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7.8/10
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In the late 15th century, vampire slayer Simon Belmont must destroy Count Dracula by infiltrating his sanctuary, Castlevania.In the late 15th century, vampire slayer Simon Belmont must destroy Count Dracula by infiltrating his sanctuary, Castlevania.In the late 15th century, vampire slayer Simon Belmont must destroy Count Dracula by infiltrating his sanctuary, Castlevania.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAfter defeating Dracula and watching the castle crumble, the credits roll. Instead of traditional credits, the names are slight alterations of fames horror celebrities including: Terence Fisher (displayed as: Trans Fishers) Bram Stoker (Vran Stoker) Christoper Lee (Christopher Bee) Bela Lugosi (Belo Lugosi) Boris Karloff (Boris Karloffice) Lon Chaney (Love Chaney) Lon Chaney Jr (Love Chaney, Jr.) Barbara Shelley (Barber Sherry) Max Schreck (Max Schrecks) Glenn Strange (Green Stranger) Andre Morell (Andre Moral) John Carradine (John Candy)
- GoofsThe hero Simon's last name is spelled "Belmondo" in the end credits. In all subsequent games it is changed to Belmont in the United States. In Japan, the last name is kept as Berumondo, which is the transliteration of Belmondo.
- Crazy creditsScreenplay: Vram Stoker instead of Bram Stoker Dracula: Christopher Bee
- Alternate versionsThere were two initial versions of Akumajô Dracula released in 1987: a Famicom Disk System version and an MSX version. The original Famicom version is a more action-oriented game, where the player can acquired power-ups to enemies and can clear stages by simply going from point A to point B. On the other hand, the MSX version is more of an exploration game, requiring player to find keys to clear stages and having to purchase their power-ups from merchants. The level designs and some of the enemies are different as well. The MSX version uses the same sprites as the Famicom version (with more colors), but with different backgrounds. In Europe, the MSX version was released as "Vampire Killer" and most people often erronously believed that it was made first due to the later copyright date in the localized NES version (Castlevania).
- ConnectionsEdited into God of War II (2014)
Featured review
The original terror, find and defeat Dracula and his castle full of nightmares
This is one of those early NES games that really set the NES apart from the old gaming systems such as the Atari. A game with multiple levels and stage bosses, a password system and an ending. It is a fun side scrolling game that is not quite as fast paced as Ninja Gaiden, but has a charm all its own. I especially like the horror theme of the game as the protagonist must fight many old monsters from stories and movies of old. The game is extremely difficult, but once again it is not as difficult as Ninja Gaiden and the three games that make up the Castlevania trilogy is a difficult one, but not as hard as the Ninja Gaiden one. Hard to say which of the two series I like more, this one though would go on to have life after the NES and on the SNES, the Genesis and all the way up to now without really missing a console.
The story is simple enough. Dracula terrorizes the countryside of Transylvania and it is up to Simon Belmont to brave Dracula's castle and destroy the prince of darkness! It will not be easy as he has many monsters roaming the halls of his castle including zombies, bats and Medusa heads! You will also have to take on other classic monsters such as Frankenstein and you will even have to challenge Death itself in a life or dead duel! The game play is standard side scrolling fashion, a fashion that this series pretty much helped shape. Other games would mimic this style of having a character going through a stage fighting monsters and overcoming obstacles before facing a boss at the end of each stage.
So a good game, not as good though after you play part IV which is a remake of this game. That one is longer, has better graphics and controlling Simon Belmont is much easier to do than here. However, the harder controllers here add to the challenge and thus extend the game play a bit. If you were able to use the 16-bit Simon from IV, the game would not last long or have any real challenge to it. So while it is not as good as the remake or the Castlevanias of the later systems, this one has a special charm all its own.
The story is simple enough. Dracula terrorizes the countryside of Transylvania and it is up to Simon Belmont to brave Dracula's castle and destroy the prince of darkness! It will not be easy as he has many monsters roaming the halls of his castle including zombies, bats and Medusa heads! You will also have to take on other classic monsters such as Frankenstein and you will even have to challenge Death itself in a life or dead duel! The game play is standard side scrolling fashion, a fashion that this series pretty much helped shape. Other games would mimic this style of having a character going through a stage fighting monsters and overcoming obstacles before facing a boss at the end of each stage.
So a good game, not as good though after you play part IV which is a remake of this game. That one is longer, has better graphics and controlling Simon Belmont is much easier to do than here. However, the harder controllers here add to the challenge and thus extend the game play a bit. If you were able to use the 16-bit Simon from IV, the game would not last long or have any real challenge to it. So while it is not as good as the remake or the Castlevanias of the later systems, this one has a special charm all its own.
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- Aaron1375
- May 6, 2012
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- Devil's Castle Dracula
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