I’ve been noticing a lot of games recently have been trying to recapture the magical feelings of the bygone eras of gaming. With all the high tech toys that AAA game developers are allowed to play with these days, they tend to make things more complex, more grandiose. Now I’m not one of those guys who think that the 8-bit and 16-bit were better than this generation, but I do think it had some distinct advantages that make it worth going back to. Games that are 3D tend to be more of a spectacle, but this means that there’s a lot of information coming to you all at once and you’re bound to miss a lot of it. On the other hand, the realms of 2D are inherently simple and thus easier to understand. Not only to play, but also to make.
Recently I’ve been watching videos on two games I want but can’t get just yet; Shovel Knight, a tribute to old school 8-bit games, and Freedom Planet, a tribute to old school 16-bit games. While they are indeed using a style that could easily get away on nostalgia alone, I’ve heard that both games are good on their own merits even without any past investment in a late 80s early 90s game console. I bring this up because of a game I’ve been playing recently called Maldita Castilla, which a tribute to old school horror games like Ghost and Goblins and Castlevania. And while it definitely looks the part, can it match the legacy that those games left behind or is it the kind of game that’s better left forgotten after the sun has banished the horrible night?
Let’s start with the story. It’s the late 11th century and in the Spanish countryside a witch named Moura has lost her lover to war. A demon takes advantage of her heartache and uses her to usher in a new age of terror causing the usual end of the world evils to take control. The dead are rising to slay the living, demons keep popping in out of nowhere, and inanimate objects come to life to wreak vengeance on all those who used them as makeshift plungers. You play as Don Ramiro (although with how similar he looks to Ghouls and Ghost’s protagonist you might as well call him Don Arturo) one of four loyal knights of King Alfonso VI of León who are sent out to bring an end to the evil demon’s plot and save all of Spain. Although, after reading a little bit about who King Alfonso was and what he historically did, I’m not so sure that I should be starting with the demons.
The first thing I want to mention about Maldita Castilla is that the game’s atmosphere is dark and unwelcoming, making you really feel like a cafe patron who's just there for the free wi-fi. Every stage feels like it’s part of the bleak story of what the curse has done to the land. Near the beginning of the first level you come across a village that was alive and flourishing not too long ago, but now all of its residents are now evil *cough*Imclever*cough*. Blood and bodies are found in the most disturbing places all throughout the game, and there’s always a sense of dread about like when it turns to night in Casltevania 2. Even the enemies themselves, most of which are inspired by Spanish mythology, feel like they’re victims to the evil that has been let loose.
Every stage is unique for each other, so it never feels like you’re going through the same place twice. Every challenge also feels distinct, while at the same time teaching you what you need to know for later parts of the game. The music also lends itself quite well to the tone of the game, as a good soundtrack should. It can be dreary when it needs to, uplifting during certain moments, and heart pounding when some kind of tension is around. My favorite level is the swamp, because while it may be a difficult section of the game, you get to use turtles as platforms and there are mermaids. And I love turtles! And mermaids! And burritos. I'm getting off track here.
Now onto gameplay; Maldita Castilla plays quite a bit like Ghost and Goblins, or at least I think it does. To be honest, I never got past the first check point in the NES classic, but from what I remember they are very similar. However, I think Maldita Castilla is better because while it has that same level of difficulty, I could actually get up to the last stage on this game. Part of this may have to do with the game having three hits to death as opposed to the 2 in Ghouls and Goblins games. Of course this means you won’t be running around in your undies, which depending on your tastes may be a boon or a detriment.
The controls are really easy to get used to, especially if you’ve played old school horror-action games. It takes a lot from Ghouls Ghosts, such as the ability to throw melee weapons clear across the screen, but it also updates the controls so you can shoot straight up at overhead enemies and while jumping you can shoot below yourself so you can kill a zombie that you would have landed on before it could hurt you. However, it also takes the abysmal jumping controls. While I really did enjoy the fighting in the game, whenever the game came around to platforming I would easily burn through 20 lives trying to figure out how to get through them. That said, I never stopped playing and I’ve never really like precise platforming to begin with, so maybe you’ll have more fun with it then I did.
