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A good port of some good NES games

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: September 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The port/emulation of these five games is excellent. Both sound and graphics seem to be basically identical to the originals running on the NES. These games really need a decent control pad to be fully enjoyed. With one, the control is equivalent to the originals. Konami did a great job with the game's front end, in that once the application is launched, all functions can be accessed solely by a game pad (including switching games, changing settings, etc.). It's also possible to save a game's state at any time, which is the only upgrade over the original games.

All 5 games are actually surprisingly playable, considering their age, but some more so than others. The two Contra games I could do without, although I've spent an hour or two on them (I still find them way to difficult). The first Castlevania isn't much of anything special either. Castlevania 2 was the first game in the series to add some Adventure/RPG elements, and is the main reason I bought this compilation. It's nowhere near as good as Symphony of the Night or the GameBoy Advance Castlevania games, but I'm enjoying it.

Castlevania 3's gameplay moves closer to the original's, except with considerably enhanced graphics and music (for a NES game that is). Most notably it added multiple paths through the game-at the end of many levels the player is given two paths to pick from. It also added three potential alternate characters with different abilities. The combination of those two elements gave Castlevania 3 quite a bit of replay value back in the day (although I only actually beat the game once-it gets extraordinarily hard towards the end).

My only "complaint" is just that I'd love to see more compilations like this. The NES and other systems from that era have a huge backlog of games with gameplay that still holds up today, and I'd love the opportunity to buy more of them! At any rate, if you don't mind the dated graphics, this compilation is a good deal, especially for the price.

A Must-Have Collection with One Significant Flaw!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: March 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

These are among the best games ever created. Konomi struck silicon gold with the Castlevania and Contra games. Back in the day, when gamers weren't playing these games they were often thinking about them.

The Castlevania trilogy remains to this day some of the finest gaming I have ever had played.

"Castlevania" 1986 is an action/adventure where our whip-in-hand hero Simon Belomont must destroy monstrous legions of villians that borrowed from myth and fiction until he reaches his final destination with the one and only Dracula.

"Castlevania II: Simon's Quest" 1988 is a departue from the first game. This sequel added problem solving and a password feature to save your progress on this somewhat lenghty game. Unfortunatly, the challenge factor was greatly reduced with infinite continues that made you reappear on the exact same screen in which you were defeated on.

"Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse" 1990 brings the series back to the roots of the first game. The emphasis is back on action. New charcters have been added to what is perhaps the BEST Castlevania game ever invented! In a time when the 16-bit systems were claiming themseleves the new kings of gaming its nice to know that with games like this and Super Mario Bros. 3 that the 8-bit NES still had it.

The two Contra games were among the finest two player cooperative games of the time and have still held up well even today.

"Contra" 1987 is a basically you and (if you want) your friend against and almost endless array of ruthless aliens. The action is fast and intense and the stakes are high. Either rid Terra from these galactic ghouls or pass the controler to someone else who can do it.

"Super C" 1991 is more of zapping those pesky little aliens from the first game again. Like Castlevania III it shows off some pretty impressive graphic improvements from the first game.

The only flaw in this collection is that the 30 lives code that should work for both Contra and Super C only works for the former. It's a shame because Super C is actually a better game in my opinion.

Overall, these are great games with a save feature that allows saving at any point in the game. If you miss these games or badly need an old school education this is a very affordable and playable collection to own on your pc.

It's good but not great

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 18
Date: July 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The only reason i got this was for Contra & Super C.
The castlevania games are not my thing.
The only real problem with this is the games play like the (original) nintendo.
(Anyone who owned a nintendo back in the days know what i mean.
The visuals at times may mess up ( just like on nintendo ).
The sound also plays like nintendo.
This collection was a straight port transfer to pc.
I wish they would make a collection with all contra games ever made and improve the sound and graphics.

They should also release collections for XBOX, Gamecube & PS2.( not just PC only )
Overall at least I can play 2 of my favorite contra games from nintendo without a nintendo.
Another good point about this collection, you can save a game at the exact point you are on.
Later you can continue at that very same moment.
This helps a whole lot when trying to beat these games.
If you are a fan of one or both of these two game series, it may be in your best interest to get this like me.

worse graphics than the originals... somehow.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 17
Date: February 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

nastalgia alone merits this "collector's series" 4 stars. ...but... the graphics and colors of these classics has been mutilated by this port to the PC. also, there appears to be some serious graphics corruption during gameplay { have yet to see it during the opening or game title screens }. by this i mean "dithering" like you see in most 3D games, yes. i know this is 2D, and screen "flickering".

...of course i may just be a moron, in which case read someone elses review. : )

Awesome. Finally Got my Castlenvania.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 16, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Mainly ordered this for Castlevania II. I ordered from CDI-Wholesale on the 15th of Nov., and it was delivered on the 16th of Nov. Total cost was nine dollars and change. Original games. New condition. Awesome flashback for me. I am 28 and absolutely HATE all this new Play Staion, X-Box garbage with graphics that make me dizzy. I am old-school, baby. And LOVE the original NES. This is a Tride and True classic and it's amazing that it is available for play on your cd-rom / PC. Now they just gotta get the original Zelda out. Then I'll be happy as a clam in high tide!! Thanks Konami! And Thanks CDI!!
-daniel

This game isn't very good.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 56
Date: February 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have this game and only beat Castlevania 2. It is not worth playing because there is nothing to unlock. So don't buy it unless you like bad unmodern graphics.

Memorable games

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The games are great and could not find much difference on pc compared to the console. The gameplay is what you would expect and the challenges also. There is no guesswork when buying games that have been known for decades. The options for weapons are classic along with the layout of the maps. The only other game I would put up against it would be wizards and warriors that is why I am not giving castlevania 5 stars, this is my substitute game for wizards.

Contra is a classic game also in its own right offering great weapon changes and side by side play with another player. One of the only games I remember having 2 simult. play that I can think of except--Double Dragon, Blades of Steel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But anyway it is best played with another player and would have been epic if you could have servers on the internet and play with others who bought the game.

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