does she know about video games! I was just getting more and more frustrated. Finally she kept suggesting it enough where I just said I would do it so that she would stop bugging me about it and I could show her that she is wrong. Well, the Golden Knife killed Dracula in one hit!!!! I was in complete shock; I couldn't even respond. All I could do was stare at the screen in total disbelief, feeling like a total jack@$$. My mom just had a smug smile on her face and said something to the effect of, "see, your mom knows best." Then she walked out of the room very satisfied at my total ego defeat. I never questioned her mom wisdom again. It's one of my favorite memories. =D

[@eggsngaming]

This is one of my favorite games as a kid. I didn't find the cryptic nature to be any worse than bombing/burning random things in Zelda, or bombing random floors or walls in Metroid, but at least Castlevania 2 didn't have the enemy spam those games had in their most difficult moments.

[@marvincamera]

After 3 decades, I'm still can't figure out how to processed dracula's rib.... lol.

[@JonathanMartin884]

I love Simon's Quest, it has always been and will always be my favorite Castlevania title.

[@SatenSheets]

I beat simons quest 2 when I was literally 5 or 6, and to this day, it's one of my fav games of castlevania.

[@allnamesaretakenful]

I borrowed this from a friend and beat it, because I liked certain things about the game, and that was enough for me to put up with the crappiness of the bad parts of the game.

[@michaelspicer3741]

Beat the game without a guide as a kid in 1997. My strategy was to toss holy water on every square inch of the game. It worked! And kneeling at the cliff, figured that out on accident, biggest WTF look on my face.

[@eightcoins4401]

The original famicom disk system version actually tracks how many ingame days you took and prints them on the screen

[@gregorykotoch5045]

I loved this game. I remember a kid I knew got the flame whip I was so excited and couldn't wait for him to show me how he got it.

[@larryrich2288]

This was the first Castlevania game I played as a kid and I loved it. It's the same as others here have stated, I didn't even know that it was kind of unpopular until I got older. If they fixed the translations to make the hints better and put the endings into the correct order this game would have been phenomenal.

[@Dracul4303]

This game is a gem. I have it for the NES, and I still enjoy completing it today. For me, the music and environments are awesome.

[@Spawn-wt6ul]

Simon's Quest is fucking awesome, not sure why people are shitting on it.

[@joejojo4805]

I managed to clear this game back 30 years ago and got to the 3 endings, till today i can still remember the 16 alphabet code to use in order to clear in less than 7days (in game time).

[@starryslight7095]

Finally watched this ! Comment for the algorithm 💖 what a fun video !! I'll probably never play this game but it was fun to learn about it from you 🙏

[@jonnielsen547]

I thoroughly enjoyed playing this game last year - the first Castlevania I've finished. Admittedly I used bisquit's excellent retranslation patch with its built-in map feature enabled 👌

[@trippyskullz6669]

I came upon these and loved them. But there's no CV3 video yet

[@vdate]

You know, with the way you talk about this game... Have you ever played La-Mulana? Its punishment is arguably more real, but the gags and pranks are equally present, and the hints, while cryptic, are MUCH fairer. That said, I strongly believe there's a LOT of shared DNA (and for reasons beyond just all the Konami references). But more than that, the game feels like a perfected version of what you describe this game as doing. (That said, I'm probably heavily biased because my friends and I played through both LM and its sequel actually blind, and absolutely adored both of them.)

[@LamontZero]

Thank goodness for the Rom Hacks that make this game better! After fixing the translation, controls, and the speed of transitions, this game becomes one of the best in my opinion.

[@stt5v2002]

I figured out the “red crystal kneel tornado” thing. Here is how it happened. By pure chance I found the kneel by the lake to trigger the screen shift. I don’t think I understood that the Crystal was involved. But I went to that cliff and did connect it to the “Deborah cliffs” hint. I tried the kneel thing because it worked at the lake. I guess I had the red crystal, because it worked. I sort of feel proud of that, though it might have been mostly luck.I do recall that 13 year old me pronounced it “Dee-bore-ahh” cliffs because I wasn’t smart enough to connect the game to the fairly common real world name.

