Castlevania Order of Shadows Golden Belmont was originally released on the mobile Java platform – pre-iPhone and Android times. Very dark times, BREW was another platform for early cell phones to “game”. It was not ideal considering you had to use the square navigation button underneath the screen plus the number pad to interact. Action games were much harder than they needed to be, and Castlevania is already hard. Order of the Shadows Golden Belmont holds that franchise moniker high.
Not Canon So Don’t Ask
Information I can find on Castlevania Order of the Shadows Golden Belmont places it outside the storyline that Konami uses for the console releases. An attempt at a fun little romp in a similar universe with familiar looks but not effecting the story fans have followed for decades, and tons of games.
Sometimes non-canonical releases can be fun. They allow developers to play with familiar worlds with none of the restrictions of the main series. It seems that Golden Belmont went for all out frustration until you dial in every enemy, every level, etc. You know, just like the main franchise, at least the first one (later releases did get slightly less torturous to new players).
Revived for a New Generation
Over on itch.io, Elvies, has released a recreation of Golden Belmont for free. They state this is a fun short game so don’t expect an enthrallingly long adventure here.
Drop in, dial it in, then beat and reminisce that time you spent in the world of Castelvania Order of the Shadows Golden Belmont like it was a fever dream. As far as Konami is concerned, that is all this entry is, a dream not affecting the official storyline.
What was your favorite Castlevania entry? Mine was Simon’s Quest. I was just so turned off by the difficulty of the original on NES that I never really bothered with that style. I did get back into Castlevania with Symphony of the Night and the GBA releases though I still shy away from the “classic” feeling ones.