What a horrible night to have a curse

Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest, the sequel to the iconic game Castlevania is now available for the Wii U and 3DS eshop.

Simon’s Quest was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Famicom in 1987. The premise of the game’s story was a rather odd one. It takes after Simon Belmont defeated Dracula; Belmont is inflicted with a mysterious curse that spreads across the land, and it’s his job to travel from village to village in order to find Dracula’s body parts. He needs to find the remains of the prince of darkness, and burn them in the castle; only then will he be rid of this curse. This title is quite a bit different from its predecessor; throughout the game, player travels around towns, talking to citizens, and purchasing items. On top of all this, there is a night and day system, where the player is stopped for a few seconds as they wait for the area to get dark, or for morning to come.

This is where the iconic phrase “what a horrible night for a curse” comes from. Once night falls, a text box appears above you with those exact words in it. When morning hits, a text box appears above you with the words “the morning sun has vanquished the horrible night”. This amusing little mechanic doesn’t really change anything much. Enemies change, but they’re not a stark contrast from what you’d normally see in the day. Another difference between night and day is that shops are closed after dark.  There’s some mixed opinions about this sequel, and whether it really is a worth successor to the first Castlevania. Regardless of what one may think, it’s still an iconic and memorable entry to the series.