An excellent game that gamespot really doesn't appreciate. However I must admit I had to use a walkthrough for this one.
The Good: Being able to explore I think is great in any game, and this game accomplishes it well. I thought being able to buy upgrades for your whips and other items was pretty cool this being a Castlevania game. I think this inspired more later titles like Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow(which are both awesome). This game is just fun and easy to get into. The graphics aren't revolutionary but they aren't bad. The music is pretty cool. It definitely suits the game. Well the gameplay is pretty simple. You walk left or right and when you see an enemy you whip it..with your whip. It's awesome! Mostly the gameplay hasn't changed much it just isn't as linear.
The Bad: This game is way too hard without a walkthrough. Whenever they translated this game from the Japanese version something must have happened to what everyone says. There is no bosses! Theres 5 mansions in the game where you must Get draculas body parts. 2 mansions has a somewhat stronger enemt but you don't even have to fight them. They aren't even hard. They're pathetic. Even at the end when you fight Dracula I'm not sure is a boss fight. He's alot easier. You can kill him before he even attacks you! This was saddening. There is 3 endings in the game. However even the best ending was pretty bad. I hate how the old NES games end this way!
I don't care if your playing this for the Wii Virtual Console, on your NES, or on an emulator, you need to play this game. It's a classic that nobody should miss. While it has it's faults, it is still a great game.