21. Castlevania IV (1991) – SNES
This was the first game to show me that video games could be atmospheric. I had never played the previous games in the franchise, but even a decade and a half later, IV remains the highpoint in the series. It was the first one to appear on Super Nintendo (in North America), and it was the first entry that allowed the protagonist (who is usually a Beaumont descendent) to swing his iconic whip in any cardinal direction.
The story here isn’t much. Dracula has resurrected himself for the fourth time, I assume, and Simon Beaumont is blessed with the familial responsibility of putting the vampire back in his coffin. What really impresses me about the game is the sheer diversity and creativity of its characters, enemies, and the bosses which are taken from a variety of mythological sources. You have Medusa, a golem, Frankenstein’s Monster, a hydra, and even the Grim Reaper himself…who is somehow less intimidating then Dracula. I would have though the Grim Reaper would have had some authority over Dracula, but I guess not. Anyway, your journey takes you through all kinds of crazy sections of Dracula’s Keep. The game is also one of the few Super Nintendo games to take advantage of Mode 7 technology: graphical software that allows pseudo-three-dimensional effects. These were used sparingly, but effectively, such as having a cylindrical room continuously rotate around the player as he walks through the room, which was very disorienting, or having giant haunted candelabras swing back and forth very fluidly.
The music is an eclectic standout as well. Yes, the instrumentations were limited to the 16-bit midi format, but the composition for each level is fun, quirky, unique, and exceptionally memorable. Every now and then one of Castlevania IV’s peculiar tunes will be stuck on repeat at the edge of my mind and won’t go away for days.
This was the first game to show me that video games could be atmospheric. I had never played the previous games in the franchise, but even a decade and a half later, IV remains the highpoint in the series. It was the first one to appear on Super Nintendo (in North America), and it was the first entry that allowed the protagonist (who is usually a Beaumont descendent) to swing his iconic whip in any cardinal direction.
The story here isn’t much. Dracula has resurrected himself for the fourth time, I assume, and Simon Beaumont is blessed with the familial responsibility of putting the vampire back in his coffin. What really impresses me about the game is the sheer diversity and creativity of its characters, enemies, and the bosses which are taken from a variety of mythological sources. You have Medusa, a golem, Frankenstein’s Monster, a hydra, and even the Grim Reaper himself…who is somehow less intimidating then Dracula. I would have though the Grim Reaper would have had some authority over Dracula, but I guess not. Anyway, your journey takes you through all kinds of crazy sections of Dracula’s Keep. The game is also one of the few Super Nintendo games to take advantage of Mode 7 technology: graphical software that allows pseudo-three-dimensional effects. These were used sparingly, but effectively, such as having a cylindrical room continuously rotate around the player as he walks through the room, which was very disorienting, or having giant haunted candelabras swing back and forth very fluidly.
The music is an eclectic standout as well. Yes, the instrumentations were limited to the 16-bit midi format, but the composition for each level is fun, quirky, unique, and exceptionally memorable. Every now and then one of Castlevania IV’s peculiar tunes will be stuck on repeat at the edge of my mind and won’t go away for days.
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