The often vague and non-specific hints of townspeople led gamers to believe the game suffered from a poor English translation. When one of the programmers was interviewed, however, he stated that this was not the case, and that the townspeople were deliberate liars, to make the game harder.
In the early days of Nintendo, they were very strict about religious references and the like appearing in their games (e.g.the Holy Water's name was changed to the "Fire Bomb" in the American version, and the Cross as the "Boomerang"). Yet strangely, the game was released in America uncensored; churches in the town are distinctly referred to as churches, which feature huge crosses inside, as well as a dark reference to "The Hell Housee" and the "Magic Cross" item remaining unchanged.
A fan-made patch called "Simon's Quest Redaction" was made by a programmer known as The Almighty Guru. The initial goal of the project was to replace the dialog from the townspeople, which were often regarded as poorly translated, unintelligible and out of context. They now provide the player with helpful clues and information. Also, the day-to-night transition time, which lasted 10 seconds, has been reduced to 4 seconds, resulting in a much quicker transition. The only cosmetic change was made to Dracula, who initially resembled the Grim Reaper. He was given a more appropriate face to fit the character. Despite the changes, the original gameplay remains intact.
First appearance of a Flame Whip in the series.
This game was the first reviewed by popular game reviewer, the Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN).