Castlevania: The Adventure Review by The Successor

astlevania: The Adventure is a very humble Gameboy game that takes a lot of heat. It's often categorized as one of the worst Castlevania games in existence. When you get to the core of it, the main reason is because it's really difficult. Many will claim that it's difficult in a cheap way, and there is truth to that.

Some are quick to point out Adventure's flaws, but frequently ignore or trivialize the good points. This is not hard to understand, as the downfalls are perceptible right from the get-go.
This little cartridge ranks high on the frustration meter, right alongside Haunted Castle and Vampire Killer, but is certainly conquerable. It's largely a matter of how much patience the player has. Castlevania is known for being difficult to the point of exasperation, but Adventure is on a completely different level.

This game begins mercilessly and ends mercilessly. A feature that contributes to Castlevania's trademark difficulty is the inflexible controls. Simon Belmont has the deftness of Alucard compared to this game's hero, Christopher Belmont. Christopher is the slowest, most rigid, and ungraceful Castlevania hero yet.
The difficulty is cemented right here. Enemies such as bats or bouncing projectiles move swiftly and cunningly while the player character has the speed of a retarded snail.
The game forces you to work with this handicap. When confronted with situations, there's often one right way and everything else is wrong. Knowing the ins and outs of the enemies and surroundings is essential to survival. There isn't much room for luck. Solid skill and know-how is what will see players through. Unsurprisingly, much trial and error is needed to discover how to overcome enemies and traps riddling the stages.

Unlike the NES Castlevania titles, there are no sub-weapons. Aside from health restoring hearts and crosses that grant fleeting invincibility, the only power ups are for the Vampire Killer whip, our hero's sole weapon. The whip has three stages - the boring leather whip, a stronger chain whip, and the morning star, which now has the ability to launch nifty fire balls. To make things more difficult, taking any damage will cause the whip to downgrade one form. This means that if players don't take care to avoid enemy attacks, they will be working with a dinky whip for most of the game, considerably boosting the challenge.

Yes, even taking one hit comes with great consequence. On top of that, making jumps over bottomless pits often takes the utmost precision and positioning. Otherwise, Christopher plummets like a cannonball to his doom.

As can be guessed, this game isn't for the faint of heart. This game isn't for today's "casual gamer." Castlevania: The Adventure is hardcore in every sense of the word. Christopher controls slow, and the game is tough, but that doesn't mean it is stupid. The only thing that is down right shameful is sometimes unresponsive controls, causing players to take cheap hits. With the whole whip regression thing, hits are not something you can afford every now and then.

That is a fault. That is a problem.
Iffy hit detection also makes for annoying problems every now and then.

Castlevania: The Adventure's main fault is a very steep learning curve. This game takes substantial effort to get good at, and most players probably aren't going to have that kind of patience. Aside from an awesome soundtrack, there isn't much convincing them to have that kind of patience. Curse of Darkness and Lament of Innocence have the most mundane level design in the series, but they're festooned with beautiful settings, great boss fights, and curious stories with enchanting characters. Those motivators compel players to continue despite the level design.

With Adventure, there's the core gameplay, witty stages, and boss battles. If that isn't enough of a draw, then...

The up side is that when you're comfortable with the game's physics, controls, and so forth, it really begins to shine and opens up as not just a competent game, but a fun game. The problem is getting there. Dying over and over in seemingly unfair situations and having to slog through the same stages time and again with this slow character is not most people's idea of fun. Therein lies the root of the hatred for this game. But, when familiarized with, its clever level design, enemy placement, and traps really impress.

"Clever" is the right word. Each enemy is situated in a way that is going to cause the player to take calculated, defined action to deal with. If the action isn't calculated, you pay the price. This game doesn't let players slide. Each situation requires your best, and if you give anything less, you're slapped in the face with a loss of your whip upgrade, or, even worse, death.

The third stage shines as one the most creative and exhilarating in Castlevania. It's a race against spikes rushing toward Christopher to skewer him, and one false move or mistimed jump can easily result in the loss of one life. It isn't just about dealing with enemies and pits. It's about speed, timing, and strict white knuckle platforming. It's odd that there has never been anything like it in the series since.

The enemy selection is meager, but it doesn't disappoint. Each creature has a unique function that keeps things from getting boring.
That description sums up the whole game.

It is meager, but it doesn't disappoint.

There are only four stages, but, because of the level of challenge, they will keep you occupied for a while. The graphics are modest, however crisp and capable. Mountains and headstones in the first stage come across well, as do the stalactites in the second. The fourth stage is where most of the detail went, showing off chandeliers and impressive arched pathways and widows.

Castlevania: The Adventure is definitely not for everyone, and it can't be called an entirely solid game, because it has serious issues. It will probably turn off most players with its intense, unforgivable difficulty. Because it's so stripped down, there isn't much to the game other than that difficulty and a great soundtrack. The visuals, while far from ugly, aren't going to be dropping any jaws, and there is no story development.

Castlevania: The Adventure is for those specifically seeking a tough challenge. The negative things some may say about it are not necessarily false. But, to instantly proclaim it a bad game is not giving the Adventure its due, or allowing it an opportunity to prove itself. It's easy to write off as unplayable, but the game deserves to be given a chance, because there's a gem underneath the grit, but only for those willing to search for it.