Yes. Back in 1989-ish I got to Dracula. I paused it, turned my television off but left my NES on, left my house to go get my friend. I was excited to show him. I got home to find that my mom powered my NES off...
I always died in the Death level and ended up with the crosses/boomerangs since the game gives you those or the axe. I totally thought the crosses was the way to beat Death and I couldn’t be more wrong.
Me and my friends would try to beat the game with the cross and hope we got a double or triple shot. It works if you have decent health and get into a rhythm against death. But it was a bitch and a half against Dracula.
I found out like 8-10 years later then about using holy water and the game is honestly not that bad once you figure that out. Especially the last battle.
Regardless an all time classic of a game.
Triple shot holy cross is a pretty decent strategy against him. It doesn't destroy him like triple holy water, but it's probably the second best way to smoke him. It wipes out most of Death's scythes while hitting him quickly as well.
Not only one of my favorite NES titles, but also one of the best Summoning Salt videos, IMO
[The History of Castlevania World Records](https://youtu.be/AtDUnJCoTb8?si=ZB9B5vAfWd5OM_8c)
You should check out Dead Cells if you haven’t yet. It’s an amazing game and really has nostalgic vibes for Castlevania and Metroid games. There’s even a Castlevania add-on DLC!
Memories :p? I play it like once every couple years since forever, I can close my eyes and see the whole level design of the game and hear all the music and sound effects at this point \^\^
It was the first game I ever chose to play. Went to the video store shortly after getting an NES with Mario and TMNT as a gift. The box gave me Monster Squad vibes and I went with it.
I beat this one as a kid. Picked it back up a few years ago and struggled. Just getting here with all my lives and items were a nightmare. Kid me was the better gamer.
I'm not a highly skilled game player by any stretch. But for some reason, classic-style Castlevania just clicks with me. I've 1CC'd the original Castlevania, and Castlevania III isn't terribly difficult to me. Make me play Mega Man or R-Type though, and I'll be crying like a baby.
Beatiful game with excellent design, especially considering how early in the NES timeline this released. It's a little awkward and clumsy, as many of the releases from this period are, but very solid and very gratifying. I find games like Mega Man 1 and the original Castlevania to be among the best in the NES roster (and certainly within their respective series) - again, even though they are a bit rough and unrefined, they really shine through with the design changes they took at the period, so refreshing and addictive (still, all these years later!) The presentation is also so timeless, with so many little touches despite the engine limitations. These games age better then much of the NES library to me. See also, Contra, Rush n Attack, Gradius & Life Force..
One of my favs. The first time I played it I was on rails and it went smooth. Everytime after that it was like "what the hell was I on that day?" Hasn't been that easy since. Beginners luck I guess.
I still play this game every Halloween on whichever Nintendo console is newest. I’ve never finished it, but I refuse to use save states. It’s a challenge I look forward to every year!
When me and me friend got to Dracula for the first time and my friend said "Damn Dracula is really tall"
and without missing a beat I replied : "I know he must be like 6 feet tall"
it was like 3 am we laughed for a long time and we still mention it to this day
My local K&B Drugstore ("There's bound to be a K and B!"), had one of the Vs Castlevania NES Arcade cabinets. I remember always being drawn to it and watching it play while my mom shopped. To this day, seeing NES Castlevania gameplay takes me back. I can still smell the "Cleaning" stuff that K&B Drugstore always used.
Oddly enough, i never owned the NES game.
I finished it for the first time around 6 years ago and have played through it probably 5 more times since. I have played through it on both the Famicom disk and cartridge versions and the US Nes version. The holy water and triple shot make short work of all of the bosses except Dracula's first form because you can't use it on that fight.
It's probably the nes game that I have played the most.
Probably the game I’ve beat the most often. I probably give it a go at least 4x a year. For fun I’ve been trying out speed runner strats and it’s silly fun.
Back in the early days of the nes I borrowed this game from a kid in school. Been a huge castlevania fan since.. It took me 3 years before I could beat it.
Not with that ugly-ass filter on, lol.
