Nosferatu

"Castlevania and Prince of Persia fans have a treat in store for them!"

Just when you thought you were free from a game with Dracula in it... think again! Actually his name in this game is Nosferatu, but they are both the same guy. Nope, this isn't a Castlevania game, it's a completely different game. The way this game plays is a lot like Price of Persia, and that is a good thing in some cases. Think of Nosferatu as the gothic version on Prince of Persia.

Gameplay - If you've played Prince of Persia or Flashback, then you'll feel right at home with this game. However, there are some differences from PoP that Nosferatu has. For instance, instead of fighting with a sword, you fight with your bare hands. You can do different combos and moves on the enemies you fight. Personally, I like fighting with bare hands better. A lot of the enemies you will fight require different strategies. For instance, one enemy is floating, and the only way for you to hit it is by jumping up and kicking it.

Of course the game isn't all about fighting. There is lots of platform action, puzzle solving, and avoiding traps. The traps in this game can be very cheap. For instance, a spike in the wall could push out and hit you if you are not careful. The most cheap trap is when bodies hang from the wall and hit you. When they do hit you, you hear this strange laughing sound...

Even though this was one of the last Super Nintendo games, it was quite simple. There are only four items in the game that you can collect. The green crystal, the red crystal, the blue crystal, and the time-sand holder. The green crystal restores some of your health, the red crystal will make your combos stronger at every 3 crystals you collect, and the blue crystal will increse your maximum health. The time-sand holder will increase your time. ( Yup, there's a time limit... and it drops down fast. ) You get these items from treasure chests scattered around the castles. Some treasure chests can have traps on them...

The whole gist of the game is simple also. You explore six different castles. Each castle is different becuase some will have different enemies while others will have different traps. The music changes for each stage, also. After exploring each of the castles, you'll have to fight a boss. The bosses are pretty easy, you just gotta be cheap on them. After beating the bosses, you move on to the next stage.

What this game lacks is a save feature. The castles are HUGE and if you die, you have to start all over at the entrance of the castle again. Trust me, beating this game in one sitting just isn't going to happen. You'll have to take breaks and try to play the game with a fresh mind. The last two castles are gonna be really hard and cheap- make sure you are ready. The difficulty in this game is extremely high... even on easy mode. Don't even get me started on hard mode.

Story - Nosferatu, the creature of the night, has stolen your girlfriend and plans to suck her dry. But of course you won't let that happen! The main character's goal is to rescue his girlfriend and stop Nosferatu's reign of fear. OK, the plot is basic and cliche, but you don't play adventure games just for the plot do you?

Audio/Video - This is where Nosferatu excels the most. This game made the best use of the Super Nintendo's capabilities. The intro is totally beautiful. The back grounds look pre-rendured and the music is moody. The first castle's music has to be the freakiest. The animation of the main character is silk smooth. Actually, his forward jumps are a little choppy, but they are still acceptable. The demons are varied and they are detailed and well animated as well. The castles themselves don't vary much. It's basically the same background with differeny coloring most of the time.

Replayability - When I beat the game on easy, it said, "Try the harder modes to figure out the true ending..." Well, I have yet to beat it on hard mode... it is so hard. But I'm almost there! After you play through this game once, you probably will leave it in the closet for a few days. Then you'll come back to Nosferatu, becuase the way it plays is addictive.

To buy or to rent? - Good question. Well, this game seems like a great rental to people who don't have much of a patience. If you have patience and are very good at videogames, and you loved Prince of Persia, then go ahead and buy it! It's a challenging game and if you beat it and show your friends how hard it is, you'll have bragging rights!!! I just wish this game had a save feature. If it had a save feature, it would be so much better. Maybe the deliberately didn't put in a save feature so the game could be a lot tougher. Anyways, you can probably find this game at your local Babbage's for 10 dollars, used. Or you could just rent it at Blockbuster, it's your choice.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99