Reception
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Allgame | 4 of 5 |
| GameSpot | 6.5 of 10 |
| GameTrailers | 7.5 of 10 |
| IGN | 7.0 of 10 |
| RPGamer | 3.5 of 5 |
Upon its release, Simon's Quest received strong publicity in the second issue of Nintendo Power. Its front page had a costumed model dressed as Simon Belmont, holding Dracula's severed head. This cover provoked many telephone complaints from parents of children who purchased the magazine. They told Nintendo Power that it gave their children nightmares. Nintendo Power covered this in volume 50 of the magazine, which cited this as its worst cover. Simon's Quest was also referenced in a following issue in a Howard and Nester comic strip. Nintendo Power ranked it as the 15th best Nintendo Entertainment System video game, comparing it to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in how it added role-playing video game elements successfully to its series.
The game garnered positive reviews following its release, and received the reputation of a Nintendo classic over time. It has an average rating of 7.5 out of 10 on the popular gaming community GameFAQs. Gaming website, IGN, cited Simon's Quest as the "perfect game to play during 1989". It praised it for its theme of exploration, and acknowledged how it evolved recent titles of the series. RPGamer noted it for being a "a very rough blueprint for some amazing games to come". Numerous statements about the game also laud its graphical and audio presentation. Reviewers have complimented its visuals for being an improvement over the first Castlevania.
Simon's Quest was not without its criticism. A common complaint about the game was its English localization. The clues offered by the NPCs in the game were criticized for being too cryptic and poorly translated. Producer of several Castlevania titles, Koji Igarashi, revealed in an interview that all the NPCs in the Japanese version were deliberate liars. GameSpot said that the subtle hints from the Japanese version were lost in translation. An infamous line of dialogue they gave as an example was "hit Deborah Cliff with your head to make a hole". Active Gaming Media went further describing where and how the Japanese hint was lost. Further criticism also stemmed from some of the game's puzzles, which reviewers have noted for not having any clues at all. Complaints were made towards a scenario from the game where Simon must summon a tornado in a graveyard. 1UP.com mentioned the game required a walkthrough because of its non-explanatory nature.
Read more about this topic: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
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—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)