Super Castlevania IV is a platform developed and published by Konami in 1991. It offers expanded game control, 16-bit graphics with SNES 7 mode and a soundtrack with new pieces and arrangements based on the previous Castlevania soundtrack.
Following the same setting as Castlevania on the NES, the game takes place in 1691 in Transylvania, where vampire hunter Simon Belmont must defeat the vampire Dracula.
It is a side-scrolling platformer in which the player takes control of Simon through eleven levels. Players start with five lives which, once all are lost, will determine the end of the game.
Loss of a life will occur in the event that all of Simon’s health indicators are exhausted or if the level is not completed within the time limit.
The health gauge can be reset through items that can fall from candles, hit enemies or with the Magic Crystal, which is received after defeating the boss at the end of each level.
It is possible to enter a password to continue the game later.
With Simon’s whip, players can attack enemies in eight directions with the use of the control pad.
The length and power of the whip can be increased by picking up an object called Morning Star.
The whip is not only used for fighting, but also for attaching to rings in order to swing over areas that would be too wide or dangerous for the player to cross.
Like its predecessors, players can use secondary weapons that consume the hearts of Simon mentioned earlier.
Secondary weapons include (but are not limited to) an ax, a watch that stops all enemy movements, and a dagger.
