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Castlevania
Box art for the NES version
Developer	Konami
Publisher	Konami Nintendo (GBA)
Series	Castlevania
Released	September 26, 1986 May 1, 1987 December 19, 1988 See release details section.
Genre	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player
Ratings	ESRB: E (Everyone) (GBA, Wii) PEGI: 3+ CERO: A (All ages)
Platform(s)	Famicom Disk System, Nintendo Entertainment System, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, PC MS-DOS, PC Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Advance, AT&T Wireless mMode Network, Virtual Console
Media	1-megabit cartridge (NES)

Castlevania, known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula (悪魔城ドラキュラ, Akumajō Dorakyura^?, lit. "Demon Castle Dracula"), is a console video game developed and published by Konami for the Famicom Disk System in Japan in September of 1986. In October of that year an "adaptation" of the game, known as Vampire Killer, was released in Japan and Europe for the MSX2 Home Computer. A year later, in May 1987 it was ported to cartridge format and released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) followed by a European release in 1988. It is the first game in the Castlevania franchise, but the seventh chronological installment of the franchise, based on Koji Igarashi's ideal timeline.

Contents 1 Storyline 2 Gameplay 2.1 Music 3 Releases 3.1 Mobile phone 3.2 Enhanced remakes 4 Release details 5 References 6 External links

It is the year 1691...The land of Transylvania has been at peace for one-hundred years now, thanks to the efforts of Christopher Belmont. The peasants and villagers have begun to purge their minds of the memories of the times when the lands were dominated by chaos and shadows, times when the undead walked the earth...However, there are those that remember that the evil Count Dracula returns every one-hundred years to plague the land, bringing with him the forces of Hell...Thus, one evening, the Prince of Darkness rises and returns to Castlevania, his ancestral home, calling forth his minions to purge the world of human flesh.

The people cry out for a hero — someone to defend them from the evil desires of the Count. Thankfully, they don't have to look very far, for within the land of Transylvania the Belmont line still lives, as Simon Belmont, great-grandson of Solieyu Belmont, takes up the legendary whip called the Vampire Killer, and sets forth on his journey through the darkened countryside to the dark lord's castle...

Upon arrival, the young man fights his way through legions of zombies, gigantic bats, and even faces Death himself, but in the end, he makes it to the Count and in a battle to end all battles, he comes out the victor...

The price? The evil master places a curse of death upon Simon, which will lead him into a long and dangerous journey in the very near future (see Castlevania II: Simon's Quest)...

Castlevania is a typical platform game of the 8-bit era: the game comprises six levels, which are played through in a strictly linear progression. The player controls Simon Belmont, whose primary mode of attack is via his whip, which can be upgraded by obtaining special items throughout the course of the game which extend its length. In addition, various "sub-weapons" can be obtained which provide different means of attack. By breaking candelabra and certain other items located throughout the castle, Simon collects hearts, which can then be used to activate whatever sub-weapon he possesses at that point. Simon can only carry one sub-weapon at a time.

Many modern gamers have criticized Castlevania for certain control-related problems: Simon cannot change direction in mid-jump, nor jump on or off staircases.^{[citation needed]} However, older gamers see this as an added challenge that is missing from newer games and that the gameplay only contributes to the game's reputation as one of the more notoriously difficult games for the NES.^{[citation needed]}

Each of Castlevania's six levels conclude with a boss fight: these bosses are generally taken from horror literature or legend, and include Frankenstein's Monster, Medusa, and the Grim Reaper.

Like most video games from its time, the audio was synthesized by a sound chip. The music was composed by Kinuyo Yamashita and has been reused and remixed numerous times in the Castlevania games. The tracks in this game include:

• "Underground"
• "Prologue"
• "Vampire Killer"
• "Stalker"
• "Wicked Child"
• "Walking on the Edge"
• "Heart of Fire"
• "Out of Time"
• "Nothing to Lose"
• "Poison Mind"
• "Black Night"
• "Voyager"

Castlevania has been ported to a variety of different video game consoles, handheld game consoles, home computer systems, and mobile phones. The NES release of the game was adapted for video arcades both as a part of Nintendo's Play Choice 10 series and (with the addition of a two-player competitive play mode) the Nintendo Vs. Series.

