Super Castlevania IV (1991)

The 4th mainline entry to the Castlevania franchise is one of the finest examples of how a series can successfully transition into a new generation of hardware. Serving as both a remake and reimagining of the original Castlevania from the NES, it refines nearly every aspect of the classic formula. The MC is called Simon Belmont, armed with his iconic whip and tasked with venturing through Dracula’s monstrous castle to defeat the Count and his legion of undead minions.

The gameplay builds on the series trademark mix of precision platforming and punishing combat, but introduces smoother controls that feel revolutionary compared to earlier titles. You can now whip in eight directions, use his whip as a grappling tool, and move more freely through intricately designed stages. This control overhaul makes this game one of the most fluid and satisfying entries in the franchise’s classic era.

Visually, the game is a showcase of the SNES’s capabilities. Konami used the console’s Mode 7 effects to create dizzying rotating rooms, shifting corridors, and surreal backgrounds that gave you a sense of being inside a living, breathing nightmare. The attention to detail in the gothic architecture, eerie lighting, and atmospheric animations adds to the sense of foreboding that defines the Castlevania series.

The OST, deserves special praise, it blends haunting organ melodies, baroque-inspired arrangements, and driving percussion to perfectly complement the dark fantasy setting. Tracks like “Simon’s Theme” and “Clockwork Mansion” have since become iconic, showcasing the SNES’s sound chip at its best, and solidifying even more one of the best aspects of the Castlevania franchise, the high quality and memorable soundtracks.

While this game remains linear compared to later Metroidvania titles like SOTN, its pacing, variety, and challenge make it deeply rewarding. It stands as both a nostalgic tribute to the series roots and a technical masterpiece of early 16-bit gaming. Even for today's standards, it’s still celebrated for its atmosphere, music, and perfect blend of horror and action. This is a must-play for fans of the Castlevania franchise such as myself, and with the recent collections being re-released it is an easy recommedation.

Preliminary: At first I had read this is a direct remake of the original Castlevania, which got me very excited cuz I love that game so much. However, then I read that that is not exactly the case. So far, it feels like it's missing something compared to the original. And I'm not enjoying the new song as much as I had hoped. But I'm sure I'll still get the usual Castlevania hook that happens every time :-p

Day 1

(Well, okay the tune is growing on me).

I am not much loving the new enemies/new additions so far. Kinda meh. And I wish it were as clear when you're doing damage to an enemy as it was in the original.

Well it's definitely not a remake cuz I've never seen that first boss :-p

Day 2

Ok it's growing on me. It still isn't quite hooking me like the first one does every time, but I like the new "world map"'s Look, and the QoL features are getting more and more apparent and useful (namely, multi-directional whip). Well, and movement during a jump... and a separate button for special weapons... and the stairs thing (tho they're still a bit clunky)

Medusa was crazy easy and nice I got my first double shot! Wow this must've been made with North Americans in mind: your hearts carry over between levels AND your health is still restored? Wow. (Hm or only after certain Stages it seems? or I'm losing my mind)

I like the background here. And I'm gettring more and more into that Castlevania drive I get where I know exactly how far my whip goes, can hit away enemy projectiles, etc, and slowly incorporating the different directions into that mindset (tho old habits are slow to die :-p I still have a tendency to jump then horizontal attack those infamously placed candles). And so far I've only noticed one situation that causes the SNES slowdown, which many programmers seemed to ignore for some reason, and that was the result of the golem monster things that multiply after the initial hits

Still not a fan of the whip-as-swinging-vine mechanic. Just feels really clunky compared to the rest of the game.

With multidirectional whipping, a lot of the enemies are a lot easier namely those pesky birds :-p and when enemies are placed atop steps etc. I ain't complaining about that tho.

Okay some major slowdown issues during the double dragon boss. I took a break after that boss, which isn't a good sign cuz well I couldn't possibly have put down the original Castlevania, but I'm still loving this and this is an excellent well amazing platformer.

Ok well I decided to do one more stage :-p The room spinning idea was kinda neat, but sluggish and slowed down the momentum. And then the spinning cylindrical room was a bit nauseating and then got bogged down with what I assume is a puzzle room where you have to take the correct path to get out of the loop a la Mario. Meh. Now I really will take that break :-p

Day 3

Uff late game is getting real blah and bogged down. Me "I don't like the rings" The game "let's have a bunch of the rings in end game". Kinda burning out on this which is not good for a Castlevania game. I feel like I'm blasphemous cuz this game is supposed to be a great Castlevania but I dunno. Hopefully I get back into it.

