I decided to put those Virtual Console games I've hoarded to use and play this game through (for the first time!)... and Frankenstein's little person friend can go straight to hell.  I've a couple of times played through the entire stage without getting hit only to die because the holy water isn't doing as advertised:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyxVX5RHop4&NR=1

And I keep coming back for more of this too.

A great game for sure, but I don't have patience for those types of games anymore (ie very hard and unforgiving of any mistakes). Too frustrating for me, but more power to you By the way, check out the ending to CVIII:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjpI6GRpaOY

I thought CVIII was awesome, and definitely one that needs to be remade along the lines of Rondo, and definitely with a new and improved script! What an ending: "...Alucard feels guilty because he killed his real father..." ah yes, the 'good old days' when they put a lot of thought into the writing and story

cheers,

-avatar!

And somehow, it's still probably more meaningful than anything from any recent Castlevania.

I thought Frankie was hard until I fought the Grim Reaper. Don't Fear the Reaper, my foot...

I could never beat the Reaper myself. That's as far as I got in CV, and I don't plan on trying again (unless there's a cool remake of course

I wish I could get to the Reaper... so I'll be trying again today.  Third day.  Yay for unlimited continues and the Wii VC's save state.

Have you considered Castlevania Chronicles?

I clearly remember getting to stage 6, because of the large bats. They were the same as the bat you had to fight at the end of stage 1. So, a boss became a regular enemy in level 6. I don't remember ever getting to Dracula, but with more work I probably could have. The problem with Castlevania is I didn't start playing it until I was 18; I played 2, 3, and 4 in my youngest gaming years, when I had no responsibilities. Back when I was 15 and younger, I could normally beat any game, due to the massive amount of available free time.

the first castlevania was one of my favorite games in the eighties. i could beat it regularly back then. my bro even managed to do it without dying. good gameplay, perfect atmosphere and even better music can drive you that far.

im sure i could play through it even today

Lately I've been picking apart my favorite NES games using save states in the PSP version of Nester. I'll have to give Castlevania a try soon. It's amazing how bad the endings were to a lot of games back then. I think Karnov's was just a black screen reading "Congratulations".

I did play CC. It was not bad, but it still wasn't nearly as good as the original CV or III or IV. In fact, I think Konami should remake those three games... but I'm not holding my breath. And, hopefully they would fix the problems that lingered in CC. Basically CC was the same old game with better graphics and sound, however play control wasn't great. Should those issues be fixed in future remakes, Konami will have a winner. By the way, I still think the remade Rondo is fantastic! Although I don't know why it seems like everyone is producing remakes for the DS or PSP exclusively. What's up with that? Is it so much easier to remake classics to fit those systems, or is there some handheld conspiracy

cheers,

-avatar!

Man, I've totally wondered the same thing! I don't own any handhelds and I have no plan to.

Castlevania was the fourth game I got for my NES (after Super Mario Bros., Kid Icarus, and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!).  I got it when I was in the fourth grade.  I didn't clear it until I was out of college, and that was only because I sat down one day and told myself I wasn't getting up until I cleared that game.  I think I have beaten the Grim Reaper maybe four times in my life, and have beaten Dracula only once.

Speaking of bad endings, at the end of 1942 was the single word "Congratulation".  Yes, that's right.  A singular congratulation.  Given the amount of tedium locked into those 32 stages, I was hoping for a little more.

Ah, Castlevania... The game that, together with Metroid on the NES, made me a gamer (and a game music fan!) 20+ years ago. I never did care much for Super Mario or Zelda back then: CV and Metroid were my first favourite games. I've played and beaten every single CV game since, but the original NES trilogy will always hold a special place in my heart. And while Castlevania 3 is much better and bigger than Castlevania 1 (IMO, tied with Dracula X for the top spot in the series), the first game will always retain it's legendary status.

Regarding CV1's legendary difficulty... I don't consider it that difficult now. Certainly, there are much more difficult entries in the series, like CV3, the SNES version of Dracula X, and - not to forget! - the crazy-difficult original version of the X68000 Akumajou Dracula. There are two tricks that will greatly reduce this game's difficulty level: (1) Enemy placement memorization for the stages (not as hard as it sounds, there are only 6 stages, and they're fairly short), and (2), the Holy Water subweapon with the triple bonus. Especially the latter is crucial: it reduces almost every boss in this game to a complete joke (including the much-dreaded Grim Reaper). The Holy Water paralyzes the bosses, if you for example use it on the Grim Reaper as soon as the battle begins and just keep on throwing it at him, he'll be finished in no time at all. Found a YouTube-clip of the tactic, looky here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfzPqDycsVU

The same tactic works wonders against Frankenstein and his &¤)46$€{@{€@!!!!11 little helper, as well as against Dracula's second form.

