Castlevania Chronicles

Castlevania Chronicles
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Designer(s)	Hideo Ueda (director)
Artist(s)	Ayami Kojima (character design)
Composer(s)	Sōta Fujimori
Series	Castlevania
Platform(s)	X68000, PlayStation, PlayStation Network
Release	Sharp X68000 Sony PlayStation PlayStation Network
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Akumajō Dracula (悪魔城ドラキュラ, Akumajō Dorakyura, lit. "Devil's Castle Dracula"), is a 1993 video game produced by Konami for the Sharp X68000 home computer. In its original double floppy disk form, the game was never released outside of Japan since the X68000 was exclusive to the Japanese market. It has been unofficially dubbed "Akumajō Dracula X68000" and "Castlevania X68000" to differentiate it from other games in the series that are also called Akumajō Dracula.

In 2001, the original version was ported and enhanced by Konami as Castlevania Chronicles for the PlayStation gaming console. The game was released outside of Japan, making Akumajō Dracula available to the North American and European markets for the first time. Castlevania Chronicles was made available for download via the PlayStation Network as a PSOne Classic on December 18, 2008.

Gameplay

Since Akumajō Dracula is a game based on the Famicom Disk System game of the same name (Castlevania outside Japan), there are some very familiar elements to those who played the original. However, the entire game is completely updated, including familiar stages that have been redesigned, as well as brand new stages altogether. It contains all of the special items and sub-weapons from the original game, as well as an exclusive rare item known as the laurel, which refills six health blocks for 10 hearts. This game is also notable for its high difficulty level.

Like the original Akumajō Dracula game, hidden items worth points and hidden 1-ups will appear throughout the game if the player ducks or stands in particular portions of a level. Another notable feature is the multiple loops after the game is completed. Previous Castlevania games had increased difficulty for the game's second playthrough. An increased amount of damage taken from enemies in earlier levels as well as new enemy placement and attack patterns were just a few things to make the second playthrough more difficult. This game, however, has as many as six additional playthroughs with each one becoming much more difficult than the last. There are even cases of special Easter eggs; on the sixth playthrough on stage 18 (block 6-3), a cartoon image of Simon will appear in a set of mirrors smoking a cigarette accompanied by Japanese text in one of the background areas saying "Here's Fake Simon!".

The PlayStation re-release, Castlevania Chronicles, expanded much more to the X68000 game. This includes a brand new rendered intro and ending, with new character designs by Ayami Kojima (of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night fame), a new sprite design for Simon Belmont and Dracula, improved graphical effects, enhanced music and sound effects, and a more balanced and adjustable difficulty level. Players can choose to play this "Arrange Mode" version of the game with all of the new features intact, or play the "Original Mode" version as it was originally presented on the Sharp X68000.

Completing portions of the "Arrange Mode" also unlocks special features including an art gallery as well as a "Time Attack Mode". Exclusive to the U.S. and European versions of Chronicles, the art gallery features artwork by Ayami Kojima for Chronicles and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The latter game images were already featured in the Sega Saturn version of Symphony (the art of the Succubus is censored, since her chest in the original was topless). The "Time Attack Mode" allows the player to race through any stage, complete with a time meter, to beat their best time.

Also exclusive to the U.S. and European versions of Chronicles is an interview with Koji Igarashi (IGA).

Plot

The storyline for both Akumajō Dracula (X68000) and Castlevania Chronicles is the same as the original Akumajō Dracula game. Simon Belmont has to set out to defeat the evil Count Dracula, who has been terrorizing the area.

It is the year 1691 and the evil Count Dracula has risen once again after a century of rest to terrorize the people of Transylvania. Simon Belmont, great-grandson of Soleiyu Belmont, picks up the Vampire Killer whip and sets out to Castlevania to destroy the Lord of Darkness and restore peace to Europe.

The introduction to both versions of this remake retell the story of Dracula's resurrection in 1691. According to this game, a dark sect performing what appears to be Satanic rituals revives the Count.

Audio

The music for the X68000 game contains a variety of new arrangements of familiar tunes from the series as well as brand new compositions altogether. The familiar songs include: "Vampire Killer" and "Wicked Child" from the original Castlevania, "Bloody Tears" from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and "Theme of Simon Belmont" from Super Castlevania IV. Before each game, the player is given a choice between three different sound modules: the X68000's FM Synthesizer, MIDI Roland LA (MT-32, CM-32L, CM-64) and MIDI Roland GS (SC-55, SC-33, SC-155, CM-300, CM-500). While the soundtrack will remain the same throughout the game regardless of which sound module is chosen, the instrumentation may vary and some songs will be arranged slightly differently.

Sōta Fujimori, staff composer for the Konami Corporation in Japan, performed all new arrangements of the soundtrack for Castlevania Chronicles' "Arrange Mode". While many songs remain very similar to their Akumajo Dracula (X68000) counterparts, except with studio recorded live synth and other live instrumentation, a handful of songs are given a techno feel. Some of these songs include: "Vampire Killer", which now contains pieces of "Prologue" and "Stalker" from Castlevania; "Thrashard in the Cave", which is more ambient than its original version; and "Wicked Child". In the Japanese Chronicles, unlike the US and European versions, the sound hardware selection screen automatically appears before starting a game on "Original Mode" just as it did in Akumajō Dracula (X68000). A code must be entered to reach it in either mode in the U.S. and European versions, while the Japanese version only requires one to be entered in "Arrange Mode".

Development

While the "Original Mode" presented on Chronicles is otherwise identical to the X68000 game, there are a few limitations since it is emulated on different hardware. One noticeable difference is the brief loading times that now appear before boss fights and stages. The other drawback is the lack of an internal clock on the PlayStation. The original game utilized the X68000’s internal time and date settings; the time on the clock tower during the boss fight on stage 15 would reflect the X68000’s current time and the color scheme used on the painting in stage 21 would reflect one of the four seasons according to the computer's current date. On the PlayStation game, each time the system is turned on, the time and date have to be manually adjusted only after a hidden "Extra Option" menu is accessed by inputting an altered version of the Konami Code.

During regular gameplay, there are a few noticeable changes between the Japanese release and the U.S./European release of Chronicles. The marionettes on stage 17 cry out "Yamete!" ("Stop!" in Japanese) and "Omae wa dare?" ("Who are you?", in Japanese) when attacked in Akumajō Dracula (X68000) and the Japanese Chronicles. For localization purposes, they are silent other than when they are destroyed in the U.S. and European versions. Audio-wise, the Japanese version of Chronicles had slowdown issues with the music playback. These were fixed for the U.S. and European releases. Lastly, exclusive to "Arrange Mode" on the U.S. and European versions, the player can save the game at stage 24 (the battle with Dracula).

Reception

IGN rated the Playstation release 7.8, saying it did not quite measure up with later titles, but was "still a lot of fun". Gamespot gave that same release a 6.1, saying it lacked replay value and was graphically outdated.