The Mame Club! - This Week's Game is Haunted Castle (Konami)

[zektor]

This week's game was chosen by yours truly since the previous person passed on choosing for this week. The next person on the MAME Club list will get to choose their game the coming week and must PM me with the chosen title by Monday night at the very latest.

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/arcade/hcastle.png

When writing your review, post it right here in the sticky topic and include any thoughts you have about the game. It would also be nice to let us know other aspects of the emulation. Here are some things that would be good to know:

Did you like/dislike the game? Why?
What type of machine are you running it on? Specs?
What version of Mame?
How long did it take you to beat it? Score?

Again, YOU are the reviewer. Let us know anything and everything you think about the game!


A download for this game will be posted shortly!



Club Members

Gamereviewgod
Wisesalesman
scooterb23
ddockery
AlanD
digitalpress
IntvGene
NE146
jonjandran
Flack
IGotTheDot
*zektor (me!)
buttasuperb
chadtower
Sotenga
Stark
ECWSandmanECW
christianscott27
TripppsK
vespertillio
ghsqb
TheSmirk
anotherfluke
BHvrd
ManekiNeko
MarioAllStar2600
Ze_ro
slip81
Qbert
k8track

* this week's entry was chosen by this member, the next to choose is the one below!

[Ed Oscuro]

Ah, Haunted Castle...a prime example of a beautiful game bogged down by buggy and strange gameplay. It actually accounts for some firsts in the Castlevania series: crumbling tombstones, tree spirits, elevators from hell (see SotN), and the ability to use weapons besides the trusty ol' whip.

The part that really makes this game stand out, for me, would be a little ways into Dracula's castle (note that this was released the same year as CV2, so it's either the first or second game to feature the classic music Bloody Tears), where you're inexplicably transported to a different realm for a moment. Wow.

Unfortunately, all the beautiful (and intentionally cheesy) graphics can't combine to vanquish the horribly uninspired level design, and the placement of various set pieces throughout levels (certainly the Basement is an exmple of this) seems to be assigned haphazardly.

There are four versions of the game that I know of...the difference in difficulty levels is striking, but the game's difficult any way you cut it.

A true classic, and an arcade machine I'd love to get someday. Four out of five stars from myself.

[AB Positive]

Don't mind the non-MAME club member posting but that screenshot rather smacks of Castlevania

-AG

[Ed Oscuro]

Especially with Simon in there.

Though I suppose if the screenshot was one of Simon with the sword, somebody would say it looked like Rastan :D

[Sotenga]

ZEKTOR!!! You bastich, this was going to be MY first choice for a MAME Club game...

Then I decided on another one. You lucked out this time, pally-boy. ;)

Was it any surprise, considering my establishment as a bonafide Castlevania freak? Anyway, right down to HC.

As far as Castlevania titles go, it's actually subpar, but it's Castlevania, so I still love it to death. The American version, however, is just unfair with the damage, so I'll take Akumajo Dracula over this any day.

The graphics are good for Konami arcade games, but it doesn't even touch base with Super Castlevania IV, or even Bloodlines. Regardless, there are some great effects and well-designed characters. Frankenstein's Monster... holy crap, I thought he couldn't increase in size from Bloodlines... :eek 2:

The sound rocks... well, the music anyway. The sound effects sound a bit odd... the whip sound doesn't exactly sound right to me for some reason. But the music is excellent, and good ol' Bloody Tears is the music for stage 3. I'm also fond of Cross Your Heart, the stage 1 BGM.

The control is like your basic Castlevania game, not much more improved over Castlevania 1. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's manageable... for the most part.

Then, there's the little factor of challenge. I only beat this game ONCE, and only once, and that was the slightly toned-down Japanese counterpart. Even when you go into the dipswitches and set the damage to small, Simon still takes four notches of damage, and he's only got sixteen of those. With the exception of Vampire Killer for the MSX, this is quite possibly the hardest Castlevania game ever.

Off-modeled hit detection is another problem. You especially realize the faulty detection when fighting the FRIGGIN' UNFAIR fourth boss, the Giant Rock Creature. That sumnabitch is harder than the last two bosses in the game! :angry:

And you just become flooded with enemies by stage 3. If you can believe it, those GD'ed hunchbacks are MUCH more painful to take on than they normally on. Namely, they take more than one hit. Stage 3 is just crawling with these super-hunchbacks, and that's just not good, considering how bastard-like they are in every other CV game. But at least the medusa heads are conspicuously absent.

