Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest is a 1987 NES action-RPG developed and published by Konami. It is the direct sequel to the original Castlevania and puts Simon Belmont back in Transylvania — not to storm Dracula’s castle in a linear march, but to roam a connected open world. Five darkened mansions hide the scattered body parts of Dracula; Simon must collect them all, resurrect the count, and defeat him a second time to break a curse placed on him after the first game’s events. Enemies drop hearts, which here serve as currency to buy items from merchants in the towns across the map.
How to play
Move with the arrow keys, jump with X, and whip with Z. Press Enter to start or pause and Shift to open the inventory, where you can equip sub-weapons — holy water, laurels, oak stake, garlic — and switch between collected whips. Defeating enemies raises Simon’s experience and eventually increases his maximum hearts. A day/night cycle runs in real time: at nightfall enemies grow stronger and more numerous, and the screen pauses to note “What a horrible night to have a curse.” Three different endings are possible, determined by how quickly you complete the game.
Tips
- Cross-check the townspeople. Some NPCs give genuine clues; others deliberately mislead. When several characters agree, trust it — a lone contrarian is almost always wrong.
- Stock holy water before entering mansions. It damages enemies through surfaces and is effective against most bosses, making it the most useful sub-weapon for mansion exploration.
- Save laurels for swamp crossings. Walking through swamp floors without laurels drains health quickly; use them there rather than spending them on enemies you can simply avoid.
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