The ancestor to Simon Belmont and like him, he must rid the world of Dracula, Christopher Belmont stars in Castlevania: The Adventure. It brings monster slaying to great music to the Game Boy, and a few too many problems tag along for the ride.
Structurally this is a very similar game to the original, with a few changes. Sub-weapons are gone, and hearts now take up the more sensible job of providing health instead of being ammunition as they were the original game or currency as they were in Simon’s Quest. Christopher does have a more powerful whip that shoots fireballs when it is fully upgraded. It seems strong, but the game is more difficult than the whip is strong. Any edge feels crucial to claiming victory.
In addition to its difficulty is a punishing lack of a save system. Just like in the original game there are no passwords. This becomes more brutal, because the framerate is consistently struggling, making an already slower Belmont even slower. He makes Simon seem like an Olympic sprinter, and even though there are only four stages, The Adventure is a grueling uphill obstacle course. The sluggish framerate also means less responsive controls, which means you’re going to end up taking a lot of hits and falling into a lot of pits you might have avoided.
It doesn’t help that the stages don’t cater to Christopher’s lack of speed at all. They look alright, and despite the black and white, they manage to convey some distinct environments. Interestingly, in what might have been some sort of attempt to adapt to the hardware, ropes are used to move up and down the levels instead of stairs. Looks and tricks can’t save these levels though. Checkpoints are sparse, and you’ll be lumbering your way along the same drawn out paths, fighting the same routine of monsters and climbing the same stretching ropes over and over, and it all grows tiresome. Even an exceptional soundtrack doesn’t make the game any less dull to bang your head against.
It starts off simply enough, and it seems like the issues, if they’re not readily apparent, are negligible and entirely manageable, but when the difficulty spikes over the next few stages on through the rest of the game, these issues sink in and become an outlet for petty frustration. It slogs with its framerate, making it more chore than play. Castlevania: The Adventure is loyal to a good formula and has its good qualities, but too much of the game is too poorly executed for it to make a difference.