When I first played Castlevania I found it maddeningly difficult, for a year I couldn't make it past Frankenstein in stage 4. However, I've since played it so many times and perfected my tactic that I can now practically beat it in my sleep. Sometimes, when I'm stressed or bored I'll play through it on an emulator: it's become a very meditative and calming thing for me, almost like it's not even a game anymore, more like some motions I go through to connect with a cherished childhood experience (although I can assure that back then, I certainly didn't cherish getting my ass handed to me by Frankenstein or the Grim Reaper).

Ah, I saw the video with that tactic being used.  I got distracted by the SNES SimCity, but I'm ready to go back to CV1 and take down Frankenstein...although keeping the holy water that long isn't easy.

The vid against Frankie:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAZ7Aayi9Z4

The key to keeping the Holy Water (and staying alive through the stages) is simply to use it. The Holy Water varies in strength in different CV games, but in CV1 its a killer - stops and cuts through anything. As long as you pick up a decent amount of hearts as you go, you should use it as much as possible (this will also make the double and triple bonuses appear faster - those are needed against the bosses).

Also, there is a Holy Water in the beginning of stage 4, so its not that far to go.

I like original item name it had: the "firebomb". YES! Can't let any religious references into our Nintendo games dammit, so we'll encourage terrorism instead.

Yeah, that firebomb at the start of stage 4 was always the key for killing Frank, but I never tried it against the Grim Reaper. I always used the tri-boomerang.

I beat Frankenstein, although it didn't go as smoothly as it did in the video,... now gotta work to get to the Grim Reaper.

It's just marketing.  Remakes are an easier sell to a handheld audience since expectations for handheld software are generally lower than for console software and playing something you've played before isn't as big of a deal.  That said, I think most future remakes you're going to see are going to be digitally distributed, whether console or portable.  This removes so much of the risk from the process that unless there's something that a remake would be assured to sell amazingly (read: FF7), most of them will probably be digital.  Capcom seems to be testing these waters the most so far.  Let's see who will follow.

i still don't understand why a smaller company like PlayMore is willing to release ps2 discs in 2008 (albeit they are monaural discs, but still) while KCET couldn't be bothered to let Dracula X Chrons come to the ps2.
And it couldn't have been Sony America's doing, since they allow 2-game sets to grace their precious consoles.

The only way i'll ever get to play that game now is to track down a PC Engine, and who wants to pay all that to play just one game?

As an enormous fan of the TG16/Duo/PC Engine, you make me cry. 

Just call me Chop-Chop Master Onion, then!
( ;

Ah yes, Castlevania... great game.  It's so great, I never went back to finish it. 

After near endless trials with Grim Reaper (stage 5 itself was a pain), I made it all the way to Dracula, phase 2.  I got through his phase 1 with no problem, every time, but I never beat him.  I even had it on video tape (yes, I recorded it).  It was just me dying over and over again on phase 2.  Why was it so hard?

I really should go back and finish it, just for the sake of completion.  And if I ever find that video tape, man... I had all kinds of NES games on that tape.  Castlevania, Xenophobe, Simon's Quest...

F'ing FINALLY!  I just 'killed' the Grim Reaper, and it really wasn't him that was the problem (though I did have to meet him a few times before I figured out the best place to stand to toss the holy water), but that damn hallway before it.  Medusa heads are so stupid.

Gluten for punishment eh? Man, not only do I not have time nor patience for games like that today, but I simply wouldn't find them fun. A challenge like Etrian Odyssey I enjoy, but those games... no thanks! Still, more power to those of you that can deal with the bad play control, quick deaths, having to restart from scratch, bad endings, band translations... sheesh!

-avatar!

Huh?  Castlevania games have great music!    Although I'm really starting to hate the song playing during the Dracula fight... that cheap bastard.  After I finish this, I'll continue through Zelda II (I recently finished the first Zelda NES) as I start Simon's Quest.  So, I'm definitely a glutton for punishment.  I guess I'm staying retro on the VC until Civilization Revolution comes out stateside, plus I've never played/finished the first Castlevania or Zelda II, so it's worth it.

It never fails to amaze me how utterly masterful the original NES Castlevania score is. 

Even in chip form, it still boasts the best rendition of the boss battle "Poison Mind."

i finally finished my first castlevania game (dawn of sorrow) and im looking for the next one to play. I wasnt really captivated by the story in any way, but the supermetroidesque gameplay convinced me to press on even when i was stuck. damn game took me over 20 hours but i finally beat it at level 70