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Castlevania Chronicles

Castlevania Chronicles

Developer(s)	Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo
Publisher(s)	Konami
Designer(s)
Release date(s)	July 23, 1993 (X68000) May 24, 2001 (PS) October 8, 2001 (PS) November 9, 2001 (PS)
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen ELSPA: 15+
Platform(s)	Sharp X68000, PlayStation
Media	2 Floppy disks (X68000), CD-ROM (PS)

Akumajō Dracula is the name of the 1993 Castlevania game released in Japan on the Sharp X68000 home computer system. It was a remake of the original Akumajō Dracula game. Due to the X68000 not being released outside of Japan, this game was never released outside of Japan either.

Castlevania Chronicles is the North American and European PlayStation re-release of the X68000 game. Released in 2001, this re-release featured rendered cutscenes and improved graphics. It was released in Japan as Castlevania Chronicle: Akumajō Dracula.

1 Storyline
2 Character Gallery
3 Gameplay
4 Regional variations
5 Packaging artwork
6 Trivia
7 See Also
8 Related Products
9 External links
10 References

StorylineEdit

Since the game is a re-release, the storyline is the same as the original Akumajō Dracula game. Simon Belmont has to set out to defeat the evil Count Dracula, who has been terrorizing the area.

Character GalleryEdit

See also Chronicles Artwork

GameplayEdit

Since the X68000 version is a remake of the original Akumajō Dracula game, there are some very familiar parts to those who played the original. However, there has been a lot updated, including stages that have been redesigned. It has added items taken from games released after the original to give the game an updated sense of flavor. However, this version also has a high difficulty level and has frustrated many players.

The PlayStation re-release added even more. This includes brand new rendered cutscenes, with new character designs by Ayami Kojima (of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night fame), a new sprite design for the main character, enhanced music and, to the relief of many players, a more balanced difficulty level. Players can choose to play an "Arranged" version of the game with all of the new features intact, or play the X68000 version as it was originally presented. The X68000 gameplay on the English-speaking versions of the Sony Playstation port of the game, had translated the name to "Castlevania".

Regional variationsEdit

The American and European versions contain an interview with Koji Igarashi (IGA) and a gallery featuring artwork by Ayami Kojima from Chronicles and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The latter images were already featured in the Sega Saturn version of Symphony. The art of the Succubus is censored, since her chest in the original was topless .
In Arrange Mode on the US and European versions, the player can save the game at stage 24, the battle with Dracula. [1]
In Original Mode on the US and European versions, a code must be entered to reach the sound hardware selection screen.
In the US and European versions, the Japanese voices of the dolls in stage 17 have been completely removed.

Packaging artworkEdit

TriviaEdit

On stage 9, Count Orlok from the movie Nosferatu appears in the background, frozen in a block of ice.
On stage 11, a giant statue of the Greek goddess Athena appears.
On stage 114 (fifth play through on block 6-3), a cartoon image of Simon will appear smoking a cigarette accompanied by Japanese text in one of the background mirrors. The text translates to "Here's Fake Simon!". [2]
On stage 21, the last section has a giant painting in the background of a field with mountains. For the original X68000 game, the painting will reflect one of the four seasons, depending what the computers internal clock date is set at. For Castlevania Chronicles, since the PlayStation doesn't have an internal clock, an "Extra Option" menu can be accessed where the player can set the date. When the game is turned off, however, the date information does not save.

Related ProductsEdit

Akumajo Dracula X - Soundtrack that contains some tracks from the X68000 game
MIDI Power 3: Gradius III, Akumajo Dracula - Contains the Original Soundtrack for the original X68000 version of this game.
Castlevania Chronicles OST - Contains the OST for the PlayStation version and 3 versions of each original song
Castlevania I - This game is the official remake of the original Castlevania game
Castlevania Best Music Collections BOX - Contains music from this game on Disk 4 (original) and Disk 8 (arranged)
NTT Pub Castlevania Chronicle: Akumajo Dracula X68000 Official Guide - Japanese official guide