I appreciate that you mentioned the manual. People complain about not knowing what to do in older video games, but a lot of times, the manual told you. You were actually expected to have read it.... 👀👀
Yeah the problem there is that most people that played it didn't have a manual. Case in point, all of my NES games were either give to me via family or bought used. So despite the fact that I had around 30+ NES games, I didn't have a singular manual.
One thing that Simon's Quest would give us later on is probably one of the best Castlevania games of all time, Symphony of the Night, which took this open world concept to heart when it gave us full exploration of the castle with lots of secrets (even the reveal that you have to go through TWO castles to get to the true end), memorable music, enemies and boss battles. Not to mention the "so bad it's good" voice acting ("WHAT IS A MAN?"). It became the staple for what would become the "Metroidvania" game genre. Oh, and speedrunners have a field day breaking that game. Hey, maybe that could be an idea for a game to cover: Symphony of the Night. One other thing that is good about Simon's Quest is the music. This is where the famous Bloody Tears track came from, which has been a recurring track in the Castlevania series. Probably the most iconic track in the entire series.
Simon’s Quest is definitely more of a looked down upon title. Glad to see this video talking in a broader scope than just “Castlevania 2 bad”. Great work.
13:26 I like to refer to this as NES Sequel Syndrome. Not only does this effect Mario, Zelda, and Castlevania, but also Final Fantasy, Kirby, & Metroid (if you count the Gameboy games for these last two).
I spent hours days summer vacation playing this game but you neglected to reference the film reel on the start screen showing it's supposed to be scene cinematically....don't forget laurels in your soup spoils it's aroma
I keep coming across complaints about villagers giving false clues. That was part of the Hammer Horror Dracula movie franchise where visitors and the vampire hunter will be given false information. The game needed Boss fights and hidden books in walls were the design flaw.
Not being given clues was so typical back then. Many games would actively prevent you from finishing them. So yes, that means it was not great, but it was typical for its era
Glad to hear that someone else other than I appreciate this game! Even if I have to disagree and say that the OG Castlevania is better, this one is amazing on it's own. Looks and sounds amazing, as well as adding some great changes from the last entry. While having some flaws that probably was a cause of the one year deadline, I think this is a game that has the most potential for a remake. Though if that is the case, we have to say goodbye to the beautiful graphics on this one. For everyone interested: there is a ROM hack made by a hacker called bisqvit, or something like that, which saves the major issues with Simon's Quest and I highly recommend that every fan of the serie check it out. And to WhatSoGreatAboutGaming, don't hate the haters, just keep up your good work! You have my support and I hope that you feel "what wonderful day to have a blessing from the fans".
You also lose experience points gained which level up your health meter if a game over happens. But it's not as harsh as the same issue in Zelda II. This game has failings but it's not a bad game it just could be more.
Alas, it would seem that the Angry Video Game Nerd with his reviews on this game, and Arin Hanson AKA Egoraptor with his Sequelitis video, have colored people's opinions of this game to the point where it seems to be unanimously believed to be a bad video game. It's definitely flawed, no doubt about it, but it's not without it's charm, and even paved the way for what would eventually become the "Metroidvania" formula seen with Symphony of the Night and beyond. I'd say, so long as you know what you're doing (which was tricky back in the day, especially with the game itself giving misleading information), it's really not that bad of a game.
Yeah I was there back when the game first came out. I know I'm old lol. And all of the things this game, and zelda 2 iirc, is known for now were either minor irritations or considered quirks. Especially since stuff like the crystals....we had Nintendo power for and they didn't cover the topic the Nintendo pro holiness was available and if you were one of the kids who's family couldn't afford that we all had that one kid in class who's family was loaded, or to us seemed like they were loaded, who could and they'd tell everyone to try and appear smart. They didn't become the big deal breakers they're treated as now until 15 years later when the nerd covered the game, bsck before most of us realized the nerd was a character for entertainment and everyone even overexaggerated the nerd's opinion.
I like your admiration and agree with a lot of it. However u show an awful amount of player deaths which may defeat your reasoning approach if this game to some viewers. It be one thing if it was a new release and you were in on the original batch of reviews but most people have already had the fix of this game and are injected with the fact that it's a pain in the ass. Especially with the rise of avgns first video of it
the most annoying thing about the game is the copy-pasted graphics and the lack of musical variety. it had potential but it just feels lazy. a remake in the 8-bit style with more variety in the music and graphics (and obviously a better translation) would be great.
I appreciate that you mentioned the manual. People complain about not knowing what to do in older video games, but a lot of times, the manual told you. You were actually expected to have read it.... 👀👀
Yeah the problem there is that most people that played it didn't have a manual. Case in point, all of my NES games were either give to me via family or bought used. So despite the fact that I had around 30+ NES games, I didn't have a singular manual.