[@anonymousx2156]

Bro I beat this game in the early 90s without any guide whatsoever, it took my 2 months.

[@RetroMaticGamer]

This was one of my first and favorite NES games! Seriously, though, try the improved "remix" version - Simon's Redaction. Improves the game's few flaws, makes the villager hints useful, and makes it so you can finish it without a walkthrough.

[@ScottW967]

WHAT A HORRIBLE NIGHT TO HAVE A COLD

[@AdamYoudell]

Thorn whip is a waste of money. You go 1 night in the first town to get water+white crystal then straight to the first mansion it's easy enough with the L. whip, chain whip is the first you'll buy. One thing that's funny is you start at 12:00 on the first day instead of midnight so you're already 12 hours in the hole. That why night comes so quickly at the beginning

[@icntsywhtiwnt2]

As a creepy kid in the 80s and 90s this was my zelda. And people complaining about needing a guide, first it was horribly adapted, second, I knew plenty of kids who used guides for Zelda. It was a bit like Dark Souls in that we shared what we knew among ourselves (at school instead of on reddit).

[@daneast]

I bought this game in high school back when it came out. I can't remember the exact magazine or book, but I got the needed hints from something like that back in the day. Like where to kneel and about the garlic and so on. I was a purist that wanted to win games and do so on my own, but even at that point in time 3rd party hints were almost a necessity. Just pointing out that in that era, even before the internet and so on, all gamers could access extremely thorough hints and guides, even containing full maps of the games (usually on multiple-fold-out-pages) from magazines and books.

[@RoCkShaDoWWaLkEr]

C2:Simon's Quest was a great game that I loved as a precocious 8 year old that only got to rent NES on the weekends for a long time until I got one. Simon's Quest and Zelda:2 Link are still my favorite NES games to this day. Blaster Master would have to be on the list with them too.

[@kavya1638]

enjoyed the game through and through. grinded, felt powerful, but some time later found out about the kneeling and finally beat it. the game was a whole different animal after that, trying to get the good ending. well worth playing.

[@puuxexil]

I have a lot of nostalgia for this game. I believe if they just polished things up a little bit, more people would remember it fondly, as I do.

[@Darkkfated]

Yeah. Dracula's Curse. People always mention games like Battletoads or Ninja Gaiden when talking about Nintnedo Hard™ games, but Dracula's Curse 100% deserves a spot near the top of that list.

[@OttoRoesch28]

This video takes me back to the past. I seem to recall an Angry Nintendo Nerd reviewing this game…

[@wantsome-zs5sq]

I was a big fan of the 1st Castlevania. I remember seeing Castlevania 2 in Nintendo power when I was in 7th grade. The day it came out I walked 2 miles in a blizzard to get it. I sold all of my games to come up with the money. Castlevania 2 was the only game I owned. I had to figure the game out with no help. I got stuck at the tornado part for weeks. One night I said to myself I'm going to figure this shit out. I spent 8 hours trying. I was pulling my hair out. My buddy was over that night. I was talking to him and I happened to be holding down on the d pad then the tornado came out. My mind was blown. I have to be the only person on the planet to figure this game out without a guide.

[@dougfoster445]

When this game came out I bought it for the NES when I was like 7....It took me a solid 2 years to beat without any sort of guide or internet.....It was literally going to every tile and throwing holy water and trying every item on every tile....Was torture, but I still love the game.

[@crazyadventuresandreviews]

If it wasn’t for Nintendo power magazine, I would have never beaten this game when it first came out. Impossible without it.

[@arthurmadsen1428]

simons quest is my all time favorite Castlevania game and im happy i still own an original simon's quest nes game in the box

[@dockjordan]

Simons Quest was the very first video game I played when I was like 6-7

[@WonderLure42]

You can’t actually skip Camila. If you don’t get the cross from her, then you can’t get into Dracula’s Castle.

