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Game review: Vampire delight through ‘Castlevania’s Anniversary Collection’
One of video gaming's most iconic series, Castlevania, is getting the anniversary treatment through Castlevania: The Anniversary Collection. Both old and new school gamers could do worse than join in on the vampiric fun.
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The hunt is on: 'Castlevania Anniversary Collection' celebrates the legacy of one of video gaming's most popular and long-running franchise. (Courtesy of Konami/-)
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he eight Castlevania games selected for the anniversary collection here sum up the franchise's fine run from the first entry, 1986's Castlevania, to the newest one here, 1994's Castlevania: Bloodlines, which was exclusively released on Sega's Genesis (Megadrive in Asia) console.
The vampire-hunting Belmont family may be cursed as heck, but their continual adventures in trying to kill their sworn enemy in Dracula have nonetheless provided hours upon hours of gaming fun.
For a series that has spanned more than 30 related titles, including spin-offs and more, the exclusion and inclusion of certain titles can always be debated, but the franchise's developer Konami has done well in picking a collection of games that showcase the series' overarching appeal and particular style of gameplay and mood.
It's a Gothic delight that is equally creepy, goofy and fun – and at its best, can be absolutely addictive (as many early 1990s kids would attest).
The inclusion of certain titles is almost compulsory. That debut entry and the third one in the series, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, are regarded as two of the best titles in video gaming history and rightly so. These two may only be in 8-bit, but they remain proof of why great ideas can come in any form.
The original game may look primitive by today's standards but it remains exciting and addictive to play. The mechanics are astoundingly instinctual. The jumping, the whipping, the maneuvering are pitch-perfect: challenging but fair.
