This video made me think back to calling the 1-900 Nintendo tip phone line, where someone with the game and a binder would talk you through parts of levels.
@@WoollyLukeI remember my dad on the phone for 20 minutes getting tips on how to beat mecha turtle in TMNT. It’s crazy to think that’s a job that literally does not exist anymore as a profession, even horse and buggy drivers still exist
I usually preferred the cross (especially with the triple modifier) to the holy water myself. Though back in the day I always called the cross the boomerang due to how it flies out and back. haha. Also because there's already a cross item in the game that kills everything on the screen. :P EDIT: Ok, you gave some love to the cross too. I wrote this before you mentioned it. lol
Back in the day, Nintendo usually tried to distance itself from religious iconography in the West, so they usually referred to the cross and holy water as "boomerang" and "fire bombs". You can pretty much use the terms interchangeably. In Bloodlines, the Genesis game, Konami even subbed out the cross for an actual crescent-shaped boomerang for some reason.
Thank you Ryu !!! For inspiring me to finally call this one beat , watched your video and said "screw it!! I'm gettn this one done". I was very close but stuck at death for a few months, but after years, I finally did it , the Cookie Monster is finito !!!!
I highly recommend doing a "Debunking the Difficulty" video on Castlevania for MSX2 sometime, if you can. Despite having no continues or ability to earn extra lives, I actually find it easier than Castlevania on NES due to the simple fact that it's balanced more for smart playing through the use of its expanded inventory, as opposed to twitch reflexes -- even if you suck as a gamer, you can beat Castlevania on MSX2 simply by knowing where to find white bibles (and avoid black bibles), knowing where the merchants are, and making good use of the hourglass, holy water, and wood shield. It requires a very different mindset from its NES counterpart, and almost certainly multiple playthroughs, getting a little bit farther each time as you familiarize yourself with each stage, but clearing it feels really rewarding as a result (even if the ending sucks!). If you ever do try it, though, READ THE MANUAL FIRST. I can't stress this enough. MSX2 Castlevania (officially called Vampire Killer for its release in the UK and other European territories) is NOT an intuitive game, and a lot of the mechanics in it were NEVER reused in any other Castlevania game, so it's not something you can just jump into and figure out along the way. It's very much its own thing, and that's what I love about it -- it's one of my absolute favorite Castlevania games, and I will die on that hill. ;)
I usually find it hard to stick with NES games for more than a few hours. I guess I just don't hold any emotional connection to it. I grew up playing the SNES. Love that system.
I would use the stopwatch the first 2 levels, go to holy water until level 6, then stopwatch again until Dracula, then back to crosses and upgrade to level 3 by farming with the cross.
Welcome to debunking the difficulty, today we'll be swimming nude across a river of molten lava. Now this has a reputation of being pretty difficult but it's really not that bad.
I like this. Nicely executed. Clean run. One thing I would have liked to have seen you mention was that you can run through things while they’re under the holy water. Nicely done tho
I make sure I have the triple shot holy water and the boss always appears at the right hand side of the screen. As soon as the boss fight starts, throw holy water and you'll stun lock Death with it. 😎👍💪🎮🏆
you know the about cv 1 is figuring out its quirks and working around them the bat boss is easy to defeat using either the axe or the stopwatch the stop watch pauses him allowing you whip it medusa is easy too just stand by the exit door kneel and whip youll take damage but you will defeat her everytime the stopwatch also pauses her the mummy boss is is a we bit more difficult as there are two of them and they fling toilet paper at you but if you get to one side kneel and whip youll defeat them easily the frankenstein boss with hobgoblin and those fireballs thats the first really challenging boss that one is just infuriating one last word of caution you dont want to try to go through this game just using one sub weapon youll want to take them as theyre provided some times theres no reason for a new weapin to appear but occasionally they appear because you need them the bosses all have a weakness to a particular sub weapon
*Pro Tip for Castlevania 1, 3 and 4:* You can force the Double or Triple Shot item to spawn by killing a certain number of enemies with a single subweapon and then breaking a lamp. The amount of required kills changes between games but it works the same. This is most easily exploited in the hallway before Death, since there are infinite spawning medusa heads and axe armors, allowing you to _always_ get a Triple Shot cross before the boss fight.
Yup. I feel like it was 10 in the first game? If you're using the cross, you can sometimes conserve hearts by tossing a cross behind you, jumping over it when it comes back, and then following it down a hallway. It'll keep going and hitting things as long as you keep it on the screen. :)
A few things to point out: 1. When an enemy is frozen using the holy water, he actually can't hurt you, so you can just walk past him without taking any damage. It is especially useful during the final phase of Dracula, as you can completely avoid taking damage in 18:32 by simply walking past him while he's frozen (instead of attacking his head like Ryu does here) You can also use this technique during the hallway with the knights. Just walk past them when they're frozen and they'll disappear when they're off-screen. Although the method shown in the video is great too. 2. 16:19 Correction: If you game over you actually respawn at the start of the stairs (just like when you die regularly), so you won't have to come back to the beginning of the stage and deal with the bats again. So yeah. great video as usual Ryu! Keep up the good work!
