Castlevania
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Designer(s)
Release date(s)	(JP) September 26, 1986 (FDS) (NA) May 1, 1987 (EU) December 19, 1988 (JP) February 5, 1993 (FC)
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone)
Platform(s)	Family Computer Disk System, Nintendo Entertainment System, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, PC MS-DOS, PC Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance, AT&T Wireless mMode Network, Virtual Console
Media	(NES) 1-megabit cartrigde (MS-DOS) Intel 8088 DOS 3.0 to 3.3 384KB RAM (Microsoft Windows 95) 16MB RAM 10MB free hard drive space DirectX 8.0

Castlevania (known in Japan as Akumajo Dracula) is the first game in the series of the same title. It depicts the exploits of a vampire hunter named Simon Belmont, who inherited a whip brimming with holy power from his father.

Because of an ancient blood feud between Simon's ancestors and the vampire, Count Dracula, it is Simon's calling to enter Dracula's Castle and slay its landlord.

Castlevania was first released in Japan in September 1986 for the Family Computer Disk System. In May 1987, it was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System and released in North America, and then Europe in 1988. It was released again in Japan in 1993 for the Family Computer.

Contents 1 Story 2 Characters 2.1 Heroes 2.2 Villians 3 Music 4 Cinematic Reference 5 Credits 6 Gameplay 7 Stage Gallery 8 Regional Variations and Re-releases 8.1 Vs. Castlevania - Play Choice 10 8.2 IBM PC Compatible - Commodore 64 8.3 Commodore Amiga 8.4 Release details 9 Bestiary 10 Packaging artwork 11 Miscellaneous 11.1 Related Games 11.2 Other Related Products 12 External links 13 References

Story Edit

In the year 1691, Transylvania enjoyed a century of peace thanks to the legendary hero, Christopher Belmont, a vampire hunter who vanquished Count Dracula one hundred years earlier with a holy whip named Vampire Killer. The people of a Transylvanian village were enjoying their fortune with an Easter celebration in honor of Christ's resurrection, but every one hundred years, the power of Christ weakened, and the hearts of men turned black as they yearned for chaos and destruction. During this time, they sought to revive Count Dracula so he may spread chaos and ruination throughout the world. While the Easter celebration carried on with a grand carnival, evil men gathered in a monastery at the edge of the village and conducted a black mass to resurrect Count Dracula.

The men succeeded in bringing their master back in 1691. A bolt of lightning enveloped the monastery where they held the rite, signaling the resurrection of Count Dracula. When the Count returned, his Castle, which had fallen one hundred years prior, reappeared in Transylvania, and his legions of loyal minions reformed.

Simon Belmont, the descendant of Christopher Belmont, knew that as a member of the Belmont Clan and the current wielder of the Vampire Killer whip, it was his duty to bring peace and stability back to Transylvania by destroying Dracula. The Count was said to grow in strength with each resurrection, but Simon pressed on. He took the very same whip Christopher used to kill Dracula one hundred years before and entered the Castle alone. Simon proved himself a mighty vampire hunter by withstanding the monsters and traps of Dracula's Castle, and in the end, destroying Count Dracula himself.

Though Simon prevailed in ridding the world of the scourge of Dracula, he was terribly wounded by Count Dracula in the process.

Characters Edit

HeroesEdit

• Simon Belmont (シモン・ベルモンド Simon Belmondo) — Simon Belmont is a 22 year old Vampire Hunter, and a descendant of Christopher Belmont, the legendary hero who killed Count Dracula in 1591. When the family's nemesis resurrected yet again due to a black mass ritual conducted by a group of cultists, Simon takes the mysterious whip passed down to him from his father, and sets out to seal away the evil Vampire.

VilliansEdit

• Dracula (ドラキュラ Dracula) — The Prince of darkness. The last time he was brought back into the world, it was completely covered in darkness, but his ambitions were crushed when Christopher Belmont set out to defeat him. Peace returned to the countryside of Transylvania for one hundred years, but when exactly one century had passed, the power of Christ weakened, and the hearts of men turned black, praying for the resurrection of Count Dracula. He rests in the Castle's highest floor, awaiting the arrival of the Belmont Clan.

