Belmont's Revenge offers some of the best vampire killing action available, handheld or otherwise.
Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge is the sequel to Castlevania: The Adventure also on the Game Boy and shouldn’t be confused with Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, a sequel to the original NES game. Castlevania: The Adventure could have been good, but it was bogged down by a slow pace, an iffy framerate and levels that only made its issues more apparent. The game was brutally difficult too, with sparse checkpoints and it having to be played in one sitting without any sort of level selection. Belmont’s Revenge takes all of those issues, fixes them, and becomes a Castlevania game that rivals any of its predecessors, regardless of how big the screen is.
Like The Adventure, Belmont’s Revenge stars Christopher Belmont. Dracula has kidnapped Christopher’s son, Soleiyu, and Christopher needs to fight through various castles to uncover Dracula’s castle so he can rescue him and perhaps even defeat Dracula once and for all. The storytelling is minimal, but there is an interesting dialogue exchange that occurs to suitably creepy music.
Christopher retains his fireball spitting whip, making the traditional whipping action a little more interesting. This time however, Christopher lives life like a true Belmont. He eats pork chops and has access to a heart consuming sub-weapon arsenal he didn’t have in his prior adventure. Granted, he only gets axes and holy water, but this minor addition gives the player more options in combat, making obstacles a little more manageable.
Similar to a Mega Man game, Belmont’s Revenge features a level select screen in place of throwing you right into the action. Apart from that, the game plays like a better version of Castlevania: The Adventure. There are four stages that can be selected, the Cloud Castle, the Crystal Castle, the Plant Castle and the Rock Castle. Themed according to their names, these environments are captured well, despite the Game Boy’s lack of color. Even though Christopher still trudges along, the levels are more suited to his pace, making for a smoother overall experience.
Only helping matters is something to groove to as Christopher hikes through each castle. As impressive as the Castlevania library of music already is, Belmont’s Revenge features a healthy lineup of tracks on its own. The soundtrack easily ranks among the best the series has to offer.
By the same token, Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge is among the best in the well-established Castlevania series. That it’s a handheld game hardly feels relevant to its quality, because it preserves what makes Castlevania such a compelling series in the first place. It’s a briefer adventure than its NES brethren, but it’s every bit as convincing in its ability to deliver a first-rate action experience.