Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

ドラキュラII 呪いの封印 (Dorakyura Tsū: Noroi no Fūin)NES, Famicom Disk System, Windows, Wii +51987

JP1987
NA1988
EU1990
RU—

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest first came out in Japan as ドラキュラII 呪いの封印 (Dracula II: Noroi no Fūin) for the Famicom Disk System; the Simon's Quest title was created for the Western release. The easiest legal way to play it today is the Castlevania Anniversary Collection on Steam, Switch, PlayStation and Xbox, which uses the North American version.

Castlevania II: Simon's Quest is Konami's sequel to Castlevania. It was first released for the Famicom Disk System in Japan on 28 August 1987 as Dracula II: Noroi no Fūin, then on NES cartridge in North America on 24 November 1988 and in Europe in February 1990. Hitoshi Akamatsu, who also directed Castlevania (1986) and Castlevania III, directed it and came up with the Simon's Quest title for the West.

The game has a day-night cycle, and the number of days taken decides which of three endings the player sees. Some puzzles give no clues at all, such as summoning a tornado at Deborah Cliff with the Red Crystal. The track 'Bloody Tears' made its debut here as the daytime field music.

Simon's Quest is often cited as a precursor of the Metroidvania subgenre, and it influenced Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The North American version is included in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, released in 2019.¹²

Names and releases

Region	Title on the box	Platform	Date	Publisher	Src
NA	Castlevania II: Simon's Quest	NES	Nov 24, 1988	Konami	¹
NA	Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania & ContraPC compilation	Windows	Nov 16, 2002	Konami	¹
JP	ドラキュラII 呪いの封印Dorakyura Tsū: Noroi no FūinFamicom Disk System; same date in Japanese Wikipedia	Famicom Disk System	Aug 28, 1987	Konami	¹
EU	Castlevania II: Simon's QuestPAL	NES	February 1990	Konami	¹
WW	Castlevania II: Simon's QuestVirtual Console; 3DS 2013, Wii U 2014	Wii	2008	Konami	²
WW	Castlevania Anniversary Collectioncompilation, also PC, PS4, Xbox One; uses the North American version	Switch	May 16, 2019	Konami	³

Also known as: ドラキュラII 呪いの封印 JP¹Dorakyura Tsū: Noroi no Fūin JP¹Dracula II JP¹

Box art by region

NA Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
EU Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

GameplayFDS (JP)NES (NA/EU)

The Disk System original saves progress to the disk; the cartridge versions use passwords instead, and those passwords also record a few items the disk save forgets.⁴
AudioFDS (JP)NES (NA/EU)

Because the NES lacks the Disk System's extra sound channel, the soundtrack was rearranged for the cartridge, with added percussion samples.¹
TextNES (NA/EU)

The English epilogues for the second and third endings are swapped, so one text says Simon died while the picture shows him alive.⁴

All differences (6)

Where to play legally today

Nintendo eShop Purchase

Castlevania Anniversary Collection

NES (NA) version inside the compilation

Checked: 2026-10-13⁵nintendo.com
PlayStation Store Purchase

Castlevania Anniversary Collection

NES (NA) version inside the compilation

Checked: 2026-10-13⁶store.playstation.com
Steam Purchase

Castlevania Anniversary Collection

NES (NA) version inside the compilation

Checked: 2026-10-13³store.steampowered.com
Microsoft Store (Xbox) Purchase

Castlevania Anniversary Collection

NES (NA) version inside the compilation

Checked: 2026-10-13⁷xbox.com

Reception

The game sold over one million copies. Famitsu gave it 28/40, and Nintendo Power ranked it the 15th best NES game in 2008; retrospective critics faulted its backtracking, day-night cycle and cryptic English localization.¹

Sources

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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