One thing Ryu missed, that it applies to every level regarding Medusa heads, they fly in the same pattern everytime. So, for instance in Stage 5 (Level 2, screen 2) when you have to platform around them, if you find a safe spot where you are not getting hit by them, that will be a safe spot the entire screen. That was a huge tip that helped me move around them.
What I do is take a few steps back, and they’ll usually fly right over me. I figured their pattern out pretty quick. They’re more of a pain and you’ll want take a few chances on timing jumps when you have to platform through the Medusas like on those small sections on Stage 2.
For Medusa heads, any spot is a safe spot if you're not moving at the moment when the head spawned. If you moved a little, just kneel and you should still be safe.
You can force Double and Triple powerups on your sub-weapons by simply breaking candles with the sub-weapon. The intended way is to kill enemies with the sub-weapon but who's got time for that? Got a cross? Start breaking candles with it. Got holy water? Break candles with it! You'll have II and III in no time.
The two reasons why most people considered Castlevania to be hard were: The knock back and the jumping behavior. Games people were used to prior to Castlevania didn't have knock back like that (or only a very tiny one) and had air control. E.g. think of Super Mario or Metroid, which pretty much everyone knew to play. Actually games without air control are exceptional rare. Three other annoying game choices were: Sections with endless re-spawning (most people hate the concept), how weapon control (up + fire = secondary fire) conflicts with stair movement and stairs in general, which are badly designed to begin with and can really mess you up. On top of that, nobody who played that game initial expected projectiles to be destructible by your whip (again, hardly any game has destructible projectiles), so people tried to dodge them which is impossible in Castlevania, so they got quickly frustrated.
@8:32 What you want to do is NOT get the pot roast and just get back on the platform and spam holy water from there. They can't hit you from that position.
As a huge Metroidvania fan, I feel guilty for not having played any Castlevania games. This one in particular has always intimidated me, hoping this video will give the courage to try it!
Its not too bad with a little layout memorization, aside from frankenstein,dracula and especially the reaper. The grim reaper was my first real roadblock for a while. You have unlimited continues too so that helps. Its not a real long game. Good one to save state on an emulator and return in spurts until you break through. Second one is very easy gameplay wise, but very cryptic without a guide. Third is the hardest of the NES games. A great starting Castlevania is Rondo Of Blood for the Turbo Duo, if you can emulate it. Quite easy for the series but alot of fun.
Cv2 is the first game to have the "Metroidvania" formula, but some consider it to be kind of a stinker. It is very cryptic, and after all of the annoying parts of the game, you can just walk right past the final boss! I like it though, it was a very ambitious game.
@@superluigi8539 Nice. Im assuming through a Castlevania collection or something similiar. Those have been big lately. I have an emulation focused machine and have cleared most of the 2D castlevania games on that machine. Theres a few of the Symphony of the night style games on the GBA that I never really worked on, but seem great. There was also one very sluggish GB Castlevania that I dont think Ive completed yet.
@@superluigi8539 Yea. Its cool what they tried to do. Enjoyed it as a kid, with the music, the changing time of day but could hardly get anywhere back then. It was memorable for being so mysterious. Later I used a guide and the game was a joke, gameplay wise. I think you can walk right past several of the bosses, ha ha.
Great guide! I thought Ryu had already done Castlevania NES in the series previously for some reason. It seems like many NES games have one "broken" weapon. Contra has spread shot, Mega Man 2 has Metal Blades, and this has holy water. I have always struggled with this game, but I might give it another try with these tips! There actually is a game patch for this game that alters the jumping to be similar to Mega Man where you can control your jump while in the air.
To be honest I think the stiff jumping gives NES Castlevania games their charm. It's super frustrating but it's so satisfying when you beat the games. I hope Ryu tries to beat CV3 Dracula's Curse. That game is one of the hardest NES games out there especially if you choose the difficult path Alucard and bone dragon level with the water rising where have to beat the bone dragon before you drown.
@@aeter4352 That's fair. I hear you. The stiff controls are part of what makes Castlevania Castlevania. You do learn to get used to it much like the jumping in a game like Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts. It sounds like Ryu will be doing Castlevania III at some point. I've never played it myself, but I have heard it can get really difficult and may be one of (if not) the hardest of the Castlevania games.
If you need even more pro strats to this game, then check out You Can Beat Video Games channel where he does deep dives into the game and their lore and how to beat them as efficiently as possible.
James Banana is the seudonym for Kinuyo Yamashita, she's the music composer for this game bro. After you finished stage 18, it loops again, but the enemies are twice as fast. There are 99 stages, so you have to keep playing it 6 times in a row.
@@BRGKasumi77Main what happens after the sixth play through, I know during the second there's a ton of Medusas and you continue to take 4 damage , do the credits just end then reset?
@@rubenabrego6762 No. after you reached the sixth loop, the game continues, the enemies as fast from the second playthrough and over, also the damage is increased by 4 from the second loop and over, nothing changes.
