Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

Game Overview

A funny thing happened between 1987 and 1988: a bit of MetroidStarted by Nintendo in 1986, the Metroid series is one of the fundamental games of the exploration platforming genre, adding the "Metroid" to Metroidvania. got mixed up in the Castlevania series. Now, we're not talking about Simon Belmont going off the fight Mother Brain (although we at the Inverted Dungeon think that would be an epic adventure worthy of a proper release). No, what happened was that Simon Belmont was freed of the confines of Dracula's Castle and given the countryside of Romania to explore. This all came together in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (Dracula II: Noroi no Fuin in Japan, translated as "Dracula II: Seal of the Curse") for the NES and Famicom Disc System.

As it goes, DraculaThe lead antagonist of the Castlevania series and most famous vampire character in all media, all thanks to Bram Stoker. Based on the historical figure Vlad the Impaler, a vicious ruler of Wallachia in the mid-1500s. was dead, defeated by Simon BelmontThe first hero of the Castlevania series (by release date), he's been featured in more games, and referenced more times, than almost any other character in the series., but Dracula had his bits (nail, eye, ring, heart, and tooth) scattered across Romania. A curse was placed on Simon that would kill the vampire hunter if Dracula's body parts weren't put back together (ensuring Dracula's resurrection). To find Dracula's body parts, Simon had to adventure through a variety of locales -- forests, caverns, graveyards, and mansions. Along the way he could upgrade his equipment (multiple whips and daggers, as well as a variety of other equipment actively-used weapons and latent bonus equipment), find important items, and even level up.

Of course, saying that "Konami mixed Metroid in" really doesn't explain the whole story. While Nintendo was working on the first adventures starring Samus Aran, Konami was experimenting with their own exploration-style adventures. The company created titles like Maze of Galious: Knightmare IIThe sequel to a top-down shooter, this platforming adventure changed gears drastically from its predecessor, diving deep into the burgeoning (as yet unnamed) Metroidvania genre. It helped show off Konami's ambitions in expanding their exploration style, becoming something of a foundational title for the company. and The GooniesBased on the 1985 family film of the same name, this adventure platformer title never made it to the U.S. but its style still helped Konami expand its exploration ambitions. A sequel, The Goonies II, did eventually reach the U.S., though, creating some amount of confusion for Western fans of the film. that were exploring the nascent genre in its own way. The MetroidvaniaAt the intersection of Metroid and Castlevania lies the exploration platformer genre, the game style with heroes wandering expansive worlds, looking for items to expand their quest, known as Metroidvania. genre hadn't yet gotten that name (and wouldn't for another decade), but the concepts of those games, and what would become a defining play style for the Castlevania series, were already getting set in place.

While it's easy to see the bones of Simon's second adventure in these other titles (the development team on Castlevania II stated they drew direct inspiration from Maze of Galious: Knightmare II), it still does seem like an odd game if all you have are the other Castlevania titles to compare it to. The game is very different in concept from the original CastlevaniaThe game that started the series, the original Castlevania was hailed for its combination of action and platforming, all wrapped in Gothic style, to create one of Konami's earliest Million Sellers., with a more diverse, more fleshed-out experience. Gone was the linear path through a castle, replaced with a wide, open world filled with mysteries to solve, ruins to explore, townspeople to talk to, and quest items to find. This was a different kind of game from the originating title, making it something of a black sheep in the series, especially in the West where we didn't see many of Konami's exploration-based adventures.

Likely because of this, as well as decreased sales for the game, the series went back to its more traditional roots after Castlevania II. It focused much more on the heroes in leather kilts going on more-or-less linear quests through Dracula's castle, settling into that much more familiar groove from the first game for many of the future titles during the NES and SNES era. Konami did continue to explore this avenue of play, just in other games (like Getsu Fūma DenCreated in the early days of Konami's venture into the exploration platformer genre, Getsu Fūma Den became something of a hidden classic of the Famicom, before being eventually accepted into the larger Castlevania canon. and Konami Wai Wai WorldOne of the stranger games released from Konami on the NES, this title features mascots crossover together in a Metroidvania-style adventure.), but the Castlevania series remained much more linear for some time.

At least until Castlevania: Symphony of the NightReleased on the PlayStation in 1997, this game, while not hugely successful in the U.S. at the time, went on to become on the most beloved titles in the Castlevania series. came along and really helped cement the rise of the Metroidvania genre. Now Castlevania II seems more like an early precursor to where the series would eventually end up, and not just this strange one-off (or two-off, counting Vampire KillerA loose port of Castlevania for the MSX2, this platforming adventure took the bones of the original game but blended in minor exploration elements to create something different and interesting.) in the early era of the series.

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