Click here to play Castlevania
April 27, 2007 1:26 AM Subscribe
A miniature version of the metroid-style Castlevania games. It starts off in a teeny tiny window. Try it fullscreen here.
jump around and hit him a lot, i had the fire whip
posted by afu at 4:27 AM on April 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by afu at 4:27 AM on April 27, 2007 [1 favorite]
Thank you, boo_radley. Fun times. I already have an NES emulator, but still, finding stuff like this is just plain fun.
posted by sneakin at 4:56 AM on April 27, 2007
posted by sneakin at 4:56 AM on April 27, 2007
Interesting. The intro and the title music is taken from the (I believe wrongly) much-maligned Castlevania 64. Good times!
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:18 AM on April 27, 2007
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:18 AM on April 27, 2007
How does one defeat the Frankenstein?
Hit him, then run and get above him. Rinse, repeat.
posted by IronLizard at 6:28 AM on April 27, 2007
Hit him, then run and get above him. Rinse, repeat.
posted by IronLizard at 6:28 AM on April 27, 2007
The opening screen says, "Select with arrows and press 'space' key." Neither worked.
posted by cribcage at 6:47 AM on April 27, 2007
posted by cribcage at 6:47 AM on April 27, 2007
How do I make it select the fire whip?
And in my wanderings I managed to make my man jump out of the maze and fall off into eternity
posted by 13twelve at 6:55 AM on April 27, 2007
And in my wanderings I managed to make my man jump out of the maze and fall off into eternity
posted by 13twelve at 6:55 AM on April 27, 2007
Metroid-style? Don't you mean Castlevania-style?
I believe the scholarly term is Metroidvania.
posted by mmcg at 7:22 AM on April 27, 2007
I believe the scholarly term is Metroidvania.
posted by mmcg at 7:22 AM on April 27, 2007
Metroid-style? Don't you mean Castlevania-style?
This game is in the style of later, Playstation / Gameboy Advance era Castlevanias, which have gameplay that feels more like Super Metroid than like the NES / SNES / Genesis era Castlevanias.
posted by straight at 9:25 AM on April 27, 2007
This game is in the style of later, Playstation / Gameboy Advance era Castlevanias, which have gameplay that feels more like Super Metroid than like the NES / SNES / Genesis era Castlevanias.
posted by straight at 9:25 AM on April 27, 2007
Okay, it's time to define terms for those playing along at home.
The original Castlevania games were side-scrolling, jump-and-whip games with a strict level-based structure. Every level had a number of area of scrolling rooms to traverse, separated by doors. Between each door the player could explore freely, but there was rarely much to find. (Though there are exceptions to this.) At the end of an area (usually after two doors) there is a boss, which, when defeated, earns the player bonus points, a health refill, and access to the next level. There is a timer, generally, for each area.
Metroid, in contrast, was a side-scroller that consisted just of one gigantic world. It's like one of Castlevania's between-door areas was the entire game. Metroid had lots of stuff hidden around, much of it necessary to progress, since it contained many terrain obstacles that could not be passed without having found some powerup gizmo.
The games that some call by the unappealing term "Metroidvanias" are later Castlevania games, made after the series abandoned the strict level boundries, and became a lot more like Metroid in structure.
posted by JHarris at 10:25 AM on April 27, 2007
The original Castlevania games were side-scrolling, jump-and-whip games with a strict level-based structure. Every level had a number of area of scrolling rooms to traverse, separated by doors. Between each door the player could explore freely, but there was rarely much to find. (Though there are exceptions to this.) At the end of an area (usually after two doors) there is a boss, which, when defeated, earns the player bonus points, a health refill, and access to the next level. There is a timer, generally, for each area.
Metroid, in contrast, was a side-scroller that consisted just of one gigantic world. It's like one of Castlevania's between-door areas was the entire game. Metroid had lots of stuff hidden around, much of it necessary to progress, since it contained many terrain obstacles that could not be passed without having found some powerup gizmo.
The games that some call by the unappealing term "Metroidvanias" are later Castlevania games, made after the series abandoned the strict level boundries, and became a lot more like Metroid in structure.
posted by JHarris at 10:25 AM on April 27, 2007
It's not just the one-giagantic-world level structure, or the technique of sealing off the harder levels until you've learned a new move or gotten a more powerful attack that lets you get past the block (a trick that's also kind of Zelda-ish), or the way the two combined require you to explore and remember the whole map so when you get the new power-up you remember where you needed to use it.
It's also the overall feel of the control. In the earlier Castlevanias, you move slower and make shorter jumps. In Metroid and the later Castlevanias, you move fast and jump around like an acrobat. And you get various movement upgrades like double-jumps or slides or swinging on a grappling hook.
posted by straight at 11:35 AM on April 27, 2007
It's also the overall feel of the control. In the earlier Castlevanias, you move slower and make shorter jumps. In Metroid and the later Castlevanias, you move fast and jump around like an acrobat. And you get various movement upgrades like double-jumps or slides or swinging on a grappling hook.
posted by straight at 11:35 AM on April 27, 2007
That's not quite true straight. The series started doing those things before Symphony of the Night (the first full Metroid-like Castlevania) or Rondo of Blood (which could be seen as them playing around with the idea). Check Super Castlevania IV to see what I'm talking about.
And of course there's more to it than that, since a Metroid-style game is quite different in a lot of ways, from a design standpoing, than a level-based side-scrolling platformer. Further differences: "Metroidvanias" have no death pits, easier monsters, intra-level save points, warp rooms, ability-adding powerups, usually an inventory....
posted by JHarris at 1:30 PM on April 27, 2007
And of course there's more to it than that, since a Metroid-style game is quite different in a lot of ways, from a design standpoing, than a level-based side-scrolling platformer. Further differences: "Metroidvanias" have no death pits, easier monsters, intra-level save points, warp rooms, ability-adding powerups, usually an inventory....
posted by JHarris at 1:30 PM on April 27, 2007
Doh, and hit points. That's probably the main difference. The early Castlevanias feel more like arcade games, like Rygar, Black Tiger, or Magic Sword where you try not to get hit at all - just a few hits will kill you - and there's lots of jumps and hazards where if you miss you die instantly.
Metroid and later Castlevanias give you a lot more hit points (and your enemies too), and your stats keep going up, like an RPG. The battles are more, "do more damage to the enemy than the enemy does to you" and then heal yourself afterwards.
posted by straight at 12:14 AM on April 28, 2007
Metroid and later Castlevanias give you a lot more hit points (and your enemies too), and your stats keep going up, like an RPG. The battles are more, "do more damage to the enemy than the enemy does to you" and then heal yourself afterwards.
posted by straight at 12:14 AM on April 28, 2007
I mean... okay I get it... these games evolved. Whatever.
But the FPP makes it sound like this is some sort of Castlevania/Metroid hack. I expected Simon Belmont to curl into a ball and lay mines.
posted by wfrgms at 10:47 PM on April 28, 2007
But the FPP makes it sound like this is some sort of Castlevania/Metroid hack. I expected Simon Belmont to curl into a ball and lay mines.
posted by wfrgms at 10:47 PM on April 28, 2007
How do I whip while crouching? Sliding against a low enemy next to a wall hurts.
posted by Eideteker at 4:44 PM on May 4, 2007
posted by Eideteker at 4:44 PM on May 4, 2007
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posted by afu at 3:58 AM on April 27, 2007 [1 favorite]