This game is the first sequel and another entry into the popular Castlevania series of games. It is also considered by many to be a vastly inferior sequel to the original as many complain about many of the new features in this one. Even Angry Video Game Nerd has reviewed the game twice during the run of his show. However, I enjoyed this entry to the series and liked the new touches. A sequel should be different to the original in some ways otherwise you are just playing the same game. I look at the original Super Mario Brothers 2 that was released under the title Super Mario Brothers: the lost chapters as a prime example. It is essentially the same game with nothing added to the mix except for extreme difficulty and poison mushrooms. This one has Simon wandering the Transylvania countryside searching mansions for the remains of Dracula's corpse. Seems poor Simon has been cursed, and to undo that curse the remains of Dracula must be destroyed! Again. You go through many towns, and the townspeople are about useless in helping you in your quest. I completely agree with AVGN about this, though I still enjoy talking to all of them. Some do sell you weapons, upgrades to your whip and other useful items, but figuring out how to get to some of the mansions is just hard! However, of the three Castlevania games released on the NES this is the only one I was able to complete. However, I never really played the third one all that much, I rented the first one all the time. Enjoyed it a good deal, but I could never win it. This one is much easier in that regard and like I said it is a different sort of game. The third one would be a bit more similar to the first game, but it too added enough features to keep the game different and fresh. The music in this one is excellent and makes one wonder why other NES games get so lazy with the music by playing only one tune throughout the game. Even AVGN will tell you the music in this one is good. So for me, an enjoyable entry into the Castlevania series, though my favorite by far is Super Castlevania.
