Castlevania Anniversary Collection

One of Konami’s 50th Anniversary collections, including Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, Super Castlevania IV, Castlevania: The Adventure, Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge, Kid Dracula and Castlevania Bloodlines.


Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Available on: PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Windows PC


Delving Into…

Delving Into Castlevania – #1 - One of the nice things about revisiting old games from a modern perspective is the fact that you can see how certain genres have evolved over time… and sometimes seemingly morphed into different things altogether. The original Castlevania is a great example of this. Far from being your common-or-garden everyday mascot platformer that we saw a fair … Continue reading Delving Into Castlevania – #1
Delving Into Castlevania – #2 - Last time around, we looked at how Castlevania’s overall mechanics and sense of game design can be traced forward to technical action games such as From Software’s popular titles. Today, I wanted to focus on some other important and distinctive aspects of this original NES installment: specifically the platforming component, and the boss fights. All … Continue reading Delving Into Castlevania – #2
Delving Into Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest – #1 - One of the games in Konami’s Castlevania Anniversary Collection that I was most interested to dig into was Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. I say this with the full knowledge that it has a bit of a reputation as being one of the least well-regarded Castlevania titles out there — but that was, in part, why I was … Continue reading Delving Into Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest – #1
Delving Into Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest – #2 - I’m enjoying Castlevania II, but I’m also seeing some of the reasons people might bounce off it a bit. There’s not really anything fundamentally wrong with it when taken in the context of its original release, but when revisited from a modern perspective it’s easy to find yourself missing the conveniences of modern games. Let’s take a … Continue reading Delving Into Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest – #2
Delving Into Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest – #3 - I finished Simon’s Quest! Yes, indeed, even after my podcasting buddy and good friend Chris Caskie suggested that I wouldn’t be able to stick it out to the end… I did! It wasn’t even entirely down to stubbornness or a desire to prove him wrong. I actually enjoyed the whole experience. Well, all right, most of the … Continue reading Delving Into Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest – #3
Delving Into Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse – #1 - I have, as they say, been looking forward to this. Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse is not a game I have any experience with whatsoever, aside from one critical aspect: its music. Specifically, back when the PS1 was current, I had an original copy of Symphony of the Night (which, believe me, I severely regret getting rid of now!) that came … Continue reading Delving Into Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse – #1
Delving Into Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse – #2 - One thing that I’ve been gradually learning over the course of the early Castlevania games that I’ve played so far is that it doesn’t always pay to be greedy. Indeed, sometimes it’s in your best interests to forego potential rewards in favour of just proceeding onwards more safely. After all, you can’t make good use … Continue reading Delving Into Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse – #2
Super Castlevania IV: The Quintessential SNES Game - One thing I feel like we’ve lost somewhat over the procession of console generations we’ve lived through is a feeling of “uniqueness” for each platform. Sure, Nintendo still does its own thing and its games are immediately recognisable, but I’m talking more about a very clear look, sound and feel of games on a specific … Continue reading Super Castlevania IV: The Quintessential SNES Game
Super Castlevania IV: Playing A Game “Right” - I’ve been continuing to explore Super Castlevania IV recently, and a few things about my experiences have got me thinking. Specifically, it’s got me thinking about whether or not the concept of playing a game in the “correct” way really exists — and if that’s the same thing as experiencing the game in the same … Continue reading Super Castlevania IV: Playing A Game “Right”

Other Articles about Castlevania Anniversary Collection

The MoeGamer 2019 Awards: The Second Chance Award - The MoeGamer Awards are a series of “alternative” awards I’ve devised in collaboration with the community to celebrate the sorts of things that never get celebrated in end-of-year roundups! Find out more here — and feel free to leave a suggestion on that post if you have any good ideas! – In 2017, the Second Chance award … Continue reading The MoeGamer 2019 Awards: The Second Chance Award

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