Simon’s Quest is fucking dog shit and nothing you can say can convince me otherwise because I have actually played it so i have first hand experiences with that piece of junk. It has good ideas executed horrifically badly. Its one of those games you play in order to learn what not to do.
Cv2 is an excellent game. I played it when the game first came out. I probably have far more experience than you do, having actually played it and having many first hand experiences with it.
The game was an open world adventure game, in fact looking back, it reminds me a bit of Dark Souls. If you went to an area you aren’t ready for, you’ll get your ass kicked. So the game teaches you early on where you can go and where you can’t.
Dialogue wasn’t all that great but the important stuff was there. In fact, the only pieces of dialogue you really need are the two that tells you to use equip a crystal to see the platform in the first mansion and to kneel to lower the water to the second mansion. At this point, the game has taught you that any time you come to a seemingly dead end, equip a crystal to see either someone invisible, or to kneel with the crystal somewhere and something will happen. This isn’t even a problem when you get to Deborah Cliff, because at this point, someone has told you it’s important (bang your head on it - meaningless, but the cliff part has significance since you know the next part has something to do with the cliff) so do at this point what the game has taught you. Even as a 3rd grader me and my friends figured this out because we learned it from everything we played in the earlier parts of the game. So that pretty much takes care of any issues the game has with leading you by the hand anywhere, everything you need to know about the game you learned early on at some point.
That leaves the boss enemies. Ok, there are only 2, and they even really aren’t bosses, they’re mostly there to kill and collect an item. The game doesn’t even force you to fight one of them, so you could pretty much chalk him up to being a unique enemies and not a boss stopping you from going on your quest. It isn’t like other games that lock you in a room until you defeat them, more like any other enemy in that you have a choice to fight him or run. He’s optional if you want his item, and that’s it. Though you do need Carmilla’s item, she’s a bit more of a challenge than ol’ Grims.
Aside from that, everything else is pretty good. You get pretty big areas for it’s time to traverse. No game at the time was larger. Great enemy placement, to the point the game’s enemy placement even teaches you where the hidden floor traps are inside the mansions. Lots of upgrades and sub-weapons. Tons of secrets to find. Day/Night cycle. For the time the game came out, the graphics were very colorful and nice to look at, a huge step up from the previous game and one of the best looking games for it’s day. Kick ass music, though sadly short loops. For people to dismiss it so easy because of a few drawbacks is sad. The game is excellent, and fun to play which is the most important aspect of a game.
I’ll play the far superior Zelda II to instead of peice of shit CVII thanks. Least it doesn’t interrupt me every 5 minutes to tell me it’s a horrible night to have a curse (On top of the other problems CVII has)
CV2 has a remake, that’s actually really well done. It’s fan-made.
http://www.anjelsyndicate.org/2011/10/15/fan-game-galaxy-v-castlevania-ii-simons-quest-revamped/
the only people that hate on Simon’s Quest are the ones that played games like SC4 and SotN first. The day/night thing was a little annoying at times, and there’s that tornado thing that the AVGN complains about in his video that was frustrating, but in all, it was an amazing game. By far, not the worst Castlevania game. I think that honestly goes to CV64 or Legends on Gameboy. There was CV Adventure, but because of its age, I give it a little more credit. Legends was a 1998 game that sucked ass, so post-SotN, it has no excuse. There was a really bad arcade game like Haunted Castle or something, and Chronicles on PS1… All way worse than Simon’s Quest. Belmont’s Revenge and that MSX game were worse as well.
I’d say that Simon’s Quest is on par with Harmony of Dissonance in terms of overall problems, but that’s just me.
The game hasn’t aged well, there are more than a few drawbacks, they only seem like a few drawbacks to you, because the other elements of the game that you accept as fine are not considered fine by many other people, and are by them considered drawbacks.
Can’t believe you assholes (not directed at Moonchilde in particular) are making me want to get this game.
They are both pretty much sister games in my eyes, they both are the second game in their respective series and cause a huge debate wherever they go. 
People hating on CVII???
CL is an awesome game, to bad that not many people know about it 
Oh yeah…
Dracula X was fucking horrid, btw.
