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Konami recently launched his compilation trio Anniversary Collection with an assortment of arcade shooters, albeit classic, but left out by limited emulation options (though since then Konami has confirmed that it corrects most of our problems with a fix). It's time to help the second time, this time to Castlevania series: specifically, most of its 8-bit and 16-bit inputs. Fortunately, this is an improvement over the last offer, but there are still areas where it could be better.
The eight games offered here cover (with one exception) the first Castlevania games on Nintendo consoles. Naturally, the original NES version of Castlevania is the first on the list, and it still resists brilliantly 33 years after its initial release. The same can not be said of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, the continuation of the NDA is known for its decision to move to a more open role playing style, similar to Zelda II. Although his attempt at a deeper adventure was noble, the horribly translated clues and the cumbersome day / night cycle make it a real chore to play today (it was not a dream at the end of the 80's or anything ).
This is corrected with Castlevania III: the curse of Dracula, the final vania of the NES and the result of Konami's wise decision to keep things simple again and focus only on the action platform style of the original game (although there are now several routes through the game, which means different steps). When you run out of NES games, the next logical step is to move to SNES. Super Castlevania IV This is the fourth game of the collection, with its fantastic music and adorable gimmicks (like a Mode 7 game room), all present and explained. A pleasant surprise follows in the form of Castlevania: the lines, known in Europe as Castlevania: the new generation. This title of Mega Drive is relatively rare and its inclusion here actually marks the first time it is reissued since its release in 1994 (beating by a few months the next Mega Drive Mini, which also includes it.) It's great to have it here too: it is an extremely underrated Castlevania with a tone a little darker and more gorier for Nintendo titles. At this point, the collection takes a strange turn. We were hoping it would have been similar to the PC Engine game Blood Rondo (or, if this is too obscure, his SNES remake Castlevania: Dracula X / The Vampire's Kiss). Then, daring to dream, we wondered if Konami would go far enough to include the legendary PlayStation game. Castlevania: Symphony of the night. Unfortunately, if you expect this result, you are not lucky: the collection is in a dead end to the game Mega Drive, then back. Instead, are Castlevania: the adventure and Castlevania II: the revenge of Belmont. The first of these outings on the Game Boy serves no purpose but to remind us that it exists; It's a technical disaster: slamming and stuttering everywhere, about half an hour an hour (and yes, it's the same thing during the day: it was one of the very first games of the monochrome wonder of Nintendo). Everything has been superbly redone by M2 for WiiWare, and we can only guess why this version was not included. after all, M2 is the team responsible for this collection and Castlevania: the rebirth of adventure No longer available after the closure of the Wii's online services. You talk about a missed opportunity. Fortunately, Belmont's Revenge is another species of fish and is among the best action titles in the Game Boy. unbelievable soundtrack. Finally, finishing is an interesting little game that many will consider a ridiculous decision, but which is actually a big problem for the wider Castlevania series. Kid Dracula (or Akumajō Special: Boku Dracula-kun, to give it its true Japanese title) has never been published on the Famicom in Japan, and although the West later gets a remake of Game Boy, the original has never been published here. This marks not only the first time Konami has published it around our neck (bitten), he has also located it with an English title screen "Kid Dracula" and has changed all the Japanese text into English. A great effort and it's a fun little game with charming cartoon sprites. You can make fun of its inclusion in relation to other titles, but try it first: you might be surprised. This is not the only surprise of the package. When launching the game, you may be surprised to see the M2 logo mentioned above. While the previous arcade collection had been developed by Hamster Corporation with the help of its Arcade Archive emulation system, for the Castlevania collection, Konami has quite judiciously used the help talented chaps responsible for the great retro versions of Sega Ages. It's an intelligent initiative that ensures that emulation is as accurate as possible. That said, the options are still a little thin on the ground, as before. There are now a total of six display filters for most games: in addition to the 4: 3 "original" format (which sometimes creates a very slight shimmering effect when scrolling), the perfect pixel and the l & # 3939; widescreen 16: 9, you can also choose a filter. The version & # 39; scanlines & # 39; of each of these elements does the business if you like that kind of thing. Those who like their games to fill their screen will be disappointed: unless you choose 4: 3 with sweeping lines or the super-expandable 16: 9 filter, all other options place the game in a window in the middle of the screen. Screen, leaving visible borders at the top and bottom. This is probably to make sure that the pixel scaling is perfect, but we would not have wanted to widen the screen slightly to get a slightly softer image.
Conclusion
Despite the impressive volume of solid gold hits in the series, Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a somewhat mixed bag of Konami, with very cold classics sharing the spotlight with two undead clunkers that should have stayed dead and buried. Yet, even with the dubious inclusion of Simon's Quest and Castlevania: The Adventure, the proposed "highs" are among the highest points of the franchise. A Western debut for Kid Dracula is a treat for retro players looking for something new. As long as you're ready to ignore the minor titles of this package and you're not too impressed by the omission of other classic entries, you'll have a great time with what's left over – and there is always room for Castlevania 2 anniversary collectionwe guess.
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