Top 50 Video Games: Number 40

#40: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
System: Nintendo Entertainment System
Publisher:Konami
Released: 1988
Players: 1

When the sun goes down the townsfolk retreat to their homes, for the moon isn't the only thing that comes out at night....

Castlevania II is one of those rare cases where a sequel outshines its predecessor. Simon Belmont is cursed after defeating Dracula in Castlevania I. In order to undo the curse, he must gather Dracula's 5 body parts and destroy them. Each of these is housed in a different creepy mansion in Transylvania. These mansions are found by following clues given by villagers around the towns.

Simon's Quest is the odd duck among the 3 NES Castlevania games. It has open, free gameplay and RPG elements such as gaining levels and upgrading weapons, while the others were linear, one-level-at-a-time games. It also has some puzzles and brainwork to be done. The enemies don't seem quite as difficult as Castlevanias I and III, which isn't saying much - the other two games were pretty tough. The game basically plays like Zelda II: Adventure of Link without the overhead world map elements. The game has day/night cycles (love 'em!!) and the music complements the dark atmosphere perfectly. The music in Simon's Quest is some of the best I've ever heard in an NES game. Some of the puzzles can be tough, and this is one of the few games that made me resort to calling the Nintendo Power Game Help line.

Simon enters a forboding mansion in all it's 8-bit glory.

Castlevania II is one of the best action/adventure games ever made for any system, period. The Castlevania series has long been a staple in Konami's lineup, with games spanning multiple systems over the years. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the Playstation 1 is widely regarded as the best of the bunch (I've never played it.) Simon's Quest will always be my favorite though, in my mind it set a standard for other games in the genre to live up to; not many have done so over the years.