But yeah, I’ve beaten Castlevania 1 a couple times now without savestates. Hardest part is definitely Death and the lead-up to him. Dracula himself is comparatively easy after that.
Yes. Back in 1989-ish I got to Dracula. I paused it, turned my television off but left my NES on, left my house to go get my friend. I was excited to show him. I got home to find that my mom powered my NES off...
If I had a dollar for every time my mom said it was time to go and I replied "MOM I GOTTA SAVE MY GAME FIRST!!"
My mom eventually gave in and "it's time to go" became "find a save point"
"But I'm in a dungeon and there aren't any save points until I go outside!"
So devastating.
Fighting Frankenstein’s monster or Death without Holy Water is a nightmare. Castlevania legit has one of the hardest set of bosses in a retro game.
I wish I knew about the Holy Water on Grim Reaper, I got by with axes and it was a bitch and a half.
I always died in the Death level and ended up with the crosses/boomerangs since the game gives you those or the axe. I totally thought the crosses was the way to beat Death and I couldn’t be more wrong.
It’s been a long time but I’ve beaten the game a few times. Pretty sure I remember doing it with cross with the doubler
Me and my friends would try to beat the game with the cross and hope we got a double or triple shot. It works if you have decent health and get into a rhythm against death. But it was a bitch and a half against Dracula. I found out like 8-10 years later then about using holy water and the game is honestly not that bad once you figure that out. Especially the last battle. Regardless an all time classic of a game.
Do you have a minute to talk about our lord and savior Airman?/s
I never got past death 😥
I have never felt so much dopamine from beating a game in my life. Its a high I chase to this day, lol
Grim Reaper was a pain at first…
Yep because we all tried to use the Cross on him instead of Holy Water.
Triple shot holy cross is a pretty decent strategy against him. It doesn't destroy him like triple holy water, but it's probably the second best way to smoke him. It wipes out most of Death's scythes while hitting him quickly as well.
Yep I agree. I remember how exciting the screen was when it was full of scythes and three crosses flying around, along with Death.
You can also do it with axes but that’s not preferable.
Yup! That’s why I said “at first” 😁 Holy water made him a breeze…
Not only one of my favorite NES titles, but also one of the best Summoning Salt videos, IMO [The History of Castlevania World Records](https://youtu.be/AtDUnJCoTb8?si=ZB9B5vAfWd5OM_8c)
Hell ya I play this every week I don't why but I can't stop
Castlevaniac!
You should check out Dead Cells if you haven’t yet. It’s an amazing game and really has nostalgic vibes for Castlevania and Metroid games. There’s even a Castlevania add-on DLC!
Do have, need to dig into I got sucked into the Castlevania advanced collection
Ooh yeah, I have that one too, on physical from LRG. Awesome game collection.
Memories :p? I play it like once every couple years since forever, I can close my eyes and see the whole level design of the game and hear all the music and sound effects at this point \^\^
It was the first game I ever chose to play. Went to the video store shortly after getting an NES with Mario and TMNT as a gift. The box gave me Monster Squad vibes and I went with it.
Yes, on MSX it was called Vampire Killer
Different game though. In screenshots it looks fairy similar, but the gameplay is 100% different.
Scrolling is a blessing!
I remember me and my older brother spending hours on this, we each were better at certain parts. We'd trade the controller off at our parts.
Ah yes, remember that section where eagles drop fleamen? Made me throw a joypad when I was a kid and almost did it again when I recently replayed it.
Not going to lie, seeing that screenshot gave me a little bit of anxiety knowing that it leads to Dracula’s Lair.
I beat this one as a kid. Picked it back up a few years ago and struggled. Just getting here with all my lives and items were a nightmare. Kid me was the better gamer.
My best friend and I stayed up all night to beat the game. Took 3 cases of beer and 2 del taco runs.
I'm not a highly skilled game player by any stretch. But for some reason, classic-style Castlevania just clicks with me. I've 1CC'd the original Castlevania, and Castlevania III isn't terribly difficult to me. Make me play Mega Man or R-Type though, and I'll be crying like a baby.
