Much improved controls and better overall challenge make this the best game in the classic Castlevania series.
The game's plot is basically a retelling of the first Castlevania game. You play as the famed vampire hunter Simon Belmont who is on a quest to defeat the sinister Dracula.
The game follows the same style of the previous games in the series. It's a 2-D sidescroller in which you must navigate across each new part of Transylvania fighting all kinds of monsters in order to reach the lord of darkness himself. The first thing I really want to get out of the way is the controls. The 8-bit titles tended to suffer a bit from having stiff controls. But the controls in this game are practically flawless. Simon can now whip in all eight directions, making it much easier to defeat enemies, and now has more control over his movements in mid-air, making platforming much smoother. Enemies are also less of a hassle and the design is also more intuitive. Despite the much improved control and design the game is still no walk in the park. Staying true to the series, the game is still rather difficult to beat. But thanks to the much improved mechanics the game offers a much better challenge.
Getting back to gameplay, you go around defeating various monsters. Many classic enemies from the previous games make a return as well as some new ones. Most of the enemies are rather easy once you know their movements, but the bosses definitely provide more of a challenge. As you progress through each stage you'll come across a lot of candles. Fans of the series know instantly to break them since breaking them will drop secondary weapons for Simon to use, hearts, which act as ammunition for weapons, gold for added points, and porkchops to replenish health. Porkchops in this game are a little more abundant this time around, making progression a little easier. The various secondary weapons include daggers, holy water, crosses, and axes.
Castlevania 4, to this day, has some of the finest 2-D graphics to grace any console. The advance technical prowess of the Super Nintendo helped to truly bring the land of Transylvania to life. There is an excellent amount of detail in just about everything in this game, from the well designed environments to the cool-looking character designs. The developers even took the time to add in small little details into the background. There are even a few uses of Mode 7 to be found in this game. Like the rest of the series, the music is great. Almost every piece in this game is memorable and it just helps add to the overall experience and atmosphere of this game. The sound effects are also fantastic.
To sum things up:
PROS:
-Much improved controls and design
-Excellent graphics and sound
-Fantastic music
-Great atmosphere
-Offers just the right amount of challenge
CONS:
It goes without question that fans of the series should have already have this game. Newcomers should definitely consider purchasing this game, whether it be for the original SNES or the Wii Virtual Console. It takes everything that made the previous games great, gets rid of the more annoying features, and polishes it into a more well-rounded package, making this my favorite 2-D game in the Castlevania series.