Overall, not the best Castlevania ever. Hell, not even the best Konami title or arcade game ever. But it's Castlevania. That's all that counts to me, and no other factor is relevant. It gets three splats... erm, stars out of five. But that's just rating it fairly. I, myself, am giving it a SIX out of five! Yep, Castlevania freak here... AND PROUD OF IT! :D

That's my $0.02, and I was glad to type it! This was one of the games I originally downloaded MAME for... ;)

EDIT: Revised my rating, 'cause I played it... twenty seconds ago, and it rekindled my liking for the game. :)

[Ze_ro]

Wow, what timing... I just downloaded this game and played it for the first time this morning (In fact, I think it was because I saw it recommeded by Sotenga in another thread).

I think I played it for about 20 seconds before I died a horrible death due to bats. I haven't given it a second try yet.

What relation does this game have to the Castlevania franchise? It's obviously Castlevania, but what's the timeline here? I'm guessing it was released after the first NES version (And there was also a VS arcade version in there somewhere I believe)... but why the name change?

--Zero

[Sotenga]

Wow, what timing... I just downloaded this game and played it for the first time this morning (In fact, I think it was because I saw it recommeded by Sotenga in another thread).

I think I played it for about 20 seconds before I died a horrible death due to bats. I haven't given it a second try yet.

What relation does this game have to the Castlevania franchise? It's obviously Castlevania, but what's the timeline here? I'm guessing it was released after the first NES version (And there was also a VS arcade version in there somewhere I believe)... but why the name change?

--Zero

Heh... yep, sounds like I would recommend a Castlevania game. Thanks! :embarrassed: :)

1988 was HC's release date. It came out shortly after Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Here, check out this timeline:

http://www.classicgaming.com/castlevania/games.htm

It doesn't fit anywhere into the main Castlevania plot. It's just Dracula stole Simon's bride-to-be, so our boy takes the whip and sets out to kick Vlad's ass. That's all; no sacrifices or evil priests. There are some debates over whether this is a true CV title or not, but all arguments are put to rest when they find out that it is known in Japan as "Akumajo Dracula," which is the CV series' moniker over in Nippon.

Why is it known as Haunted Castle here? I dunno. Blame those @#$% at Konami of America... oh, how I hate them. :angry:

[IntvGene]

I must say that I too am a fan of Castlevania games. By games, I mean fully-playtested, well-programmed ones. Alas, this game doesn't fall into that category.

I've heard of the differences in games, and I am playing Haunted Castle version M. And, it is bloody awful. Sotenga and some others have commented on the graphics and the sound, and both are well-done. But, the gameplay is so bad that I can't imagine how they snuck this game out to the public.

I can just imagine a young player going to an arcade in the late eighties...

"Hey. look at this cool game.. Haunted Castle... hmm... looks interesting, let's give it a try."

Inserts coin.

Ten frustrating seconds later, the player's jaw hits the floor as the Game Over screen is already flashing.

I mean, who on earth would be sick enough to enjoy this game in the arcades, nevermind sink fifty dollars to get anywhere significant in the game? And, what was Konami thinking that this level of difficulty was somehow fair? I also loved getting to the first boss, and then after dying and restarting, I lost half of my progress and had to begin anew in front of the "Wall of Doom". Needless to say, that ended my minor enjoyment with this game.

Don't get me wrong, it's cool... it's Castlevania, and it's interesting. But, it is nowhere near fun, even for free.

[ManekiNeko]

(hilarious comments snipped for space)
Don't get me wrong, it's cool... it's Castlevania, and it's interesting. But, it is nowhere near fun, even for free.

I remember when I first found this game in an arcade ten years ago. Sadly, I couldn't afford to play it, so I had to watch anxiously as my friend popped in a quarter and played what looked like a fantastic addition to the Castlevania series.
Ten years after that, I played it on MAME and suddenly realized that I didn't miss much. It's possibly the worst Castlevania game ever made, right down there with megabombs like The Castlevania Adventure for the Game Boy and Simon's Quest on the NES.