In 1990, versions of the title were released for the IBM PC Compatible, the Commodore 64 (both developed by Unlimited Software), and the Commodore Amiga (developed by Novotrade).

In 2002, Konami released the first three NES Castlevania games for PC Microsoft Windows as the Castlevania and Contra: Konami Collector's Series.

In 2004, Castlevania was released for the Game Boy Advance as part of the Classic NES Series.

In 2007, it was released through the Wii Virtual Console.

Also in 2002, Konami Mobile released a mobile phone version of the game for Motorola phones (developed by Upstart Games). That version was upgraded in 2004 with improved graphics, and was subsequently released in Europe for the Samsung A600 and the Sanyo 8100, and for AT&T Wireless's mMode network in North America. A third mobile phone version was produced in late 2004, with even better graphics, but has only been released in Japan as of early 2005.

The game, which first appeared on the Japanese Famicom Disk System has been adapted or remade for a number of different platforms, including the MSX (known as Vampire Killer in Europe), the Super Nintendo (as Super Castlevania IV), and the Sharp X68000 (which was later ported to the PlayStation and released as Castlevania Chronicles), as well as an arcade game remake called Haunted Castle. While all of these adaptations share a variety of elements with the original game, including title (in the original Japanese, all were simply called Demon Castle Dracula), basic storyline, main character, and monsters, several major elements have been added or altered, and because of this they should be considered as distinct entries in the series.

Platform	Release date	Region	Developer	Media
Famicom Disk System	September 26, 1986	Japan	Konami	Floppy disk
MSX2	October 30, 1986	Japan	Konami	Cartridge
	1986	Europe
NES/Famicom	May 1, 1987	North America	Konami	Cartridge
	December 19, 1988	Europe
	February 5, 1993	Japan
PC MS-DOS	1990	North America	Unlimited Software	Floppy disk
Commodore 64	1990
Commodore Amiga	1990		Novotrade
PC Microsoft Windows	November 16, 2002	North America	Konami	CD-ROM
AT&T Wireless mMode	July 7, 2004	North America	Upstart Games	Download
Game Boy Advance (Classic NES Series)	August 10, 2004	Japan	Konami	Cartridge
	October 25, 2004	North America
	January 7, 2005	Europe
Virtual Console	March 23, 2007	Europe	Konami	Download
	April 30, 2007	North America
	July 17, 2007	Japan

Platform	System requirements
PC MS-DOS	Intel 8088 or higher, DOS 3.0 to 3.3, 384KB RAM
PC Microsoft Windows	Intel Pentium, Windows 95, 16MB RAM, 10MB free hard drive space, 2X CD-ROM drive, DirectX 8.0

This article does not cite any references or sources. (September 2006) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

• Castlevania at MobyGames
• The Castlevania Dungeon (Castlevania entry)
• MrP's CastleVania Realm (Castlevania entry)

v • d • e Castlevania video games
Console titles	Castlevania · Vampire Killer · Simon's Quest · Haunted Castle · Dracula's Curse · Super Castlevania IV · Chi no Rondo · Bloodlines · Dracula X · Symphony of the Night · Castlevania · Legacy of Darkness · Chronicles · Lament of Innocence · Curse of Darkness
Handheld titles	The Adventure · Belmont's Revenge · Legends · Circle of the Moon · Harmony of Dissonance · Aria of Sorrow · Dawn of Sorrow · Portrait of Ruin · The Dracula X Chronicles
Mobile title	Order of Shadows
Characters	Castlevania characters · Sorrow series characters · Simon Belmont · Dracula · Alucard · Soma Cruz
Staff	Koji Igarashi · Michiru Yamane · Ayami Kojima · Kinuyo Yamashita