This time we have the sequel to The Castlevania Adventure. Released in 1991, this garnered a much more favorable reception from the gamers' community due to the obvious improvements from Adventure. This game is longer, harder, and faster than its prequel.

Belmont's Revenge takes place in 1591, 15 years after the first game and we find out that Dracula was merely defeated, not destroyed in his last battle with Christopher. Christopher now has a son named Soleiyu and is planning the day in which he will inherit the Vampire Killer from his father. Dracula appears on the day on the feast and kidnaps Soleiyu, transmigrating him. Using the power of the Belmont, Dracula takes human form and forges 4 new castles to challenge his nemesis, Christopher. Definitely a step up from the first game, and probably the 2nd best story in a traditional CV game, Dracula's Curse being the first.

The funny thing about the story elements is that despite it being 15 years later, Christopher is far more spry and agile in this game. Logic dictates that he is probably in his 40's by this game. He must maintain an impressive fitness regime.

The graphics are an improvement from Adventure in mostly obvious ways with more enemy animations and huge bosses, especially the dragon in one of the later stages. Christopher looks pretty identical though and Dracula is only slightly different in appearance. A few monsters, like the demon towers make an unwelcome return, but they are more manageable.

The music is the only thing that is not improved. The only theme that stands out is the Battle with Soleiyu, but really only for ingame listening. Sometimes I think I get too absorbed in a game and miss the music. This strange occurrence last happened to me trying to beat Final Fantasy VIII in 1999. The last boss was so annoying without the proper items that I totally missed the greatness of the Legendary Beast, Maybe I'm a Lion, and the Extreme. This is not the case with the music of Belmont's Revenge.

Gameplay is also improved with the inexplicably faster Christopher (are you sure Richter is the strongest Belmont, Alucard?) and the addition of subweapons. The axe and the holy water make all enemies easy and the axe is a necessity on most bosses, it just tears them up. The JPN version of this game replaces the axe with the cross. I bet that subweapon would have made the Dracula battle quite different.

This game is much harder than the Castlevania Adventure and probably the toughest of all the traditional handhelds. The stages are not as long, but filled with difficult obstacles, like the ropes that rapidly shift direction. The dragon boss is a tough mother, and the Dracula final battle is probably the hardest in Castlevania history, besides Dracula X on the Super Nintendo.

This is as such because Dracula has a totally unique attack in this game, and it can hit you from anywhere on the screen. The frustration enters because to fight him you have to know exactly where to stand. Difficult and not much fun. Subweapons don't really help, which is why the cross would have been nice.

Replay value is also low with only one character and one path. It is fun to revisit once in a while to relive the memories, but for me, several years pass usually.

In summation, Castlevania II:Belmont's Revenge is better than Adventure in every way.

Except the music.

Score - 8.1/10.0

-Ugly Bob