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[fart town usa]

I was watching the YouTube channel, U Can Beat Videogames and he mentioned in it that IGN placed this game at #25 for their top 100 NES games of all time. It got me thinking...

When I was a kid, I owned Simon's Quest and absolutely loved it. Sure it was confusing but somehow my brother and I managed to beat it. I also had a lot of friends who owned the game and I honestly don't have any memories of people speaking negatively of it back then.

I think one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much was the open-ended aspect of it. Castlevania was too difficult for me (still is) but Simon's Quest allowed you to explore to your hearts content and it was a lot of fun to wander around and stumble on secrets.

I feel like Simon's Quest only started getting trashed by the masses when AVGN released his video on YouTube. It's definitely a cryptic game and has its issues but I still think it's a solid title and 100% worth playing if you like a challenge.


U Can Beat Videogames is an awesome channel, highly recommend it. He reminds me of old Tips & Tricks VHS tapes from the early 90s.



And speaking of Tips & Tricks VHS tapes. My older brother and I saved up some of our paper route money so we could buy a VHS tape at a local rental store. The box said it had a section with Simon's Quest in it so of course we had to get it. The main thing the tape helped us with was getting the flame whip. I honestly have no idea how we figured out the other puzzles. I know some were solved from spamming holy water everywhere, I'm sure kids sharing tips on the playground played a role in it too. Great times back then.

This is the section of the VHS that we bought.



On a side note, Simon is easily my favorite Belmont and Simon was my go to JRPG name for decades, still is in a way.

So Gaf, did you play Simon's Quest back when the NES was still in stores? Did you like it? Did you hate it?

 

[a multicultural team of v]

If you ever wanted a real life example of the ending of Metal Gear Solid 2, this is like the perfect example. A dumb YouTuber shits all over it, everyone else jumps on the bandwagon, and suddenly the game's entire legacy has been altered and history rewritten that this is and always was a bad game. Meanwhile, nobody involved in passing on the meme has even played the game in the first place.

The game was confusing as fuck but so were the majority of games back then. Frankly it was a really cool game that actually experimented (with mixed success of course), and the music is easily some of the best in the entire series. It is not as bad as the current narrative.

And neither is Takeshi's Challenge, but that's another story.

 

[TheGreatMusashi]

I didn’t hate it but I definitely remember being like what the fuck is this?

I didn’t complete it until years later. It was a little too obscure for my young mind.

 

[jshackles]

Loved this game. Still do. Far and away a better game than 1 and 3 for me personally.

 

[Kilau]

Game was awesome and I played it over and over until I got the best ending. I was surprised later on when I discovered it was hated. Yeah it was different but I didn't care.

 

[Old Retro]

Loved everything about it! Especially the TV commercial and Nintendo Power cover. It took a groundbreaking platformer and made it a non linear action/adventure game as a perfect sequel. In fact I didn't play CVIII for years because it went back to the same type game as OG Castlevania.

Music and ideas so good, they got remixed and rebooted over and over.

 

[jshackles]

Music and ideas so good, they got remixed and rebooted over and over.

Exactly - the term "vania" part of Metroidvania typically refers to Symphony of the Night, but this game was the original concept for that one. Go place, get upgrade, unlock new place, repeat.

Another interesting tidbit was that this game was made intentionally obtuse when it was translated to English. The original Japanese release of this game had the townspeople giving you useful hints to help you on your journey, but when it was translated to English they decided they'd use the game to sell more Nintendo Power subscriptions and hotline calls, so they made the townspeople give you intentionally obtuse advice or in some cases to straight up lie to you.

 

[NT80]

I really liked Castlevania 1. CV2 I only played and watched a few times at a friend's house. I liked the fact that it had a fire whip but other than that it wasn't my kind of game and was glad they went back to liner action platform style. I didn't like solving puzzles and not knowing where to go next.

 

[bender]

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I rented it for a few days and didnt get far. The game seemed oddly hard. Or maybe my gaming skills back then were just bad.

But I really liked the creepy setting and production values of it.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Loved it. Don't even recall if I ever beat it, or when I picked up that crouch in the spot with the thing move. I just had fun exploring.

 

[01011001]

absolutely terrible game.
dogshit leveldesign, almost hard to make worse levels honestly
the """"puzzles"""" were dogshit and nonsensical with zero useful hints or help in-game, making you rely on walktroughs
that super long day/night transition -_-
the artstyle was just awful

all in all, the worst in the series I would say. even some of the other less good ones are miles better than this abomination of bad gamedesign
it is especially jarring because it is sandwiched in between Castlevania 1 and 3 which were both absolutely amazing titles

 

[InfiniteUnrest]

I loved it, one of my first NES games. I even managed to beat it but I don't know how, since I didn't have any guides or the internet to help figure things out.

 

[ReBurn]

I never really liked any of the Castlevania games.

 

[Old Retro]

The original Japanese release of this game had the townspeople giving you useful hints to help you on your journey, but when it was translated to English they decided they'd use the game to sell more Nintendo Power subscriptions and hotline calls, so they made the townspeople give you intentionally obtuse advice or in some cases to straight up lie to you.

I must have called that damn hotline like 10 times in early '89 just for this game! Also remember the Nintendo Power poster from (fuzzy) memory and how there was a cliff that went nowhere but somehow you were supposed to climb it.

 

[jshackles]

I must have called that damn hotline like 10 times in early '89 just for this game! Also remember the Nintendo Power poster from (fuzzy) memory and how there was a cliff that went nowhere but somehow you were supposed to climb it.

Here's a fun article that kinda goes over a few of this game's worst translation sins:

The Lying NPCs of ‘Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest’ Make That Game Memorable (and Infuriating)

We still mourn for the lack of graveyard ducks.

collider.com

 

[anonychus]

It was one of my favorite NES games and I greatly preferred it over 1 and 3. I did have to be told how to do the cliff tornado thing, but figured out the rest myself. Finding things felt so rewarding, I absolutely loved upgrading my whip or finding new weapons, like the daggers or the sacred flame. Some of my best early gaming memories come from playing this game.

 

[Vagswarm]

The poll question pretty much nails it... it was confusing, but it was also great. Couldn't stop playing it.

 

[Edgelord79]

So many things I loved about this game, especially the music.

 

[Icymanipulator]

I didn’t like any of the NES castlevania games as a kid. Thought they were all garbage.

 

[BlakeofT]

I liked it a lot. I was a little kid, so I had zero chance at figuring out all or really any of the secrets. But I had a great time watching my older brothers play it. They must've gotten a lot of help from Nintendo Power.

 

[01011001]

I didn’t like any of the NES castlevania games as a kid. Thought they were all garbage.

 

[fart town usa]

Right on. Love the replies.

I didn't know that they intentionally made the game obscure for the English release, what a dick move, lol. I bet there's a rom hack that puts the actual translated messages in there. I wonder how that would play in 2022?

 

[Teslerum]

Castlevania II English Re-translation (+Map)

This is an English re-Translation of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. In addition to translating

www.romhacking.net

If you want to play the game today and not suffer its downsides. Features a new translation, an added in Map, SRAM saves, seamless fading between night and day and quite a few other goodies.

 

[saintjules]