Super Castlevania IV

At last, a whip that doesn't just crack straight ahead of you. When Super Castlevania IV arrived in the SNES's launch window, it was an audiovisual showcase that demonstrated what the new console could do — and, with one elegant idea, transformed how Castlevania is played at all.

The essential novelty is the controllable whip. The hero Simon Belmont can now swing it in eight directions and even flick it gently to control its reach. For a series famous for its stiff, almost tank-like controls, this was a small revolution. Combat became more accessible and supple without losing its characteristic tension and its emphasis on rhythm and timing.

Konami also made full use of the new hardware's possibilities. The game shows off the famous Mode 7 — rooms that rotate and tilt before you — and multi-layer scrolling that gives the gothic castle's environments depth and weight. You pass through halls, dungeons and towers whose atmosphere thickens with each new level, all the way to the final confrontation with Dracula.

An inseparable part of the experience is the music. The Super Castlevania IV soundtrack ranks among the most atmospheric ever heard on the console — dark, melodic and perfectly matched to the gloomy tone of the castle's recesses. Together with the precise level design, it completes the feeling that you are walking through a living, breathing manor of horror.

Super Castlevania IV is regularly ranked among the best classic installments of the series from the era before the arrival of the Metroidvania style. For many players it's the perfect demonstration of how a linear, action-packed Castlevania was meant to look, and it's worth discovering even today, whether you're a fan of the series or only just peering into it.

Why play it: For a whip you can aim in eight directions, a breathtaking atmosphere and Mode 7 effects — one of the very best classic Castlevanias.