You either love or hate Castlevania II Simon’s Quest by Konami on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). There is no real “middle ground” with this release. Hardcore Castlevania fans place this one towards the bottom of their list of quality entries. Others actively engage in the adventure aspect presented in Simon’s Quest. The exploration does change things up versus the other entries in this franchise.

Simon’s Quest blazes own trail

Continuing after the events of the original Castlevania, Simon’s Quest goes in a new direction. Simon Belmont is back under your control, this time he is searching for the five body parts of Dracula. Belmont is also searching for the Magic Cross. At the end of the first adventure Dracula’s body was split up. Not before Dracula could place a curse on Belmont.

Collecting the pieces, Belmont can finally end Dracula for good.

While it is basically the story of the first game with new steps, how you go about it is different. Sure, both share a similar viewpoint – 2D, side scrolling, there are other differences. You still jump and attack enemies with your whip but now you have townspeople to talk to. You have a much larger game world to explore, rather than just one castle. There is also a day/night cycle to contend with (enemies enter town only at night).

Keeping the Castlevania feel intact

Castlevania II Simon’s Quest does keep that classic Dracula killing action feel. Simon still jumps, has a whip, must collect hearts, upgrade weapons, etc. The basics of Castlevania are here.

Where a lot of fans turn on Simon’s Quest is in the general feel. This entry is very non-linear. You generally have a choice or two to make as you progress in your quest. In the first Castlevania your direction was clear. There were no splits in the path that you could use. When hitting a dead end there was always a staircase nearby to allow advancing your quest.

Lackluster localization caused problems

Not so in Simon’s Quest. There is a lot of back tracking. Go to this town to get this piece, return to that town, and talk to this person, etc. Then there is the localization that missed, or generally left out, clues when being translated.

That localization is probably the biggest problem most fans have with Simon’s Quest. There are fan translations that make the quest slightly more bearable. Those translations are available over on ROMHacking.net though I cannot link directly to the ROM itself.

If you want a physical copy, then head over to eBay and secure one today. If you prefer newer entries in the franchise check out Amazon.

What do you think of Simon’s Quest? Is it on your top list or even on a list? Let me know in the comments below.

This article is archived on the Hive Gaming section of the Hive.Blog blockchain. Check it out and join like minded people.

Carl Williams

It is time gaming journalism takes its rightful place as proper sources and not fanboys giving free advertising. If you wish to support writers like Carl please use the links below. https://www.paypal.me/WCW https://www.patreon.com/CarlWilliams