1. ACA NeoGeo: Cyber-Lip (Switch eShop)
2. Pengo (Atari 2600)
3. Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)
4. Knights of Xentar (PC)
5. Hoshi o Sagashite... (Mark III)
6. Dead Zone (Famicom Disk System)
7. Samurai Sword (Famicom Disk System)
8. High School! Kimengumi (Mark III)
9. Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (NES)
10. Sindbad Mystery (SG-1000)
11. Steins;Gate (Vita)
12. Champion Boxing (SG-1000)
13. Squidlit (Switch eShop)
14. Skyblazer (SNES)
15. Tokyo Dark: Remembrance (Switch eShop)
16. Bubble Bobble (Famicom Disk System)
17. Steins;Gate Elite (Switch)
18. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Joe and Mac Returns (Switch eShop)
19. Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Express Raider (Switch eShop)
20. Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (Genesis)
21. Sword of Vermilion (Genesis)
22. Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace (Switch eShop)
23. Oink! (Atari 2600)
24. Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Famicom Disk System)
25. Super Castlevania IV (SNES)

As a youth, I didn't play any Castlevania games. This wasn't by any intentional design. There weren't any vampire-slaying adventures to be found at the local rental stores. As for the two games per year I could afford to purchase: eventually I shifted from Mario and Mega Man to fantasy JRPGs, leaving Simon Belmont and his pals behind. As an adult, I've been picking away the series (slowly). Impressions are mixed, but largely very positive. Which is how I reflect upon this particular game.
Super Castlevania IV is, of course, not actually "the fourth" Castlevania game released chronologically. Thrown into the jumble among the numbered titles we also find Haunted Castle (awful), Castlevania: The Adventure (also awful), Kid Dracula, and Belmont's Revenge. However, Super Castlevania IV is the fourth "mainline" entry, and it marks the series transition into the 16-bit realm. Konami seemed determined to cast a wide net during this era, as there were additional 16-bit entries to be found on the Genesis, PC Engine CD, and even the X68000. Released in 1991, Super Castlevania IV is a relatively early SNES title, with a vibe similar to that of Super Mario World. The DNA of the earlier games is undoubtedly present here, but everything's bigger, slicker, flashier, and... better? For the most part, yes indeed.
The game's plot is relayed brilliantly. During the opening sequence a lightning bolt strikes a gravestone. A menacing bat emerges, and story text begins filling up the screen in tandem with a rolling fog. Dracula has arisen, for the first time in one hundred years, and it's up to one Simon Belmont to whip him back to the underworld. Sound familiar? Yes, it's literally just a retelling of the plot from the first Castlevania. Make no mistake though, despite some reused assets Super Castlevania IV plays like a wholly original game, rather than an enhanced port. Why Konami went this route only five years after the original Akumajou Dracula hit the Famicom Disk System is somewhat puzzling. But it matters not: Dracula and his army of ghouls must be stopped.


Super Castlevania IV is a linear game, much like installments one and three. Stages proceed in a predefined order, with an enticing world map displayed between each one, indicating the player's progression towards the count's final lair. The "Belmont physics" will feel familiar to all who played the FDS/NES titles. Simon is a man who moves slowly and deliberately, as if he's on a stroll and just so happens to be slaying monsters along the way. Perhaps taking a cue from his run and gun pals from Contra, Simon can now whip in eight directions; this new range of motion surprisingly did not become codified into future Castlevania control schemes. There's also a strange "blocking" maneuver that can be activated by holding down the attack button, whereupon Simon can steer his whip to be used as a shield from projectiles. Belmont has always been a "stairmaster" and the copious amount of staircases can now be navigated via "moonwalking" backwards up them (my second review in a row with a Michael Jackson reference...). The familiar power-ups are here. Meat, usually hidden, replenishes health. And hearts are used as ammo (I'll never get used to this) for the special weapons. There are the horizontally-tossed daggers and boomerangs, arcing axes and holy water, and enemy-freezing stopwatches. No longer must the player rely on the clunky up+attack method to activate these weapons, as they are now mapped to the R shoulder button for easy access.
Given Simon Belmont's generally lackadaisical movements, enemies are best slain piecemeal. Anyone attempting to steamroll this one will find themselves zombie food soon enough. "Knockback" is present, so it's oftentimes the pitfalls and spikes that prove to be Simon's undoing, after a gentle shove from a skittering wraith. The enemy selection is quite large, the cast of fiends lifted straight from the earlier Castlevania outings. There are the sine wave Medusa heads, fire-breathing bone pillars, spastic hunchbacks, and much more. Enemy sprites are large and well-detailed, and the hit detection is excellent, punctuated by a big heavy "thunk" when Simon successfully lands a blow. Some fiends boast a bit too much HP, which slows down an already leisurely-paced experience. And there are those occasional moments of slowdown when hordes of beasts clutter the screen. Jumping is stiff, though appropriately so given the layout of most stages.
Bosses are a mixed bag. Most of the early ones are almost too easy, a strange departure from the typical Castlevania experience. Assuming Simon has a decently full lifebar, the first cluster of bosses can be toppled via button-mashing, with little reliance on tactics and special weaponry. Things get a bit more complicated as the game progresses. The two most riveting battles are those against Slogra (a skeletal pterosaur) and Death, both of whom boast some clever attack patterns and a wide range of maneuvers. As for that epic Dracula showdown... it's mostly just annoying. One of those things that's exponentially harder than anything else in the game, in a way that feels more lazy and cheap rather than cleverly devised.


As far as stage designs go, the first half of the game contains the most interesting settings. There are some fantastic outdoor environments, something sorely missing in the "explore the castle" Castlevania titles of recent years. The graveyard and waterfall segments look especially slick, with some fine attention to detail paid to the backgrounds. Generally speaking, the graphical presentation is quite strong. The color palette is varied, though kept appropriately subdued and dark. There's some dizzying Mode 7 that probably doesn't "need" to be here, but looks amazing cool. There are plenty of "gimmicks" to be found throughout the stages, which breaks up the monotony of simply jumping and slaying. One of the earliest stages features a cemetery gate which can be traversed from either side. In another, shifting water currents toss Simon various directions. And then there's the notorious "spinning room" where Simon must attach his whip to a hook and hang on for dear life. The final stages do have a tendency go overboard in terms of "gotcha" moments. There are falling blocks and rapidly-moving platforms and crumbling stairs -- things that feel better suited for a Mario game. Players attempting their first run should experience frequent deaths here, at least until certain segments are sufficiently memorized.
The soundtrack is exquisite, one of the best on the SNES. There's an interesting thematic progression at play here. The earliest tracks, featured in those initial slow(est)-moving "creepy" stages, are appropriately measured, with long-held droning synth notes and subtle eerie melodies. Once the game gets rolling the music increases in tempo. There are some rather tasty energetic tunes heard in the game's midsection, driving bassy rhythms that take full advantage of the SNES sound chip. As the player gets closer to the game's conclusion some "throwback" tracks begin to play, beautiful renditions of 8-bit favorites like "Bloody Tears" and "Vampire Killer." The orchestral ending theme deserves a special mention, the stunning crescendo hitting as clips from Simon's journey scroll across the screen.
In summary, this is quite a sumptuous platformer. It may not be one of my all-time favorites within the genre, but as far as Castlevania games are concerned, it's undeniably one of the strongest. I'd rank it a touch higher than Simon's Quest (which I do indeed enjoy) and a touch lower than Symphony of the Night (which is really a different beast altogether). It's also a mandatory playthrough for anyone interested in hitting all the "big names" on the SNES, the finest console we're likely to ever see.