Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Encyclopedia
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure
role-playing
platform game
produced by Konami
. It was originally released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan
1987 and for the Nintendo Entertainment System
in North America in 1988. It is the second Castlevania
title released for the NES, following the original Castlevania
. Set sometime after the events of the first installment, the player once again assumes the role of vampire hunter Simon Belmont, who is on a journey to undo a curse placed on him by Dracula
at the end of their previous encounter.
The gameplay departs from the standard platforming genre of the first Castlevania, and instead uses an exploration system. Simon, controlled by the player, can travel to towns and dungeons. Some RPG elements are included in the game—Simon can talk with townspeople who will offer vague clues or lies. He can also go to merchants who will sell items, either for fighting enemies or for traversing to unreachable areas. In order to pay for them, he must collect hearts, which are dropped by defeated enemies. In addition to the ordinary items in Simon's inventory, he can also purchase new whips in a few locations of the game. He begins with a standard Leather Whip, and can upgrade to stronger ones with each new purchase.
Simon's Quest introduces an Experience Rating
system, also found in role-playing games. Simon's Experience Rating is raised by also collecting hearts. After he finds a sufficient amount of them, his level will rise and his maximum health will increase. Each time his level rises, the required amount of hearts for the next level also increases.
Simon's Quest has a night and day function, where the period of time in the game can change between daytime and nightfall. Each sequence lasts a few minutes before the next transition, and they have a prominent effect on the game and Simon's encounters. During the day, the enemies outside of towns in the game are less strong and occurrent. At night time, they appear more often and do more damage to Simon's life points. Though when defeated, they give more hearts in compensation. The townspeople and merchants in their respective locations are no longer available to talk to during night time, and are replaced by enemies called zombies.
Despite the departure from the previous game, there are elements from it that have remained. This includes the Magic Weapons, which are secondary weapons to Simon's whip. Each of them have a different use. Like most games in the series, some of these require the usage of hearts. One of them returning from Castlevania is the Holy Water, a small glass which can disintegrate walls that conceal hidden items. Some Magic Weapons from the previous game do not return, but there are also new ones that make their first appearance in Simon's Quest. This includes the Diamond, which bounces off any walls surrounding Simon, and damages any enemies.
The objective of the game is to travel to the five mansions to find the body parts of Dracula's corpse, and an item known as the Magic Cross. The body parts can be utilized to support Simon in the game. For example, Dracula's Rib can be used as a shield to block any projectile attacks fired from an enemy. After finding all of the required items, this will allow Simon to clear the blockade in front of Dracula's castle, and fight the last boss.
The game's setting takes place seven years after the original Castlevania. According to the story details in the instruction manual for the Japanese version, the prologue begins when Simon visits his family's resting ground. His back is critically injured from his last encounter with Dracula in the previous game. He suddenly feels someone's presence, and turns to see a young woman standing within the mist. She tells him that a curse was placed upon him by Dracula during their last battle, and that he does not have long to live. The woman continues to say that the curse can be undone if he resurrects Dracula himself. She further explains that Dracula's body was split into five different parts after his defeat seven years ago, and Simon must recover these and bring them to the ruins of Dracula's castle. There, he must seal Dracula and defeat him. Before disappearing, the unknown woman says she cannot guarantee that this will destroy Dracula permanently.
After Simon defeats Dracula in the game, there are three possible endings which are received based on the time the player took to finish it. One of them is a scenario where Simon sustains fatal injuries from the confrontation with Dracula, and dies.
on the NES. It was released on the FDS on August 28, 1987 in Japan.
It was eventually developed for cartridge release on the NES in North America on December 1, 1988, and in Europe on April 27, 1990. Because of hardware differences between the FDS and NES, there were changes between the versions designed for both consoles. The FDS version of Simon's Quest featured a save system
, as other FDS games also featured at the time. The NES version instead utilized a password function
to return to specific sequences from the game. The FDS medium had a data
storage limitation of only 862-kilobit
s of slow access, whereas bank-switching techniques and solid memory costs allowed cartridges to have comparable dataspace with much faster access. The developers used the space to improve the music quality for the game, adding percussion samples and re-arranging the melodies to take advantage of the technology. Other changes were made to several grammatical and spelling errors within the game's endings (colloquially known as Engrish
), such as "Simmon Belmont". Information such as official artwork for Simon's Quest has been lost since its release. Most of the original art for it and early Castlevania titles were lost during the Great Hanshin Earthquake
.
title Haunted Castle
. The most significant composition is Bloody Tears, which has since became a recurring song in the Castlevania franchise. The album Akumajō Dracula Best Vol. 1 was released on March 20, 1990 with the catalog number KICA-1005, and a bonus sticker. It was rereleased on September 23, 1998 with the catalog number KICA-7901. It included the FDS version of Simon's Quests music, with three bonus tracks from the NES version. The disc also includes the audio from Castlevania and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, covering 33 tracks altogether with a total duration of 1:04.00. Some reviewers of Simon's Quest have praised Matsubara's compositions, mentioning Bloody Tears for remaining a favorite among fans of the series. GameSpy
stated all of the music is "incredible", and noted it for being one of the first appearances of "classics like The Silence of Daylight".