JR

[Ze_ro]

Oh... my... God... This game completely redefines frustration. Ghouls 'n Ghosts is less frustrating than this game. I was going to try to give it a real run, but as far as I can tell, there's absolutely no way I will ever beat the first level, since YOU ONLY GET ONE LIFE!!! For crying out loud, considering the amount of damage you take from every single enemy, would it be asking too much to at least get three lives? Not like it matters, even with three lives, I still wouldn't be able to beat the first level.... but at least it keep me playing for more than 20 seconds.

So, I turned to the cheats. MAME has a number of cheats for this game, so I turned on "Unlimited energy", and proceeded to beat the first level (What the !@#% is with that exploding wall??). "Beat" is perhaps a poor choice of words... since I spent more time recoiling from being hit than I actually spent doing anything else, lets just say that I "got past" the first level. It definitely beat me.

Once I got to the second level, I realized that the cheat is useless. You see, they throw a few jumping puzzles into the mix. If you miss a platform, you fall into the glowing purple water, and your game is over. If you haven't played before, you'll make the rookie mistake of jumping when it looks safe, only to see (And "see" is a rather subjective term here, since there is opaque fog that obscures just about everything in this part of the level) a bat fly out and knock you into the water, and you game is over. In fact, I can't possibly see how you can beat the second level without having played it at least three times.... and even then, you have to be good.

It was shortly after that that I realized something horrible about this game that was even worse than only getting one life: YOU HAVE LIMITED CONTINUES!!! That's right, after maybe 5 continues, you're forced to start back at the beginning of the entire game! When this happened, and I once again saw my bride abducted, I thought I had screwed something up, so I tried going through again, and got up to somewhere in the 4th level (still cheating, of course) before I once again ran out of continues.

I don't see any way you could possibly beat this game without cheating. Every enemy hits you with cheap attacks that are unpredictable (like when the skeletons in the 2nd level change into a evil spirit and rush you... how was I supposed to avoid that without knowing it could happen?), some of which you can't duck or jump properly... the bats are almost impossible to avoid without getting lucky... and the way a single misplaced jump can completely end your game is thoroughly inexcusable.

When my first try at this game ended in only 20 seconds, I thought that was just because I didn't know how to play. I now realize that surviving for 20 seconds places me within the "Haunted Castle Elite".

I think this is the only MAME Club game so far that I've actually disliked, but there it is. The only actual value this game has is because of the fact that it is, after all, a Castlevania game. It is quite surely the worst of the series though.

Oh, and the graphics are actually quite nice. Good animation.

--Zero

[Ed Oscuro]

What the heck version are you playing to get messed over that quick, Zero? Hmm, I'll have to try the different versions in MAME sometime, I guess o_O

Some are not NEARLY that hard, though, so keep trying versions until you find one to your liking.

Anyhow, this is essentially yet another remake of Castlevania (Haunted Castle, is the first remake as it's from '88; Super CV 4 the second, from '91; Akumajo Dracula for the Sharp x68K, '93, disregarding some odd ports and stuff).

Yes, Haunted Castle is a bit archaic with the "no continues for more coins" style that Konami seemed fond of, as Gradius used it in 1985, and Contra in 1987 (!), but it's thankfully one of the last arcade games to use this system.

[Daniel Thomas]

Hey! I liked Simon's Quest and The Castlevania Adventire! No fair.

This arcade Castlevania is just terrible. I mean, look at the guy. This is your hero? What a wuss. He can't even throw a whip properly without looking goofy. The game itself is also way too hard and way too uninspiring. It certainly gets my vote for the worst CV game ever.

His girlfriend gets kidnapped? Puleeze....

[Gamereviewgod]

I'm with Zero...this game is nuts. I can just get passed the wall that shoots bricks and then I'm screwed. I LOVE the soundtrack though....at least for the first level.

[Ed Oscuro]

It certainly gets my vote for the worst CV game ever.

Even worse than Legends? What's with that?!

Yes, this game is really clunky for the time period, but Super Contra isn't exactly the pinnacle of artistic design, either. This game has outstanding sound, at least.

