Super Castlevania IV (SNES)

[Duddyroar]

Read the VCA Super Castlevania IV review!

[Leon Retro]

Smaller borders is good. It's just a shame it won't be as fluid at 50hz.

Still... a must have though!

[AllYourBase]

Well at least the sections which suffers some nasty slowdown (the mode7 tunnel, etc) actually run better in 50Hz! This is an excellent game, whilst not as slick as many SNES titles it was a good solid challenge and the password system made you want to keep coming back until you 'clocked' it!

I love the whip where you can 'tickle' the baddies to death if you like!

[Leon Retro]

I love the whip where you can 'tickle' the baddies to death if you like!

Yep... the game has the best whip ever!

[MattyD]

Couldn't agree more with your review Duddy. I still remember how jealous I was when I saw my cousin's new SNES running this on the machine's first UK Christmas. The music is truly haunting and to this day I can still remember every single track in my head.

Well at least the sections which suffers some nasty slowdown (the mode7 tunnel, etc) actually run better in 50Hz!

Damn straight, I've been playing this tonight on my new switch-modded SNES along with Contra 3 and both suffer slowdown in 60hz in places that run fine in 50hz. The extra frame time helps occasionally

[hudson]

Thread resurrection!

Wow, I've been playing this on my SNES mini. It's such a decent Castlevania. That whip mechanic! It's nice going back and playing a more linear Castlevania game. I'm half tempted to try the previous 3.

It's great to see enemies from other series entries in here too. Almost same bloody pixel art too. The music. Loving that Vampire Killer tune.

Coming from SOTN, I had to be a lot more careful controlling Simon Belmont as he is not as zippy as Alucard. Still excellent stuff so far.

[Sketcz]

I have always preferred Chii no Rondo (PCE-CD) and Bloodlines (Mega Drive) over this.

[hudson]

No doubt there are better Castlevanias but this deserves a place in the top 10 or even 5.

[Zaki]

Still my favourite Castlevania I'm not allowed to play it while my wife is around, because she can't get the Simon Belmont theme out of her head

[Leon Retro]

No doubt there are better Castlevanias but this deserves a place in the top 10 or even 5.

I've played all the Castlevania games -- and CV4 is my favourite. It's easily in my Top 5 SNES games alongside Contra 3.

The grimy gothic graphics, haunting music, excellent level design, and satisfying whip mechanic make it a game I keep wanting to come back to. The developer did brilliantly with every aspect of the game.

Of course, Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night are also great games that offer their own distinct style and overall vibe. I also like Bloodlines on the Mega Drive. There are loads of Castlevania games to enjoy on all sorts of machines, but Castlevania IV is the one I like the most.

[hudson]

What next for this franchise? Is anyone brave enough to make the next Castlevania?

We have Bloodstained Ritual of the Night to look forward to (Can't wait to play that).

But is the Metroidvania approach still the best way to go for the series (DS did it to death) or a return to more linear progression? It's difficult. Not sure I ever want a 3D game again though.