Track listing
Upon its release, Simon's Quest received strong publicity in the second issue of Nintendo Power
. Its front page had a costumed model dressed as Simon Belmont, holding Dracula's severed head. This cover provoked many telephone complaints from parents of children who purchased the magazine. They told Nintendo Power that it gave their children nightmares. Nintendo Power covered this in volume 50 of the magazine, which cited it as their worst cover. Simon's Quest was also referenced in a following issue in a Howard and Nester comic strip. Nintendo Power ranked it as the 15th best Nintendo Entertainment System
video game, comparing it to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
in how it added role-playing game elements successfully to its series.
The game garnered positive reviews following its release, and received the reputation of a Nintendo classic over time. It has an average rating of 7.5 out of 10 on the popular gaming community GameFAQs
. Gaming website, IGN, cited Simon's Quest as the "perfect game to play during 1989". It praised it for its theme of exploration, and acknowledged how it evolved recent titles of the series. RPGamer noted it for being a "a very rough blueprint for some amazing games to come". Numerous statements about the game also laud its graphical and audio presentation. Reviewers have remarked that it is "absolutely amazing", and have complimented its visuals for being an improvement over the first Castlevania.
Simon's Quest was not without its criticism. A common complaint about the game was its English localization. The clues offered by the NPCs
in the game were criticised for being too cryptic and poorly translated. Producer of several Castlevania titles, Koji Igarashi
, revealed in an interview that all the NPCs in the Japanese version were deliberate liars. GameSpot said that the subtle hints from the Japanese version were lost in translation. An infamous line of dialogue they gave as an example was "hit Deborah Cliff with your head to make a hole".
Active Gaming Media
went further describing where and how the Japanese hint was lost.
Further criticism also stemmed from some of the game's puzzles, which reviewers have noted for not having any clues at all. Complaints were made towards a scenario from the game where Simon must summon a tornado in a graveyard. 1UP.com
mentioned the game required a walkthrough
because of its non-explanatory nature.
series. The game's exploration system and ideas introduced adventure elements to the series for the first time, and it would heavily influence future titles. The first game that drew inspiration from it was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
. The plot of Simon's Quest would also be directly referenced in future Castlevania titles. In the Game Boy Advance
entry, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
, the protagonist recounts when his grandfather Simon had to search for Dracula's body parts. In the game, the player must also find them again.
Simon's Quest saw several merchandise following its release. In 1988, Tiger Electronics
released a handheld game and an LCD wristwatch based on Simon's Quest. Promotional collector's cards were also available exclusively in Japan. They were based on sequences in the game, such as Simon's encounters with enemies. Worlds of Power
, a series of books with stories based on Nintendo games, also had a novel about Simon's Quest. It was written by Christopher Howell, and the series was produced by Seth Godin. In 2007, when Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles was released, a figurine of Simon's appearance from Simon's Quest was included as a pre-order bonus
.
On November 16, 2002, Simon's Quest was a part of Castlevania and Contra: Konami Collector's Series in North America, a PC
port of original Konami games. In an exclusive fan interview for the official Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
strategy guide, Koji Igarashi was asked about possible ports of previous Castlevania titles. In response, he considered the possibility of a compilation of the NES titles, which includes Simon's Quest.
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
role-playing
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
produced by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
. It was originally released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
1987 and for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
in North America in 1988. It is the second Castlevania
Castlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
title released for the NES, following the original Castlevania
Castlevania (video game)
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a console video game developed and published by Konami for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan in September 1986. A year later, in May 1987 it was ported to cartridge format and released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System followed by a...
. Set sometime after the events of the first installment, the player once again assumes the role of vampire hunter Simon Belmont, who is on a journey to undo a curse placed on him by Dracula
Dracula (Castlevania)
, whose real name is Mathias Cronqvist , is a fictional character from the multi-platform Castlevania video game series...
at the end of their previous encounter.
