Welcome to VC Weekly, N-Europe’s guide to the wonderful world of Nintendo’s download service. Written by Sam C Gittins

If you're in the mood for some vampire hunting then oh do we have a treat for you! This is no trick, just a later than planned review. Anyway enough from me and on with the game!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Super Castlevania IV

Price: GB £5.49, EU €7.99
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Released: 1992
System: SNES

It might come as a surprise to some readers when you learn that I have never actually played the brilliant Super Castlevania IV before now, although it was released on the Wii Virtual Console right near the very start this date is actually before we started officially reviewing VC games, you can bet that I certainly didn't miss this second chance though to grab my 'whip' and get cracking on a review! Essentially a remake of the very first game in the series but only down to its plot and basic structure; you take on the role of Simon Belmont who has been tasked with slaying Dracula who has come back from the afterlife once again as its been another hundred years since the last time the lord of the vampires was vanquished, this is all brought to life in a wonderfully well animated cutscene which really sets the tone for adventure very nicely indeed as does the gruesomely good title screen complete with its dark, sinister feeling of uneasiness.

As you stride through the opening areas Simon controls almost as you'd expect with jumps being assigned to 'B' along with the 'Y' button for your trusty whip which you can actually keep extended while independently flailing it around with the d-pad while you're on the spot, this is something unique to this Castlevania title but personally I quite like the tactical element it can add as while you deal less damage this way per hit it can actually prove very useful in protecting you from most things that your enemies will throw at you. Speaking of projectiles you can launch any of these that you have acquired - by destroying candelabras - at the press of the 'R' button, thesw include throwing knives which travel in a straight line, axes thrown in an arc and razor-winds which comes back to you like a boomerang plus the obligatory holy water; there are also power ups which change the gameplay temporarily such as the invincibility potion making you untouchable for a few fleeting moments, a clock which stops the enemies but not the level timer, projectile multipliers and more besides... each of these costs one heart or more to use of which you can collect up to ninety-nine of while resoring your finite health bar is done by acquiring some meat plus if you reach a certain score you get an extra life.

When you actually reach Dracula's Castle about half-way through the game this is where things really start to pick up as you will witness some of the most brutally brilliant level design ever included in a Castlevania title to date which when you couple with the ever-impending time limit which typically only gives you a few minutes per stage, add in a variety of enemies ranging from skeleton warriors, swathes of bats, ghosts, medusa heads to name but a few and you already have a pretty stern challenge ahead of you. There are some impressive boss battles too spread across the stages which are often at the end but sometimes somewhere in the middle, you'll face-off against a dual-headed dragon, golem that changes size as you chip away its HP, a Ridely-like skeletal bird plus more besides; speaking of comparisons to Metroid the way in which you can hook onto things so that you can grapple across works in almost exactly the same was as in Super Metroid but that's where the comparison ends - beyond platforms that look similar to the Metroid creatures in one stage - as there are no multiple pathways here but still plenty of fun to be had, it's also worth noting that the game has a password system which I never had to use thanks to the wonderful save-state feature.

The visuals used in this title are simply stunning as they certain take full advantage of the hardware available at the time, really showing off what was possible on the 16-bit SNES in very unique ways including one stage which has a wonderful rotating, elsewhere there is plenty of detail too coupled with some really decent animations and just everything you would expect from a legendary Castlevania title including that dark gothic feeling which is perfectly projected at all times. Audio is absolutely astounding as well with a truly terrific score which features all of the tracks that you'd expect in addition to many more - now classic tracks - which always match up perfectly with the stage that you're playing; this means that you always feel fully absorbed while you're playing as the quality is really amazing even by todays standards, oh and 'that' organ music in midi form... what more could you ask for? Some substantial sound effects perhaps, they are there too.

Super Castlevania IV comes Highly recommended indeed as it is one of best traditional Castlevania titles I have played in a long time, more importantly it represents the series before Symphony of the Night changed things dramatically giving birth to the now standard 'Metroidvania' term that is used so frequently these days. Regardless of if you are new to the series or a long-term fan this is a fantastic title which deserves to be played multiple times - try out the hard mode after finishing the main game - as being that it's essentially the first game remade it is both the ideal starting point plus the perfect point of reference for fans of the genre making it simply unmissable.   

Verdict : The best traditional Castlevania title on the SNES.

That's it for another installment of VC Weekly which will return again soon. So until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!