[zektor]

Yes, this game is indeed very hard. Wonder how well it did in the arcades? Anyway, my review coming soon. For now, here's some trivia on the game:

Haunted Castle (c) 02/1988 Konami.
Game ID: GX768

Dracula stole our hero's wife the day of the ceremony and so you must rescue her. Armed with your whip, fight classic horror monsters in in this horizontal action game. Controlled with an 8-way joystick and two buttons.

- TRIVIA:

This game is known in Japan as "Akumajou Dracula".

This game runs on the Contra hardware.

"Haunted Castle" IS part of the "Castlevania" series. However, as many games of this series, it is not part of the main storyline. The main character doesn't have any name, but it is believed to be Simon Belmont of the original "CastleVania".

King Records released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Konami Game Music Collection Vol.1) on 08/1988.

[Ed Oscuro]

Sigh...the MAME trivia is really wrong. It's just a remake of Akumajo Dracula, just like the Sharp x68000 game is. Yes, that's Simon.

I didn't know it runs on the Contra hardware since the screen ratio is different, but it doesn't surprise me one bit.

How did it do in the arcades?

...well, it's a very rare machine, supposedly even more rare in Japan than here. That should answer that question: nobody's ever heard of it!

[Daniel Thomas]

It certainly gets my vote for the worst CV game ever.

Even worse than Legends? What's with that?!

Yes, this game is really clunky for the time period, but Super Contra isn't exactly the pinnacle of artistic design, either. This game has outstanding sound, at least.

True, Super Contra wasn't all that. I'm rather rool to the cold metal look of the Contra arcade games, myself. The NES version of Contra has always been (for me, at least) the definitive version.

And I didn't think Legends was all that bad. Nothing great, but nothing to really upset me, either. Any game with a female lead who isn't a Playboy bunny gets a little gold star in my book.

[digitalpress]

I've played this before but figured maybe I didn't give it a chance in my haphazard run through MAME ROMS.

As it turns out, I gave it plenty of time. THIS BLOWS.

What is fun about this game? If you're a Castlevania fan, you should be insulted. If you're not a Castlevania fan this is just a terrible, low-production game. The animation is awful, the difficulty is simply at "unfair" proportions, and the graphics are really terrible even for 1987. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was *rushed* because it's got all of the trappings of such a situation.

For those of you who enjoy this, god bless ya. I won't be coming back to this game again.

[ArnoldRimmer83]

This game is one of my least favorite Castlevania games. It has nice graphics and music, but the game plays sluggishly and is way too frustrating. Too many cheap hits, and the limited continues is bullshit, you'd think arcade games would encourage you to plunk a bunch of quarters in. This game could use an update just like the X68000 version of Akumajou Dracula with reduced difficulty. Too bad Konami seems to have abandoned making any more Castlevania Chronicles games.

[zektor]

I've played this before but figured maybe I didn't give it a chance in my haphazard run through MAME ROMS.

As it turns out, I gave it plenty of time. THIS BLOWS.

What is fun about this game? If you're a Castlevania fan, you should be insulted. If you're not a Castlevania fan this is just a terrible, low-production game. The animation is awful, the difficulty is simply at "unfair" proportions, and the graphics are really terrible even for 1987. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was *rushed* because it's got all of the trappings of such a situation.

For those of you who enjoy this, god bless ya. I won't be coming back to this game again.


My thoughts EXACTLY. This is indeed horrible. I figured perhaps I was the only one (or one of a small minority) who thought this and maybe I would see some sort of light with a good review of the game. Guess not. But, this is what the Mame Club is all about in essence. Reviewing the good as well as the bad.

Amazing tho that such a great game as Castlevania for the NES spawned from this? I guess that is one...if not the only thing going for it.

[Ed Oscuro]

Bah. Here's some tips for playing the game if you think it's too hard, from the CV Dungeon Forum's very own "can one-life every Castlevania game" member, Morgoth Galaxius:


There are four versions of Haunted Castle..the US versions M and K (M is the parent rom), and the Japanese versions N and P.

Do not play version M or you will forever hate Haunted Castle. The difficulty is ridiculous. Play any other version.

The Japanese versions, he adds, are the easiest.

Essentially, it was a big mistake to offer the parent ROM version without any other versions. There really is some great stuff to see in this game (I can't stress that enough), and that's a lot coming from me.