Summary

Haunted Castle captures the essence of the Castlevania series with its challenging gameplay, atmospheric setting, and haunting storyline. Despite its difficulty, it remains a beloved classic that offers a glimpse into the early days of a legendary gaming franchise.

Release Year: 1987
Genres: Adventure, Platform
Platforms: Arcade, PlayStation 2
Developers: Konami
Publishers: Konami

Introduction

In the quiet of the village, peace reigns until the legendary evil, Count Dracula, disrupts a joyful wedding. Haunted Castle unfolds as an arcade gem that challenges players to brave the horrors of Dracula’s castle in a quest for love and vengeance.

Synopsis

‘Haunted Castle’ is a side-scrolling platform game released by Konami for arcades in 1987. It is the second arcade game in the Castlevania franchise, following Vs. Castlevania, an arcade port of the original 1986 NES video game released in North America.

Unlike the previous arcade title in the franchise, Haunted Castle is not a direct port of an existing console game, but a newly-developed arcade game running on custom JAMMA-based board. The game has the player controlling Simon Belmont, who embarks on a journey to save his wife Selena from the clutches of Dracula.

The game begins with Simon Belmont, armed with a whip as his primary weapon, embarking on a quest to find his missing bride. As he ventures through the dilapidated manor, he encounters various enemies which consist partially of skeletons, zombies, mermen, and hunchbacks.

By destroying certain enemies, Simon can upgrade his primary weapon first to a more powerful spiked morning star, then to a sword. In addition, various ‘sub-weapons’ can be obtained which provide different means of attack. These consist of bombs (powerful ground attack), boomerangs (straight attack), stopwatches (freezes enemies), crosses (powerful straight attack), and torches (continuous ground attack).

Hearts are collected to use the sub-weapons, and the player can only carry one sub-weapon at a time. Each of Haunted Castle’s six levels concludes with a boss fight. Like in other games of the series, these bosses are generally taken from horror literature or legend, and include Medusa, Frankenstein’s monster, and Dracula himself.

The soundtrack was composed in part by Kenichi Matsubara, who previously worked on the soundtrack of Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. There are several music tracks in Haunted Castle that have been reused in other Castlevania games.

Haunted Castle is a platform game with six stages, which are played through in a linear progression. The player controls the main character, whose primary weapon is a whip. He must fight various enemies which consist partially of skeletons, zombies, mermen, and hunchbacks.

By destroying certain enemies, he can upgrade his primary weapon first to a more powerful spiked morning star, then to a sword. In addition, various ‘sub-weapons’ can be obtained which provide different means of attack which consist of bombs (powerful ground attack), boomerangs (straight attack), stopwatches (freezes enemies), crosses (powerful straight attack), and torches (continuous ground attack).

Hearts are collected to use the sub-weapons. The player can only carry one sub-weapon at a time. Each of Haunted Castle’s six levels concludes with a boss fight. Like in other games of the series, these bosses are generally taken from horror literature or legend, and include Medusa, Frankenstein’s monster, and Dracula himself.

Multiple board versions exist, all of which have varying levels of difficulty. Version M is considered the most challenging, Version K and Version J are regarded as being easier to play.

Haunted Castle is a classic game that offers a thrilling journey through a haunted manor, filled with a variety of enemies and challenges. Its unique gameplay and captivating storyline make it a memorable part of the Castlevania franchise.

Characters

Simon, the game’s protagonist, is a young groom armed with the legendary Vampire Killer whip. Serena, his bride, becomes Dracula’s captive, setting the stage for Simon’s heroic rescue mission. Count Dracula, the timeless villain, stands as Simon’s ultimate adversary, awaiting in the depths of his haunted castle.

Gameplay

Haunted Castle offers a traditional side-scrolling action experience. Players navigate Simon through various levels of Dracula’s castle, facing off against ghouls, bats, and other supernatural enemies. The game is known for its high difficulty level, requiring precision and patience to advance. Simon can upgrade his whip and obtain secondary weapons to aid in his battle against the forces of darkness.

Conclusion

While Haunted Castle may not be the most accessible entry in the Castlevania series, its challenging gameplay, memorable music, and atmospheric setting have ensured its place in the hearts of retro gamers. It serves as a testament to the enduring appeal of the gothic horror genre in video games.