One area this game really shines in is its grasp of how to introduce a player to challenge. This game is very difficult but rarely is it unfair, even in those stupid jumping sections. The game doesn’t usually throw things at you that you haven’t seen before. Whenever a new enemy or object appears, it’s the only thing on the screen, so you get a chance to clearly see what it does and can make a strategy to get around or defeat it. It’s only after that when it will start throwing them at you none stop. If you want a good example of this, when you play through the game notice the first time you see a skeleton and then see how it first introduces them to you, and then uses them against you.
The weapons are well designed and all of them have a unique function that actually incentivizes experimenting with each one. You start off with a sword that flies forward and has unlimited range, much like in GnG. There’s an axe that you throw in an arc a’la Castlevania which I found to be rather useful. The ball and chain weapon is interesting, as it flies in a wave giving it more of a chance to hit enemies, and to my surprise it actually did most of the time. That said, the sickle is utterly broken. It’s meant to be the faster weapon, while other weapons can only have two weapons on screen at one, the sickle can have three out at once. Because of this they do more damage and they also have a boomerang effect so that they can hit enemies that might have evaded your attack the first time. Its only drawback as far as I can tell is it only has about half the range that the other weapons have. But if you think you’re going to just get the sickle and breeze through the game, think again because unlike Ghouls, Ghosts and Goblins Oh My whenever you lose a life you always respawn with the default equipment. Also while check points are quite common in this game, you’ll encounter a lot of them right after changing weapons, and you can’t go back to reselect your favorite weapon and are then stuck with the sword. Yes, what better way of game balancing is there than annoying your player?
The game also has power-ups that can make your quest easier, such as the shield that will protect you from damage one time or the fairy companion that will attack with you. Seriously, I love the fairy if for no other reason than to have a companion on my strange journey. However, the power-ups can also make your life more if you don’t know what you’re doing. There are winged boots in the game that make you jump higher, but the only time I found them was just before a platforming section and I wasn’t used to it so it always threw off my jumps. Another “power-up” that more causes stress than relieves it is the key. I only found two of them during my playthrough, but both times they were such a pain to get and keep (because remember; death = power-up lost) that it almost became more trouble than it was worth in the end, if not for the fact that you need one and you need the other to get the good ending.
Yes, I repeat, good ending. This game has multiple endings and to get a good one you need to find Moura’s five tears and turn them into a key to enter the demon’s realm and fight the true final boss. If you can’t find them all, the game will end after stage 5. So this game makes you replay the game if you don’t do everything you’re supposed to. So I guess it really is definitely a product of the Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts legacy. Also this game takes being like an arcade game very seriously. There are 6 levels, no save feature, and while you have unlimited continue there’s a creepy message after you’ve used your fourth telling you that you need to forfeit your soul in order to continue the game, pretty much just telling you that you’ve lost your chance at the perfect ending. But fortunately, I don’t need to see it because I have access to the ancient magic of YouTube!
And again keeping in line with the idea of Maldita Castilla being an arcade game, there are a ton of secrets to find in the game. Some are useful, such as the invincibility potion I found on accident during a late platfroming section, and some are just neat additions that make the game a little more noval, such as being able to find the lady of the lake. And as I mentioned before a lot of the monsters in the game are taken from Spanish folklore, which is a pretty awesome addition. My favorite one is the boss who is basically a tinman version of Don Quixote. It is simultaneously awesome and frustrating as hell, which is rather appropriate since you fight him inside of a library that’s being burned to the ground.
Personally, I found Maldita Castilla to be a great throwback to old hard as nails games. By adding an extra hit before death it makes it easier to play and get into than its old-school counterparts, but it still maintains a high level of difficulty that will keep players raging for more. While a lack of a feature that lets you pick any level to go to at a whim is pretty annoying, this game should not be overlooked. And while it’s a free game, it’s still a full adventure with many trials to overcome. Actually, a weird little bit of trivia while I was researching (and by that I mean on the Wikipedia article) the word “Castilla” actually has a double meaning. It can mean a spell, such as the curse that’s been put upon the land, but it can also mean expressing anger at a difficult challenge. In that sense, this game has definitely earned its name.
You can download Maldita Castilla for free here; http://www.locomalito.com/maldita_castilla.php
Maldita Castilla is a freeware game, but if you like the game and have a little coin to spare, why not donate a little something to the game maker
Note the second: There has since been a rerelease of the game on PS4, Xbox One, 3DS and Steam called Maldita Castilla EX. It doesn't cost that much and adds 2 extra levels. So if you liked Maldita Castilla, you may want to consider picking that up
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