(Continued from page 20)
Super Mario Bros. 2 Legend of Zelda 2 Castlevania 2

Round 3: Sound/Music
Mario was never known for having a great music soundtrack. Sure it will make you hum the tune and tap your foot, but it isn’t going to
leave a lasting impression in your head for the entire day. Zelda and Castlevania, on the other hand, will. Zelda’s dungeon song is still
stuck in my head to this day, and they took the “doom and gloom” loop and made it into an epic song that is really catchy. Castlevania
also sets the mood for you right off the bat (no pun intended) and follows you as you go through the entire game. This was a tad tricky
but the nod goes to Zelda 2. This is due to the fact its town music was catchy and something that literally placed you in the game and
seemed appropriate, while Castlevania didn’t have that hook for the town as they did everywhere else.
Super Mario Bros. 2 Legend of Zelda 2 Castlevania 2

Round 4: Story
The elusive story of the game. Mario’s story is…well…
nothing. Seriously, when you start the game you select your
character. Then you fall down from a floating door only to
discover you are moving from left to right to save some fairy
things that were in a pot with a cork in it. You get to the end of
the game only to realize it was a dream Mario had for eating
one too many mushrooms.
In Zelda 2, Link discovered a Triforce symbol on the back of
his hand. Then Impa tells him it’s his job to wake up Zelda,
who just so happened to be placed in a curse by a wizard that
convinced the prince she knew the location of the golden
power. After she is in an eternal slumber it’s your job to run
out and recover the pieces to save her. Meanwhile Gannon’s
groupies are protecting the pieces waiting for you to come
and get them so that they can use your blood to resurrect
Gannon; whom you killed in the first game.
But Zelda’s story pales in comparison to Simon Belmont’s
quest to lift a curse placed on him at the end of Dracula’s
bout. Only to be told about it a few years later and realizing
Screen from Legend of Zelda II that in order to lift the curse he would have to collect various
body parts of himself being held in hell houses across Transylvania. Meanwhile, Dracula’s groupies are raving the town to ensure that
you cannot lift the curse. To lift the curse what do you have to do? Resurrect the person who gave you the curse to just kill him again,
thus making you a groupie yourself. Who could argue that this wins the round?
Super Mario Bros. 2 Legend of Zelda 2 Castlevania 2

Round 5: Challenge
Why do we play games? Because it give us a sense of accomplishing something when we finish a game and get the ultimate payoff. In
Mario do we get this? The difficultly level is perfect. Mario starts off pretty easy but can get really challenging towards the end. The eagle
door turns against you in the last throws of the game and the ever constant key guards make life a miserable time for you. Mario 2 is a
game that will make you curse in delight.
For Zelda the difficultly level boils down to one thing: can you get the hammer? If you can, the game gets really interesting and the
game world literally triples as you can explore other areas that you cannot get to. The level up system is done in such a way that makes
grinding enjoyable, and the 2D dungeons actually pose difficulty that can only be solved via grid paper (note to self: pick up more grid
paper).
In Castlevania the people in the town purposely mislead you with clues. And invisible pit falls are a cheap way to add some challenge to
the game. Yes, you are going to be grabbing a players guide to figure out some tricks that will drive you up the wall, but the layout of
levels and the method of leveling up is good and challenging. You can even skip bosses. However if you do, you could face the bad
omen of going back to a hell house to kill them later.
Also, while we are on the subject of townspeople what is their gripe with Simon? Yes I can understand not every NPC is out to help you,
but I get the feeling that some of them are out to get you killed. It’s like you go up to them and say “Hi I am Simon Belmont, can you
help me?” Then they tell you “Meet me in the swamp banks for a kiss.” What happens when you go out there, you get stood up! If it
were me I would go “Hey this is Simon Belmont I saved the entire world 2 years ago. I have a cursed placed on me that if I do not re-
21 | Video Game Trader Magazine | July 2008 | www.VideoGameTrader.com
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