[@iamsemjaza]

I invested in oak stakes and then Belmont crashed the oak stake market by defeating Dracula! I lost everything!

[@forevernever1883]

When it came to the NES, it was the "two's" that did it for me, because either they were so different than the rest of their respective series or just an all around improvement. They were definitely slept on. Zelda II The Adventure of Link Simon's Quest (Castlevania II) Super Mario 2 (US) Ironsword (Wizards & Warriors II) Zoda's Revenge (Startropics II) Mega Man 2 Zelda and Startropics are kind of a hard pick for me because I like both the original and their sequels equally, but the 2nd Mario, W&W, MM, and Castlevania are definitely my favorites of their 8-bit series.

[@CassidyListon]

1:52 August 1997? Damn. People had to wait like a year into the N64 lifecycle just to get a sequel to an NES game...

[@Bart848]

For those that played this back in the 90’s this game was a pain,took me so long to figure out to kneel with the red crystal for the tornado to come

[@bartsullivan4866]

The Gameboy Castlevania 2 Belmont's Revenge is a damn breeze compared to the other games you mentioned. I just got the NES classic and am looking forward to completing this game.

[@jaredt2590]

Townspeople should have told you about the crystal tricks that you need to do to beat this.

[@roycewise2530]

This is the second game I beat in the series the first was aria of sorrow.. it's a unique title but I rushed instead of taking the time to talk to the NPCs and getting the best ending. Would be nice if we can get a remake but Konami just doesn't care about the fans anymore

[@KingMob4313]

There's a perfected romhack for it which puts the game in a whole new light. (English Re-translation (+Map))

[@rufusray]

Good art only comes from straying outside the box you're framed in. It was a perfect experiment in reinvisioning.

[@Kaisharga]

Oh heck, I didn't know AVGN did this. My entire understanding of this game's modern reputation is based on the Sequelitis episode about it.

[@ClayHales]

I remember getting the crap ending and I attributed it to not getting everything done in the correct order. I did it again on the "correct" order and got the good ending.

[@randallflagg6271]

I always used the diamond that bounces off the walls to smoke Dracula. I beat this game several times as a kid... ...of course, I had Nintendo Power, though. Also, I had no idea that there was more than one ending. O_o

[@robertmcginty4146]

What about the guy saying "Take my daughter, please?" 😂

[@chibishortdeath]

I love this game so much. It’s one of my favorite Castlevania games and I didn’t even grow up with it (heck I wasn’t alive when it came out lol). The complete change in game style was ambitious and it suffered in places from the limitations of the technology and poor translation, but still manages to be genuinely fun and atmospheric despite the rough parts. The story is insanely cool and pretty damn dark (rotting alive slowly for 6 years sounds terrible, poor Simon). And the way that it’s left so open and vague (especially the endings) adds a weird bit of mystery and unease to the game. It’s an acquired taste, but it has so much strange charm to it! I’ve found myself replaying it, drawing fanart of it, and searching for content about it online a lot lately tbh! XD

[@DarthMohammedRules]

This was always one of my favs. I think it may have actually been the very first NES game I bought for myself. No regrets. I had previously played it at a friend's house, knew it had its flaws, but I liked it sooo much better than the first Castlevania game, and at the time, there wasn't really anything like it, except for Metroid, of course.

[@VampireNoblesse]

imo Zelda II is also a missunderstood masterpiece (it even had like pre- Street Fighter like action, atack / block low & high + jump attack that could pierce from above).. besides it felt like Dark Souls today (going as deep into a far dungeon as you could, before getting scared and turning around to before its too dangerous, to comeback better prepared)

[@hinderikusbos1370]

Simons Quest is the best castelvania ever , castelvania whith role play puzzle elements and open world . I also like the different day and night difficulty

[@hnorrstrom]

With that graphics and that music a fantasy nerd like me could forgive a lot as a child. It's the only castlevania game I finished and that without a guide. Really it only took a few weeks of trial and error, while castlevania 1 was simply impossible if you didn't have the skills.