Video Games : PS Castlevania Chronicles

Price: $91.99

Prices subject to change.

Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
More Information

Binding: Video Game
EAN: 0083717171249
Platform: PlayStation
Sales Rank: 15066

Related Items:

Editorial Review:

Amazon.com Product Description:
A classic Castlevania title that has never been released outside of Japan comes to America. Castlevania Chronicles for the PlayStation features all the elements that made Castlevania one of the premier gaming franchises in video game history: superior 2-D Dracula-hunting gameplay, awe-inspiring music, and plenty of extras that every hard-core Castlevania enthusiast must own. Explore the origins of the franchise with one of the first Castlevania games ever created.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Whoever can't respect this game Doesn't know Castlevania!
This game is the orginal Castlevania released in Japan only until now. Rare and out of print, this edition bring to light the inspiration for the old 8-bit NES classic that we all grew to love. Anyone who doesn't see this is too young to know that Castlevania and probably has no respect for that old 2-D game. Anyone who loved it or grew up playing it will find the orginal Japanese and even the UPdated Arranged Mode (there are 2 versions on the CD) refreshing. You get the oringal with all the orginal aspects and the updated with breathtaking opening and closing movies. A true Gem for the Belmont in every True Castlevania fan. Everyone else step aside and let the true gamers of the old school enjoy something grand.

[...]

Rating:

- Old? Yes. Instant classic? Been that way since 1993.
The main issue people take with Castlevania Chronicles is that it's "old." Well, it's actually the newest CD-ROM format Castlevania game to date besides the Castlevania and Contra collection. Har har, very funny. Despite the new packaging, though, it is indeed a game released in 1993 for a system that very few people outside of Japan own, the Sharp x68000 series computer. It is not just any old game, though: it is generally acknowledged by gamers inside Japan as "Game of the Year" for that system.

There are two basic modes for the game: Original and Advanced (nevermind that an interview with the developer, Igarashi, is included here in the US and European PAL version but not in the Japanese release from a short while before ours).

Original is just what you expected it to be (until I change gears, assume I'm talking only about Original mode). The game plays just as it did on the original system, with the same graphics, three different MIDI soundtracks (each with their own, uh, style) and the same incredibly challenging difficulty. The difficulty in Original mode approaches or even surpasses that of Super Ghouls n' Ghosts...I haven't gotten past level 5 in the original game without some serious use of, ahem, some serious savestates. On the plus side, the game saves after each level so you don't have to go over it again.

These graphics are extremely good for the era. The Sharp x68000 series had arcade-perfect translations of many classic arcade games from Alien Syndrome to Strider and beyond, so if you're a fan of that era's graphics you should certainly at least look up some screenshots. There is a good deal of original music here--a really funky remix of Castlevania's Stage 1 music (Vampire Killer) follows the great intro cutscene, "Something Loopy" as a great name entry tune, and then the new stuff. Completely new compositions mixed in with older tunes are found here: we see "Thrashard In the Cave" [seen as it was originally spelt, crazy people], a really moody piece, "Creatures in the Depth" for boss music, "Tower of Gears," "Moon Fight," "The Tower of Dolls," and "Etude for the Killer" are seen for the first time. It's not every day you get to see "Wiched Child" [again, sic] in the sound test, but be assured this is an excellent and moody rendition of the song.

Now Arranged Mode improves dramatically on the music for the most part at the cost of introducing a lot of "noise." There is now an increased use of reverb and true instruments, but here we also see some excessive use of twinkly little sounds and other musical tomfoolery as well. The "noise" and sometimes overbearingly dramatic style of the remixes may drive you off at first. Overall, it's a lot less pleasant on the ears than the original MIDI music, but regardless of volume shifts you may get used to it.

Make sure you get to the last level in Arrange mode, though! The final boss music is among the best reworking of an original Castlevania score seen yet. Getting there shouldn't be too hard either, thanks to the improved difficulty level and different difficulty levels.

There ARE a couple dramatic reworkings of the game's design, however:

The original game had a brown-shaded Simon in keeping with the visual style of the original game's, and Dracula looked right out of an old 1930's Universal picture. In THIS game, these character designs have been reworked by Castlevania's current character artist, Ayami Kojima--a bit too serious and odd looking for my taste, especially with Simon's apparently pink hair ingame (the cover art shows him with very red hair, as you see here in the game's icon--before he bleached it, apparently).

Also, the original game was played on a square screen. When this is emulated, people seem to try to stretch it out to a rectangle--rather fat looking characters result. From the screenshots I've seen of Chronicles, this same problem is evident.

That said, Chronicles originally was a steal. If you're into collecting, be assured that this game will eventually command high prices thanks to the limited run. If you just want to play one of the last old-school Castlevania games, I can't think of a better place to look. Yes, even with LoI out, I still say that.

Rating:

- poor quality game
I have been a castlevania chronicals fan from the beginning and I was very disappointed by this game. Past games - even on sega genesis - were better looking and more difficult to play. I was surprised that they would release a game these days which was such a poor quality of graphics and design. It looks more like a mock up of idea's for the castlevania SOTN rather than it's own game. Dont waste time with this one.

Rating:

- Get this now!
I'm a huge fan of the Castlevania series. I've been playing since the days of regular nintendo. Now, with Castlevania Chronicles some a new, awesome addition to the series. Never before released in America, comes a game that every fan of the series will love. Get ready for a wild ride back to Drac's Lair.

You play as Simon Belmont, on a quest to stop Drac. There are 8 levels in the game, each having 3 stages. You have a whip, and a sub weapon that you pick up, and you alone face the evil of Castlevania. What are you Waiting for?

The game is good ol' sidescrolling action. The control is quick and responsive, and the action is intense. It's so much fun. The only problem with it is it's shortness. The levels go by fast, depending on how good you are at it. It's a tough game. Still, once you finnish it, you'll go back again, as the castle beckons you to.

You have no excuse not to buy this game, It simply Rocks!

Rating:

- Classic gameplay, but needs a little work in some areas
Unless you have been a fan of the Castlevania series since the first release on the original NES, you may be disappointed with Castlevania Chronicles. The gameplay and graphics are quite primitive compared to today's 2D games (so don't expect anything nearly as spectacular as in Castlevania SOTN)...but perhaps it was intended to be that way. Castlevania Chronicles is basically a remake of the first Castlevania, with remixed music and slightly updated graphics and gameplay. It was clearly intended to be for long time fans of the series, so younger game players may be confused by the lack of graphical quality. My only major gripe is that I think since Konami bothered to go back and alter this version, they should have at least included the ability to whip in all eight directions (via Castlevania 4 for SNES). Hardcore Castlevania fans should love this one regardless of it's short-comings though, because in the end the entire presentation is pure "old school" and packed with nostalgia. If you can't get enough of Castlevania, Chronicles is certainly worth picking up. Hopefully Konami will release a true sequel to the series soon.


More Information

Browse for similar items by category:

More Systems - Categories - Video Games - All Games
More Systems - Categories - Video Games - Action

HOME

Debt Consolidation - Bankruptcy - Reggaeton Videos - Home Insurence - Bankruptcy