Often shortened to just “Galivan“, this arcade platform game from Nichibutsu first came out in arcades in 1985. Outside of Japan, the game was little-known, but it did get ported to the C64, Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC in the West, and to the Famicom in Japan, to little or no success.
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Castlevania Special
Konami‘s classic Castlevania series is a well-known and much-loved collection of horror-themed games that spans from 1986 to the present day, although some may feel that the series has been neglected in recent times.
Castlevania began its existence in the form of the Famicom Disk System game, Akumajō Dracula, and has undergone many iterations, across almost all video game systems, including in the arcades, on handhelds, and on home computers and consoles.
Here’s a list of all the official Castlevania games ever made. Plus a selection of some of the best fan-made games and hacks.
In celebration of a landmark video game series!
Castlevania: Rondo of the Night, PlayStation
Castlevania: Rondo of the Night is a ROM hack of the PlayStation classic, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and it was first released in June 2024. The aim of the hack is to change the gameplay, so that the player can do quicker and more athletic moves, and to surprise the player with a seemingly never-ending string of good ideas.
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Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, Nintendo Wii
It’s a remake of Castlevania: The Adventure – originally released for the black and white Game Boy – except this time it’s been changed to look and play like something of a cross between an X68000 and a Super Nintendo Castlevania game. It could also be mistaken for a Castlevania arcade game. But it isn’t any of those.
Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth is a WiiWare game for the Nintendo Wii. It was released only through the WiiWare service for a number of years. At the time of writing, I don’t think it’s currently available to buy and play anywhere legally, which is a pity because it’s superb.
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Castlevania Judgment, Nintendo Wii
Released for the Nintendo Wii by Konami in 2008, Castlevania Judgment is a 3D fighting game developed by Eighting. It was the first beat ’em up in the Castlevania series, and it remains the last one, too (at the time of writing).
Akumajō Dracula, MSX
The MSX and Famicom Disk System versions of Konami‘s original Akumajō Dracula (aka “Vampire Killer“), were being worked-on simultaneously by developers inside Konami, in 1985 and ‘86.
The Famicom Disk System version was released one month before the MSX version. Although they are essentially the same game, there are some significant differences between them.
Legendary Wings, Arcade
Legendary Wings is an arcade game from Capcom, first released in 1986. It uses a loose interpretation of Greek mythology to style its visuals and gameplay.
Bomberman Generation (Battle Mode), GameCube
Here’s a separate set of grabs of Bomberman Generation Battle Mode for the GameCube. The reason I think it deserves this extra set is because the Battle Mode in Bomberman Generation is arguably the best Battle Mode in any Bomberman game, and because it also has a variety of different play modes that I haven’t seen in a Bomberman game before. And it also looks great, too. So enjoy these bonus screenshots!
Continue reading Bomberman Generation (Battle Mode), GameCube
Bomberman Generation, GameCube
Bomberman Generation was developed and published by Hudson Soft – exclusively for the GameCube – in Japan in 2002. Vivendi/Majesco took care of publishing in the West.
Bomberman 64 (2001), Nintendo 64
Released in Japan only in 2001, Bomberman 64 (part deux; the second; version two) is very different to the 1997 N64 game of the same name. This game is entirely presented in 2D, with no 3D graphics in the game at all, and the package is a compendium of different single and multiplayer Bomberman games. The game was developed by Racjin for Hudson Soft. An English language fan translation is available for this title, which will please English-speaking Bomberman fans.
The King of Grabs 