| Castlevania II |
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| Castlevania 2 (aka Simon�s Quest) or Dracula II: The Cursed Seal (Japanese translation) Introduction Who can forget our whip-wielding hero, Simon Belmont, who is destined to become an immortal legend of Castlevania for decades to come! This action RPG adventure is the second installation of Castlevania and is one of the most exciting RPG of its time. Story Simon once again returns in this game to find clues in lifting a curse which his nemesis Dracula has put on him after the last story ends. Simon will now face a slow painful death unless he can recover all parts of Dracula he had previously sealed in the first game. By gathering them together, Simon seeks an answer to lift this curse... but it also means he has to face his nemesis once again in the end... At first, Simon begins with minimal power and has to explore towns and following leads offered by the townfolks to continue his quest. While obtaining more weapons and aids along the way, he has to explore numerous eerie Mansions that are littered in the Castlevania world. After going through the mazes, Simon has to defeat monstrous Servants of Darkness residing within their depths and purify the mansions of their evil. Victory bestows Simon precious Relics (Dracula's parts) that can help him explore previously inaccessible areas and gains extra powers. All these prepare him for the final confrontation with his archenemy: Dracula, the Prince of Darkness again. Unique Characteristics A unique feature is that it introduces a revolutionary element of real time by constantly switching from day to night throughout the game. During the daytime, the undeads are weaker and easily eliminated, and the townfolks will be in towns to give Simon advice. When nighttime comes, the undeads become incredibly strong and dangerous. The towns become inaccessible and will be littered with ghosts and zombies. Simon then has to proceed with extreme care. However the night time is perfect for exploring mansions as it does not affect the intensity of the monsters there. With this day-night feature, playing Castlevania II is thoroughly enjoyable. Coupled by the excitement of exploring unknown areas while beating enemies, it has a very realistic RPG feel to it. Certainly it contains all elements that make a game so great. Last Word: A really intriguing game. As everybody knows. this game and its NES counterparts are predecessors to all other Castlevania titled games in future consoles, including the incredible PS version Castlevania: �Symphony of the Night�. All these mark the continuation of Castlevania's immortal legacy into the next millenium. Rating: 9 (at it's time), now 8 |
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