Retro gaming fans that were gaming on the Nintendo Entertainment System surely remember the first Castlevania game. Konami was in rare form with this release and gamers showed their appreciation with each new release by buying the sequels and giving free word of mouth advertising. In 2001 Konami brought over to North American PlayStation owners a little title called Castlevania Chronicles. This was originally a Sharp X68000 release (see our second issue for more information on this gaming computer). What was Castlevania Chronicles anyhow?
Since there are always a couple that don't know
For those that do not know, Castlevania Chronicles is a remake, of sorts, that updates the original Castlevania game. The biggest changes made to this remake is some of the levels are edited or completely changed. There are even some additional, new, monsters to deal with in your journey to end Dracula’s reign of terror on Transylvania.
All about the follow up
Anyone remember the “Second Quest” in Legend of Zelda after you beat it? Well, Castlevania Chronicles has six new revisions to the game after you beat the previous one. Enemy placement, damage received/given and other details are modified each time you play through (anyone done a long play of all of these yet?).
Differences between platforms
The PlayStation port of Castlevania Chronicles features a couple of new things over the Sharp X68000 title. First, Konami created a new intro video and a new final video when you beat the game. While not exactly a life changing addition, this does show that Konami was interested in making a decent attempt at this release for fans of Castlevania. Oh where has that Konami gone?Easiest decision ever for fans
Castlevania Chronicles for the PlayStation console is how remakes should be done. There is enough of the original to keep purists happy but also enough new stuff to bring in fans that may be jaded of the original game by now (how many times can you play the NES original and not get bored at some point with JUST re-releases?). Hit eBay
or Amazon if you are missing this classic from your collection.
Our second issue is available here in both print and PDF formats.
This article was originally published on Retro Gaming Magazine.