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Castlevania
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

I've wanted to play Castlevania for a long time, especially since this series passed me by in childhood. Usually, I came across pure platformers, beat 'em ups, or another Contra (not to mention simpler games). True, there were some good examples among them, but perhaps I'll talk about those another time. I won't go into detail about the gameplay and all the specifics; I'll focus only on my own impressions.
Naturally, I started with the first part, which I had already tried playing some time ago. But back then, I limited myself to just the first level, although that was enough to feel how good the game is. This time, the emotions remained mostly the same. Pleasant combat, decent music (I even thought it was the best of the three), and the level design is quite good, + there are secrets. Only two things bothered me. First and foremost were the ladders, which I couldn't always climb on the first try. And it would be fine if they were only a problem in the first part, but no, it's a problem in all three parts (although I have a feeling it's worse in the first one, or maybe I just got used to them over time). Seriously, specifically at this point, the controls are inconvenient. Of course, the technical side might also add some difficulty. The second problem of the first part is the overly chaotic monsters attacking from all sides. Fortunately, not always and not everywhere. But there are places where they really get on your nerves. And if you happen to be on a ladder at that moment, you'll probably die. Why? Because when taking damage on a ladder, you fall down (off-screen) rather than staying on it. Also, it's hard to attack from a ladder because your character doesn't do so while moving, which means you have to stop, turn around (since those chaotic creatures love attacking from behind), and swing your whip, which isn't known for its high speed. It's good that there is a slot for a second weapon. In such cases, it doesn't always help either, but it'll definitely come in handy in other ladder (and non-ladder) situations. There were also moments when it wasn't quite clear where you could step, leading to falls. This happened a couple of times in the third part as well, but maybe that's just my problem. But the first part is certainly in the lead regarding glitchy platforms and walls. Otherwise, everything seems fine. It's worth noting that the final boss is the hardest right here. I spent definitely more than an hour on him. The previous one also caused some difficulties, but it doesn't compare to Dracula, of course. Good thing I played with saves x) By the way, they were in the Japanese versions, but not in the Western ones.

When I launched the second part, it seemed to me that visually it was worse/poorer. Maybe it's because of the starting town, or maybe it really is like that. It should be noted right away that freedom of movement was added here and it's already closer to a Metroidvania, although not quite in the usual form, since we mostly run back and forth, but there are several branches, so I even drew something like a map. Not that the game is very confusing in this regard, but for convenience, it certainly doesn't hurt. Confusion arises here when you have to solve puzzles, and there are problems with that. I'll start by saying that hints are needed for the solution, which are usually given by townspeople in towns. But not all of them are useful, not all of them are clear, and some hints are hidden in walls/etc., which must be broken with specific weapons (few of these are useful). By the way, some merchants in towns also hide behind walls (what the f**??). Would I have figured this out quickly if I played without a guide? I don't know, although at the beginning one guy mentioned walls of evil that need to be broken with holy water. It would be fine if these walls looked different somehow, but no x) But that's easy; in one of the castles, I accidentally jumped into a wall and thus found out that you can pass through some of them. I think the hardest were the hints for plot progression (when you need to perform specific actions with items/find them, or perform an action with the character, like crouching in a specific spot and sitting for five seconds). However, this didn't bother me much, given my playstyle. In childhood, I think I would have quickly abandoned it and hated it. By the way, many people don't like it. As for merchants, loot no longer drops from enemies here, as in the first part. Upgrades and weapons must be purchased, as well as various auxiliary items. So I had to farm a bit, although without any knowledge, I think you wouldn't have to do that, since you'll kill hundreds of enemies while running back and forth thinking about what to do. Otherwise, the game has barely changed, so it's pleasant to play. Except that only three bosses remain and they are really very easy. That is, all the difficulty of the game was simply reduced to searching rather than fighting. On the other hand, there seems to be more good music here than in the first one. Or maybe I just got used to it, because there's a different melody for every level there, while here many repeat, given the backtracking. And yes, day and night cycles were added in this part (normal for '87?).

And of course the third part, which was also released on the NES. For this reason, I decided to put these three games in a separate post, since they are all from one console. I can call this part the best right off the bat. It's closer to the first one, but improved in almost every point (- music and bosses are easier). So no more complex puzzles (only secrets) and backtracking; instead, branches/level choices were added during the plot, which means replaying the game will be significantly more interesting (+ listening to new tracks). Moreover, the chosen path not only affects the length of the game but also gives the opportunity to meet one partner or another. There are three of them in total, therefore there are four endings in the game. If you've seen the Netflix animated series, you should be familiar with them, as this part was used as its basis. Initially, I wanted to take Grant, but I had to settle on Sypha to complete the game as quickly as possible. Alucard also lost out in this regard, but I'll get to them someday. So, the choice of character is perhaps the main feature of the game (for me). I remember the first two parts and how much I liked playing, hitting enemies with a whip and getting pleasure from it. And suddenly I get a mage with some short staff(?), which is not only hard to reach the enemy with, but also requires delivering more hits to make up for the lack of damage (at least that's how it seemed at first). It's logical; she's not a fighter, but a sorceress and therefore her strong point should be magic, which is given as a second weapon. And so it is. The first choice is fire, which is OP against bosses. I killed everyone specifically with it. Then I got freeze, which is a lifesaver against groups of attacking monsters (if only the first part had that 🤤 ). And the third are spheres, which are generally also not bad in specific places, although sometimes they worked poorly, + there's some limitation. The only downside is that magic consumes hearts and you can't just mash it chaotically. But if you take freeze and act reasonably, the levels are passed quite comfortably, especially considering that with freezing enemies are killed in one hit. Moreover, over time I was able to feel all the beauty of the staff, namely its speed. Often hitting own-way flying enemies with a whip is inconvenient because you need to time it, height, etc., while the staff just needs to be pressed at the right time. In the end, I played almost the whole game as Sypha, switching to Trevor only when encountering certain mobs. And yes, towards the end it was pleasant to be in a location from the first part. There, the entire game is Dracula's castle, but here the castle is only part of the game. I will definitely replay this part someday, but I probably won't do the first two. Besides, there are parts on other consoles, so the next one will be the 4th, or parts from the GB.

upd. completed with all partners and although Alucard is considered the most useful, I liked Sypha more (couldn't fly properly in bat form x))