Konami Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a solid release, even without the best of the bunch, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Getting authentic ports of the classic series, while adding some small save features, and graphical options help to sell the package. The bonus book might be the best part of it, though, so that's something to look forward to if you're going to purchase it.
Welcome back to my awkward teenage years, where I’m watching my big brother conquer Dracula on an old NES. Such good years.
Konami is inching closer to bringing all their classics home again. *whispers* C’mon…Snatcher. C’mon…Snatcher. Eh, Castlevania will do for now. Konami has decided to package up its classic series and bring the brightest and the best back to life again…much like Dracula. While I can’t for the life of me understand why Symphony of the Night didn’t make it, pretty much everything else prior rears its head on Konami Castlevania Anniversary Collection.
Without further delay, let’s break this down:
Castlevania (1986) – This is a straight up port from the original game, which is fine, except when too many characters get on the screen, then it becomes too accurate. Stumbles and slowness aside, the game still has some legs on it that make it fun, frustrating, as well as classic. I am thrilled it’s not a straight port of Haunted Castle (see their arcade game collection for details).
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (1987) – Do you know what I love about this game? It was the birth of future elements that show up in Symphony of the Night. Upgrades, purchases, visiting multiple towns with multiple mysteries in it, the game departs from its action platformer and becomes more. This is still one of my favorite experiences from the Castlevania series, and one of my favorite issues of Nintendo Power, which helped me through it as a kid. It is ported over perfectly here.
Castlevania: The Adventure (1989) – A Gameboy version of Castlevania? Yep, and it surprisingly looks really good in this collection (probably not on the Game Boy, though). I actually saved this for the end of my reviewing experience because I dreaded it. What I found is that it’s gorgeous, crisp, and you can see a strong spirit of the series within it on the first good portable system out there. What I did find funny, though, was the lack of enemies onscreen at a time due to the old system’s limitations. At least you can enjoy the scenery.
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (1989) – Lost Levels, Dark Soul, every Japanese shooter in the arcades — they might have nothing on this Castlevania in terms difficulty. That said, I’m not sure that the game isn’t fair with its difficulty, and maybe wasn’t intentionally built to be a pain the caboose. Regardless, it was the toughest of the series, and it brought itself back from the likes of Castlevania II, which is a shame. It’s a good game, just tough and traditional. It also contains a solid story.
Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge (1991) – Welcome back, GB! A damn good follow-up to the GB game from 1989. Still just as good and pretty as the last. Definitely worthy of this collection.
Super Castlevania IV (1991) – Ah! The first upgrade to the Castlevania series with some powerful hardware behind it. Lots of pretty colors, lots of huge levels, and a mode 7 demonstration like no other in a turning tunnel. This was a big step up for the series, not only with regard to graphics but also in story and content. While not quite the level of SOTN, it still is remembered as one of the more fun experiences on the SNES. At least for me.
Kid Dracula (1993) – How did I miss this? It’s like some odd Wonder Boy turned Dracula game that is incredibly cute. You play a young vampire, who has to go through his own castle and face adorable monsters. It’s quite an impressive game, stupid fun, and also simple (it was made for kids).
Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994) – This is an oddball game. It has the same premise as Castlevania, but it feels like a weird arcade game that borrowed the Castlevania name and wanted to be Final Fight so bad. I know it’s Genesis’ answer to Castlevania IV, but it’s odd. It feels a bit disconnected from the rest of the series. You get to choose from two people, who are not Belmonts, and you’ll go through rooms that have Castlevania resemblance to them. The monsters are certainly a visual upgrade from prior releases, but still just too separated for my tastes.
With all these harsh words, I will say that I can see some level design that is close to what you’ll see in SOTN, and that’s never a bad thing. Some of the levels are straight from SOTN, but not perfectly identical. Just some scenes here and there. For example, the first boss is a wolf, who is in a great hall. You can make the SOTN connection from there.
Anyway, it’s an odd game for this collection.
Now, beyond just receiving the collection, you also get some additional features. The first set involves saving the game and recording replays. While neither is a huge deal, it’s nice to be able to save when you want, though only one save at a time. Recording replays is neat, but not incredibly useful in this day and age with streaming options available.
Another component that is interesting is having the ability to visually updating your gaming experience. The display setting gives you a bevy of choices of how you want to view your game. Original, full screen, and even smoothed out pixels. That’s something that’s unique to this collection.
The final bonus with Konami Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a bonus book. Having some neat views of how the game came to be and some solid information to make the collection richer. It’s like a Blu-ray with good bonus features on how a film is made. It’s a huge piece of the pie, and a good one.
Overall, Konami Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a solid release, even without the best of the bunch, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Getting authentic ports of the classic series, while adding some small save features, and graphical options help to sell the package. The bonus book might be the best part of it, though, so that’s something to look forward to if you’re going to purchase it.