When I was 16, I beat this game on one life (without dying once). It took me several months to accomplish but I did it. I had the run recorded on VHS at one point but it was lost over the decades. I preferred the cross (I think it's actually supposed to be a boomerang) in most levels to the holy water. But most bosses and the one hallway, the holy water works better. I also thought the hunchbacks were monkeys.
Yeah, the Cross behaves like a boomerang, but the subweapon still is a cross. Though you will find the weapon usually being referred to as a boomerang in English versions of the games and manuals as a form of censorship to religion.
A boomerang doesn't have 4 prongs, nor is an ordinary boomerang associated with vanquishing the undead or purifying the corrupted. It's a cross, a classic religious symbol associated with warding off evil spirits. And for whatever reason, they decided to make it throw and fly like a boomerang.
@@BladeOfLight16 "The number of "wings" [on a boomerang] is often more than 2 as more lift is provided by 3 or 4 wings than by 2." most modern boomerangs are 4 pronged. But pedantry aside, you're right. It's the cross. The other cross is a crucifix. It's not a boomerang.
When I was in 6th grade I got to where I could finish it on one life every time using the cross for bosses and only the whip everywhere that wasn't a boss.
You can't even concentrate on attacking them because you're too busy dodging Medusas! But you can't dodge the Medusas because you're too busy dodging the axes! But you can't dodge the axes because you're tryin' to hit the knight! BUT YOU CAN'T HIT THE KNIGHT BECAUSE THE GAME'S DRIVIN' YA FUCKIN' CRAZY! It's like a test. It's a test... to the SHIT. - AVGN
Castlevania 2 has it's charm is basically unplayable without a guide the translation was garbage and makes no sense at all. There are good translation patches like bisqwit's Re-translation which even adds an in-game map if you want it. I think Bloody Tears is the best part of the game. It could have been so much better with challenging unskippable bosses at every mansion and a non-cheesable Dracula. I do love the RPG style of it.
You can earn sub-weapon upgrades by killing multiple monsters with them. Hitting things with a single throw of a sub-weapon 2, 3 or 4 times increases your odds of a candle dropping an upgrade (instead of what it would drop by default). So hit 2 or 4 things with one sub-weapon, repeat this once or three times, then hit a candle or two. I love the way the game rewards you for killing well 😈 Sub-weapon upgrades make you super powerful, especially vs bosses. Also, candles count as something to hit, so line up that axe, holy water, or cross with a monster and a candle or two, and boom.
I'd be interested in knowing how long it took you to beat this. I mean you didn't just start playing and immediately know to only use holy water and where to stand during boss fights to trivialize them. It just seems disingenuous to say "this game is pretty easy" AFTER you've already learned how to play and gotten good at it. I think you're giving people the wrong impression. This game IS hard, even for people who are hardcore and like playing games like this.
Against the cookie monster, you can stay crouched in front of him before he jumps and he will do a high jump, allowing you to pass under him without taking damage. You have to crouch early though, if you do it at the last moment he will already have commited to doing a low jump.
You know there's actually a good "Castlevania" for the arcade. Its not called castlevania either. It has a shop throughout the game and is way more vertical.
I like how Ryu always lies and says he plays the games on 'original hardware'...yet he somehow warped to the middle of a stage? Hmmm? You can't really 'run a scenario' on OG hardware....
Hey man been a while how ya doin ,You might remember me from talking to you on one of your live streams ,Good to see you doin more vids that aren't Mario maker been waiting to see it ,hope you do more multiplayer vids I'm sure others would like to see it Otherwise it's important to do what you like and I've noticed people like to complain or talk shit but your so cool about it don't take no crap from anyone man I know what it's like to have to deal with aholes
This is NOT an easy game. It is only easy if you have played it a lot and know all the tricks and moves. For someone who goes in blind it will take them hours and hours to try and beat it.
Don’t ask me how I did it, but I somehow managed to beat this game as a kid. Could you do a Debunking the Difficulty for Kid Icarus? That game is whooping my butt and I need help! Thanks Ryu for all you do…
I beat it at 12 years old when it was released in 1987. Also beat Kid Icarus (that little SOB) Beat all the games. Probably took a few years off my young life through anger and frustration....but I/we (cause you usually played beside a friend and shared continues) did it. Cause that was all we could do at the time.
Yeah, I'm terrible at games and I made it to level 4 (I can't remember if I beat it) the first time I played it. The janky jumps were what got me when it came to the pits, but other than that, I actually did fairly well despite being bad at games.
Like many original NES games, the difficulty comes from dying and losing the god weapon. This is combined with the inherent difficulty of a linear game, which is caused by the fact that your limit point is always your least practiced point.
As a kid these games are rough simply because our lack of understanding and aptitude. We weren't or at least most of us looking for patterns and paying attention to detail. We were just making the same mistakes and trying to hit and not be hit.
You did a pretty good guide to Castlevania. You and You Can Beat Video Games should find a game to make a guide together, as he too also makes great guides go retro games.