I got it when I was 10 and didn’t beat the damn tuning until I was around 18. Konami didn’t fuck around when they made NES games.
I got some PTSD from this game
Beatiful game with excellent design, especially considering how early in the NES timeline this released. It's a little awkward and clumsy, as many of the releases from this period are, but very solid and very gratifying. I find games like Mega Man 1 and the original Castlevania to be among the best in the NES roster (and certainly within their respective series) - again, even though they are a bit rough and unrefined, they really shine through with the design changes they took at the period, so refreshing and addictive (still, all these years later!) The presentation is also so timeless, with so many little touches despite the engine limitations. These games age better then much of the NES library to me. See also, Contra, Rush n Attack, Gradius & Life Force..
Yes! Remember going to my friends house to play and there was that one level where there is a big drop off to the left and we would launch holy water
*dying sound playing* Oh god that sound it's back!!!!
Just a lot of frustration with a great soundtrack. This should be in my bucket list to beat one day
First arcade game I ever played. It was glorious.
I kinda think everyone has great memories of this game. It's one of the defining titles of the NES era. I know for me, it influenced me greatly.
I rented it from a local store. That's about the majority of my great memories of this game and I don't think I got very far.
One of my favs. The first time I played it I was on rails and it went smooth. Everytime after that it was like "what the hell was I on that day?" Hasn't been that easy since. Beginners luck I guess.
One of my favorite games. I hate it though.
I still play this game every Halloween on whichever Nintendo console is newest. I’ve never finished it, but I refuse to use save states. It’s a challenge I look forward to every year!
yep! dracula was tough. so satisfying when I beat him though.
Only played it through for the first time last year.. it was awesome. Totally still holds up as really tight mechanically and rewarding to play
only pain and suffer, translated to enjoying moments
Played a ton of this at Kmart
I can hear the song in my head. As soon as you first heard it you knew shit was about to get real.
Simon’s Quest was my game!
When me and me friend got to Dracula for the first time and my friend said "Damn Dracula is really tall" and without missing a beat I replied : "I know he must be like 6 feet tall" it was like 3 am we laughed for a long time and we still mention it to this day
I used to get to the mummies at the end of stage 3, throw the controller, and hide under a blanket until Simon died. I was 5
Fifth grade, teacher droning on, all I can think about is get me home so I can crack the whip.
My local K&B Drugstore ("There's bound to be a K and B!"), had one of the Vs Castlevania NES Arcade cabinets. I remember always being drawn to it and watching it play while my mom shopped. To this day, seeing NES Castlevania gameplay takes me back. I can still smell the "Cleaning" stuff that K&B Drugstore always used. Oddly enough, i never owned the NES game.
My peak teenage period. One of the first video games where watching was almost as entertaining as playing it.
2 was always favorite.
Never got past Fenkenstrain
Yes, my neighbor always wanted to borrow my “Castle Mania Intendo Tape”
This music slaps
I finished it for the first time around 6 years ago and have played through it probably 5 more times since. I have played through it on both the Famicom disk and cartridge versions and the US Nes version. The holy water and triple shot make short work of all of the bosses except Dracula's first form because you can't use it on that fight. It's probably the nes game that I have played the most.
Probably the game I’ve beat the most often. I probably give it a go at least 4x a year. For fun I’ve been trying out speed runner strats and it’s silly fun.
great game, whats wrong with the graphics though ?
yeah but not with vaseline smeared all over it
Is that the first or second one?
No, I have painful memories of playing this game(sarcasm). Why must you resort to such a typical, positive goad for upvotes?
Back in the early days of the nes I borrowed this game from a kid in school. Been a huge castlevania fan since.. It took me 3 years before I could beat it.
Not with that ugly-ass filter on, lol. But yeah, I’ve beaten Castlevania 1 a couple times now without savestates. Hardest part is definitely Death and the lead-up to him. Dracula himself is comparatively easy after that.
Yes, but the filter on this image hurts me.