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How is Super Castlevania IV?
- Thread starter Solid SOAP
- Start date
MissCauthon
Member
Best Castlevania imo the music is phenomenal very dark gritty, also the game is not anime like some of the releases after it. I personaly despised SOTN. Imo this is the best castlevania ever.
Pathfinder
Member
Best Castlevania, but too damn short. 
Everything else about it is gold though. Graphics, sound, music. Top shelf.
Everything else about it is gold though. Graphics, sound, music. Top shelf.
Rabbit Clock
Banned
Worst 2D Castlevania, imo. It's mind-numbingly easy. It's ugly. The music is bad. The level design is mediocre. It's honestly just boring. I don't understand the reverence I'm seeing in this thread.
If you want to play a good classic Castlevania play Adventure: ReBirth. That game is dope.
If you want to play a good classic Castlevania play Adventure: ReBirth. That game is dope.
Pathfinder
Member
There's always one...
RobFox64tm
Member
I can't even... ReBirth is decent, sure, but better than SCIV?
Rabbit Clock
Banned
Easily... Again, in my opinion.
sixteen-bit
Member
It's not my favorite but it's worth playing.
i mean, i'm down with different opinions and all. but....
Yeah, Dracula X68000 is great!
The soundtrack works best for the moody, more abstract ambient pieces. The phasing trick they do on the strings are especially good. When it switches to the more traditional videogamey pieces it just falls flat and comes across as mediocre sounding though. It's such an anticlimax for me once Simon's theme gets going, and the rich soundscape is just replaced by average simplistic samples, with sparse drums that don't even have any cymbals, etc etc. Total buzzkill.
Other than those problems, I think CVIV along with Contra 3 really showcases how bold and forward-thinking Konami was with SNES music at such an early point in its life and really stand out from what everyone else was doing at the time.
RobFox64tm
Member
Of course, and there's nothing wrong with it. Sometimes I feel like nostalgia could be a big part of why this game gets so much praise, but when I play it, everything about it just feels right. The controls are perfect, the difficulty curve is well balanced and the presentation is masterful and has aged incredibly well. I guess you can say the game is "too easy" when comparing it to other Castlevania games, but it's still a nice challenge when compared to most other games in general. That could be it right there too; the game is a lot more playable to a lot more people.
JinjoUnchained
Member
As I said in the Best 16 bit games thread, it's the most immersive game of its' era, along with Super Metroid. It's not "Nintendo Hard" like the NES games, but the challenge keeps you on your toes and ramps up in the end. People saying "it's easy" really mean it's easy compared to earlier CV games.
Where CV IV truly shines is in play control and aesthetics. The is by far the most fun iteration of Simon Belmont to control. You briskly lunge like a stone cold bad ass with great control of your jumps and attacks. The OST is a timeless masterpiece and the sprite/art design have a lot of soul.
I'd highly recommend it, especially for that price.
Where CV IV truly shines is in play control and aesthetics. The is by far the most fun iteration of Simon Belmont to control. You briskly lunge like a stone cold bad ass with great control of your jumps and attacks. The OST is a timeless masterpiece and the sprite/art design have a lot of soul.
I'd highly recommend it, especially for that price.
Octavianus
Banned
Rondo is still the best.
Already Torn
Banned
Is there anything in particular about SNES sound capabilities that made it so good for dreary mood stuff? Castlevania, Metroid, DKC2.
RobFox64tm
Member
It was really good at low frequency sounds and reverb effects. I think the way it sampled sounds also gave the sound chip a lot more to work with.
i think the soundchip was just so versatile at the time. you put it in the right hands....
a lot of these guys had been working with six sound channels for years. i'd imagine it was pretty liberating in the early 90s
Not sure if the best Castlevania but one of the better ones for sure. It's one of the better SNES games too.
While SCIV's rendition of Simon's Theme is one of my favourites, I love the CM-64 version of that theme on Castlevania Chronicles.
While SCIV's rendition of Simon's Theme is one of my favourites, I love the CM-64 version of that theme on Castlevania Chronicles.
It's ok. As I am sure someone mentioned, the subweapon mechanics are kind of broken because the whip is too powerful. Your character is also too large. If you dislike the earlier ones because they're hard and look worse and haven't played Rondo, it's sure to be one of your faves though. Overrated soundtrack, too. NES chiptunes were better than the flute.
TheKastorian
Member
2nd best after Symphony of the Night. Amazing game that still holds up well!
Sorcerer
Member
I was so in love with this game, it kept me occupied during a nasty winter.
The directional whip does make the game too easy but it is so fun, and you never see it again in another game as far as I know.