Day 4

Okay maybe I was just grumpy that other day lol. I'm back in the groove. Still not as beloved as the first Castlevania, but I was just being grouchy I think :-p And perhaps expecting more.

The music continues to be quite meh until A-1 with the classic tune. That 9-2 boss got me down to one hit left uff

A-1 has just had that classic Castlevania feeling tho where I can't put it down and the music is hypey and it's hard but I just keep pushing etc etc

Oh shoot I said not to finish it tonight and focus on my Ironman goals but apparently I'm on B-1 now? Oh shoot B-2 ruined my Triple Shot :( I didn't realize that saw thing was supposed to rush me! (And I thought I was rushing) And B--2 in general is pulling a lot of tacky shots and exploiting what I consider the game's faults a lot but so it goes with platformer endgames.

Quite forgiving of it to give food after that first hard boss of what I assume is the final boss rush. Omg but they didn't fully refill me after the second one >.>

Thank goodness I'm looking at a guide and it told me about the secret invisible platform after Death before Dracula :-p (Wow okay that secret was borderline OP tho lol) Great music and Look before Dracula too

Some good music too with this lovely cheesy ending screen

I liked the Dracula fight. I had to read up about the patterns and whatnot but it seemed reasonable enough while still being as difficult as you'd expect a Castlevania Dracula to be. I'm struggling with how to rate this overall since I really was quite meh about some of the additions like the go behind in the fence and then back around in the first area, and the swinging with the whip was okay but a bit clunky etc. And none of the new enemies awed me. But the QoL changes were great, I played a bit more in the Hard mode since it had finally got me that Castlevania hook, and it did eventually get me that hook. Not sure what my hangup was earlier in it, maybe just my mood. I think it'll settle nice as a 4 star.

Look: 8/10 Cool to see Castlevania world brought to SNES and some really beautiful stuff, but not quite as great as I had expected.

Sound: 8/10 Similar. It's great, but not as amazing as I had my hopes up for. Maybe I should learn not to get hopes up for games :-p

Play: 8.5/10 Love the QoL touches, and it may not have quite reached the first Castlevania's hook but it got me hooked. Good ol Castlevania fun but with better stairs. That sentence makes it sound better to me than it really was but whatevs. I could see this moving up to a 5 star on future replays, since I know more what to expect.

Feel: 8.5/10 I mean, a favorite series of mine brought to the SNES, with more advanced versions of the classic songs and graphics and QoL changes?! Maybe having such a high Feel for it is part of what the issue was :-p

Attachment: 9/10 I mean, I always return to Castlevania games and this one will definitely have to remain there. I do wish some of the changes were as irksome, but for the most part the changes are great.

Overall: 8.4/10

Completion: Main Story

Playtime: ~3 hours

Super Castlevania IV is a good but annoying game. It's the first 16-bit game in the series (I think) and Konami really came out swinging when it comes to taking advantage of new platform without losing the spirit of the predecessors.

I somehow had the idea that Super Castlevania IV was amongst the fairer and less-assholish entries in the series. But that's just during the awesome first half of the game. Music slaps, graphics are detailed, levels are interesting, controls are immediate.

Then, as the game goes on, the levels become a lot harder and a lot more gimmicky. For example, on the bullshit menu we have a rotating room with silly mode-7 shenanigans and clunky controls for latching onto a hook and swinging yourself to the nearest death pit. Also we have diagonally rising platforms with deadly spikes hiding above the screen waiting for you to hit your head on. This kinda waters down the whole enjoyment for me. The latters levels are often so god damn annoying. There's also some bland music later on in the game but that's to be tolerated.

After beating the final boss, the annoyance somewhat dissipated for me. I think this is a me-problem for being too forgiving on games after I've beaten them but as I look back on Super Castlevania IV, I go "yeah, it's pretty good". I'm stupid.

