- See also: Castlevania (video game)
VS. Castlevania is an arcade port of the Nintendo Entertainment System version of Castlevania that was released for the Nintendo VS. System hardware in 1987 exclusively in North America.
The game was later made available on Arcade Archives for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in October 2019.
Differences from the NES version[]
VS. Castlevania differs from the original NES/Famicom console version of Castlevania by raising the game's difficulty to make it more suitable for arcade play (that is, in an attempt to make the player insert more coins to the cabinet in order to continue playing).
Despite the addition of the word "VS." to the title, the game can only be played by one player, although the PCB can be set up to run at two monitors at the same time when installed on a VS. DualSystem cabinet.
Other gameplay and aesthetic changes include:
- The difficulty level (e.g.: enemies dealing more damage), starting number of lives and bonus points awarded at the end of each block can be altered by adjusting the DIP switches on the PCB board.
- Up to 99 continues can be bought by inserting credits.
- The color palette has been altered from the NES version, likely due to the video output of the VS. System, giving VS. Castlevania a much brighter look overall (e.g.: browns now are diverse tones of orange, red has a much brighter tone, beige now looks yellowish, etc.).
- The game contains a very primitive help screen.
- The time limit is much stricter (for example, 170 seconds are given to clear Block 1 instead of 300).
- The player is only allowed to play for a limited amount of time before another game is picked.
- Less bonus points are given at the end of each block, making it more difficult to earn extra lives.
Production[]
During the early years of the Nintendo Entertainment System, Konami market-tested a few of their games in North America by distributing arcade versions before releasing them to retail stores. The lineup consisted of VS. Top Gun, VS. Gradius, VS. The Goonies (which only saw a retail release in Japan), and VS. Castlevania.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The PlayChoice-10 version of Castlevania also uses the same color palette as VS. Castlevania, but has no increased difficulty.
See also[]
- Castlevania - The original 1986-87 version of this game, released on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
- Haunted Castle - A 1988 arcade game loosely based on the original Castlevania.
- Castlevania: The Arcade - A 2009 arcade game where players use a motion sensor and a whip-shaped controller.