MusicEdit

The very first soundtrack in the series was composed by Kinuyo Yamashita (with Satoe Terashima^[1]), which is her only score provided for the series. Castlevania was both her first project while employed at Konami, and first composing experience. It is also one of her favourite works. She was credited as "James Banana", a parody of James Bernard, the composer of the 1958 film Dracula.

The music of the game has been commercially released several times and is featured in CDs like Akumajō Dracula Best Vol. 1 (1990), Castlevania 20th Anniversary Deluxe Music Collection (2006), and Castlevania Best Music Collections BOX (2010). Some of the tracks are rearranged and featured in CDs like Dracula Battle Perfect Selection Vol. 1 (1991) and Dracula New Classic (1992).

Popular pieces from the production include Vampire Killer, which became a frequently recurring tune in the franchise, and Wicked Child. Many of the tracks found in the game were remixed and used in later titles.

Cinematic ReferenceEdit

Castlevania is known for drawing inspiration from several old horror movies made roughly in the first half of the 20th century. Enemies and bosses are sometimes directly taken from these movies, like Frankenstein's Monster and Dracula, while others are based on horror movie icons like mummies and ghosts.

The obvious classic horror atmosphere is further emphasized by displaying the start screen as a movie reel and adding fake movie credits at the end of the game.

One of the movies that inspired the character of Dracula to be included was Horror of Dracula (1958). Both the names of the director Terence Fisher and the actor Christopher Lee are parodied in the game. The original Dracula film (1931) with Bela Lugosi was most likely also drawn from, as both the film and Castlevania are set in Transylvania, while the 1958 version takes place in Klausenberg. Bela Lugosi is also mentioned in the credits, but only as the actor of the Grim Reaper rather than Dracula.

Another important reference is the presence of the Creature from the 1931 American horror film Frankenstein with Boris Karloff. Glenn Strange (who also played the Creature) is referred to in the mock credits, but, just like Bela Lugosi, is not credited for his most famous role and instead plays the part of the Fish Man. The monster is accompanied by the hunchback Igor, supposedly portrayed by Lon Chaney, while his son is mentioned to be the Mummy Man.

Although the character of Medusa is from Greek mythology, she also has a corresponding film. Namely, The Gorgon (1964). However, the Gorgon who appears is not Medusa, but her sister Megaera.

The Japanese Castlevania choose-your-own-adventure book The Devil Castle Dracula: The Battle of Old Castle takes the cinematic inspiration even further and claims that the events of the game are actually a movie shot by a descendant of Simon Belmont during the 1950's. The supposed actors mentioned in the fake credits like Christopher Bee also play a part.

CreditsEdit

The staff and cast in the ending credit are parodied of many individuals famous for their roles in horror or monster films.

Staff

• Director: Trans Fishers

Terence Fisher, the director of the 1958 film Dracula

• Screenplay: Vram Stoker

Bram Stoker, the writer of the 1897 novel Dracula

• Music: James Banana

James Bernard, the composer of the 1958 film Dracula

Cast

in order as the ending credits shows

• Christopher Bee as Count Dracula

Christopher Lee, who portrayed Dracula many times.

• Love Chaney JR as Mummy Man

Lon Chaney, Jr., who portrayed Kharis the mummy in The Mummy franchise

• Barber Sherry as Medusa

Barbara Shelley, who starred in the film The Gorgon

• Belo Lugosi as Death

Béla Lugosi, who portrayed Count Dracula in the 1931 film Dracula

• Boris Karloffice as Frankenstein

Boris Karloff, who portrayed Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film Frankenstein

• Mix Schrecks as Vampire Bat

Max Schreck, who portrayed Count Orlok in the 1922 film Nosferatu

• Love Chaney as Hunch Back

Lon Chaney, who portrayed Quasimodo in the 1923 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame

• Green Stranger as Fish Man

Glenn Strange, who portrayed Frankenstein's monster in the 1944 film House of Frankenstein

• Cafebar Read as Armor

Oliver Reed

• Andre Moral as Skeleton

André Morell

• John Candies as Zombie

John Carradine, who portrayed Count Dracula in the 1944 film House of Frankenstein and the 1945 film House of Dracula

• The player (You) as Simon Belmondo

Gameplay Edit

Castlevania consists of six linear stages with a boss at the end of each stage. The stages represent areas of Dracula's decrepit castle, and the enemies are typically taken from horror literature, lore, and film. Castlevania is an action platformer that emphasizes precision and timing. Throughout stages are pits and other traps that cause instant death. Many enemies will try to take advantage of these, as Simon is pushed back(& slightly up)when he suffers damage(the player can take advantage of this flaw by letting the enemies hit him as he jumps to cross pits & get onto platforms just out of his/her reach). As players progress further into the game, the enemies will deal greater damage, eventually to the point where Simon will be killed after taking four hits.

Simon's primary weapon is his whip – Vampire Killer. Vampire Killer can be upgraded to boost attack strength and length. Upgrades and items are found by striking candelabras or killing enemies. Aside from the whip, Simon uses sub-weapons that have varying affects, such as the boomerang, which Simon throws straight ahead and crosses the length of the screen before returning to the point where it was thrown, and the Stop Watch, which halts enemy movement for a short period of time. These sub-weapons cost hearts to use. Simon can only carry one sub-weapon at a time.

Players are rewarded with points for killing enemies and clearing a stage. The amount of points gained at the end of a stage depends on how quickly it was completed. Extra lives can be earned through gaining enough points.

After beating the game, players return to the first stage while retaining their weapons and score. This time, however, they face stronger enemies. Players often refer to this as a "second quest" or "hard mode".

Stage GalleryEdit

Regional Variations and Re-releasesEdit

For further information, please see Castlevania (Home Computer), Vs. Castlevania and Castlevania (Cell Phone).

Two different Japanese versions of Castlevania exist, which both differ slightly from their American and European counterparts. The original Akumajo Dracula released for the Famicon Disk System has a name-entry that allows the player to save his game. It also features an unique music track that can also be heard when entering a name in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. The spots where candles are placed are also different and make it possible to collect powerful whip upgrades much earlier; making the game somewhat easier than other versions.

In 1993 Konami released Castlevania for the successor to the Famicon Disk System. In this version it's possible to select between a "normal" or "easy" difficulty.

Castlevania has been ported to many different platforms since its initial release with some notable differences. 2004 saw the release of Castlevania on the Game Boy Advance as part of the Classic NES Series. The ending credits were removed and it added a save feature.

In 2007, it was released through the Wii Virtual Console. Upstart Games ported Castlevania to mobile phones in 2002 and upgraded it in 2004 with enhanced graphics, and an even better version was produced in 2004, but released only in Japan.

Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania & Contra, released in 2002 for the PC, is a collection of five Konami hits from the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System: Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Contra and Super Contra. Additionally, the CD contains a Dance Dance Revolution demo. This package was released in October of 2006 and re-released for the download service GameTap. All of the games are perfect emulations of their NES counterparts; the only changes of note are the text differences found in Simon's Quest and the option to perform a quick save.

Other notable re-releases include:

Vs. Castlevania - Play Choice 10Edit

• There are minor palette differences, most likely due to the differences between a TV screen and an arcade monitor.
• Vs. Castlevania is more challenging due to the increased difficulty levels. It is also possible to select a Hard Mode in which enemies can kill Simon with just a few hits.
• Up to 99 continues can be bought by inserting credits.
• The Playchoice 10 version has no increased difficulty, but does have the same slight color differences.
• The game contains a very primitive help screen.
• The player is only allowed to play for a limited amount of time before another game is picked.

IBM PC Compatible - Commodore 64Edit

• Developed by Unlimited Software.
• The graphics and the music have been considerably downgraded to meet the standards of the corresponding systems.
• The sound effects are completely different.
• It is possible to continue a saved game.
• The regular boss theme is absent in both versions.
• The projectiles of bosses can be frozen with the Stopwatch.
• The PC version contains an additional shot of a cemetery in the intro.

Commodore AmigaEdit

• Developed by Novotrade.
• The game contains enhanced graphics and music.
• The sound effects are completely different.
• It is possible to continue a saved game.
• The regular boss theme is absent.
• Some tunes are assigned to completely different stages.

Release details Edit

Platform	Release date	Region	Developer	Media
Famicom Disk System	September 26, 1986	Japan	Konami	Floppy disk
MSX2	October 30, 1986	Japan/Europe	Konami	Cartridge
NES/Famicom	May 1, 1987	North America	Konami	Cartridge
	December 19, 1988	Europe
	February 5, 1993	Japan
Commodore 64	1990	North America	Unlimited Software	Floppy disk
MS-DOS	1990
Microsoft Windows	November 16, 2002		Konami	CD-ROM
AT&T Wireless mMode	July 7, 2004	North America	Upstart Games	Paid download
Game Boy Advance (Classic NES Series)	August 10, 2004	Japan	Konami	Cartridge
	October 25, 2004	North America
	January 7, 2005	Europe

BestiaryEdit

For data on all enemies in this game, please see the Castlevania Bestiary

Each boss that has appeared in this game has become a classic and has been redone in several other Castlevania games.

Packaging artwork Edit

	Japan (1993) Commodore IBM PC Commodore Amiga Konami Collector's Series: Castlevania and Contra Famicom Mini Vol. 29: Akumajou Dracula Classic NES Series: Castlevania Classic NES 12: Castlevania Add a photo to this galleryAdd a photo to this gallery

MiscellaneousEdit

Related GamesEdit

• Vampire Killer - (known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula) is an alternate version of Castlevania and was developed alongside it.
• Haunted Castle - (known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula) is the first Castlevania game released for arcades. A video walkthrough released by Konami claims the story is a retelling of the orginal Castlevania.
• Super Castlevania IV - (known in Japan as simply Akumajō Dracula) is the first of two Castlevania games released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System console. It is a retelling of the original Castlevania
• Castlevania Chronicles - (known in Japan as Castlevania Chronicle: Akumajō Dracula) is the enhancement remake of Akumajō Dracula (Sharp X68000).
• Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - (known in Japan as Dracula II: The Accursed Seal) is the sequel to the first Castlevania game.

Other Related ProductsEdit

• Akumajo Dracula Perfect - A Japanese guidebook covering Castlevania.
• The Official Nintendo Player's Guide - Contains coverage for Castlevania.
• Nintendo Game Atlas - A guide Containing stage maps for Castlevania.
• The Devil Castle Dracula: The Battle of Old Castle - A licensed choose-your-own-adventure novel and modern-day sequel to this game.
• Akumajo Dracula Best Vol. 1 - Contains the Castlevania Original Soundtrack.
• Castlevania Best Music Collections BOX - Contains music from Castlevania on Disk 1.

External linksEdit

• Castlevania at Castlevania Fan Wiki
• Konami Mobile (Japanese)
• Konami Mobile The Complete Edition (Japanese)
• Konami Wii Product Page (Japanese)

ReferencesEdit

• Japanese Castlevania Manual at Mr. P's Castlevania Realm
• English Castlevania Manual at Mr. P's Castlevania Realm

1. ↑ The Legacy Music Hour - Episode 36 Kinuyo Yamashita

Castlevania (NES)
Characters
Simon Belmont - Dracula
Bosses
Phantom Bat - Queen Medusa - Mummy Man - The Creature - Grim Reaper - Count Dracula - Spirit of Dracula
Stages
The Castle Entrance - The Chapel - The Castle Ruins The Catacombs - The Dungeons - The Clock Tower and the Castle Keep
Music
Underground - Vampire Killer - Stalker - Wicked Child - Walking on the Edge - Heart of Fire - Out of Time Nothing to Lose - Poison Mind - Black Night - Voyager - Akumajo Dracula Best Vol. 1
Archives
Bestiary - Inventory