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This is one of the best CV hacks ever made! The hack leads a lot of changes but you can still feel the CV atmosphere. The level design and the layout in general are beautiful and the new bosses are beautiful too, Furthermore this hack have the same music of the original game but it's in a different order so you can feel the legendary CV music but with a different order, this makes you think you are into another game (which is). Furthermore, the game have the same "defects" of the original game like the impossible jumps, the bats that hit you in the air and the enemies that hit you and make you fall in a hole, so this hack could be considered a new CV game with some tributes at the original game. My vote for this hack is 4.5/5

If you like the original Castlevania game and are looking for a challenge than you're gonna love this one.

• sublime level-design
• unique boss fights
• completely reworked(improved) sprites/tiles
• challenging but fair difficulty

In my humble opinion this is the best cv rom hack out there!

Castlevania Overflow Darkness - v 1.0

I'm not at all experienced with ROM hacking, but I am VERY experienced with Castlevania. So I think this gives me some ability to rate this.

And WOW, what a winner. The best way I can describe this is "Overclocked Castlevania." Graphically, it's a treat. Some sprites are different and every background is changed. The first level, for example, has been changed to a dark blue theme which looks great. Similarly, Level 4 has been changed to resemble the basement from CV4. Every level is a treat to play through, yet still feels 100% like Castlevania. The music tracks are swapped around as well, which adds to the effect.

Most importantly, the levels and enemies are totally different. The levels all fit within the confines of the originals, but the layout is completely changed. Some areas are familiar, such as the spike traps on level 2-others are totally different. Each level manages to be familiar and yet very different at the same time. It's pretty remarkable.

So then there's challenge. This hack is tough. Tougher than the original. Firstly, whip upgrades are much harder to come by. I spent most of the game with less than a full whip. Secondly, the enemy arrangements are always more challenging. Almost every room requires careful planning. Platforming is in full force, which is difficult at first but you adjust pretty quickly-it's pleasantly challenging.

However, this hack is truly its parent's child, because some situations are simply FRUSTRATING. CV1 had a way of getting you where you weren't sure if it was a fair challenge or simply cheap. Overflow Darkness is the same way. If CV1 irked you, OD will bother you in the exact same way. Some situations are simply overpowering. It could be argued that there is an overreliance on certain gameplay elements (i.e., bone pillars & medusas). A typical situation is bone pillar + medusa + skeleton + pits = four ways to die! The bone pillars seemed to have been amped up as well, I never remember them being such a problem in the original. On the whole, the player never gets a chance to cut loose and just kick some butt. You're constantly getting stomped instead.

Nonetheless, when you remember that the source material was the same, you can't get to frustrated. The challenge is quite welcome. The bosses are also thoroughly remixed, including some brand new ones. There are also some minor tweaks such as more items dropped from enemies, which is helpful.

Overall, this hack is remarkable. 100% true to the source, yet superior graphically and in challenge. It proves that 8-bit style action is still relevant today-Konami, take note! Here's hoping this author does a Castlevania III hack!

Faithfulness: 5/5

Overall: 4/5 (only because of some frustrating sequences)