Konami’s recently released Castlevania collection appeals, in theory, to the Nintendo DS era (Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of a ruinAnd Order of the Ecclesia). But the highlight for me, a committed and long-time hater of the 1987 game Haunted CastleSomething new is: Haunted Castle revisitedA remake of Terrible effort by Konami To bring Simon Belmont’s battle against Dracula to the arcade.
Konami introduced the original Haunted Castle About a year after the original Castlevania In 1986 came Nintendo’s Famicom disc system. A reimagining of Simon’s original adventure, Haunted Castle sends our hero on a mission to rescue his new bride Selena from her captor Dracula. Armed with a whip and other collectible weapons, Simon faces familiar dangers such as Medusa, Frankenstein’s monster, and a giant rock golem.
original Haunted Castle It has a few things going for it – namely big sprites and catchy music. Also Haunted Castle Was punishingly difficult, awkward to control and poorly animated. original Castlevania It was challenging, too Haunted Castle’s difficulty increases were brutal and often unfair, designed to steal quarters from innocent young players who loved the NES original and were lured by the fancy graphics. (This innocent young player is me.)
Haunted Castle revisited Takes the basic structure of the root Haunted Castle and transforms it into a classic Castlevania action side-scroller. Developer M2 and Keisuke Koga, who did the design Castlevania: The Adventure RebirthResponsible for Turning, a slick remake of the first Game Boy Castlevania game Haunted Castle Around 2024. The developer has streamlined the difficulty, redesigned levels and enemy encounters, and Haunted Castle With a major graphical glow-up Visited again. Simon is now nicely animated and much easier to control.
On the game’s normal difficulty setting, Haunted Castle revisited Reasonably easy to complete, partly with generous checkpoints, continues, and an option to select a level from the main menu. There is also a hard difficulty setting, which remixes the enemy layout and introduces new enemy types not found in the normal setting. The hard version is incredibly fun – challenging, but not punishingly difficult.
The biggest upgrade in Haunted Castle revisited The boss of the game. All of them have been reimagined in some way, but two of the (six) boss fights stand out among the rest: the Stained Glass Knight and the final fight against Dracula. I won’t spoil them, because they are worth experiencing for yourself, but they are now inventive and exciting spectacles.
M2 has also upgraded Simon’s whip. As in other classic Castlevania games, Simon can collect orbs to power up his iconic weapon, from the standard leather bull whip to the morning star. Haunted Castle revisited Adds an extra layer to this; Once Simon’s whip is upgraded, any orbs he collects will grant him temporary power, giving him greater reach and a larger hurtbox. It’s a small detail, but it adds a sense of urgency to play — you want to get the most out of your super-charged whip while you can.
Haunted Castle revisited Konami’s newest might not be the biggest draw Castlevania Dominus CollectionBut for fellow Castlevania lovers who played the original and hated it Haunted CastleThe remake is worth playing. It’s transformed a blight on the franchise into a fresh-feeling, classic Castlevania game the likes of which we haven’t seen in years.
Castlevania Dominus Collection Released on August 27 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. The game was reviewed using a pre-release download code provided by Nintendo. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. This does not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may receive a commission for products purchased through affiliate links. you can find Additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.
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