September 26, 1986 (22 years ago):
Akumajo Dracula is released in Japan.
Alternative names:
Castlevania, Demon Castle Dracula.
Consoles: Initially
Famicom Disc System and
MSX2 in Japan, later
NES and others.
Heavily influencing the platformer genre in the late 80's, this vampire-themed game is one of Konami's most famous series. The original game is about some Simon Belmont, who disliked vampires for whatever reason, and particularly wanted to destroy Dracula (every vampire hunter's dream). Using his whip along with other awesome weapons (including a Bible and a flying cross), Simon battled through hordes of Dracula's minions in a demonic castle (hence the title), occasionally stumbling upon an angry horror movie cliche as a boss fight.
Throughout the sequels, gameplay underwent significant changes. RPG-type features were introduced in
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and removed in
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. The RPG elements were brought back about ten years later, although in a different form, for one of the most popular titles in the series,
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. A surprise
PlayStation hit during the era of 3D games, two-dimensional
Symphony featured a completely reworked art style (influenced by Gothic and Baroque styles) and complete exploration freedom.
The franchise went on to make at least 24 (!) video games, with a couple more to be released soon. A motion picture based on the games was also promised, but after 3 years of planning, multiple script revisions, and a writers' strike, this possibility is somewhat dim.