Gameplay
Simon's Quest introduces an Experience Rating
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
system, also found in role-playing games. Simon's Experience Rating is raised by also collecting hearts. After he finds a sufficient amount of them, his level will rise and his maximum health will increase. Each time his level rises, the required amount of hearts for the next level also increases.
Simon's Quest has a night and day function, where the period of time in the game can change between daytime and nightfall. Each sequence lasts a few minutes before the next transition, and they have a prominent effect on the game and Simon's encounters. During the day, the enemies outside of towns in the game are less strong and occurrent. At night time, they appear more often and do more damage to Simon's life points. Though when defeated, they give more hearts in compensation. The townspeople and merchants in their respective locations are no longer available to talk to during night time, and are replaced by enemies called zombies.
Despite the departure from the previous game, there are elements from it that have remained. This includes the Magic Weapons, which are secondary weapons to Simon's whip. Each of them have a different use. Like most games in the series, some of these require the usage of hearts. One of them returning from Castlevania is the Holy Water, a small glass which can disintegrate walls that conceal hidden items. Some Magic Weapons from the previous game do not return, but there are also new ones that make their first appearance in Simon's Quest. This includes the Diamond, which bounces off any walls surrounding Simon, and damages any enemies.
The objective of the game is to travel to the five mansions to find the body parts of Dracula's corpse, and an item known as the Magic Cross. The body parts can be utilized to support Simon in the game. For example, Dracula's Rib can be used as a shield to block any projectile attacks fired from an enemy. After finding all of the required items, this will allow Simon to clear the blockade in front of Dracula's castle, and fight the last boss.
Plot
After Simon defeats Dracula in the game, there are three possible endings which are received based on the time the player took to finish it. One of them is a scenario where Simon sustains fatal injuries from the confrontation with Dracula, and dies.
Development
Simon's Quest was designed by H. Akamatsu, who was later credited with the programming and directing of Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseCastlevania III: Dracula's Curse
-Reception and legacy:Nintendo Power listed it as the ninth best Nintendo Entertainment System video game, praising it for its strong improvements over previous entries in the series.A 1991 Captain N episode was based on this game....
on the NES. It was released on the FDS on August 28, 1987 in Japan.
It was eventually developed for cartridge release on the NES in North America on December 1, 1988, and in Europe on April 27, 1990. Because of hardware differences between the FDS and NES, there were changes between the versions designed for both consoles. The FDS version of Simon's Quest featured a save system
Saved game
A saved game is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. This saved game can be reloaded later, so the player can continue where he or she had stopped...
, as other FDS games also featured at the time. The NES version instead utilized a password function
Password (video games)
In many video games of the 8-bit and, to a lesser extent, 16-bit eras , after a level was beaten and/or when all continues were used, the game would display a password, that when entered in the game would allow the player to return to this part in the game...
to return to specific sequences from the game. The FDS medium had a data
Data (computing)
In computer science, data is information in a form suitable for use with a computer. Data is often distinguished from programs. A program is a sequence of instructions that detail a task for the computer to perform...
storage limitation of only 862-kilobit
Kilobit
The kilobit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information or computer storage. The prefix kilo is defined in the International System of Units as a multiplier of 103 , and therefore,...
s of slow access, whereas bank-switching techniques and solid memory costs allowed cartridges to have comparable dataspace with much faster access. The developers used the space to improve the music quality for the game, adding percussion samples and re-arranging the melodies to take advantage of the technology. Other changes were made to several grammatical and spelling errors within the game's endings (colloquially known as Engrish
Engrish
refers to unusual forms of English language usage by native speakers of some East Asian languages. The term itself relates to Japanese speakers' tendency to inadvertently substitute the English phonemes "R" and "L" for one another, because the Japanese language has one alveolar consonant in place...
), such as "Simmon Belmont". Information such as official artwork for Simon's Quest has been lost since its release. Most of the original art for it and early Castlevania titles were lost during the Great Hanshin Earthquake
Great Hanshin earthquake
The Great Hanshin earthquake, or Kobe earthquake, was an earthquake that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale , and Mj7.3 on JMA magnitude scale. The tremors lasted for approximately 20...
.
Audio
The game's soundtrack was composed by Kenichi Matsubara, who later created music for the Castlevania arcadeArcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
title Haunted Castle
Haunted Castle (arcade game)
Haunted Castle, known as in Japan, is the first arcade game in the Castlevania series, released by Konami in 1988. It was later re-released on the PlayStation 2 exclusively in Japan, as part of the Oretachi Game Center Zoku collection....
