Dear Readers,
Now that we've got the issue of controls settled, let's get into the game! By the way, it's great to be able to play something like this on official hardware :)
A bunch of talented people came together and banded as Rewind to make this game. It's immediately apparent in the graphic design and music and together with the gameplay, it's a very authentic Castlevania experience.
The loading screen is gorgeous, though it doesn't really show on the Vega as loading is instantaneous. It's a wonderful recreation of the NES Castlevania box art. The title itself has the nice crescent 'C' logo that we're familiar with in recent times. I like that the subtitle "Spectral Interlude" uses nearly the whole colour palette of the ZX Spectrum. Nice touch and clever choice of name too!
The "Intro" and "Title" music tracks are nicely done and get you excited for the game. 2015! Bum bum bum bum bum bum! I'm not sure if these two music tracks are from the original series or not.
The opening crawl text is wordy but rewarding enough. The backstory is quite relatable in today's world: A Simon Belmont is living during times of peace, which means he is out of a job. Dracula won't be revived for a few more decades, much like the way the official series is dormant. Hopefully it won't be decades until it comes back!
I began the game in the cemetery and spoke with Boldo, who calls me "Mr Failmont". There's something very "Cranky Kong" about the characters in the game, though I've found that to be the case in many ZX Spectrum games. It's its own kind of tough love cruelty.
"Wicked Child" plays in the cemetery. It has a different tempo to the NES version and it has a harsh but cool synth-y solo. Remember the AVGN montage? You couldn't really pair that up with this as the tempo is different.
After whipping some skeletons I went underground and met Joseph. The encounter with him is kind of strange because he asks you to kill him before he releases the barrier around the cemetery. He becomes the "Navi" for this adventure but he doesn't bother you too much. You get the very most of his exposition from this first encounter with him.
This game is all about exploring and gathering pieces of altars, so that Dracula can be revived. Why? Because Simon is bored!
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