The Japanese version of Castlevania 3 is a bit easier than Castlevania 1, in my opinion. It's still very hard, but overall way more fair than the American version, which is way harder but not in a good way. Also, the Japanese version has a much better soundtrack, which sounds AMAZING, and is my favorite Castlevania soundtrack. If you make a video on Castlevania 3, be sure to check out the Japanese version too, since it is the definitive way of playing the game, in my opinion.
Castlevania 1's difficulty is really an "unstable equilibrim" where if you play well and therefore keep the powerups, it's quite easy, but if you lose them then it's much more challenging. For example the Frankenstein boss... if you die there, the last checkpoint has no useful subweapons, only the dagger, AND also no way to farm for a III upgrade. Amazing game nonetheless.
So I play the arcade version and think it's easy and the only thing is that I sometimes die at the end of bosses and now I'm figuring out the nes version deals HALF DAMAGE AND HOLY WATER STUNS BOSSES Wow this game is easy (also I don't get hit as much as you)
The next episode we _need_ to have on this series: Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels (or Super Mario Bros. 2 (J) or whatever you prefer to call it). With how _legendarily_ difficult that game is (to put it in perspective: it's one of the _exceedingly_ few games that Nintendo of America looked at - and keep in mind, it's approved undisputed garbage like TMNT, Ghostbusters, Silver Surfer, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - and said "No, we're not doing that."), it's the _perfect_ candidate for a DtD deep dive.
Hell no, this game isn't extremely difficult. Even I can beat it, and I was introduced to Castlevania via Super Mario Bros. Crossover. That should tell you that ANYONE can beat Castlevania.
It’s Draculas own fault for keeping holy water in his throne room.
He's just a fan of fair play.
It's the hubris every time
Keep your enemy closer you know what I'm sayin'
This video made me think back to calling the 1-900 Nintendo tip phone line, where someone with the game and a binder would talk you through parts of levels.
I wasted so much money getting that advice back in the 90’s 😅
@@WoollyLukeI remember my dad on the phone for 20 minutes getting tips on how to beat mecha turtle in TMNT. It’s crazy to think that’s a job that literally does not exist anymore as a profession, even horse and buggy drivers still exist
I usually preferred the cross (especially with the triple modifier) to the holy water myself. Though back in the day I always called the cross the boomerang due to how it flies out and back. haha. Also because there's already a cross item in the game that kills everything on the screen. :P
EDIT: Ok, you gave some love to the cross too. I wrote this before you mentioned it. lol
I had always called it the boomerang cross myself because that's basically what it is.
That it's a Rosary.
Back in the day, Nintendo usually tried to distance itself from religious iconography in the West, so they usually referred to the cross and holy water as "boomerang" and "fire bombs". You can pretty much use the terms interchangeably. In Bloodlines, the Genesis game, Konami even subbed out the cross for an actual crescent-shaped boomerang for some reason.
Surprised you made a debunking the difficulty video for this game thanks ryu.
Thank you Ryu !!! For inspiring me to finally call this one beat , watched your video and said "screw it!! I'm gettn this one done". I was very close but stuck at death for a few months, but after years, I finally did it , the Cookie Monster is finito !!!!
I highly recommend doing a "Debunking the Difficulty" video on Castlevania for MSX2 sometime, if you can. Despite having no continues or ability to earn extra lives, I actually find it easier than Castlevania on NES due to the simple fact that it's balanced more for smart playing through the use of its expanded inventory, as opposed to twitch reflexes -- even if you suck as a gamer, you can beat Castlevania on MSX2 simply by knowing where to find white bibles (and avoid black bibles), knowing where the merchants are, and making good use of the hourglass, holy water, and wood shield. It requires a very different mindset from its NES counterpart, and almost certainly multiple playthroughs, getting a little bit farther each time as you familiarize yourself with each stage, but clearing it feels really rewarding as a result (even if the ending sucks!).
If you ever do try it, though, READ THE MANUAL FIRST. I can't stress this enough. MSX2 Castlevania (officially called Vampire Killer for its release in the UK and other European territories) is NOT an intuitive game, and a lot of the mechanics in it were NEVER reused in any other Castlevania game, so it's not something you can just jump into and figure out along the way. It's very much its own thing, and that's what I love about it -- it's one of my absolute favorite Castlevania games, and I will die on that hill. ;)
I usually find it hard to stick with NES games for more than a few hours. I guess I just don't hold any emotional connection to it. I grew up playing the SNES. Love that system.
I would use the stopwatch the first 2 levels, go to holy water until level 6, then stopwatch again until Dracula, then back to crosses and upgrade to level 3 by farming with the cross.
Welcome to debunking the difficulty, today we'll be swimming nude across a river of molten lava. Now this has a reputation of being pretty difficult but it's really not that bad.
I like this. Nicely executed. Clean run. One thing I would have liked to have seen you mention was that you can run through things while they’re under the holy water. Nicely done tho
The Grim Reaper haunted my childhood. I think I beat him once.
I make sure I have the triple shot holy water and the boss always appears at the right hand side of the screen. As soon as the boss fight starts, throw holy water and you'll stun lock Death with it. 😎👍💪🎮🏆
I love stuff like this for classic games - but you should totally do one of these episodes on Sekiro.
I really really want that t shirt.Where did u get that if I may ask?
