Truth be told, I have never played a Castlevania game. Just haven’t gotten round to one of ’em yet! Symphony of the Night is probably more my speed over the original games, but I do see their importance too of course. However, what I have played, at least a little bit of, is a game that is very derivative of OG platformer except for the fact you can see the entire, 8-bit level at once: Schattenjäger.
The setup is as simple as many NES games were. You are Gabriel Knight, the titular Schattenjäger, who has received a request from the local townspeople in the dead of night to rescue a woman named Diana from the evil Count (i.e. legally distinct Dracula). You’ve got a big ole spear, and you can throw some kind of magic glass thing for long distance damage. It’s Castlevania! But as I said, rather than scroll bit by bit, you can see the entire level at once.
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At first I wondered what purpose this might serve. Seeing the whole level gives you the advantage that you know what’s coming, so you can plot out your next steps. Though, that potentially trivialises some elements of the game. Agh! No! I just got hit by an invisible enemy, and I died. Womp, womp. It’s a bit mean spirited, but in that Soulsian kind of way, where you’ve learned a lesson, a tidbit about the world, and can come back better next time.
Overall it is most definitely more of a technical exercise than a gameplay revolution. There’s an emphasis on the novelty of it, the fact that “every pixel is exactly one pixel in full-HD resolution.” And yet it doesn’t claim to be anything more than it is, it doesn’t outstay its welcome, and offers a fun spin on a classic series. Give it a punt on itch.io, it can even run in your browser.
