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A reader by the name of Theodore asked a question about the ending to Castlevania II for the NES:

In Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, the text in the three endings doesn’t seem to match up with the visuals or how you get them. The worst ending (that you get by taking the longest) shows a black and white picture with Simon gone, but the text is the most upbeat of all three endings. On the other hand, the normal ending has a full-color picture with Simon, but the text says that Simon died, which seems to match better with the worst ending. The best ending doesn’t have any obvious problems, but the text for the worst ending seems to match it better. Since Castlevania II had a rough translation already, some people have suggested that the text for the three endings was mixed up — the worst ending got the text that was supposed to go with the best ending, the normal ending got the worst ending’s text, and the best ending got the normal ending’s text. Can you compare the American endings to the Japanese endings to figure out if this is true?

I had considered covering the topic of the endings when I did my Castlevania II AVGN article a while back, but since the endings barely came up in that video I thought I’d save it for later. And now is later, so let’s take a quick look!

First, you might be surprised to know that the Japanese ending is in English!

It’s clear that the actual English version of the game has at least changed the text:

Here’s the full text, side-by-side for comparison:

Bad Ending:

Japanese Release English Release And the battle ended. The battle has consummated. Now the peace and calm have arrived back at Transylvania just live before. Now peace and serenity have been restored to Transylvania and the people are free of Dracula’s curse forever. The name of the hero will be etched upon our mind deeply. His name is Simmon Belmont, that is the name of yourself. Simon Belmont will always be remembered for your bravery and courage.

Normal Ending:

Japanese Release English Release And the battle ended. But on account of the injury suffered during the battle, Simmon Belmont passed away. Although the confrontation between Simon and Dracula has concluded, Simon couldn’t survive his fatal wounds. Until a young man to fight against evils like him comes again to this world, Transylvanians will keep praying forever. Transylvania’s only hope is a young man who will triumph over evil and rid the city of Dracula’s deadly curse.

Good Ending:

Japanese Release English Release And the battle ended. The encounter with Dracula is terminated. Simmon Belmont put an eternal period to the legend of Dracula. Simon Belmont has put an end to the eternal darkness in Transylvania. His blood and sweat penetrated into the ground of Transylvania will bring us full-blown flowers with happiness in next spring. His blood and sweat have penetrated the earth and will induce magic & happiness for those who walk on this land.

Both good endings end with this little surprise!

Text-wise, it seems like the English game matches the Japanese game, just with improved phrasing, so it doesn’t seem to me to be a translation/localization problem. I’m confused as to why Simon (I assume it’s Simon) appears at the grave in the normal ending, though. The only thing I can think of is that the orange screen was meant for the normal ending and the blue one was meant for the good ending, but the developers messed up and never fixed it… but that doesn’t explain why Simon is still there in both endings. Hmm.

Anyway, if anyone else has any thoughts or insight on this, please share it in the comments or let me know on Twitter!

Also, credit for these screenshots goes to the splendiferous VG Museum. You’re such a great resource, thanks a billion!

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