Do you think you could debunk the difficulty of Zelda II?
This game isn't too hard cuz of the holy water cheese
the fact people find this game hard, compared to Dracula's Curse, surprises me-
Pot roast? POT ROAST?!
I believe the technical term is mysterious dungeon wall chicken, sir 😏🍗🧛🏻♂️
3:40 Yeah, but you get 'points' so it's worth it
What do the hearts actually do?
Each time you use one of your sub-weapons, it consumes one heart. Regular hearts give you one heart point and large hearts give you five.
I’m glad I got this for the gba
you know the about cv 1 is figuring out its quirks and working around them the bat boss is easy to defeat using either the axe or the stopwatch the stop watch pauses him allowing you whip it medusa is easy too just stand by the exit door kneel and whip youll take damage but you will defeat her everytime the stopwatch also pauses her the mummy boss is is a we bit more difficult as there are two of them and they fling toilet paper at you
but if you get to one side kneel and whip youll defeat them easily
the frankenstein boss with hobgoblin and those fireballs thats the first really challenging boss that one is just infuriating one last word of caution you dont want to try to go through this game just using one sub weapon youll want to take them as theyre provided some times theres no reason for a new weapin to appear but occasionally they appear because you need them the bosses all have a weakness to a particular sub weapon
"Just don't die" strat of the century
“You’re gonna wanna farm as many hearts as possible, that’s gonna apply to every level in the game.”
Immediately walks past a falling heart. 😂
Like 50 times. 😕
"YOU're gonna wanna farm". You suck at the game, not him. He doesn't need it. 🤣🤣
That had to have been deliberate.
For the last boss I’ve heard that if Dracula’s second form gets you cornered you should kneel before him and he jumps higher so you can get under him.
I thought you were going to say kneel before him and pledge him your allegiance
It does work. It's really weird, idk how anyone was sposed to figure it out naturally, but it works and it's a life saver.
*Pro Tip for Castlevania 1, 3 and 4:*
You can force the Double or Triple Shot item to spawn by killing a certain number of enemies with a single subweapon and then breaking a lamp.
The amount of required kills changes between games but it works the same.
This is most easily exploited in the hallway before Death, since there are infinite spawning medusa heads and axe armors, allowing you to _always_ get a Triple Shot cross before the boss fight.
Yup. I feel like it was 10 in the first game? If you're using the cross, you can sometimes conserve hearts by tossing a cross behind you, jumping over it when it comes back, and then following it down a hallway. It'll keep going and hitting things as long as you keep it on the screen. :)
Yes I used that technique for the vampire/Cookie Monster lol at the end ✌️
Holy water for both of those bosses. This is the way
Castlevania 2 now!
It's better to get the triple boomerangs before going into the hallway
A few things to point out:
1. When an enemy is frozen using the holy water, he actually can't hurt you, so you can just walk past him without taking any damage. It is especially useful during the final phase of Dracula, as you can completely avoid taking damage in 18:32 by simply walking past him while he's frozen (instead of attacking his head like Ryu does here)
You can also use this technique during the hallway with the knights. Just walk past them when they're frozen and they'll disappear when they're off-screen. Although the method shown in the video is great too.
2. 16:19 Correction: If you game over you actually respawn at the start of the stairs (just like when you die regularly), so you won't have to come back to the beginning of the stage and deal with the bats again.
So yeah. great video as usual Ryu! Keep up the good work!
Crap. I didn’t know frozen enemies couldn’t hurt you. I beat Dracula’s final form without that knowledge. But thanks anyways.
One thing Ryu missed, that it applies to every level regarding Medusa heads, they fly in the same pattern everytime. So, for instance in Stage 5 (Level 2, screen 2) when you have to platform around them, if you find a safe spot where you are not getting hit by them, that will be a safe spot the entire screen. That was a huge tip that helped me move around them.
Yeah, watch the arc and just keep walking. Then just make sure you don't turn around or they'll come from both directions.
Castlevania 2 now!
What I do is take a few steps back, and they’ll usually fly right over me. I figured their pattern out pretty quick. They’re more of a pain and you’ll want take a few chances on timing jumps when you have to platform through the Medusas like on those small sections on Stage 2.
For Medusa heads, any spot is a safe spot if you're not moving at the moment when the head spawned. If you moved a little, just kneel and you should still be safe.
Stage 3 boss - don’t break the meat block. Just stand up top and lob holy waters between the mummies and stun lock them in place until they’re dead.
You’re like a Disney tour guide for video games. It’s fantastic. I love it.
That snap into the finger gun after Medusa was hysterical! 😂😂😂❤
Can you explain that one for my friend? Was he poking fun at someone who struggled with that boss or something?
This game is no joke. Yes it is hard.
Can we get a Simons Quest Debunking the Difficulty?? That games music also slaps!
"farm up all the hearts you can"
proceeds to not pickup a dozen heart drops
You can force Double and Triple powerups on your sub-weapons by simply breaking candles with the sub-weapon. The intended way is to kill enemies with the sub-weapon but who's got time for that? Got a cross? Start breaking candles with it. Got holy water? Break candles with it! You'll have II and III in no time.