Another fantastic refinement of the tried and true formula established in the first Castlevania game.The graphics are a significant jump up in quality. This games feels like a technical showcase of the SNES. It uses multi-layered parallax scrolling to great effect. Perhaps too great... there's a room where it is spiraling around you (which does look dope AF), but slows the SNES down to a crawl. The designers compensate for this by making enemies and placement fairly trivial. It's certainly more about the spectacle in this room. In addition, the first level uses two layers you can traverse between (like in Super Mario World and the crawling grates). As a criticism, it's a shame they introduce this concept in the first level and never evolve or re-use it... just feels like a flex. Regardless, you really don't see this level of technical jump from console generation to console generation anymore. We have hit an acute diminishing return in tech jumps to product aesthetics.

Back to Castlevania.... In addition to the graphics, the controls are fluid. You can control your jumping, have 8-directional whipping (probably the best update) and stairs that aren't completely aggravating! The level variety is the best so far in the series with each stage having it's own themes. While the enemy variety is high, the game doesn't throw too many new enemies at you, but rehashes most enemies from the first and third game. The game feels easier for the first 3/4 of the game. Most bosses I found pushovers with the first real challenge being the gold bat (I didn't think he was hard, but he was the first boss I couldn't just spam my special weapon against). The final stage of this game is just bananas. It's a grueling boss gauntlet (though I think they balanced it out by having healing and heart refills between each fight).

It is kind of a shame that they took a few steps back from the third game. No longer are there multiple characters or significant variety in level progression. But who cares. This game still kicks a ton of ass and is super fun.

It's been quite awhile since the last time I played this game. I honestly forgot that I wrote a review for it quite awhile back. I wanted a classic game to play while coping with my frustration of learning "Computer Science" so here we are.

I FUCKING LOVE THIS GAME.

Yeah, for some reason my brain was wiped clean of memories of me playing this game so Here we go again I guess. I have some muscle memory with the game so despite the spike of difficulty that happens in the late part of the game, it wasn't that bad.

as a matter of fact: I enjoyed this game too much replaying it again recently, I forgot how freaking good this game really is. I love the great music blasting in the background while I'm whipping some "bone-ful-walking" dudes into bits.

The levels design is outstanding with all the big and little stuff that's there with the colors mashing together creating a livable dead world where it feels like your on the verge of dying.

I'm also a fan of the gameplay having a "ragdoll-like" physics with the 8 directional whip system, feels like giving the player a good amount of freedom on movement.

I played this game to kinda cope, instead I somehow ended up having a better time with it like I'm playing it again for the first time.

Recommended: so much.
That one star is for the dying twice during the whole playthrough.

Super Castlevania IV, which turns 31 years old today (Happy Halloween), is a rare case of a game that old really immersing me and not feeling like I just have to appreciate it in context. I'm jumping in my seat a bit when I fall in a trap, admiring awesome boss designs and pumping my fist in the air when I beat them. I'm getting genuinely surprised by weird enemies and stage hazards, soaking in the atmosphere, listening to background music that's truly unexpected and interesting. I'm just having a great time and rolling with the punches.

This is an easier game than the NES entries, but is far from a total pushover, especially in later stages. I found its difficulty curve from start to finish to feel pretty fair and fun, with just a few moments of cruelty here and there. The pacing for me was fantastic, letting cool ideas develop, but also quickly moving along to the next thing. Earlier games had a few more memorably tough combat challenges, but they could be frustrating, too. This game makes up the memorability difference elsewhere anyway.

"Classicvania" movement and combat is inherently a bit stiff, but it feels nicer here than in prior games. It has good improvements to movement, whipping, sub-weapon usage, and even stairs (my former arch-nemesis). The methodical playstyle of these games feels more satisfying with these smoother mechanics backing it up. Their main misstep in gameplay is a "rope"-swinging mechanic that's usually a bit awkward and frustrating.

The jump to the SNES also brought a lot of interesting detail to the levels. Sometimes the backgrounds and everything on them look a bit too busy, but usually they have great designs going on. There is some slowdown when several enemies are on screen, not hugely prominent but can feel somewhat awkward.

I can see how hardcore fans of the prior games may find this a bit lacking in what they're looking for, but for me, this was an excellent take on that classic formula. Really liked it from start to finish.

Super Mario World is a great game, and did a lot to advance Platforming games.

but I think Super Castlevania 4 did a better job at Evolving the genre both Gameplay wise and Graphics wise.

