Episode 37: Castlevania
Retro Spectives8 Juni 2020

Episode 37: Castlevania

Pat and James go back in time further than they’ve ever been before and play the original Castlevania! First released in 1986, it was the beginning of a legacy that has seen metroidvanias, 3d brawlers and most recently a hit anime series. You play as Simon Belmont, equipped with his iconic whip, as he battles through horror movie monsters to reach the top of Count Dracula’s castle and slay him like the vampire scum he is. It was a hit on release and fans loved its hard as nails gameplay and cheesy horror themes.

But how fun is Castlevania to play today? Platformers have seen more than 30 years of careful refinement. Boss fights are far more sophisticated And the NES is hardly the high point of graphical fidelity. Is Castlevania still an enjoyable experience all these years later, or was it simply a good game at the time of its release?

On this episode, we discuss:

  • How important is smooth movement in a 2D platformer? Castlevania has very restricted jumping, with no air control or height/length variance. Is this intrinsically flawed, or has the game been designed around these restrictions?
  • Castlevania requires a good amount of memorisation to get through it's dangerous levels. Does this reliance on memorisation versus reaction based systems lead to an equally fun experience?
  • Is Castlevania too hard, or are Pat and James filthy casuals? And will Pat ever shut up about that one boss fight?

We answer these questions and many more on the 37th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

---

Is Castlevania really as difficult as Pat and James claim? Are the graphics better than we give them credit for? Is there a particular song on the soundtrack we should have paid more attention to? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

Avsnitt(140)

E130: Vanquish

E130: Vanquish

Third person cover based shooters were all the rage in the late 2000s.  Unveiled in 2003 in Killswitch  and later popularised with Gears of War, they became an essential part of most third person acti...

23 Maj 20251h 17min

E129: Recettear

E129: Recettear

Video games usually place you in the role of the plucky adventurer.  You are the wizard, the warrior, or the rogue, and it's your duty (and often destiny) to save the world.  On your journey, one of t...

25 Apr 20251h 17min

E128: Baldur's Gate

E128: Baldur's Gate

In 1998 Bioware changed the gaming landscape with Baldur’s Gate, a Dungeons and Dragons inspired adventure.  Taking cues from second edition D&D and the many stories written about it, Bioware wrote a ...

20 Mars 20252h 45min

E127: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

E127: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

The Ace Attorney games were an insane success, far beyond what Capcom could have predicted.  After 4 mainline games in the series though, it was time for something new, and creator Shu Takumi refused ...

11 Feb 20251h 26min

E126: Tachyon: The Fringe

E126: Tachyon: The Fringe

Space Sims used to be a vibrant and well populated genre.  Back in the 90s they command shelf real estate, right next to the latest and greatest RTS and Point and Click Adventure games.  Coming at the...

20 Jan 20251h

E125: Mailbag 6

E125: Mailbag 6

With another year done and dusted, Pat and James crack open another batch of listener questions. After curveballs like Killer 7 and Deadly Premonition, these should be a breeze.Right..? On this episod...

29 Dec 20242h 54min

E124: Crysis

E124: Crysis

But can it run Crysis?  This was the motto that surrounded every single PC build for literal years after the release of the game in 2007.  Crytek were not satisfied with what they had achieved with Fa...

9 Sep 20241h 15min

E123: Resident Evil 2

E123: Resident Evil 2

After their magnum opus that was Resident Evil 1, Capcom were not going to sit on their heels.  Coming out just two years after the first in 1998, Resident Evil 2 sought to have everything the origina...

30 Juli 20241h 8min

Populärt inom Fritid

somna-med-henrik
uggla-ugglas-podcast
man-i-grupp
roda-vita-rosen
svenska-fpl-podden
rss-livsreglerna
travpodden
elbilsveckan
bilar-med-sladd
spokhistorier
rss-max-tant-med-max-villman
avsuttet-med-elsa-johanna
sexet
kontrollbehov
rss-okrystat
nordigt
rss-vara-klassiker
rss-horrujeje
rockhyllan
rovdjursjagarna