SNES Classic: The Ultimate Guide To Castlevania IV

By BlackNES Guy and TBD

The Prince Of Darkness Has Risen!

It's Up To You To Slay Him

 

It is time once again for Simon Belmont to call forth the powers of good to aid him in his battle. Armed with his mystical whip, his courage and the centuries-old knowledge of Belmont family training, he sets forth on his

• Language: English
• Publisher: BlackNES Guy Books
• Release date: Nov 9, 2017
• ISBN: 9781989120439

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History

Super Castlevania IV released in Japan in October of 1991, released to American audiences in December. It was not until November of 1992 that Europe received its own release. Many things were changed for American audiences. Specifically, much of the gore, nudity, and Christian imagery were removed.

The game was directed and produced by Masahiro Ueno. At the time, Konami did not allow real names on the credits. Ueno was instead credited under the name Jun Furano. Super Castlevania IV was not only Ueno's first Castlevania game, but his first 16-bit game. Inspired by the original Castlevania, Uneo created Super Castlevania IV as a remake, but he focused on giving the player more control over Simon's movements.

Masanori Adachi and Taro Kudo, credited as Masanori Oodachi and Souji Taro, created the soundtrack for Super Castlevania IV. The music was later released on a two disc Castlevania compilation CD titled Akumajō Dracula Best 2 in December of 1991. All 63 tracks on the CDs originated from Castlevania: The Adventure, Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, and Super Castlevania IV. These volumes would be re-released in  September of 1998. Mondo released a vinyl version of the entire Super Castlevania IV soundtrack in June of 2017.

Upon release, Super Castlevania IV received high praise. It has since sold over 500,000 copies and continues to be highly ranked in gaming publications such as Nintendo Power, Official Nintendo Magazine, and Game Zone. In total, the game has had 4 re-releases. It has been remade for the Wii, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and the SNES Classic.

Castlevania Trivia

It’s been 100 years since the Belmonts last vanquished Dracula, but strange creatures have now started appearing all over Transylvania. Join Simon Belmont as he infiltrates Dracula’s castle to battle the most feared monster on earth. Along the way, he will face several nightmarish bosses straight out of popular horror tropes.  With his handy whip, Simon must defeat Dracula if Transylvanians are ever to sleep soundly again.

Super Castlevania IV censored several graphics for the United States release. Crosses on gravestones and coffins were removed, the nude statues were given robes, Medusa no longer has nipples, and blood was changed to slime. The most obvious removal of Christian imagery is the stained-glass displayed on the password screen where Jesus Christ is pictured on a cross in the japanese version.

Even sound was censored for the US release. Simon's Chain Whip sounds like an actual chain in Japanese, but the sound becomes squishy in the US