Konami Masterpiece Series
- JP release: 2008
- NA release: 2008
- EU release: N/A
- Developer: Konami
- Publisher: Konami
- AKA: Akumajou Dracula (JP)
- Platforms: Java
- Version Played: Java
The final Java version of Castlevania wasn’t released outside of Japan, coming out on i-Mode phones, which are a massive source of lost media. Thankfully, there was a Java release in China, which is the version I was able to play. With the previous version having NES graphics, this takes things beyond that.
And it actually looks really nice, with graphics closer to the Chronicles version of the game. This is still combined with the more condensed version of the levels used in the previous Java port. These are much smaller, truncated versions of levels and some of them can even take as little as 20 seconds to get through, with missing a jump being the main difficulty.
I was also surprised as to how smoothly this runs, with your character performing the relevant action as soon as you press the number (big for the Java versions), and double inputs being allowed so you can jump diagonally a lot easier. The controls are still the main source of difficulty, though, which is probably why it has an option to to disable the knockback effect when you get hit.
Fine
Other modifications help the package as well. Enemies don’t respawn, for one thing, so if you kill a beast and then scroll the screen back, you never have to worry about them reappearing. The levels seems similar, but many of the jumps have been made a touch easier and it doesn’t feel like there are as many enemies in the stages.
Mike Finkelstein, The Inverted Dungeon
Remake or remaster?
It’s just a basic version of the original.
Official Ways to get the game
There’s no official way to get this version of Castlevania.
Castlevania Games by Date
1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
I can’t believe they try to do this game on an old phone