. The most significant composition is Bloody Tears, which has since became a recurring song in the Castlevania franchise. The album Akumajō Dracula Best Vol. 1 was released on March 20, 1990 with the catalog number KICA-1005, and a bonus sticker. It was rereleased on September 23, 1998 with the catalog number KICA-7901. It included the FDS version of Simon's Quests music, with three bonus tracks from the NES version. The disc also includes the audio from Castlevania and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, covering 33 tracks altogether with a total duration of 1:04.00. Some reviewers of Simon's Quest have praised Matsubara's compositions, mentioning Bloody Tears for remaining a favorite among fans of the series. GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
stated all of the music is "incredible", and noted it for being one of the first appearances of "classics like The Silence of Daylight".
Track listing
| Disk 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| class="wikitable" style="width:100%; margin-right:-1em;"> | |||
| # | Japanese title (Romanization) | English title | Length |
| 01. | 遥かなる凱旋 (Beginning) -悪魔城伝説より- | Beginning -from Akumajō Densetsu- | 3:22 |
| 02. | 血の涙 -ドラキュラIIより- | Bloody Tears -from Dracula II- | 1:18 |
| 03. | 新たなる決意 | New Determination | 6:01 |
| 04. | 決死の対戦 | Desperate Battle | 6:21 |
| 05. | ラルフ危機！ | Ralph's Crisis! | 3:36 |
| 06. | 暗黒と緊迫 | Darkness and Tension | 4:17 |
| 07. | 地下からの脱出 | Escape from the Underground | 2:30 |
| 08. | 最期の戦い | The Final Battle | 7:52 |
| 09. | エンディング | Ending | 2:30 |
| 10. | Message of Darkness (ネーミングBGM) | Message of Darkness (Naming BGM) | 0:42 |
| 11. | Within these Castle Walls (城BGM) | Within these Castle Walls (Castle BGM) | 0:44 |
| 12. | Bloody Tears (昼の道BGM) | Bloody Tears (Street-day time BGM) | 1:05 |
| 13. | The Silence of the Daylight (昼の街BGM) | The Silence of the Daylight (Daytime Town BGM) | 0:58 |
| 14. | Dwelling of Doom (館BGM) | Dwelling of Doom (Mansion BGM) | 0:59 |
| 15. | Monster Dance (夜のBGM) | Monster Dance (Night BGM) | 0:58 |
| 16. | Last Boss (最終ボスBGM) | Last Boss (Last Boss BGM) | 0:37 |
| 17. | Game Over (ゲーム・オーバー) | Game Over (Game Over) | 0:05 |
| 18. | A Requiem (エンディング) | A Requiem (Ending) | 1:59 |
| 19. | Underground (ネーミングBGM) | Underground (Naming BGM) | 0:30 |
| 20. | Prologue (スタート・BGM) | Prologue (Start BGM) | 0:08 |
| 21. | Vampire Killer (城内潜入BGM) | Vampire Killer (Breaking into the Castle BGM) | 1:15 |
| 22. | Starker (塔BGM) | Starker [sic] (Tower BGM) | 1:14 |
| 23. | Wicked Child (屋外BGM) | Wicked Child (Outdoors BGM) | 2:06 |
| 24. | Walking on the Edge (地下BGM) | Walking on the Edge (Underground BGM) | 1:43 |
| 25. | Heart of Fire (ドラキュラ城本館BGM) | Heart of Fire (Dracula Castle Main Hall BGM) | 2:12 |
| 26. | Out of Time (時計台BGM) | Out of Time (Clock Tower BGM) | 1:21 |
| 27. | Nothing to Lose (最終ステージBGM) | Nothing to Lose (Last Stage BGM) | 1:33 |
| 28. | Poison Mind (ボスBGM) | Poison Mind (Boss BGM) | 0:32 |
| 29. | Black Night (最終ボスBGM) | Black Night (Last Boss BGM) | 0:57 |
| 30. | Voyager (エンディング) | Voyager (Ending) | 0:56 |
| 31. | The Silence of the Daylight (Town Stage BGM) | 1:14 | |
| 32. | Bloody Tears (Street-day time-Stage BGM) | 0:49 | |
| 33. | A Requiem (Ending BGM) | 1:36 | |
Reception
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
. Its front page had a costumed model dressed as Simon Belmont, holding Dracula's severed head. This cover provoked many telephone complaints from parents of children who purchased the magazine. They told Nintendo Power that it gave their children nightmares. Nintendo Power covered this in volume 50 of the magazine, which cited it as their worst cover. Simon's Quest was also referenced in a following issue in a Howard and Nester comic strip. Nintendo Power ranked it as the 15th best Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
video game, comparing it to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released as in Japan and often mistakenly called The Adventures of Link, is an action role-playing video game with platforming elements. The second installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment...
in how it added role-playing game elements successfully to its series.
