On September 26 of 1986 Simon Belmont took up the 'Vampire Killer' whip and began the legendary struggle against the forces of the undead and Dracula himself. Castlevania continues to prove that in this world of high budget 3rd person action games and first person shooters, there's still room for 2d, side scrolling adventures.
While almost every game in the Castlevania series is stand alone the elements always remain the same. Every 100 years Dracula rises from his sleep in order to take over the world. The Belmont clan and their descendants need to defeat him before he can take over the world. While the game series usually stars the Belmont clan exclusively there are often characters that have no relation to them, sometimes even playing as the vampire or his son Alucard.
The first games were usually more of a linear experience. Some had branching pathways and some RPG elements but all were very straight forward. It wasn't until Castlevania: Symphony of the Night that the series started to turn into what it is now known as; MetroidVania. A cross between the free exploration and weapon upgrade system found in Super Metroid and the traditional action platforming of Castlevania. This combination proved to be a hit among fans and has been used almost exclusively since.
The transition from 2D to 3D environments were particularly hard. With most critics and fans receiving the first 3D experiences negatively. After a few titles set in the 3D world, the subsequent return to the two dimensional space on the Nintendo DS impressed players and signaled to Konami that Castlevania's niche was in 2D.
Like all Konami games the sound design plays a major part in its success. Music from the Castlevania games have always recieved top marks from both critics and fans. Couple this with the gorgeous graphics and creature design the Castlevania series never ceases to impress.
Castlevania has several world records according to the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2009. Including: "Most Games in an action-adventure video game series. 23 commercially released games not including remakes or compilations."
After almost 23 years the Castlevania series still grabs players by the throat and refuses to let go. With an intricate story line, stunning hand drawn 2d animation, masterful sound tracks and of course fantastic game play this is a series we can all hope will be around for years to come.
And as usual we complete the article with a song. Today's track was chosen by our own DarkSakura!
While almost every game in the Castlevania series is stand alone the elements always remain the same. Every 100 years Dracula rises from his sleep in order to take over the world. The Belmont clan and their descendants need to defeat him before he can take over the world. While the game series usually stars the Belmont clan exclusively there are often characters that have no relation to them, sometimes even playing as the vampire or his son Alucard.