I could beat the game in a single session without dying.
I remember some crazy shortcuts one could take by jumping at the top of the screen all the way to the bottom saving so much time and trouble. My friends would just be like wtf!!!
Some of the references to modern times were a little weird, at least in the US version.
The directional whip does make the game too easy but it is so fun, and you never see it again in another game as far as I know.
I could beat the game in a single session without dying.
I remember some crazy shortcuts one could take by jumping at the top of the screen all the way to the bottom saving so much time and trouble. My friends would just be like wtf!!!
Some of the references to modern times were a little weird, at least in the US version.
I don't get what the point of coming here just to say "this other game is still the best" is when OP is just asking how good is SC4. I like Rondo better and I still think this is a fantastic game.
Anyway, thanks for the unintended heads up OP. This is one of my favorite SNES games so I downloaded it right away.
Anyway, thanks for the unintended heads up OP. This is one of my favorite SNES games so I downloaded it right away.
I bought and played it on the SNES for the first time in the fall/winter of 2014 and it was AMAZING. I had only played a Castlevania game on the GBA before that and can't even remember which one. I somehow missed this awesome series during my NES/SNES days and only tangentially knew about its legacy.
AVGN's video series on Castlevania is what pushed me to try it and I echo just about all of his praise for it without any nostalgia tinting my experience. I've beaten it a couple more times since then and it's just as good each time. The atmosphere, the graphics, the awesome gameplay and control; it's damn near perfect.
Thanks to Castlevania IV I then bought Rhondo of Blood (PC Engine) on the Wii eShop and damn did that blow me away too, although sad to see the fantastic whip control and side weapon use go back to the NES days of execution. Speaking of which I even went out and bought the first game a couple months ago on the NES and had a blast with it as well, died against Drac about 20 times before completion but.......whatever, he's an asshole after he transforms anyway.
AVGN's video series on Castlevania is what pushed me to try it and I echo just about all of his praise for it without any nostalgia tinting my experience. I've beaten it a couple more times since then and it's just as good each time. The atmosphere, the graphics, the awesome gameplay and control; it's damn near perfect.
Thanks to Castlevania IV I then bought Rhondo of Blood (PC Engine) on the Wii eShop and damn did that blow me away too, although sad to see the fantastic whip control and side weapon use go back to the NES days of execution. Speaking of which I even went out and bought the first game a couple months ago on the NES and had a blast with it as well, died against Drac about 20 times before completion but.......whatever, he's an asshole after he transforms anyway.
After the insane kimpossibruu BS that is CV3, SCV4 difficulty feels more fair.
SCV4 ost has too much muffled organ, marking the style divide between SNES and MD/Gen.
Castlevania 1 and 3 for NES. This one. Bloodlines for Genesis and Rondo of Blood for PC Engine (it's avaible on Wii VC and as part of Dracula X Chronicles on PSP and Vita) at the very least.
Mental Atrophy
Banned
I think the whip's range is a more important factor for SCV4's difficulty than the 8-directions.
Sorcerer
Member
You could also use the whip as a shield, from what I remember.
and the answer is yes
the NES games had kickin' jamz and SC4 tends to go more for ambiance/mood. a preference for either is fine, because they're doing totally different things with their music.
Sanctuary
Member
Is this just a hindsight reaction? Because when it was actually new, the music was amazing. It still is actually, as long as you aren't trying to compare it to the best Castlevania music ever that was released after it.
It's just the muffled synth organ sound, like a budget synthesizer.
Castlevania Dracula X on the other hand showed what the SNES sound chip could do.
Awesome game, one of the best of the incredible SNES library for me. The setting and specially the music is awesome, to the point that I still listen to it from time to time. Seriously, I think this is my GOAT OST. Everything screams masterpiece about this game: enemy variation, many different locations conveying the journey you´re making amazingly, cool challenges, some effects that would´ve blown your mind back in the day...I love how, when you finally reach the highest tower to face Dracula, you can see that you´re only a man against impossible monsters and you´ve managed to complete that titanic journey in a night. The scene when you have to climb the stairs which seem about to crumble to the last tower, with the nightsky as background and the amazing Three Fiends song playing...even with how far games have gone it is still a magical moment to me.
Play it at night for added mood.
Play it at night for added mood.
mavericktopgun
Member
After Castlevania 3?
Good, but not up to the standard of Castlevania 1, 3, or Rondo of Blood. The massive change they made to the whip is fine, but the approach to level design and enemy placement doesn't reflect that so it winds up feeling kind of braindead whereas the other Castlevanias in that style are much more deliberate.