Original Castlevania(tm) played by original Ryu(tm). Perfection. And kudos to James Banana for one of the best game soundtracks ever composed.
James Banana is the pseudonym for Kinuyo Yamashita, she was a member of Konami Club and she is the composer for this game bro.
actually, they're called Flea Men, and not hunchbacks 🤓
The two reasons why most people considered Castlevania to be hard were: The knock back and the jumping behavior. Games people were used to prior to Castlevania didn't have knock back like that (or only a very tiny one) and had air control. E.g. think of Super Mario or Metroid, which pretty much everyone knew to play. Actually games without air control are exceptional rare. Three other annoying game choices were: Sections with endless re-spawning (most people hate the concept), how weapon control (up + fire = secondary fire) conflicts with stair movement and stairs in general, which are badly designed to begin with and can really mess you up. On top of that, nobody who played that game initial expected projectiles to be destructible by your whip (again, hardly any game has destructible projectiles), so people tried to dodge them which is impossible in Castlevania, so they got quickly frustrated.
@8:32 What you want to do is NOT get the pot roast and just get back on the platform and spam holy water from there. They can't hit you from that position.
As a huge Metroidvania fan, I feel guilty for not having played any Castlevania games. This one in particular has always intimidated me, hoping this video will give the courage to try it!
Its not too bad with a little layout memorization, aside from frankenstein,dracula and especially the reaper. The grim reaper was my first real roadblock for a while. You have unlimited continues too so that helps. Its not a real long game. Good one to save state on an emulator and return in spurts until you break through. Second one is very easy gameplay wise, but very cryptic without a guide. Third is the hardest of the NES games. A great starting Castlevania is Rondo Of Blood for the Turbo Duo, if you can emulate it. Quite easy for the series but alot of fun.
@@theconsolekiller7113You can get it on ps4 if you have that also.
Cv2 is the first game to have the "Metroidvania" formula, but some consider it to be kind of a stinker. It is very cryptic, and after all of the annoying parts of the game, you can just walk right past the final boss! I like it though, it was a very ambitious game.
@@superluigi8539 Nice. Im assuming through a Castlevania collection or something similiar. Those have been big lately. I have an emulation focused machine and have cleared most of the 2D castlevania games on that machine. Theres a few of the Symphony of the night style games on the GBA that I never really worked on, but seem great. There was also one very sluggish GB Castlevania that I dont think Ive completed yet.
@@superluigi8539 Yea. Its cool what they tried to do. Enjoyed it as a kid, with the music, the changing time of day but could hardly get anywhere back then. It was memorable for being so mysterious. Later I used a guide and the game was a joke, gameplay wise. I think you can walk right past several of the bosses, ha ha.
Three rules for me to beat this game:
1. Get the holy water
2. Get the holy water
3. GET the HOLY WATER
I must be going crazy. I thought he already debunked this game
me too!
The most disturbing Mandela Effect indeed.
One additional pro tips: You can farm subweapon upgrades faster by destroying 10 things (including candles) with them.
Great guide! I thought Ryu had already done Castlevania NES in the series previously for some reason. It seems like many NES games have one "broken" weapon. Contra has spread shot, Mega Man 2 has Metal Blades, and this has holy water. I have always struggled with this game, but I might give it another try with these tips!
There actually is a game patch for this game that alters the jumping to be similar to Mega Man where you can control your jump while in the air.
To be honest I think the stiff jumping gives NES Castlevania games their charm. It's super frustrating but it's so satisfying when you beat the games. I hope Ryu tries to beat CV3 Dracula's Curse. That game is one of the hardest NES games out there especially if you choose the difficult path Alucard and bone dragon level with the water rising where have to beat the bone dragon before you drown.
@@aeter4352 That's fair. I hear you. The stiff controls are part of what makes Castlevania Castlevania. You do learn to get used to it much like the jumping in a game like Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts.
It sounds like Ryu will be doing Castlevania III at some point. I've never played it myself, but I have heard it can get really difficult and may be one of (if not) the hardest of the Castlevania games.
If you need even more pro strats to this game, then check out You Can Beat Video Games channel where he does deep dives into the game and their lore and how to beat them as efficiently as possible.
@@frozenburst6463 Nice! I'll check it out! Thanks! There are actually plenty of NES games I always found difficult, but wanted to try and complete.
I thought so too some reason! Went back and he did stream a playthrough, but it wasn't a debunk guide.
great vid, i hope you someday do castlevania 3
James Banana is the seudonym for Kinuyo Yamashita, she's the music composer for this game bro. After you finished stage 18, it loops again, but the enemies are twice as fast. There are 99 stages, so you have to keep playing it 6 times in a row.
You taught me afew interesting things today!
@@superluigi8539 gee thanks 👍
Huh, I didn't know the loops changed things.
I thought the game stayed the same.
Might have to go for that 99 stage clear now.
lol :P
@@BRGKasumi77Main what happens after the sixth play through, I know during the second there's a ton of Medusas and you continue to take 4 damage , do the credits just end then reset?
