Bram Stoker's Dracula
Reviewed by Bumbry88
In the black of the night he stalks his unwitting victims with the
passion of a prince and the grace of a wild animal. So starts the last
chapter of Count Dracula on the NES. I like to think of this cart as
Castlevania 4, as the feel and the look are very similar to that classic series.
Set-Up
The game has 3 difficultly levels easy, medium and hard. Easy and
medium give you more time for the levels and more powerups. You
have to play on the hard setting to see all the levels and to reach
your final confrontation with the Count in his evil robe form. There
are 7 levels in all with a day and night scenario for a total of 14.
In the main game menu you get a music and sound test. You also
can program the control pad settings for the jump and attack
which is rare in an NES game.
Game Play & Control
As in countless other games your quest is the rescue of your lovely
mistress, Mina Murray. You are the strapping Jonathan Harker and
you must slash and hack your way through the levels using rocks,
axes and torches. To get a better view of the action you can look up
and down and use a jumping smash to fall through ledges and unusual
rock floors. You start the game with 4 lives and you can collect others
on the way as well as continues. Each section has a set time allotted
in which you must complete the level. Clock tokens can be found which
add 20 extra seconds to the timer and which are crucial in the last
level. Game control very good and on par with the Castlevania classics.
Music
The tunes in the game are good but not great. They add to the atmosphere
of the cold and dark castles. Most of the levels have a creepy harpsichord
or organ theme. Sound effects could have been better and more plentiful.
Overall
For those who liked the Castlevania games this is a must have. The
graphics and game play are very good as well as the bosses and sub
bosses. There are a lot of secret areas in this game like in Metroid
where you can walk and leap through certain walls. It is not noted
in the instructions but there are lamps that you can touch which
will set you back at that point if you lose your life. This saves you
the chore of starting over at the beginning of the level. There are
also wall switches that you must activate that lower platforms.
Bram Stoker's Dracula is a very enjoyable game and a fitting last
saga for Dracula on the NES. The one mystery of the game is what is
the significance of finding Dr. Van Helsing? Find this very rare
game and if you figure it out, let me know.