Castlevania Chronicles

The Legacy Comes Alive…

JP release: 24th May 2001
NA release: 8th October 2001
EU release: 9th November 2001
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
AKA: Castlevania Chronicle: Akumajou Dracula
IGN Review: 7.8/10
Platforms: PS1
Version Played: PS1

Castlevania Chronicles is a remaster of the Sharp X68000 version of Castlevania, which in itself is a remake of the original Castlevania (and a different remake to Super Castlevania IV). It includes the original Sharp version of the game, emulated and with the ability to select between the different sound chips you could get for the machine (via a cheat code), all with its original absurd difficulty intact.

It also includes a brand new arrange mode. Simon has a new look in this, apparently to match Symphony of the Night more, but I don’t quite understand why. He also has pink hair. There’s also a new soundtrack with a more electronic feel, but I personally prefer the original music. The other significant change overall is the knockback effect is gone, removing one of the frustrating aspects of the original.

There are also options to alter the difficulty with easy, medium and hard, with hard mode being the original difficulty (minus the knockback), as well as the ability to turn off the timer, which is something I like a lot – not having to continuously press on means you can spend a bit more time looking around at other paths, and I found a few more secret areas this time.

Chronicles is a great alternative version of the original game, with a much fairer difficulty than on the Sharp X68000. Compared to the NES Castlevania, it still has different level design and some different levels, so not a replacement for it, but still a nice way to experience it in a different way.

Fun

As such, fans of the series have probably long since bought this and played it to death, so I would like to speak here to those of you who know not of the Castlevanias of old. If you can’t be bothered to do the truly right thing, purchase a stack of orphaned systems and play the four or five Castlevanias every self-respecting gamer ought to have enjoyed, grab Chronicles at its bargain price and find out what you were missing while you were still belting your kindergarten classmates upside the head. Hopefully my optimism holds true, and a good game is indeed eternal.
David Smith, IGN

Remake or remaster?

A re-release of this version would be good.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to get Castlevania Chronicles.