One thing that Simon's Quest would give us later on is probably one of the best Castlevania games of all time, Symphony of the Night, which took this open world concept to heart when it gave us full exploration of the castle with lots of secrets (even the reveal that you have to go through TWO castles to get to the true end), memorable music, enemies and boss battles. Not to mention the "so bad it's good" voice acting ("WHAT IS A MAN?"). It became the staple for what would become the "Metroidvania" game genre. Oh, and speedrunners have a field day breaking that game. Hey, maybe that could be an idea for a game to cover: Symphony of the Night.
One other thing that is good about Simon's Quest is the music. This is where the famous Bloody Tears track came from, which has been a recurring track in the Castlevania series. Probably the most iconic track in the entire series.
I think Simons Quest does exploration better. Mistranslations aside we are not confined to a Castle.
Still my fav Castlevanaia
Simon’s Quest is definitely more of a looked down upon title. Glad to see this video talking in a broader scope than just “Castlevania 2 bad”. Great work.
Thank you!
The greatest contribution of Castlevania 2 was "Bloody Tears". People full on learned a musical instrument because of Bloody Tears.
13:26 I like to refer to this as NES Sequel Syndrome. Not only does this effect Mario, Zelda, and Castlevania, but also Final Fantasy, Kirby, & Metroid (if you count the Gameboy games for these last two).
The soundtrack...def the soundtrack.
Omg, the first time I heard the theme AZ you enter the castle ruins......i had to break out the cassette recorder lol.
I spent hours days summer vacation playing this game but you neglected to reference the film reel on the start screen showing it's supposed to be scene cinematically....don't forget laurels in your soup spoils it's aroma
You've read my mind!
I just bought the anniversary edition XD
Currently playing through the whole collection! Can't believe I missed out on this series for so long.
I keep coming across complaints about villagers giving false clues. That was part of the Hammer Horror Dracula movie franchise where visitors and the vampire hunter will be given false information. The game needed Boss fights and hidden books in walls were the design flaw.
Amazing channel. Keep creating onward and upward
Played it on release day and it’s my second favorite Castlevania next to Symphony of the Night
The esoteric nature made it all the more uncanny!
The great aspects of this game are top tier.
Underrated indeed
Not being given clues was so typical back then. Many games would actively prevent you from finishing them. So yes, that means it was not great, but it was typical for its era
Glad to hear that someone else other than I appreciate this game! Even if I have to disagree and say that the OG Castlevania is better, this one is amazing on it's own. Looks and sounds amazing, as well as adding some great changes from the last entry. While having some flaws that probably was a cause of the one year deadline, I think this is a game that has the most potential for a remake. Though if that is the case, we have to say goodbye to the beautiful graphics on this one. For everyone interested: there is a ROM hack made by a hacker called bisqvit, or something like that, which saves the major issues with Simon's Quest and I highly recommend that every fan of the serie check it out. And to WhatSoGreatAboutGaming, don't hate the haters, just keep up your good work! You have my support and I hope that you feel "what wonderful day to have a blessing from the fans".
I really don't get the modern dislike when it was one of the first of it's kind. Would the first meal ever cooked taste like fine cuisine?
You also lose experience points gained which level up your health meter if a game over happens. But it's not as harsh as the same issue in Zelda II. This game has failings but it's not a bad game it just could be more.
If it wasn’t for Bloody Tears, no one would remember this video game.😏
Alas, it would seem that the Angry Video Game Nerd with his reviews on this game, and Arin Hanson AKA Egoraptor with his Sequelitis video, have colored people's opinions of this game to the point where it seems to be unanimously believed to be a bad video game. It's definitely flawed, no doubt about it, but it's not without it's charm, and even paved the way for what would eventually become the "Metroidvania" formula seen with Symphony of the Night and beyond. I'd say, so long as you know what you're doing (which was tricky back in the day, especially with the game itself giving misleading information), it's really not that bad of a game.
This guy is great
Yeah I was there back when the game first came out. I know I'm old lol. And all of the things this game, and zelda 2 iirc, is known for now were either minor irritations or considered quirks. Especially since stuff like the crystals....we had Nintendo power for and they didn't cover the topic the Nintendo pro holiness was available and if you were one of the kids who's family couldn't afford that we all had that one kid in class who's family was loaded, or to us seemed like they were loaded, who could and they'd tell everyone to try and appear smart. They didn't become the big deal breakers they're treated as now until 15 years later when the nerd covered the game, bsck before most of us realized the nerd was a character for entertainment and everyone even overexaggerated the nerd's opinion.
I can feel your anger against the gamers who like to group hate on "bad" games.
No no no in zelda u shoot fire, LEAVE SCREEN, repeat.... huge difference like GORILLA AND GUERILLA.....now you pick on the nerd show some respect
I like your admiration and agree with a lot of it. However u show an awful amount of player deaths which may defeat your reasoning approach if this game to some viewers. It be one thing if it was a new release and you were in on the original batch of reviews but most people have already had the fix of this game and are injected with the fact that it's a pain in the ass. Especially with the rise of avgns first video of it
the most annoying thing about the game is the copy-pasted graphics and the lack of musical variety. it had potential but it just feels lazy. a remake in the 8-bit style with more variety in the music and graphics (and obviously a better translation) would be great.
"This game sucks." - AVGN
You’re bad a games then