Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest
PUBLISHER/DEVELOPER: Konami
RELEASE DATE: Aug. 28th, 1987 (JP - Famicom Disk System), Nov. 24th, 1988 (US), Feb. 1990 (EU)
For decades, I’ve just accepted the common retro gaming opinion that Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest isn’t a very good game. The opinion goes that Castlevania II strays a little too far from its pure platforming roots, embracing vague adventure game design and light RPG elements that, at least in 1988 and on an 8-bit console, don’t really gel as well as Konami hoped they would. This viewpoint is somewhat valid. Castlevania II is full of clues about where to go and what to do, but if you happen to miss one or not remember the one you need for a certain moment, you’re stuck… if you’re living in 1988, that is. Today, with GameFAQs guides and YouTube walkthroughs, the solutions are ever before you. Today, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest is more than playable.
A playable game isn’t necessarily a good one, though. After nearly four decades, I want to know: are the critical retro gaming peeps correct in their assessment of Castlevania II? Does it fail as a game because it poorly embraces other styles and genres? Is the game itself just not very fun to play? Unlike with Spy Vs. Spy, where I still hate the game after 35+ years of playing it, I’m willing to give Castlevania II another chance.
Let’s find out what’s in this coffin… together.
Dracula’s Innards
Simon Belmont returns, fresh off his defeat of Dracula. What should be a time of turkey leg feasting and large wine goblet drinking is, instead, a time of sorrow. A ghostly maiden informs Simon that he is possessed by Dracula’s curse, and that the only way to be rid of it is to find five of Dracula’s body parts and bring them to Dracula’s home, Castlevania. There, Dracula will resurrect and he and Simon will fight again. Should Simon defeat the Count, the curse will lift, and he will be free.
He begins in the town of Jova, equipped only with his trademark whip and rugged determination. Immediately, you’ll notice townsfolk walking about and open doorways in which to enter. They talk to you if you stand near them and share clues, warnings, and occasionally, bits of information that will not make sense unless you know exactly what they’re talking about. It’s downright RPG-ish, it is!
Simon also has fifty hearts to begin with here. In the original Castlevania, hearts were used as sub-weapon ammunition. In Castlevania: The Adventure on Game Boy, hearts replenished your life bar. In Castlevania II, however, hearts are everything. The more hearts you receive from enemies, the more your experience increases. As you level up, Simon’s health bar increases and his defense goes up. Hearts also act as currency within the game, enabling you to buy better weapons, sub-weapons, and seemingly random items that are usually important (hello, laurels). Since these items are critical to progression, you’ll need to whip lots of ghouls and grab lots of hearts.
Not only does Castlevania II have adventure and RPG elements, it also features a day/night cycle, the first of its kind on the NES. The game begins in Jova during the day, but within three real-time minutes, an infamous text box will appear, stating “What A Horrible Night to Have a Curse.” If you’re in town, the people will flee, shops close, and zombies will roam the streets. If you’re out in the overworld, the enemies will grow stronger – but they’ll also provide more hearts once destroyed. After another three minutes passes, day will return (“The Morning Sun Has Vanquished the Horrible Night”). Skeletons, eyeballs, mermen, and other creatures will remain, but their strength will lessen.
Simon thankfully controls a lot better here than in the first game. He just feels easier to move, not as much of a lumbering barbarian. You’ll still have to jump carefully and precisely over too many death pits (including in towns – what the heck, Konami!), but they aren’t as much trouble as in the first game. Whipping enemies feels great, and while there are some difficult enemies, particularly in the second half of the game, they don’t feel nearly as cheap as the first Castlevania. Simon also purchases whip upgrades here, and unlike other early Castlevania games, the upgrades won’t be removed if you get hit or die. That’s right: once you buy a chain whip, it’s yours forever. Same with sub-weapons. Once you buy or collect a sub-weapon, it stays in your inventory forever. Supposedly, sub-weapon ammo is linked to how many hearts you have, and maybe that is the case, but I never noticed. I was always able to use as many holy waters or silver knives as I wanted to without issue. So nice!
