Inputting the famous Konami code at the title screen of Castlevania: Bloodlines will enable the Expert difficuCastlevania Anniversary Collection
KONAMI WHIPS UP A BEVY OF BELMONTS FOR FANS TO SINK THEIR TEETH INTO WOZ BROWN
PUBLISHER KONAMI / DEVELOPER KONAMI / RELEASE DATE OUT NOW / COST £15.99/$19.99Thecollectiondoesa greatjobof
presentingeachgameauthentically
viaconcisedisplayoptions,detailed
backstoriesaswellasa selectionof
trivia,tipsandbehind-the-scenes
tidbitsviatheincludedebook.
Importantly,emulationis polishedand
thegamesscaleupincrediblywell.
What’snottolike?TheNEStrilogy,
alongwiththeSNESandMegaDrive
outings,allretaina stylereminiscent
oftheireras’iconicpixelart.The
GameBoy’sCastlevaniaAdventure,
a prequeltotheNESgames,and
itssequelCastlevaniaII: Belmont’s
Revengearebothservedupin alltheir
monochromeglory.A dotmatrixeffect
canbefoundin thedisplaysettings,
meaningthattheclassicGameBoy
screen-greencanbeexperienced.
It’sa pitythemodeis hiddenbehind
a menuratherthansettodefault.
AdditionallytheColourFilterenables
playerstoexperiencethegamesasif
playedthroughtheSNES’SuperGame
Boyadaptor,whichaddsa splashof
colour.Bothgamesarefinenovelties,
butthemeatofthecollectionis with
thehomeconsoletitles.When you stop
to think about it,
Vampire games
really are few and far
between. Sure we’ve
seen the release of
Vampyr, and Vampire: The Masquerade- Bloodlines 2 is in the works, but
that’s your lot for modern titles.
Castlevania was the series that
kicked off games based on blood-
suckers, and it’s been frightfully
dormant... until now. This collection
serves to celebrate that iconic
vampire series’ origins.
Although acclaimed in their heyday
the garlic-burning question here is
whether or not the games still hold
up, and is there enough life left in
the veins of these seminal titles?
Regardless, short of sourcing original
hardware and physical games, this
is by far the best way to experience
some legitimate classics.
Our lad Vlad
The majority of the eight titles on
offer focus on a singular task: work
your way to Dracula and vanquish his
vampiric ass. The journey there, along
with the precision of combat, is what
makes these games as challenging
today as they were upon release. The
gameplay is largely the same across
the series upon first glance, but the
Belmonts and their whip-wielding
abilities are just the starting point.
Additional weapons and power-ups
come to hand soon enough, and each
game provides its own take on an
upgrade path. As such, the games
remain familiar, but each displays a
clear sense of diversity and evolution.CastlevaniaBloodlines, the 1994
SegaGenesis/MegaDrive release,
andtheSNES’SuperCastlevania
gamesbothrepresentthe pinnacle
ofcartridge-basedgaming. With their
crispgraphics,bolstered features,
greatstagedesignandanimated
scenesdisplayinga clear improvement
overtheoriginalNEStrilogy.
Konamihasalsoincluded Kid
Draculain thecollection, and it’s the
firsttimethegamehasreceived an
Englishtranslation.Itscutesy graphics
makeit aninterestingspin-off but it’s
moreofa platformerin comparison.
Don’tbefooledbyappearances
though,thegamemaystart off easy
butthefurtherplayersprogress, the
harderthingsget.It’sa nice inclusion
butOXMwasleftwondering if perhaps
DraculaX: RondoOfBlood would have
beena morewelcomefit. The 1993 PC
Enginetitleis regardedas one of the
bestin theseries.Sadlyits absence
meansthisisn’tthestellar line-up
fanshadbeenhopingfor. Qshort
cutWHAT IS IT?
The first eight
games in the series,
resurrected from their
8-bit and
16-bit graves.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
No nonsense,
tough-as-nails
old-school gameplay.
WHO’S IT FOR?
Fans, curious
newcomers or anyone
interested in where
one half of the
moniker
‘Metroidvania’
originates from.“Emulation is
polished and the
ames scale up
incredibly well”
OXM VERDICT
The NES trilogy and
16-bit sequels are
still hugely
challenging and
worth a look.8
RIGHT
Mythological
creatures pop up
throughout the
series.
BELOW The third
NES title is a
real tough
cookie.ltyymode090 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINEREVIEW