I have a weird history/relationship with the Castlevania series. I played the original game many years ago on the NES and enjoyed it. I skipped 2 and 3 but then played Super Castlevania 4 and really loved that entry. I tried playing Symphony of the Night a fair few years back now but it never clicked with me, the same goes for the DS games. I then played Lords of Shadow and absolutely loved it. Finally, I played through Mirror of Fate on the 3DS are really enjoyed that, as well. It appears that the ones I enjoyed are the ones most hardcore Castlevania fans dislike. This mirrors the way I feel about certain Metroid games, such as loving Other M and Fusion but disliking the Prime series and Super Metroid. I suppose it’s quite fitting seeing as both series now have a lot in common.

The game starts off with a cutscene that gives a brief history of Dracula and the Belmont family. In this game you play as Christopher Belmont and you have to whip your way through 6 stages in order to face Dracula himself. After the scene has been set, it’s off to tackle skeletons, bats and all manner of undead creatures.

The game plays like the classic, side scrolling Castlevania games that were seen on the NES and SNES. None of that Metroid style backtracking is found here. It’s a nice and simple get from point A to B style game that was so common back then. Just like when I played the other Rebirth games, I used the Wiimote horizontally and played the game as if using an NES controller. The d-pad is used for moving Christopher, while the 1 and 2 buttons are used for attacking and jumping.

Other than your normal attack you can also fire a special weapon by pressing up and the attack button at the same time. These range from axes and knives to holy water and crosses. I favoured the cross purely because it acts like a boomerang. You don’t have an unlimited supply of these special weapons but stocking up on them is quite easy. While walking through the various levels you can use your whip to destroy bits of scenery. These will sometimes drop hearts for you to collect. These hearts are the amount of special weapon uses you have. I’ve always found it strange that a heart was used like this in the early Castlevania games. Surely the heart should be a health pick-up, right? Very weird.

Your standard weapon, the whip, can be powered up a couple of times. Again, destroying various bits of scenery will sometimes drop these power-ups. The first stage of power-up will allow you to do more damage with your whip attacks and also lengthen the whip. The second time you power your whip up it will do more damage but also fire out a fireball. This comes in really handy when you want to take out some enemies that are a distance away and you don’t want to use any of your special weapons to defeat it. However, this power-up is time based and will only last a minute or so, so you have to make good use of it while you have it.

The overall presentation of the game is lovely. The sprite work does look like something out of the SNES era and the music is fantastic. I found myself bopping away to the catchy tunes throughout all of the game. Apparently these are remixes from other Castlevania games but seeing as I haven’t played a lot of them the nostalgic value was completely lost on me. Still, it didn’t stop me from enjoying them.

Sadly, the game as a whole didn’t really resonate with me. Out of all of the Rebirth games I think this is the one that I had the least amount of fun with. Sure, the soundtrack is great but I honestly found the gameplay a little boring and slow, especially when you compare it to the crazy, frantic action that is in both Gradius and Contra. While I used to love the old style Castlevania games maybe the simple gameplay just isn’t enough for me anymore? In recent years I have learned to appreciate the Metroidvania style of games thanks to things like Shantae and Blaster Master Zero, so maybe the Castlevania games that didn’t appeal to me years ago will now have a place in my gaming heart? I may have to fire up Symphony of the Night at some point and see if that is the case.

Castlevania Adventures Rebirth is a game that is very polished and sounds great but if you’re not a fan of the older Castlevania games then this will do nothing to change your mind. However, if you are looking for a 2D, gothic style side-scroller then you could do far worse than this. With 6 stages to play through, hidden bosses to fight and multiple difficulties to tackle, the game offers a lot for 1000 points and will certainly please fans of these types of games.




Price: 1500 points
Publisher: The Pokémon Company
Developer: Ambrella
Released: 2009

This is a game I ADORED back when it was released in 2009. The simple style gameplay, mixed with the nostalgia of the original set of Pokemon from Red and Blue (as well as the addition of Pokemon from Pearl and Diamond later in the game) had me hooked from start to finish. I think I spent around 20 hours playing and unlocking all of the Pokemon in the game. Does it still have a special place in my heart after all of this time? Let’s find out!

The game starts off with a little cutscene showing a toy Rattata. The game explains that these toy Pokemon love to battle and there is no greater stage than fighting in the Battle Royale. Usually you have to be a high levelled Pokemon to enter such tournaments but Rattata finds a crack in the door and sneaks his way in. The player is then thrust into battle against a host of different Pokemon. At this point you are severely out matched and you are expected to fail in this fight. That still didn’t stop me from having a good crack at it though!

Once you have been defeated the game will throw you back into the lobby area and tell you that you will need to recruit higher level Pokemon in order for you to stand a chance in the Battle Royale. This opens up the first stage, the Silent Forest, where your adventure will really start.

You work your way through the various stages and take on the spawning Pokemon by using the 1 and 2 buttons on the Wiimote to attack them. They will drop coins for you to spend or, if you are lucky, the Pokemon will fall to the floor and allow you to collect them. This is how you build your collection up. At the end of each level you will get the chance to capture an evolved version of one of the Pokemon you have seen in the stage. This will be a boss fight and have a much larger amount of health than the regular Pokemon you encounter.

As you start collecting Pokemon and building your team you will unlock more stages. These are usually themed in some way, whether it be a grass themed park or a fire filled volcano, there will still be plenty of Pokemon to catch along the way. Deciding on what stage you tackle should also get you thinking about what Pokemon you will take with you. Just like the regular Pokemon series, this game also has type advantages. Heading to a beach stage that is filled with water Pokemon? Better bring grass and electric types. It adds a little something extra to the game and encourages players to use a variety of Pokemon.

After you have cleared the stages, and built up a killer team, you can head back into the Battle Royale arena and take another swing at it. Complete that and you will be promoted a level and then it’s up to you to go through the stages again and collect an even more powerful team. This kind of repetition may put a lot of gamers offer but I really enjoyed back when I originally played it and I enjoyed it just as much doing it again this time through. I will admit though that it’s not for everyone.

The game features a Pokedex that shows which Pokemon who have seen, caught or are missing. The games reply value comes in trying to catch them all. Due to how random it can be to catch a Pokemon it will require players to go through stages multiple times. Once you have progressed enough in the game then the Diamond and Pearl Pokedex will open up and a whole new generation will be available to catch. This certainly gives the game some legs.

For me, the WiiWare version of the game is still the best one in the series. Sure, sequels have been released since this original version came out but I find that this one just nailed it first time around. The other games may have more Pokemon, more features and be a little more polished but sometimes a game is better when it keeps things simple and that’s what this game does.

It may be a bit pricey at 1500 points, especially when compared to other WiiWare software, but you will definitely get your money's worth if you aim to capture all the Pokemon in the game. This is where the Rumble series started and I think it’s worth a look at how the series began if you can spare the points, especially if you are a Pokemon fan.

That's it for this edition of Remembering WiiWare which will hopefully return again very soon. So until then, don't forget to use up your points before 2019, enjoy whatever WiiWare titles you might be playing and Game On!