Last night I finished up my ongoing Castlevania “mod” for Mega Man Powered Up. I still need to do some fine-tuning, but the point remains: I have created surprisingly accurate renditions of all six levels from Castlevania using a 3D Mega Man engine. It is possibly the dorkiest achivement of my life, and I have done some awfully dorky things in my time.



But that’s hardly news. I mean, I’m inordinately proud of the lengthy, full-map-height drop that kicks off level 4, so what does that tell you?



It’s a shame that Capcom won’t allow multiple levels to be strung together in sequence, because the overall effect would be much more impressive than playing a single level at a time. And bosses from the final stages would be a nice touch — Dracula’s tower needs a Yellow Devil, not freakin’ Elec Man.



Still, this whole process has given me a new appreciation for Castlevania’s level design. It was truly exceptional in its time, and the attention to detail Konami lavished on the game is still impressive. Little things, like the way columns line up between vertically-stacked screens, are really classy. The gaps in the floor that pose deadly jumping hazards aren’t just poorly-conceived architecture, they’re places where the underlying structure has crumbled. No level element in the entire apepars to have been placed frivolously. And there’s a real sense of progress from place to place; each level begins where the last one ended, and Simon’s little trek across the map is very accurately reflected within the actual game. Whoever designed the world took their charge to create a decaying castle seriously.






(THIS IS AWESOME)


And based on the clock tower level, I’d say they also enjoyed making video gamers cry.



If only more video games sent such conflicting messages of love and hate these days, the world would be a better place. And sales of replacement controllers would be much healthier, no doubt.



Anyway, I’ll finish tweaking my level designs and share the download codes once Capcom reactivates the game hub. I know you’re just champing at the bit to experience my anal-retentive creative bankruptcy.