@@rubenabrego6762 No. after you reached the sixth loop, the game continues, the enemies as fast from the second playthrough and over, also the damage is increased by 4 from the second loop and over, nothing changes.
I thought he played this already
Maybe it wasn't from debunking
When I was 16, I beat this game on one life (without dying once). It took me several months to accomplish but I did it. I had the run recorded on VHS at one point but it was lost over the decades. I preferred the cross (I think it's actually supposed to be a boomerang) in most levels to the holy water. But most bosses and the one hallway, the holy water works better. I also thought the hunchbacks were monkeys.
Yeah, the Cross behaves like a boomerang, but the subweapon still is a cross. Though you will find the weapon usually being referred to as a boomerang in English versions of the games and manuals as a form of censorship to religion.
A boomerang doesn't have 4 prongs, nor is an ordinary boomerang associated with vanquishing the undead or purifying the corrupted. It's a cross, a classic religious symbol associated with warding off evil spirits. And for whatever reason, they decided to make it throw and fly like a boomerang.
@@BladeOfLight16 "The number of "wings" [on a boomerang] is often more than 2 as more lift is provided by 3 or 4 wings than by 2." most modern boomerangs are 4 pronged.
But pedantry aside, you're right. It's the cross. The other cross is a crucifix. It's not a boomerang.
When I was in 6th grade I got to where I could finish it on one life every time using the cross for bosses and only the whip everywhere that wasn't a boss.
You can't even concentrate on attacking them because you're too busy dodging Medusas! But you can't dodge the Medusas because you're too busy dodging the axes! But you can't dodge the axes because you're tryin' to hit the knight! BUT YOU CAN'T HIT THE KNIGHT BECAUSE THE GAME'S DRIVIN' YA FUCKIN' CRAZY! It's like a test. It's a test... to the SHIT. - AVGN
Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest was always my favorite. If you're looking for some more bangers and awesome gameplay. I highly recommend it.
Castlevania 2 has it's charm is basically unplayable without a guide the translation was garbage and makes no sense at all. There are good translation patches like bisqwit's Re-translation which even adds an in-game map if you want it. I think Bloody Tears is the best part of the game. It could have been so much better with challenging unskippable bosses at every mansion and a non-cheesable Dracula. I do love the RPG style of it.
@@aeter4352 There's a full fan made remake, Castlevania Chronicles 2 Simon's Quest!
@@trevorblue4531 Yeah I've seen it. I prefer the NES style though. This looks more like the metroidvania style games.
You do actually get a checkpoint right before Dracula, and if you game over you still start from there.
I'm actually in 251st place with a time of 14:25, which funny enough is just a few spots behind Barbarian (BarbarousKing) who has a time of 14:02
You know a game I'd like to see you debunk? Blaster Master for the NES!
You can earn sub-weapon upgrades by killing multiple monsters with them. Hitting things with a single throw of a sub-weapon 2, 3 or 4 times increases your odds of a candle dropping an upgrade (instead of what it would drop by default). So hit 2 or 4 things with one sub-weapon, repeat this once or three times, then hit a candle or two.
I love the way the game rewards you for killing well 😈 Sub-weapon upgrades make you super powerful, especially vs bosses. Also, candles count as something to hit, so line up that axe, holy water, or cross with a monster and a candle or two, and boom.
I'd be interested in knowing how long it took you to beat this. I mean you didn't just start playing and immediately know to only use holy water and where to stand during boss fights to trivialize them. It just seems disingenuous to say "this game is pretty easy" AFTER you've already learned how to play and gotten good at it.
I think you're giving people the wrong impression. This game IS hard, even for people who are hardcore and like playing games like this.
Against the cookie monster, you can stay crouched in front of him before he jumps and he will do a high jump, allowing you to pass under him without taking damage. You have to crouch early though, if you do it at the last moment he will already have commited to doing a low jump.
What I always did against Dracula's second form, when he corners you, is to just throw a holy water and run through him while he is stunned.
You can also just noodle around back and forth really fast and he'll do a high jump 100% of the time
Jogou demais! GG
You know there's actually a good "Castlevania" for the arcade. Its not called castlevania either. It has a shop throughout the game and is way more vertical.
I like how Ryu always lies and says he plays the games on 'original hardware'...yet he somehow warped to the middle of a stage? Hmmm? You can't really 'run a scenario' on OG hardware....
What's with that unique palette? I'm used to seeing different colors whenever I play this game.
Hey man been a while how ya doin ,You might remember me from talking to you on one of your live streams ,Good to see you doin more vids that aren't Mario maker been waiting to see it ,hope you do more multiplayer vids I'm sure others would like to see it Otherwise it's important to do what you like and I've noticed people like to complain or talk shit but your so cool about it don't take no crap from anyone man I know what it's like to have to deal with aholes
Lol that game was the first game I ever had😂
I was 4 years old ... spoilers: i never passed the first level, jumps are just so bad😂😂
trivia: Medusa was the name of the creature in the greek myth. She was a gorgon named Medusa. The flying heads are gorgon heads, not medusa's :)
This is NOT an easy game. It is only easy if you have played it a lot and know all the tricks and moves. For someone who goes in blind it will take them hours and hours to try and beat it.
