Revisiting the (Mostly) Forgotten

With my primary gaming console out of commission (again), I have taken some time of late to play titles I had downloaded via the Wii's Virtual Console. After a couple of hours of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, I felt a quite a sense of déjà vu. Simon Belmont gains levels from collected hearts; he wanders an open countryside rather than plowing through strict levels; he buys and finds items which enable him to reach previously inaccessible areas. Sound familiar? It should -- this is the so-called 'Metroidvania' formula the series has been using since my beloved Symphony of the Night, apart from the countryside bit. I cannot help but find amusing the fact that the franchise abandoned this idea for a decade before completely and utterly embracing it a generation later.

What could cause such a shift? The most likely explanation is that Simon's Quest underperformed at retail, driving the series back to what succeeded in its original incarnation. I have always considered the sequel a graphical step backward from Castlevania; perhaps the American 'graphics snob' stereotype bit the game. This was also sort of an experimental period for games. We had Super Mario Bros. 2, which eschewed much of its predecessor's format; and The Adventure of Link, with its side-scrolling dungeons and health-barred bosses. Neither of those ideas took a permanent hold, so it might be fitting that Castlevania II follow the pattern -- except for the revisitation thing. Mario and Link never really went back to the style of the sequels, whereas Konami evidently saw something in Simon's Quest that merited a revival.

And now for something completely different -- Mega Man is now available for download. I never played the first game in the series on my NES, and I will finally get the chance once I can scrounge up five bucks. Between this and Ikaruga, I really seem to want my games to hand my head to me on a charger.

With school starting tomorrow, I need to head to bed. Game well, and may your load times be short.