Konami‘s 1993 Game Boy game, Kid Dracula, is a cutesy spin-off from the Castlevania series. It’s actually a remake of the 1990 Famicom game, “Akumajō Special: Boku Dracula-kun“.

The opening cut scenes show that Kid Dracula has actually forgotten most of his special powers, but will “remember them” when the time comes. Which is, I guess, a simple mechanic for unlocking his abilities as you progress through the game.

Kid Dracula is a fairly simple platform game where you control the titular anti-hero, who can jump, crouch, throw fireballs at enemies, turn into a bat, and use various other acquired skills.

By holding down the ‘B’ button you can power-up his default weapon and throw larger fireballs. Coins are earned by killing enemies with powered-up fireballs, and these can be used to play various minigames in-between levels.

During play, you can press Select to cycle between available abilities. On the first level, for example, you must turn into a bat to complete the stage.

The levels in this version of Kid Dracula are initially similar to those in the Famicom version (except that the levels don’t scroll as you move forward; instead you move from screen to screen), but as the game progresses they change considerably. There are eight levels in total, and five different minigames, where you can gamble coins to try to win extra lives.

Graphically, although the game is monochrome, it does have some nice touches that the original Famicom version doesn’t have, like portraits of Dracula on the walls, tilting platforms, and trees that swallow you. There’s also no sprite tearing in this version, which was a problem that plagued the original.

Overall, the Game Boy version of Kid Dracula is very playable and enjoyable, and is arguably better than the Famicom version. I certainly prefer it over the original console version. It’s a decent little handheld game that is still worth playing nowadays.

More: Kid Dracula on Wikipedia
More: Kid Dracula on romhacking.net
Steam: Castlevania Anniversary Collection on Steam