The way he calls it a POT ROAST when it's a PORK CHOP..............THE AUDACITY!!!
Debunking the difficulty... "just don't die." XD
Hi ryu
Love your Castlevania series RYU. Just wondering if you’re ever gonna finish The Last of Us Part 2? Didn’t see it in your old videos.🙏🏾🙏🏾
Don’t ask me how I did it, but I somehow managed to beat this game as a kid. Could you do a Debunking the Difficulty for Kid Icarus? That game is whooping my butt and I need help! Thanks Ryu for all you do…
I don't think it's that debunkable. It's quite a mess and you really have to know where to get certain items.
I beat it at 12 years old when it was released in 1987. Also beat Kid Icarus (that little SOB) Beat all the games. Probably took a few years off my young life through anger and frustration....but I/we (cause you usually played beside a friend and shared continues) did it. Cause that was all we could do at the time.
Speaking of Castlevania with rockin soundtracks, any chance you've been thinking about a Simon's Quest playthrough in the near future?
The challenge was to figure out this without internet or any guides. Just you and some of your friends trying to figure it out...
I’ve been waiting for this.
Zombies ate my Neighbors next
Never been able to beat the last boss so cheap
Tripple cross long distance death was my childhood strategy
You should rename this series: Debunking the Angry Video Game Nerd
"get all hearts possible"
said ryu, totally ignoring one heart on screen 🤣
😂 yeah I noticed that right away
Yeah, you. He doesn't need it lol.
Fun fact: Those hunchback enemies in stage 3 are called Fleamen.
This game kicked my ass when I was young kid, but nowadays I have played it so much that I can beat it while taking moderate amount of damage.
Yeah, I'm terrible at games and I made it to level 4 (I can't remember if I beat it) the first time I played it. The janky jumps were what got me when it came to the pits, but other than that, I actually did fairly well despite being bad at games.
😊
Like many original NES games, the difficulty comes from dying and losing the god weapon. This is combined with the inherent difficulty of a linear game, which is caused by the fact that your limit point is always your least practiced point.
Yep the bosses are quite easy if you choose to put aside your curiosity and admiring the graphics to blitzkrieg spam them immediately with sub-weapons
Do a run without holy water or cross -- then get back to me
As a kid these games are rough simply because our lack of understanding and aptitude. We weren't or at least most of us looking for patterns and paying attention to detail. We were just making the same mistakes and trying to hit and not be hit.
Hammer bros 😂
Oh hell yeah, it's Castlevania!!!
You did a pretty good guide to Castlevania. You and You Can Beat Video Games should find a game to make a guide together, as he too also makes great guides go retro games.
8:00 the building in the back is flipping ryu the bird
This is way better than Sequelitis, sorry to say lol
The Japanese version of Castlevania 3 is a bit easier than Castlevania 1, in my opinion. It's still very hard, but overall way more fair than the American version, which is way harder but not in a good way. Also, the Japanese version has a much better soundtrack, which sounds AMAZING, and is my favorite Castlevania soundtrack.
If you make a video on Castlevania 3, be sure to check out the Japanese version too, since it is the definitive way of playing the game, in my opinion.
Castlevania 1's difficulty is really an "unstable equilibrim" where if you play well and therefore keep the powerups, it's quite easy, but if you lose them then it's much more challenging.
For example the Frankenstein boss... if you die there, the last checkpoint has no useful subweapons, only the dagger, AND also no way to farm for a III upgrade.
Amazing game nonetheless.
Id like to see an episode of this on Wolverine NES
If you gameover on stage 18, you just start at stage 18
Music remixes or reimaginations of C-Vania's game music are usually really awesome.
One Castlevania game I could never beat thanx for the tips dude
The time is now, debunk Battletoads NES
Yeah don't think it's very debunkable to be honest. The game is just hard as balls and you have to deal with it.
@@aeter4352 if it's hard it's not debunkable
8:00 ayo why that tower flippin' us off like that
So I play the arcade version and think it's easy and the only thing is that I sometimes die at the end of bosses and now I'm figuring out the nes version deals HALF DAMAGE AND HOLY WATER STUNS BOSSES
Wow this game is easy (also I don't get hit as much as you)
Started video.
Skip directly to Death boss battle, which I never beat.
Watch Ryukahr absolutely decimate Death in seconds.
Stop video.
Sigh.
The next episode we _need_ to have on this series: Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels (or Super Mario Bros. 2 (J) or whatever you prefer to call it). With how _legendarily_ difficult that game is (to put it in perspective: it's one of the _exceedingly_ few games that Nintendo of America looked at - and keep in mind, it's approved undisputed garbage like TMNT, Ghostbusters, Silver Surfer, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - and said "No, we're not doing that."), it's the _perfect_ candidate for a DtD deep dive.
Hell no, this game isn't extremely difficult. Even I can beat it, and I was introduced to Castlevania via Super Mario Bros. Crossover. That should tell you that ANYONE can beat Castlevania.