In 1987, two games were released that pushed RPGs in a very different direction. One was Zelda 2: Adventure of Link, a game which merged the overhead map screens of the original Zelda with 2D side scrolling dungeons and an experience system allowing the player to customize their Link. The second was Dracula II, released in the US as Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest.
For any who played the game when it was released, the name alone brings back either fond or hateful memories. Like Zelda 2, Castlevania 2 took the tried-and-true side scrolling action of the original and built on it with an experience system that allowed Simon Belmont to grow in strength through the course of the game. Simon could also accumulate hearts from fallen enemies with which he could purchase upgraded weapons and various special weapons (which were used to enter new areas) from the scattered merchants of Transylvania. And if that's not genius enough, Castlevania 2 featured a progressive time system, by which enemies would become much stronger and more dangerous during the night, while NPCs would only be available during the day. Transylvania was also a complete world the player could explore at their own will, creating a non-linear adventure with multiple endings.
The plot of Castlevania 2 is certainly one of the most unique for the time, and probably even today. Before Dracula died, he placed a curse on the land that its nights would be covered in evil until his resurrection. Simon Belmont, determined to resolve the situation once and for all, must search the land for Dracula's various parts, each hidden within a complex castle, and use them to revive the bloody Count only to kill him again, thus lifting the curse. The body parts also worked themselves into the game play, allowing Simon to use Dracula's parts for various purposes (for instance, Dracula's Rib is a shield used to deflect missile attacks).
With such groundbreaking game play and an intriguing plot, how could a game like this go wrong? Although Castlevania 2 didn't depart as drastically from its original game play as Zelda 2 did, it suffered the same problem -- fans of the original. Unlike the linear, Mario-like plat former that the original Castlevania was, Simon's Quest required the player to do much backtracking and experience building, things RPG gamers are used to but plat formers are not. At the time, there weren't many fans of this action-RPG style.
Another crippling factor of Castlevania 2 was a common problem among games of its time, but compounded to the nth degree in this particular game. That factor is its translation. Castlevania 2 did not feature obvious puzzles (like Resident Evil's 'you see a square hole on the crank, so you must find a handle with a square plug'). One puzzle in particular requires the player to kneel near a cliff to reveal a staircase leading down to a new area. The hint to help you solve this puzzle, given to you by one of the many NPCs, is "Hit Deborah Cliff with your head to make a hole." Needless to say, if you managed to beat this game you either cheated, played the Japanese version, or did so by accident or hand of God.
Still, Castlevania 2's solid game play, morbidly original plot, and minimal learning curve made it a blast to play for anyone into RPGs, but the rest of the gaming world would have rather forgotten it, preferring instead the branching stages of its sequel (Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse in the USA, but lacking a cardinal in Japanese, instead called 'Legend of the Demon Castle'). Little did anyone know that Simon's Quest's game play would be picked up 10 years later and fashioned into one of the greatest games ever made, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Nocturne in the Moonlight), which has become the set standard for 2D Castlevania games.
Castlevania 2 was a game as ambitious as it was basic, but was released at a time where its innovations could not be fully realized and appreciated. For that reason, this is one of those games that you either love for its ingenuity or hate for its faulty execution.
