Re-release Information

(1) 2002: Re-released as part of Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania and Contra for the PC CD-ROM
(2) 2006: The originally PC-only title Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania and Contra comes to GameTap, the multi-system game-download service, with included an individual re-release of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
(3) 2007: Simon's Quest becomes digitally downloadable on Wii's Virtual Console via its Shop Channel

Manual Story Description

THE SECOND COMING OF COUNT DRACULA
       You're Simon Belmont, bravest of the brave, boldest of the bold, a gothic warrior respected by kings.
       You earned your praise, not by crushing Viking invaders or Turkish hordes, but by destroying the evil Count Dracula in a duel to the death at Castlevania. But your victory proved painful, as the wounds inflicted during the duel slowly gnawed at your soul.
       One day, though, a beautiful maiden appeared. With a soft voice she warned that you were possessed by the Count's curse. She said your only hope of destroying the curse and healing your scars was to find the five body parts of Count Dracula and burn them in his Castle, ending forever the reign of the Prince of Darkness.
       Suddenly, like most beautiful visions, she began to fade. And as you reached to touch her, she spoke her final words--
       "Fear not, brave Simon, for if you have the courage to risk your life, you will find the strength to win again."

Objective/Overview

Simon's Quest is a sequel spawned mainly by the popularity of Castlevania, which by 1988 was already an NES classic. In preparing this follow-up, Konami learned that it hadn't even scratched the surface as to how far the NES' limitations could be stretched. It's for this reason that Konami wanted to try something a little different, which was a theme for sequels from around this time. Thus, Simon's Quest is presented to you not as a stage-by-stage experience but rather as an adventure-RPG in the vein of Metroid and to a greater degree Rygar.

Your objective is to search through numerous haunting scenes to find and explore five progressively challenging mansions, wherein you'll search for the five body parts of Dracula needed to enter the dreaded Castlevania. You'll find your way by interacting with supporting cast members scattered game-wide; by collecting valuable weaponry; by battling and defeating an assortment of enemies to gain experience and thus increase your power-level; and by arriving at the castle to initiate the final battle. Since Simon's Quest runs on a built-in timer, which measures the amount of in-game "days," you can earn different endings depending upon how long your mission lasts.

The LCD versions of Simon's Quest are typical of the early handheld genre and are in no way equal to the NES iteration.

Japanese/European Differences

The Japanese version, made for the Famicom Disk System, has a bunch of minor changes. (1) The first is the inclusion of a name-entry option that you can use to save your game into a slot and thus the game's memory (in place of the password system we use). (2) Because it's a disk game for a disk system, there are loading times present when you enter into towns and mansions. (3) The music that guides you along is more digital, faster-paced and higher-toned than what you hear in the NES version. (4) There are deviations on some names; most prominently, Simon's last name, as is usually the case with the family surname, is "Belmondo." Also, Camilla Cemetery is instead called "Carmilla Cemetery." (5) The game's enemy rate is slightly higher than the western version's. (6) There are some sound differences: The glass-shattering effect of holy water doesn't exist, the sound effect assigned to Simon falling into water is altered, the secret-discovering sound plays only when you initially talk to hidden souls and not after, and there are snazzier sounds for the Ferryman's actions and the Deborah Cliff tornado-soul ride. (7) You can continue purchasing garlic and laurels even after your stock is filled. And (8) the mansion music also plays when you're at their outside entrances.

In the European version (since the PAL versions tend to come out maybe a year after their western counterparts' releases), the phrase "You now prossess Dracula's [name of part]" has been corrected to where the "prossess" typo is fixed. (Thanks to Danny for this information.)

Soundtrack and Credits

Soundtrack
Opening and Ending Themes: 1 - Message of Darkness | 2 - A Requiem
Area Themes: 1 - The Silence of Daylight | 2 - Bloody Tears | 3 - Monster Dance | 4 - Dwelling of Doom | 5 - Within These Castle Walls
Battle Themes: 1 - Last Boss
Miscellaneous Themes: 1 - Game Over

Links
Music Files: MP3 (American and Japanese) and MIDI
Soundtrack Release: Dracula Perfect Selection, Akumajou Dracula Best, Dracula Battle Perfect Selection Vol. 1, Akumajou Dracula MIDI Collection and Castlevania Best Music Collections Box
Game Credits: Not Available

Other Characters

Lesser Enemies: Skeleton, Vampire Bat, Raven, Spider, Man-Eating Plant, Spear Knight, Zombie, Slimy Barsinister, Fishman, Fire Man, Two-Headed Creature, The Ferryman, Freddie, Ghostly Eyeball, Eagle, Slime, Mud Man, Wolf, Dragon Bones, Vulture, Ghastly Leech, Skull Head, Medusa Head, Gargoyle, Mummy Man, Wolf Man, Zombie Hand and Pirate Skeleton
Bosses: The Grim Reaper and Vampira
Dracula Forms: Dracula
Supporting Cast: The Merchants, the Villagers, Priests, Oak Stake Salesmen, Hidden Souls, Crystal Traders and the Ferryman

Character Lists

Lesser Enemies | Bosses | Dracula Forms | Supporting Cast