If there’s one thing all retro gamers can agree on, it’s that Castlevania II’s vibes are second to none. The towns and the environments –forests, caves, cemeteries, that marsh where the Ferryman helps you – all have this nightmarish, otherworldly feel that is supremely unsettling, during day or night. Occasionally, you’ll come across a still scene like Yuba Lake in the nighttime with its deep purple/blue skies and mountains that’s just eerily beautiful. Combine this world-class atmosphere with a top-notch soundtrack, and if vibes were all that mattered, Simon’s Quest would get an easy ‘A.’
The flow of the game is as follows: whip your way through the monster-infested overworld, find one of five mansions strewn throughout the land, gather one of Dracula’s body parts from each mansion, hit up towns along the way to heal your health in churches and find necessary items from (often hidden) merchants. Mostly, you’ll be traversing the overworld, back and forth, and hopefully not getting lost. I don’t think Castlevania II’s world map is terribly big, but I could see one making a wrong turn somewhere or going down the stairs when you should have gone right and just getting yourself in some trouble.
For example: you need to have Dracula’s heart equipped when you see the Ferryman if you want to go to Brahm’s Mansion; otherwise you’ll just go to the town of Alba. But if you don’t catch that clue, you’ll never get to one of the places needed to complete the game, and you won’t know why.
High Stakes
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest has a myriad of positives. The gameplay loop is enjoyable, with just enough new monsters and items added along the way to keep things fresh. The world is connected in a way that the first Castlevania’s wasn’t, and the day/night cycle is truly revelatory. Simon feels great to control and I love always having a strong whip and sub-weapons on my person, without needing to collect everything again if I die.
The game has one main negative, you know what I’m talking about: it’s intentionally abstruse. If you’ve never played Castlevania II before, and you’re trying to play it without any help, you’ll be writing down all the clues the townspeople give you. You might also have to make a world map to prevent you from getting lost. And even if you do all that, there’s still a chance you’ll miss something and not be sure how to progress. Should the latter happen, any goodwill the game may have accrued could disappear entirely.
Personally, I enjoyed my most recent playthrough of Castlevania II more than any other playthrough I’ve attempted over the last couple decades. I used a FAQ to figure out where to go, it felt great, and I don’t care. When you’re a kid in 1988 and you have all the time in the world (and no internet), sure, bust out the graph paper, make a map, memorize the clues. When you’re an adult in 2026, playing games from your childhood, do what works for you.
I look at Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest more as a noble experiment, one that took big chances, succeeded in some ways, failed in others. Some retro gamers defend it as an underappreciated gem. Many despise it, recalling how stupid they felt trying to play the game as kids. Few, however, are apathetic. Castlevania II produces powerful emotions from those that experience it, and regardless of where you land in the conversation, I don’t think we can call it a truly terrible game.
The game’s largest legacy, however, is what it inspired. Renowned Castlevania producer and scenario writer, Koji Igarashi, used Simon’s Quest as a template to convince Konami to let him make Symphony of the Night, a game that’s still the most beloved Castlevania entry nearly 30 years later. If a game as divisive as Simon’s Quest can inspire a game as revered as Symphony of the Night, perhaps every retro gamer, regardless of opinion, can agree that the pleasure was worth the pain after all.
1988 (sans hints): C-
1988 (with hints): A-
2026 (cruisin’ with a walkthrough): B-
NINTENDO POWER: It’s worth noting that Nintendo Power’s second issue featured a 17-page spread on Castlevania II before the game released in North America. It offers hint and tips that take you all the way to the third mansion.
And if you missed that issue, the “NES Games Atlas” released in 1991 and provides a mostly complete walkthrough that takes you all the way to Castlevania and the Count himself.
Invaluable resources in a time before GameFAQs.
Well said. I played Simon's Quest several years ago for my newsletter. There were too many things that annoyed me to rank it very high in my personal list. But I 100% agree with the comment about the vibe and atmosphere. I even ended up buying the vinyl for the game. That soundtrack is awesome.
Man this game will always remind me of third grade and the summer of 88’. The soundtrack to this game is permanently etched in my head. What a terrible night for a curse….