The second game in the Castlevania series, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, was originally released in Japan (as “Dracula II – Noroi no Fuuin“) for the Famicom Disk System in 1987, and in North America for the NES in 1988. Europe had to wait until 1990 for a release of the game.
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Castlevania, NES/Famicom
The first Castlevania game was initially released in Japan, by Konami, under the title of “Akumajō Dracula” in 1986. Versions for the MSX2 and Famicom Disk System were developed simultaneously, with the Famicom version coming out on 26th September, and the MSX version a month later, on 30th October. That same game was later released in Europe on 30th October 1987 – translated into English – under the title of “Vampire Killer“.
When it came time to convert the game to the Nintendo Entertainment System for a North American release it was decided to re-title the game as “Castlevania“*. This turned out to be a significant decision as it became a big hit and grew to become a popular and well-known series of video games. The name “Castlevania” entered into the lexicon of classic, instantly-recognisable game titles, later becoming a portmanteau of “Metroid” and “Castlevania” (“Metroidvania“) to describe an entire sub-genre of action/platform games that all share similar gameplay features.
*= Although it’s not clear who actually came up with the name “Castlevania” it has been reported that the change was due to Konami of America senior vice president Emil Heidkamp‘s discomfort with the religious connotations of the title “Akumajō Dracula“, which he believed translated as “Dracula Satanic Castle” (although some argue that it translates as “Demon Castle Dracula“).
Shadow of the Beast, Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC version of Shadow of the Beast was developed and published by Gremlin Graphics in 1990 and is similar to the ZX Spectrum version (which was also created by Gremlin), but with more on-screen colours. It requires 128K of RAM to run, so is for Amstrad 6128 machines and compatibles only, and is spread over two floppy disks.
Shadow of the Beast, Atari ST
The Atari ST port of Shadow of the Beast was converted by Mark McCubbin and published by Psygnosis in 1990. While it’s not a bad conversion it does lack the graphical fidelity of the Amiga original and is also missing quite a few features.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Sega Saturn
Konami‘s brilliant PlayStation game, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, was released for the Sega Saturn in 1998, but it was only ever released in Japan (under the title “Akumajou Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku“). Thankfully, an English translation patch is available to make the game playable to those who can’t read Japanese. The patch – created by ‘Knight of Dragon’ – also features numerous bug fixes and improvements.
For those who’ve never played Symphony of the Night before: it is a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood and is rightly regarded as one of the best Castlevania games in the long-running series (if not THE best).
Continue reading Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Sega Saturn
Black Belt, Sega Master System
Released for the Master System by Sega in 1986, Black Belt is a scrolling beat ’em up in the tradition of the classic Irem arcade game, Kung-Fu Master. And it is a challenging and fun game to play.
Yie Ar Kung-Fu 2: The Emperor Yie-Gah, MSX
The sequel to the classic Konami arcade game, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Yie Ar Kung-Fu 2: The Emperor Yie-Gah was only ever released for home computers and was never produced as an arcade game. It was first released for MSX compatible computers, on cartridge, in 1985.
Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Arcade
Alongside Karate Champ, Konami‘s Yie Ar Kung-Fu had a profound effect on the beat ’em up genre and could be said to have contributed greatly to the establishment of modern fighting games. It was given a limited release in Japanese arcades in 1984 and was later rolled-out more widely – and internationally – in 1985.
Batman Returns, Atari Lynx
Batman Returns on the Atari Lynx was first published by Atari Corporation in 1992. It’s a scrolling action game that sadly lacks fun and playability.
Basketbrawl, Atari Lynx
Basketbrawl on the Atari Lynx is a 1992 conversion of an original Atari 7800 game, first released in 1990. It is a ‘no-holes-barred’ basketball game were you can attack opposition players while trying to win a tournament and become “the baddest gang in town“.
The King of Grabs 