Super Castlevania IV (history and reception)

Super Castlevania IV came out in Japan, as Akumajō Dracula for the Super Famicom, on October 31, 1991. super-castlevania-iv-history/release-japan

The listing gives the day without a year; the issue's date puts it in 1991.

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

Super Castlevania IV came out in North America in December 1991, with Konami as Nintendo's licensee. super-castlevania-iv-history/release-na

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

The player is Simon Belmont, who whips his way through eleven levels, each ending with a boss. super-castlevania-iv-history/simon-levels

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

In the manual's story, a group of people holds a ceremony in a ruined abbey to revive Dracula, and Simon Belmont sets out to defeat him. super-castlevania-iv-history/story

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

Simon starts with three lives and has a time limit on each level, and running out of time costs a life; after the last life is lost, choosing "End" shows a password that later restarts the game at that level, without the bonuses and power-ups earned. super-castlevania-iv-history/lives-time-password

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

Simon's whip snaps in eight directions, aimed with the Control Pad; it latches onto rings to swing across gaps too wide to jump; held down, it hangs limp and can be waved around for less damage. super-castlevania-iv-history/whip

The manual's controls page gives the whip to Y and the jump to B by default, but its whip page says to press B; the buttons can be reassigned from the options screen.

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

Subweapons have a button of their own, the R button by default, where earlier Castlevania games used Up with the attack button. super-castlevania-iv-history/item-button

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

In Nintendo Power's January 1992 issue, Rob, one of two experienced players at Nintendo's headquarters the magazine invited to give their opinions, called Super Castlevania IV "a blast", praised its graphics and music and a part swinging from chandelier to chandelier, and named it one of the top Super NES games he had played. super-castlevania-iv-history/np-rob

The page's two players, Rob and George, open with their favorites of the issue's games; the Castlevania comment sits above Rob's personal Power Meter, and George's favorite is Mega Man 4. The OCR garbles the speaker's label.

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

Rob's personal Power Meter for Super Castlevania IV in Nintendo Power gave it 4.0 for graphics and sound, 4.0 for play control, 4.5 for challenge, and 4.5 for theme and fun, out of 5. super-castlevania-iv-history/np-rob-meter

{
 "review": "Nintendo Power (Rob's Power Meter)",
 "of": 5,
 "scores": {
  "graphics and sound": 4,
  "play control": 4,
  "challenge": 4.5,
  "theme and fun": 4.5
 }
}

One player's meter, not the magazine's chart. The issue's chart of Super NES ratings (printed p. 103) has a row for the game, but its OCR is too jumbled to read the scores.

GameSpot's 2001 history of the series, by Mike Whalen and Giancarlo Varanini, says the game raised the bar for graphics, music, and control, and calls its music some of the best on the Super Nintendo. It reports complaints that the game was a remake of the original Castlevania, and finds both games "incredibly linear"; it still calls this one more fun than any earlier Castlevania, one of the best in the series, and "one of the most memorable Super Nintendo games". super-castlevania-iv-history/gamespot-2001

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

GameSpot's 2001 history of the series singles out the game's use of the Super NES's Mode 7 in a prison level whose walls turn around Simon as he crosses a wooden bridge. super-castlevania-iv-history/mode-7

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

Brad Shoemaker's 2007 GameSpot review praises the game's use of Mode 7, and singles out a slowly rotating room where Simon swings from a grapple point to the next platform as the room rights itself. super-castlevania-iv-history/mode-7-2007

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

Brad Shoemaker's 2007 GameSpot review of the Wii Virtual Console release scored it 7.8 out of 10. He called it one of the best of the early Castlevania games and a tough but satisfying action game, short, but with a sometimes punishing difficulty that makes up for it. super-castlevania-iv-history/gamespot-2007

{
 "review": "GameSpot (2007, Wii Virtual Console)",
 "of": 10,
 "score": 7.8
}

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV

The eight-way whip and the swing from grapple points have seldom returned in later Castlevania games, which put more weight on weapons besides the whip. super-castlevania-iv-history/whip-legacy

Shoemaker's view as of 2007.

Cited by: Super Castlevania IV