" Bloody Tears" and " Game Over" from Simon's Quest make a reappearance. The soundtrack was composed by Kenichi Matsubara, who was also a staff member on Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Also, in the Japanese versions of the game, when Simon falls into a bottomless pit, he loses half of his current life and respawns on the last checkpoint, unlike in the other three international versions where it counts as a game over.Īlthough overall the gameplay mechanics of Haunted Castle were the same as Castlevania games up to that point, certain aspects such as Simon in lower difficulties being able to only take two hits before being killed, and to a lesser extent the enemy and level design, were reminiscent of the Capcom game Ghosts 'n Goblins. The set named "K" is relatively easier, with the same difficulty as the Japanese (named N and P) and European versions (named E).
One of the American sets is labeled "M" and is considered the most difficult of all of them, with certain enemies (some even found in the very first stage) able to reduce the player's life meter by half and fewer item drops. Several different ROM sets with varying difficulties exist. The player can also add money to the machine to refill their the health meter, though this will also use up their limited continues. Afterward the player would have to start over from the beginning. Whereas previous Castlevania titles gave the player unlimited continues, Haunted Castle only allowed the player three continues after death. The timer (stopwatch) returns with the exact same function as before. A unique weapon is the cross, which shoots out little cross-shaped rays. Several unique sub-weapons were introduced in Haunted Castle as well: dynamite and torches taking the place of holy water but with a similar function, and a boomerang which acts like the cross from Castlevania. The stronger weapons are a chain (morning star) and a sword, both of which were exceptional at the time, as weapon upgrades before were only more powerful versions of the whip instead. Instead, hearts and weapons are distributed by defeated enemies.
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The weapon upgrade system has been altered from Castlevania since, contrary to that game, there are no candles. The first upgrade which can be obtained changes Simon's weapon into a mace, a unique idea in the series.
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On the other hand, some features that were unique to the series at that point were included as well: a wall which breaks apart brick by brick and attacks the player, a glass knight which jumps out of a window, and so on. Thus roughly following the template of the original game, Haunted Castle is made up of six linear stages each with a characteristic focus - through graveyards and underground caverns, leading through the castle hallway and basement, ending in a confrontation with Count Dracula.Ī lot of the enemy selections are taken from the Famicom/NES games notable examples including hopping hunchbacks and the standard arsenal of undead enemies like skeletons and zombies. Haunted Castle is the first game in the series which once again adopted a playstyle similar to that of the original Famicom and NES games, with Vampire Killer for the MSX and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest diverging from this formula with role playing elements, such as leveling up and more open-ended design. The arcade hardware allowed for more detailed, vivid backgrounds, such as a haunted portrait which sheds a tear of blood.īeing the series' first arcade release, the game's visuals are significantly different from the Famicom and MSX games, with bigger and more detailed detailed sprites and a larger color palette. The main antagonist and final boss of the game. In 2019, it was ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam and Nintendo Switch as part of the Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection, the first time the game saw a rerelease on consoles outside Japan. In 2017, it was included as part of the Arcade Archives for PlayStation 4, and in April 2021, to Nintendo Switch.
The game never saw a rerelease for 18 years until 2006, when Hamster™ ported Haunted Castle to the PlayStation 2 as part of their Oretachi Gēsen Zoku series, but exclusive to Japan. It was released in February, 1988 in Japan, and on Septemin North America.īeing an originally created and unique entry in the series, developer Masaaki Kukino speculates the title Akumajō Dracula was simply chosen for name recognition value only. "Demon Castle Dracula") is an action-adventure platform game produced for arcades and part of the Castlevania series.
Haunted Castle, known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula ( 悪魔城ドラキュラ, Akumajō Dorakyura ?, lit. "Again the legend will shed blood." - Official translation of the Japanese advertisement slogan for Haunted Castle.
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