Simon's Quest is one of my favorite Castlevania games, I know that is not the most popular opinion as this game has been panned by a few popular game reviewers. The problem with reviews of old games in a modern world is the complete lack of context, also those reviews are not considering how important this game was to the series. Everyone Castlevania fan will tell you how Symphony of the Night revolutionized the series and took it to the next level but very few seem to realize or at least admit the first nonlinear Castlevania with RPG elements was Simon's Quest. Simon's Quest was also the first game in the series to give us a peak into the larger world that was outside the Castle. Simon's Quest showed us how the towns were affected, how the the evil of Dracula had invaded the minds of the people and the land itself. Without Simon's Quest who knows if we ever get a Symphony of the Night, I am not taking anything away from SOTN, but rather giving Simon's Quest its due respect. Now that my Castlevania 2 rant is over I guess I can talk about how it applies to Halloween for me.
Castlevania is very much something I identify as Halloween, and it is a series that I visit every October but at the tail end of September in 1988 I received in the mail issue 2 of Nintendo Power which featured Castlevania 2 on its cover. The first issue of NP featured a very kid friendly claymation cover but, this cover was far more adult featuring a beheaded Dracula, blood red mist, and a creepy skull. My child's mind was on fire and Castlevania 2 is all I would thing about until I got it for Xmas later that year.
Simon's Quest also gave us this gem.
Author's Note: The rant I have in defense of Castlevania 2 is almost identical to the one I have for Zelda 2, I feel both games are under appreciated and not recognized as bold titles that took daring steps to advance their series. These games are the middle children in their respective series and as a middle child myself I feel the need to stand up for them.
The Morning Sun Has Vanquished The Horrible Night
~Johnny~
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