Castlevania Anniversary Collection

Konami's Castlevania series has been haunting living rooms for well over 30 years and now, you can enjoy 8 of the games in one package.

It is likely that you already know how you feel about Castlevania. After all, the original NES game came out in 1986, the same year as the original Super Mario Bros, and it is at least as ubiquitous. After all, Mario-like games are called platformers. Castlevania-like games are called Metroidvania, a portmanteau of two of the most important examples of the genre. Gamers know whether they like Tetris, whether they like Mario, whether they like Civilization. And with few exceptions, gamers know whether or not they enjoy the adventures of the Belmont clan, and their exploration of Dracula’s castl...

Castlevania Anniversary Collection is without a doubt a must-buy for Castlevania fans. The newer titles in the package – Super Castlevania IV and Castlevania: Bloodlines/The New Generation – remain as some of the best 2D platformers available, while the older titles still have a lot of charm, too. And they all have brilliant soundtracks. Did I mention that? Well, they really do. The icing on the cake is Kid Dracula, which isn’t going to stick in your mind as a classic, but is going to amuse you as quirky spin on the series.

With a series as well-loved as Castlevania, Konami has sensibly approached celebrating the company's 50th anniversary by providing a game selection in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection with a sense of focus and balance. As opposed to Metroidvania games, the focus here is upon the traditional-style, stage-progression platforming from the earlier years of console Castlevania - so it unfortunately omits the 1986 MSX2 game Vampire Killer - with eight single-player titles spanning seven years, as they were released in the west from 1987 to 1994.

The Castlevania Anniversary Collection may sport bare BONES emulation, but FRANKly that doesn’t matter, as most of the eight games are just so darn good. I’d go to BAT for rating Castlevania and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse as masterpieces that everyone should play. Sure, the Game Boy games SUCK, but they are historically interesting and I’m glad they were included. I WOLFED down hours of Castlevania this week, and I’ve played these games my whole life – the Switch version made it easy to WHIP out these classics anywhere, too, so I’m thankful for that. The Castlevania games are UNDYING won...

Released in honor of Konami’s 50th anniversary, the Castlevania Anniversary Collection collects the first four mainline Castlevania games, the two Game Boy titles, and the Genesis exclusive Bloodlines. Each game comes with a variety of resolution options, a quick save system, and an included eBook that chronicles the making and legacy of each game.

Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a disappointing reunion for some of gaming's greatest titles (and a couple of its worst). New players will love the vampire-killing action on offer, but returning fans won't find anything to tempt them back.

In addition to all these titles, there’s a digital book that shows off art and concepts from the included titles. The best part has to be the in-depth interviews with all sorts of different staff members from the franchise as well as the Netflix series. The book offers some real insight into Castlevania as a whole, showing how much passion and creativity has gone into the series over the years. It’s a neat bonus that ties the package together, especially for Castlevania superfans.