[Levi]

So, the game starts out promisingly enough. You get a nice little ominous jingle while it waits for you to put a quarter in, and the title card fades out to reveal honest to God blood from fang penetration. I'm pretty sure that's a series first.



It's the intro where you start to get that sinking feeling. Personally, I think it's probably a major faux pas to have the first bit of in-game music a player hears be "Here Comes the Bride," especially if it falters three-fourths of the way through as Michael Landon's bride is snatched away by a silly man in a cape (actually, in that tuxedo Simon looks remarkably like my father in the late 1970's, but that's neither here nor there.)





...And the game starts. Apparently Simon had time to slip into his honeymoon outfit before setting off through the undead infested village that was apparently unavoidable on the path to Castle Dracula. It looks relatively okay on him. The fact that he slightly resembles a mongoloid is entirely incidental. If I'm not mistaken, this is the outfit they saddle Simon with in Cv IV, albeit with a a more manageable sprite.



Notice how Simon's legs buckle together when he's hit, like a schoolgirl. This is only natural given the constricting nature of his leather skirt.



Speaking earnestly, the graphics do have some nice little flourishes in them, like the way the sky's colors change when the sun sets, and the presence of SNES caliber weather effects. Unfortunately, the designers really didn't seem to know what to do with their set pieces, and they come off as random antagonism. Inexplicably about halfway through the stage you stumble into a rainstorm that kills any enemies that might be pursuing you. At the same time, a stone wall starts throwing pieces of itself that drain half of your life when they connect.



Oh. Any man sized enemy also seems to take half your life also.



And you only get one life per continue.

If it weren't for these factors, and the shitty coloration and horrible, subpar level design, this would be a decent game. The music is (goes without saying) really good, and the soundtrack features voice samples of creepy laughter and unique groans for different monster types. Actually, if they had tried a little harder to integrate the really-pretty-solid set pieces with a platform experience that didn't attempt to emulate the look and feel of Nebraska, I would have played the shit out of this in a real arcade.

I mean, check out these wicked dryad/tree men things.



Or where an oil lamp tips over and the prairie you're traversing bursts into flames, forcing you abruptly to platform across formerly safe terrain. It's kinda like that part in Contra III!



It's all a wash, though, because NO MAN ON EARTH CAN OR SHOULD PLAY ALL THE WAY THROUGH THIS LEVEL.

[Toups]

this too is interesting so I'm bumping it
_________________

[diplo]

fuck this game

[Laurel Soup]

I'm not sure why I've never played this.
Word on the street is the Japanese version is a bit easier.
_________________

[diplo]

here's a video of the first two levels in any case

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DRmWqIqC5s

[aderack]

This game looks like Rygar and plays like Rastan Saga II.

Yeah. Replace the main sprite, make the controls more responsive, lower the fuck out of the enemy damage, give the player more lives, and give the player more to do than just walk to the right for long periods, and this could be pretty decent.

I actually like its atmosphere a lot. The overall visual style is kind of neat, in a messy, horrible way. And as you say, the music is fantastic. If only the game were A) playable, and B) fun to play, we'd be onto something. I think it could stand a Chronicles-style remix -- though I think they'd have to include something else on the disc to make it seem worthwhile. A remake of Vampire Killer, maybe?

Given the music, and the long journeys over flat terrain outside the castle, I get the impression this game was an inspiration for a lot of the changes in Simon's Quest -- at least as much as the nonlinear stuff in Vampire Killer.

[Pijaibros]

[diplo]

[Moogs]

Which level is it where you suddenly get sucked into a door that materialises out of thin air and the background turns all photo negative-like? That part is weird. It really freaks me out.