Super Mario World had a closer feeling of playing Super Mario Bros. 3, which didn't feel fresh Enough. even though I enjoyed it way more than SMB3. Super Castlevania 4 felt overall more of a Next-Gen title on the SNES, Was a Great Game with Great Graphics, Great Music, Great Effects, It was too good to play and Still is.

And yes, It had some Performance Problems and few other Stuff.

Yet another great Castlevania game !

And though a lot of the bosses are pushovers and Simon's newfound agility does make the commitment to your jumps way less impactful compared to the previous, the game remains fun and challenging thought the entirety of its 11 levels.

The music is top notch one again, though it's a given at this point for a Castlevania game.

4.1 out of 5, would whip out my whip and whack some wyverns again. (Ps : I really want to know what sort of shampoo Simon uses because his hair really looks silky smooth on that final screen... Well y'know, for a barbarian-looking dude at least.)

When this game works it absolutely works, and I understand and appreciate a lot of the QOL changes others have outlined. Multidirectional whipping, jumping, and the ability to land on stairs all make for a much more dynamic experience. But the over reliance on instant death spikes and unreliability of any sort of moving platformer left the game feeling a smidge finicky. And while oversized hitboxes made for generous striking points in boss battles it also lead to lots of instant spike deaths that felt unfair and inconsistent.

Still the basic core is a really great, tough as nails platformer and once I got around stage 8 it was a fairly enjoyable straight shot from there!

But since I decided to play this before completing any of the NES games, I'm gonna get superbly screwed when I play those and have to deal with having no 8-direction whip, crappier movements and lack of extra buttons.

So I'd say play this game RIGHT NOW, but I say, play the first ones beforehand, so your instincts don't get all out of wack.

Super Castlevania 4, for SNES

Rating: 7.2/10; Good

This game is a 2D action platformer that I found to be reasonably entertaining, but less than spectacular to the point where it seems more like a NES game. The combat was good; being able to swing your whip in 8 directions and especially being able to slacken the whip and spin it around in front of you. I also liked the variety of ranged secondary weapons. The setting and level design were also fairly good. I liked the gothic atmosphere and the varied environments. A few scenes stand out for me: jumping from huge swinging chandeliers, rotating rooms, and waterfalls that limit your vertical jumping ability. Even though I do not particularly like platforming, this game does it fairly well. You have a great deal of control over your jumps while airborne, and there seems to be a great deal of forgiveness for being close enough.

The biggest flaw of the game is a complete lack of story. There is no intro, outro or even a villain one liner upon reaching the final boss. This is a small touch that makes a big difference in the entertainment value of a game, and there is really no reason not to have some text when plenty of NES games had it. Picking up secondary weapons automatically is very annoying, because if you accidentally pick up something you do not want, the one that you wanted is now gone forever (at least until you find another drop). Instant death from platforming fails are not fun. Jumping around when stairs are involved is far more risky than it would appear, and even just lightly touching a spike leads to instant death. I also found the grappling points to be annoying and overused. Using passwords to unlock levels is not as good as being able to actually save, and I do not like time limits (even though the limits are very generous in this game). The enemies and bosses are not much challenge. Most were trivial to defeat. Of particular note was the stupid frog, which only appears once in the game and got a cheap shot at me because I thought it was background scenery, and the annoying bats/birds that tend to spawn in and fly directly at you at awkward angles and high speed. You would think the scary looking enemies would be much more of a threat than the little critters.

Overall, the game could have been much better but is still worth playing through at least once.

Recommended for fans of: Classic Castlevania & Castlevania series.

The remake Super Castlevania IV is what many fans consider the best Classicvania entry in the series, while others say the best entry period and it’s not hard to see why. The two best games in the series up to that point, Castlevania (1986) and Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, are fondly remembered classics even to this day but a major flaw that both of them share is that their difficulty is more often caused by stiff game controls rather than genuine challenge. This is where Super Castlevania IV shines in terms of gameplay. The player can now:

*Influence their jump direction in midair so misjudging distance doesn’t necessarily mean a game over.

*Whip in eight different directions and twirl the whip, so small troublesome enemies and projectiles aren’t near as bad.

*Use the whip to hook onto rings which allows the player to swing over chasms.

*Move while crouching to avoid traps.

*Get passwords upon quitting the game and pick up where they left off.

