Quick Review : Contra III – The Alien Wars (SNES)

April 27, 2020May 9, 2020Hammy Reviews2 Comments

If I had played this game straight through without dying, the total game time would have been well under an hour. As it was, I spent merely 3/4s of an hour replaying a particular section until I beat it. As with Castlevania, the appeal is in the challenge, not the longevity. And I was positively hurling my SNES Classic controller in frustration from Level 2 to Level 6 (yes, it only has 6 levels!). Continue reading →

Quick Review : Castlevania (NES)

April 4, 2020April 6, 2020Hammy Reviews5 Comments

Sometimes, you’ve got to go back to the beginning. Thanks to the NES Classic, I did…and what a game to start the franchise! The gothic atmosphere fills the player with dread and uncertainty. You’re sucked in almost immediately…and the insurmountable challenge keeps calling you back. Yes, it’s unfair at times. Yes, the rigid controls constrain your ability to dodge and kill enemies. But there is always a small chance that you can succeed…

castlevania dracula — If you think this Dracula is difficult to kill, wait until the Dracula of Castlevania III …

Unfortunately, there are only 6 levels, worth half an hour of gameplay if you played it from start to finish without dying (an impossible challenge?). It’s a damn shame that the game is so short. From playing its remake to playing the original, you can see the potential in those 6 levels. But that potential isn’t realized until Castlevania III…

Hammy’s Rating: 4/5

Click here for my Quick Review of Bloodstained : Ritual of the Night (XBox One)

Click here for my Quick Review of Bloodstained : Curse of the Moon (Switch)

Click here for my Quick Review of Castlevania – Symphony of the Night (Playstation)

Click here for my Quick Review of Castlevania : Aria of Sorrow (GBA)

Click here for my Quick Review of Castlevania III – Dracula’s Curse (NES)

Quick Review : Castlevania – Aria Of Sorrow (Game Boy Advance)

April 3, 2020May 12, 2020Hammy Reviews5 Comments

As soon as I finished SotN I wanted to play it through again. I wanted to explore, to find things I hadn’t in my first playthrough. Aria of Sorrow is SotN’s rightful successor, capturing its essence without being a mere replica. For one, the storyline is more complicated and compelling. Although the visuals can’t hold a candle the SotN (thanks to the GBA’s limitations), they are still vibrant, colourful and oozing with style. Exploring the caslte here is just as involving, if not more so, than SotN. While the map is smaller, it seems the developers packed a whole lot more into it.

aria of sorrow underground reservoir — When are we going to get re-releases of all the GBA Castlevania titles>

Combat is improved as well, thanks to the ‘Soul Set,’ a system where you capture the souls of defeated enemies. These souls give you attacks, abilities and more, enabling greater flexibility in combat.

Is this better than SotN? Another playthrough of both is necessary to decide that. But Aria of Sorrow is a much more compact package…

Hammy’s Rating: 5/5

Click here for my Quick Review of Bloodstained : Ritual of the Night

Click here for my Quick Review of Bloodstained : Curse of the Moon

Click here for my Quick Review of Castlevania (NES)

Click here for my Quick Review of Castlevania III – Dracula’s Curse (NES)

Click here for my Quick Review of Castlevania – Symphony of the Night (Playstation)

Quick Review – Bloodstained : Curse of the Moon (Switch)

March 25, 2020May 12, 2020Hammy Reviews1 Comment

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is Castlevania in all but name. So why play a homage when you can play the two classic Castlevania games on the NES? Because, first of all, this game rips entire sections of gameplay, enemies, and gameplay mechanics from those two classics. Mutiple characters to play? Yes. A mysterious castle? Yes. Multiple routes through levels (yes, I know Dracula’s Curse didn’t do that, but Rondo of Blood did). However, sometimes the familiar is comforting, relaxing, even invigorating. And Curse of the Moon is the perfect update of the classic 2D Castlevania side scroller. You may not be able to control your jumps, just like in the originals, but overall, the controls feel more organic and less restricted. Each character brings something to the table, and the multiple endings offer replayability. Do you ignore the chance to take a new character, embrace the character or kill them? Each possibility offers a different ending (and I haven’t got the true ending yet!).

2020021123165400-B698A8BAECF292B9E0FDF66A777A9A9B — Hey, Alucard!!! Is that you?

A positive change to its inspirations is Curse of the Moon’s difficulty. It is difficult, but nowhere near as difficult as the NES classics. It’s a fairer challenge as well (you can even turn off the annoying “jump backwards when you get hit” mechanic if you so wish!), with more chance to show off your skills than being overwhelmed by random bulldoo-doo. I’d think twice about going through the NES classics again, due to their difficulty, but I’m already on my second playthrough of Curse of the Moon!