Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - Gameplay

Gameplay

The gameplay departs from the standard platforming genre of the first Castlevania for a game more similar to the nonlinear gameplay of Vampire Killer, as well as Metroid, with several RPG elements such as a world map where the player is free to explore and revisit. Simon, controlled by the player, can talk with townspeople who will offer vague clues or lies. 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 rise with his Experience Rating.

Simon's Quest has a night and day function, where the period of time in the game can change between daytime and nightfall. Each sequence lasts a few minutes before the next transition, and they have a prominent effect on the game and Simon's encounters. During the day, the enemies outside of towns in the game are less frequent and weaker. At night time, they appear more often and inflict more damage to Simon's life points, though when defeated, they give more hearts in compensation. The townspeople and merchants in their respective locations are no longer available to talk to during night time, and are replaced by enemies called 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 from the previous game do not return, but there are also new ones that make their first appearance in Simon's Quest. This includes the Diamond, which bounces off any walls surrounding Simon, and damages any enemies.

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.