Chaos Legion… 
Go buy the fuck out of it NOW: http://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Legion-Playstation-2/dp/B00009KO3L/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345135152&sr=8-1&keywords=chaos+legion
Also… Don’t bring Capcom into a Konami thread. That’s like bringing McD’s into a Morton’s Steakhouse thread.
Dracula X…horrid?
Is the Rondo of Blood version really that superior?
By the way, just throwing this out there, if anyone in here ever says the original Castlevania is bad, you should probably kill yourself.
In some ways, yes. In some ways, no. Rondo is very flat looking where as DracX has a lot more depth to the graphics. The color is also better in DracX, Ricther’s skin isn’t as orangey because the SNES has a better color palette. The final battle is much more challenging in DracX, I actually really like it. One of my favorite final battles. The manual art for the SNES game has much better art, though they did not use it in game, but rather some really shitty stuff pixeled by a 2nd grader or something.
http://www.jap-sai.com/Games/Akumajo_Dracula_XX/Akumajo_Dracula_XX_Art_Richter_1.jpg
The music sucks in comparison, though both versions are extremely dated early 90’s J-synth, which has its own particular dated style. Also, the levels are much shorter and aren’t nearly as cool. Rondo has tons of cool stuff like Flea men sliding down guard rails to hit you and skeletons swinging from chandeliers. Rondo is a better game over all, with a lot more replay value. It controls better, too.
Simon’s quest is clearly the best. It has the flame whip.
It’s like they were sitting around saying ‘How do we make this guy more badass? He already swings a whip with a morning star?’ The answer: set it on fire.
So basically, I’m better off just buying Rondo on VC?
Let’s talk about some possible negatives in SOTN.
I honestly can only think of one or two right now, and they both involve Richter mode.
The game never told me about all the cool shit Richter could do, and neither did the manual, the manual just told me how to slide.
Richter mode drops money even though you can’t use it in the Library, because the dude isn’t there. What’s the point? The mode feels a little halfassed. I get that it’s supposed to be way harder because you cant’t level up or get gear, but then why are you making me take paths I shouldn’t have to take in order to get shit that isn’t there to go to the next area?
I’ve only played that mode for like a few hours, so maybe the answers are more obvious to people that have beaten that mode than me.
Edit: After searching, I see his horizontal airdash is a full circle and then forward +the regular attack button.
After that is just the vertical airdash right?
Nevermind, found it on gamefaqs. I’ll copy/paste in case any one else is wondering.
u d df f + attack - circle dash thing
d u + jump - uppercut thing
d + jump, jump - slide kick thing
jump, jump - backflip thing
hold attack, any direction - whip thing
item crash button - item crash
What does the backflip do? Is there a follow up attack?
Neat shortcut someone mentioned by the way, up, QCF, SRK does the same without bothering with a full circle movement.
Fuck it, this page is the most comprehensive on secrets so far.
http://www.ign.com/cheats/games/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night-ps-336
If they’re both available on VC and you have to pick one? Then yeah, Rondo all the way.
Yes.
I would pick Dracula X myself.
I say buy both of them
It’s funny I actually recommend sotn as a game for people trying to learn a arcade stick.
On top of being great, it’s fantastic for learning basic stick mechanics.
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Goddamnit these games are hard.
SOTN and Lords are both much, much easier than Castlevanias I and III
Holy shit that was scary. They must have thought Australians were colorblind computer programs in that commercial.
Anyone have an idea of what the the easiest to hardest would be on a list determined by difficulty
From what I’ve seen in interviews with Mirrors, you play each character in a different era in the same castle. One after anohter, really reminding me of Odin Sphere. Which is a very, very, very good thing. 
…Still haven’t beat that game…
CV1 is significantly easier when you learn to accept holy water into your life. It is made significantly harder when you refuse to use any subweapons. I’ve never done a whole run through that way. Death makes me his bitch.
This reminds me : has anyone attempted the second castle in cv1? After you beat the game? I remember starting it saying what the hell, then there were bats and medusa’s out of nowhere and I was like HELL NO.
It might be time.