The game garnered positive reviews following its release, and received the reputation of a Nintendo classic over time. It has an average rating of 7.5 out of 10 on the popular gaming community GameFAQs
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
. Gaming website, IGN, cited Simon's Quest as the "perfect game to play during 1989". It praised it for its theme of exploration, and acknowledged how it evolved recent titles of the series. RPGamer noted it for being a "a very rough blueprint for some amazing games to come". Numerous statements about the game also laud its graphical and audio presentation. Reviewers have remarked that it is "absolutely amazing", and have complimented its visuals for being an improvement over the first Castlevania.
Simon's Quest was not without its criticism. A common complaint about the game was its English localization. The clues offered by the NPCs
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
in the game were criticised for being too cryptic and poorly translated. Producer of several Castlevania titles, Koji Igarashi
Koji Igarashi
, also known simply by the nickname IGA, is a Konami employee and one of the producers of the Castlevania video game series. He is best known as the assistant director of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, his first major involvement in the Castlevania series , also known simply by the nickname...
, revealed in an interview that all the NPCs in the Japanese version were deliberate liars. GameSpot said that the subtle hints from the Japanese version were lost in translation. An infamous line of dialogue they gave as an example was "hit Deborah Cliff with your head to make a hole".
Active Gaming Media
Active Gaming Media
, Active Gaming Media Co., Ltd), also referred to as AGM, is a localization agency and service company based in Osaka,Japan, that specializes in quality assurance, market research and marketing for video games....
went further describing where and how the Japanese hint was lost.
Further criticism also stemmed from some of the game's puzzles, which reviewers have noted for not having any clues at all. Complaints were made towards a scenario from the game where Simon must summon a tornado in a graveyard. 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
mentioned the game required a walkthrough
Strategy guide
Strategy guides are instruction books that contain hints or complete solutions to specific video games. The line between strategy guides and walkthroughs is somewhat blurred, with the former often containing or being written around the latter. Strategy guides are often published in print, both in...
because of its non-explanatory nature.
Legacy
Simon's Quest was the first game in the Castlevania series to depart from linear gameplay, and instead feature a non-linear explorative world, which has been compared to Nintendo's famous MetroidMetroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
series. The game's exploration system and ideas introduced adventure elements to the series for the first time, and it would heavily influence future titles. The first game that drew inspiration from it was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...
. The plot of Simon's Quest would also be directly referenced in future Castlevania titles. In the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
entry, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami for the Game Boy Advance. Belonging to Konami's Castlevania video game series, it is the second installment of the series on the Game Boy Advance...
, the protagonist recounts when his grandfather Simon had to search for Dracula's body parts. In the game, the player must also find them again.
Simon's Quest saw several merchandise following its release. In 1988, Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets. When Tiger was an independent company, Tiger Electronics Inc., its headquarters were in Vernon Hills, Illinois....
released a handheld game and an LCD wristwatch based on Simon's Quest. Promotional collector's cards were also available exclusively in Japan. They were based on sequences in the game, such as Simon's encounters with enemies. Worlds of Power
Worlds of Power
The Worlds of Power books are a series of novelizations of video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System released in the early 1990s. The series was created by Seth Godin and is characterized by the fact that they are mostly "male-oriented titles," that take creative liberties with their source...
, a series of books with stories based on Nintendo games, also had a novel about Simon's Quest. It was written by Christopher Howell, and the series was produced by Seth Godin. In 2007, when Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles was released, a figurine of Simon's appearance from Simon's Quest was included as a pre-order bonus
Pre-order
A pre-order is an order placed for an item which has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came when people found it hard to get popular items in stores due to their popularity. Companies were then given the idea to allow people to reserve their own personal copy, before the release, ...
.
On November 16, 2002, Simon's Quest was a part of Castlevania and Contra: Konami Collector's Series in North America, a PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
port of original Konami games. In an exclusive fan interview for the official Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami. It is part of Konami's Castlevania video game series and the first Castlevania game to be released on the Nintendo DS. The game is the sequel to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and...
strategy guide, Koji Igarashi was asked about possible ports of previous Castlevania titles. In response, he considered the possibility of a compilation of the NES titles, which includes Simon's Quest.