Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, known in Japan as Dracula II: Noroi no Fūin, is an action-adventure platform game produced by Konami. It was originally released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan 1987 and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1988. It is the second Castlevania title released for the NES, following the original Castlevania. Set sometime after the events of the first installment, the player once again assumes the role of vampire hunter Simon Belmont, who is on a journey to undo a curse placed on him by Dracula at the end of their previous encounter. With Dracula's body split into five parts after his defeat, Simon must find and bring them to the ruins of his castle to seal and defeat him.
The gameplay departs from the standard platforming genre of the first Castlevania for a game more similar to the nonlinear gameplay of Metroid, with several RPG elements such as a world map which the player is free to explore and revisit. Simon, controlled by the player, can talk with townspeople who will offer him clues or lies.
Castlevania II (NES version)
He can also go to merchants who will sell items, either for fighting enemies or for traversing to unreachable areas. In order to pay for them, he must collect hearts, which are dropped by defeated enemies. In addition to the ordinary items in Simon's inventory, he can also purchase new whips in a few locations of the game. He begins with a standard Leather Whip, and can upgrade to stronger ones with each new purchase. Simon's Quest introduces an Experience Rating system, also found in role-playing games, which is increased by collecting hearts. After he finds a sufficient amount, his level and maximum health will increase with his Experience Rating.
The period of time in Simon's Quest can change between daytime and nightfall, which has a prominent effect on the game and Simon's encounters. During the day, the enemies outside of towns in the game are weaker. At night time, they gain strength and inflict more damage to Simon's life points, though when defeated, they drop more hearts. The townspeople and merchants in their respective locations are no longer available to talk to during night time, and are replaced by zombies.
Despite the departure from the previous game, there are elements from it that have remained. This includes the Magic Weapons, which are secondary weapons to Simon's whip. Each of them have a different use. Like most games in the series, some of these require the usage of hearts. One of them returning from Castlevania is the Holy Water, a small glass which can disintegrate walls that conceal hidden items. Some Magic Weapons make their first appearance in Simon's Quest, such as the Diamond, which attacks enemies while bouncing off any surrounding walls.
The objective of the game is to travel to the five mansions to find the body parts of Dracula's corpse, and an item known as the Magic Cross. The body parts can be utilized to support Simon in the game. For example, Dracula's Rib can be used as a shield to block any projectile attacks fired from an enemy. Finding all of the required items will allow Simon to clear the blockade in front of Dracula's castle to fight the last boss. After the player defeats Dracula, there are three possible endings based on the time taken to complete the game. The best ending is achieved when the player beats the game in eight game days.
More details about this game can be found on
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Find digital download of this game on
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Game controls:
The NES version of Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest was originally controlled via the NES controller with a cross-shaped joypad and two action buttons. The basic description of game controls is summarized in the table below. Detailed description of how to play this game can be found a in the attached game manual. Please note that individual
gamepad buttons are emulated by different keys on your PC keyboard depending on the settings of your online emulator (see the table next to the game).
Press Up or Down to go up and down stairs. Press Left or Right to go to the left or right. When in front of a door, press Up to go inside. To squat and avoid enemy projectiles, simply press Down.0
Press the A button to jump. To jump diagonally, use 'A' button and Left/Right Control Pad keys.
Press B button to lash with a whip. If you press B button and A button simultaneously, you can jump and lash with a whip at the same time. Also press B button to talk with the friendly Transylvanian villagers and merchants.
Press Select button during the game to pause.
Press the Start button to begin the game. Press during the middle of the game to display a 'Multi screen', which gives you the option to choose from weapons and magical items you've found. Press again after making your selection to return to the game.
Videogame Console:
This version of Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found here.
Recommended Game Controllers:
You can control this game easily by using the keyboard of your PC (see the table next to the game). However, for maximum gaming enjoyment, we strongly recommend using a USB gamepad that you simply plug into the USB port of your computer. If you do not have a gamepad, buy a suitable USB controller on Amazon or AliExpress or in some of your favorite online stores.
Available online emulators:
6 different online emulators are available for Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. These emulators differ not only in the technology they use to emulate old games, but also in support of various game controllers, multiplayer mode, mobile phone touchscreen, emulation speed, absence or presence of embedded ads and in many other parameters. For
maximum gaming enjoyment, it's important to choose the right emulator, because on each PC and in different Internet browsers, the individual emulators behave differently. The basic
features of each emulator available for this game Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest are summarized in the following table:
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This version of Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found 