However, the addition of these new features has caused the game’s few detractors to claim that this entry is too easy. Let me assure you this isn’t the case (as anyone who played past Stage 3 could tell you). While most cheap forms of death are gone, the player must still use their head whilst traversing levels and fighting bosses or you will find the game over screen very quickly. I’m a seasoned Castlevania fan and I would say this game is about the same difficulty as “Castlevania: Rondo of Blood”, which I’ve never heard anyone accuse of being an easy game.

Other than that point of contention, all the trappings of the series best entries are here; Gothic atmosphere, epic boss battles, intriguing level design, amazing soundtrack, gorgeous graphics, satisfying gameplay. One caveat being that the story is pretty barebones (i.e KILL DRACULA), but the Classicvania entries were never that story heavy so this is forgivable.

But even though this is a phenomenal game, I don’t think it’s the best Classicvania entry or the best entry overall. That honor would have to go the previously mentioned “Castlevania: Rondo of Blood”, which finished what Super Castlevania IV started by perfecting the classic Castlevania formula. Nevertheless, Super Castlevania IV is one of the best entries in the franchise to date and would easily make any Top 10 list concerning the series.

This game gets a hard ★★★★★ and my "Must Play" recommendation!

Gameplay, Story and Value:

While games like Bloodlines, Dracula X and Rondo of Blood would follow, Super Castlevania IV is essentially the last of the mainline Castlevania series that started on the NES. Mechanically, it feels like it picks up right where Castlevania III left off and, to me, will always be the swansong of the series proper. Don't mistake that last statement as me saying this is the last "good" Castlevania game as that is utterly incorrect, but we're not here to talk about those games... yet...

The legendary evil castle, Castlevania, has once again appeared in the world as it is wont to do. As a member of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters it's up to you and your trusty whip to infiltrate the undead stronghold and eradicate Dracula once and for all, again. As in previous games your whip can be upgraded up to two times, which each upgrade increasing your whip's reach and power. Sub weapons can be used with the right shoulder button, still use hearts for ammo, and can still be "upgraded" allowing for 2-3 simultaneous attacks with that weapon. You'll also still overwrite your current sub weapon with a new one if you pick it up, so, be careful...

New to the series is the ability to control your jumps for more precision platforming, the ability to attack with your whip in all 8 directions, and the ability to let your whip hang loose and swing it around with the D-pad. The damage is minimal, but it can have its uses.

The series' signature difficulty makes a full return, though it's a bit more manageable thanks to the aforementioned additions to the game's controls. Stages all offer fun and unique challenges, and most of them have bosses stationed at either the end of the level or at a mid-point. Yes, most bosses can still be cheesed a little with triple crosses but frankly I think if you were able to hold onto that weapon for that long you should be allowed to use it!

Enemy placement throughout levels is generally fair and there's very little randomness mean you have the capacity to actually learn stages through repeated attempts. There are plenty of stages to play through and, as expected, Castlevania IV opts for a password system over proper saving.

Presentation, Music and Sound:

Despite being an early game for the console, Super Castlevania IV manages to sport some impressive visual effects to the point where it's practically a technical showcase for the Super Nintendo. Mode7 effects, rotation, scaling and more are all in full force but never feel superfluous, instead simply adding new dynamics to the stages in which they're used. Personally I prefer the more stylized Castlevania visuals of games like Dracula X, Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, but this game still manages to look incredibly good while still staying true to the titles before it.

The music here is, of course, top notch. The first stage's theme is among the best in the series and everything from that to the reappearance of the always excellent Bloody Tears towards the end of the game is just fantastic. I played this game a lot as a kid, but for some reason never considered it when thinking about great Castlevania music. I'm glad to finally be holding this game in the regard it deserves to that end. Sound effects deserve special mention here as well. From crumbling stones to shattering glass to the satisfying cracks of your whip, everything on offer sounds excellent.

Afterthoughts:

Sure, sure, add this one to the growing list of "Castlevania Games I Couldn't Beat". Regardless, I had a really good time with it, and will mostly likely find myself playing it again in the hopefully not too distant future. Most everyone considers this to be the best Castlevania game released on the console, and I can definitely agree to that. Excellent controls, spectacular music and some great visual effects make this a blast to play, and it may very well be may favorite traditional Castlevania game... at least until Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night comes out anyway...

Review:

Gameplay: