Bram Stoker's Dracula for SNES
Review #73
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Play Castlevania instead
Gameplay
Some games need only one tweak to take them from bad to good. This is one of those games. With only one of two tiny changes this would become a darn good Castlevania clone. As it is, poor Dracula is nearly unplayable.
First, the positives. Movement is very good, with responsive controls and short animations that don't restrict your movement. You have a nice high jump that's adjustable based on how long you hold the jump button. Again, very good. Platforming also feels nice, with generous platform sizes and forgiving platform hit boxes and no collision on their underside. In short, movement is excellent.
Combat, on the other hand, is terrible. You've got a sword swipe with a long, wide arc, but barely any reach. Tweak number one to make this game good would be making the reach about twice what it is. The reach wouldn't be a problem if enemies didn't have so much health. Nearly all enemies take two hits and they walk right through contact and damage. Hopefully you can see the problem here - an enemy that takes two hits comes straight at you. Your short sword swing nails him with one hit but he walks through and runs into you before you can finish him off with the second sword slash. Oh and did I mention that enemies spawn as soon as they leave the screen Yeah, tweak two would be to half all enemy health.
Before I forget, you've only got 3 to 5 health bars and there are virtually no health pickups so difficulty is through the roof.
Level Design
Go right and jump on platforms. Some verticality allows you to pick a path. Fight a boss at the end of each level. So yeah, it's a Castlevania clone.
Theme
I haven't seen the movie, but you play as a normal looking guy with a short sword. Enemies range from rats to living skeletons with nothing being terribly interesting. Don't expect the variety of a Castlevania game.
Art Style
Passable. Platforms are easy to distinguish. Everything is a shade of brown. Not impressive but not bad for a licensed title.
Audio
The music is ok, but the sounds are poor. Rat or bat squeaks chirp incessantly, drowning out the music and making you go just a little bit crazy.
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