The story of the Castlevania series. Act I. Action 1. Two different principles. // Castlevania, Vampire Killer.

Act I. Action 1. Two different principles. // Castlevania, Vampire Killer.

Going through a dense Transylvanian forest, you fall into the very heart of the Carpathian mountains. The view here opens the enchanting:

The bright moon with amber light floods the surrounding forests, the scattered haze lubricates the long ridges, and the shadows in the valley and gorges are stained with a velvet black color. Everywhere, as far as the eye is enough, the green ocean extends, in some places bluish, and sometimes almost black, where the pile of mountains and rocks overgrown with mountain ash and thorough. Against the background of the crimson sky, the silhouette of the old castle is visible. In all his gloomy splendor, he seems to grow out of a naked impregnable cliff, shot up a thousand feet.

Perhaps in all Transylvania you will barely find the span of land, which would be so abundantly politically by blood. Something wild and unkind is present in these lands. The owner of the castle is an ancient, insidious and incredibly powerful vampire Count Dracula. According to legend, he is immortal and is reborn every century in order to sow horror, death and chaos to this sinful land again. And only brave representatives of the Belmont clan will be able to put an end to his devilish intrigues.

On the road, stone influxes hung with heavy folds, caravans of bats crawl in the distance with noise. Sometimes it begins to seem like nature itself arranged a crazy carnival here. But the wagon stops, the rumble of chains is heard and the clang of the massive bolt, the old huge door of the slow opens, and some unknown force pulls you inside.

From the site: CastleOFDRACULA.Com.ru

Horses. That the first comes to mind when they say the name of this famous corporation? Metal Gear? Silent Hill? Pachinko machine guns? Or maybe old slot machines like Frogger, Gradius or even Contra? Someone will even remember about the rentals of music machines, than Konami originally engaged.

Konya left a great mark in the history of the video game, not only as a developer of cool arcade hits, but also as a developer who was one of the first to release a big game for the Japanese Famicom, where the game occupied more than one screen as the usual ports of arcade games. This company proved that the game can look good, sound and perceived on a gaming prefix no worse than an arcade office. This company created a series of unusual for the players of that time – gloomy, filled with monsters of horror classics in an awesome castle.

Konami created … Akumajou Dorakyura, or rather Castlevania. Here it is more convenient for anyone.

It was 1985. Family Computer, more precisely, as we know Famicom, is successfully sold in his homeland in Japan, and Nintendo releases its console in the United States called Nintendo Entertainment System, abbreviated as Nes. Horseman, depending on how well the “family computer” is sold and games for it, which for the most part are ports from arcade machines, it is decided to make their ports with blackjack and I-I … with money. With a lot of money.

And as it was in those years – to make a lot of money, you need to make good games, or rather the ports of these games. Therefore, no matter how much he guesses, the first ports were hits from arcade machines. Such hits were YIE Ar Kung-Fu, Track & Field, Road Fighter and Pooyan. And one with MSX – Antarctic Adventure.

And with this it all started ..

1986. Konami released 3 more ports from arcade machines and received large sales from them. Thanks to these sales, Nintendo allowed horses to release 6 games a year, which she used.

After successful ports of games from arcade machines, Konya decided to release original games on Famicom, which are not ports. Among the first were games such as: The Goonies, Ganbare Goemon: Karakuri Duchuu and Akumajou Dorakyura.

The development of Akumajou Dorakyura was entrusted to Hitoshi Akamatsu. Nothing is known for what merits he was entrusted with the development. Most likely it was the first game of Hitoshi.

There is little is known about Akamatsu, and from his hobbies we know that he loved the movie. And if it were not for this hobby, then perhaps we would not have seen Akumajou Dorakyura as we know her now.

“When Hitoshi came to his own creations, he had the eye of a film director. He talked a lot about Akumzou Dorukur as a “film” and rejoiced at this. He still said something like “respect the frame” and so on, ”said his former colleague.

And it is felt well. Already from the title screen we are met by stripes like in the film. As if Akamatsu immediately makes us understand that this is not just a thoughtless game where you need to kill the next monsters. No. This game, where you will “follow” every “frame”.

And another evidence that Hitoshi was inspired by the cinema is a KAT scene after the title screen.

1691. Transylvania enjoyed the world and grace, thanks to the legendary vampire hunter – Christopher Belmont. The hero who crushed the Count Dracula a century ago with the help of a consecrated whip Vampire Killer, a murderer of vampires.

Transylvania residents celebrated Easter. But every hundred years the power of God weakened, and the hearts of people were covered with darkness and anger. People who could not fight darkness in their hearts sought to revive the ancient count so that he could spread destruction and chaos around the world.

At a time when many residents celebrated Easter, people who wanted to resurrect Dracula gathered in the monastery on the outskirts of the village and held their black rite.

Dark bulky clouds obscured the clean sky. Thunder thundered over the whole Transylvania. And the only lightning in the sky hit the monastery, which was defiled. This implied the resurrection of the ancient prince of darkness – Count Dracula.

When the count was risen, his castle, which languished with a centuries -old sleep, piles over the translivania and the legions of darkness again woke up from the centuries -old hibernation.

But did not have to honor the count in his castle for a long time. For Christopher Belmont had a descendant – Simon Belmont. Simon armed himself with a whip “killer of vampires” and went to the den of the prince of darkness. But the graph with each century is increasingly difficult to win, for its strength with every resurrection increases.

Sinopsis from the manual Akumajou Dorakyura.

Akumajou Dorakyura was released on September 26, 1986 on Famicom Disk System in Japan.

Gamplei himself is quite straightforward. You beat enemies with a whip and go further along the level, overcoming obstacles. But this is only at first glance. Recall that Akamatsu was fond of films. How it manifests itself in gameplay? The fact that your every step needs to be followed.

Akamatsu was very strict in the sense that all the player’s control elements, graphics and the results of pressing the buttons were very closely connected and leveled. He was very attentive to how the management was felt, and Hitoshi wanted players to feel the control of the character. In Akumajou Dorakyura, he wanted to be sure that players will feel the movement of Simon as a continuation of their hands.

I once said Akamatsu that one of the https://kingcasino-online.co.uk/ complex things in Akumajō Dorakyura is how you can easily get into the pit and die from one blow.
“Yes, but look at this from the other side … Simon does not die from one blow – this does Mario!”
I kind of like, ah ha!

On the one hand, Simon is not turning, it is impossible to manage them in the jump, it throws back from any blow of the Belmont. It is almost impossible to manage it when you first get acquainted with the game. But if you get used to it, you will notice that the game is very easy to read. Here, it is you who are to blame if you accidentally fell into the pit, grabbed a blow from the enemy or picked up either an auxiliary weapon. And get ready, you will die, die and die. But if you spent all your lives, then you can continue further or survive.

Since the game reached Famicom Disk System, the game has a conservation mode. The game is preserved on the dispertensive discot, on the side of “A”, where the title screen is, the screen itself – with the choice of conservation and the first unit. And the rest of the game is on the side of “b”. That is, if you spent all your lives in the middle of the game and wanted to survive, you will have to pull out the disk, turn it over, insert it back, write down the conservation, pull out the disk, turn it over, insert and continue to play.

In the arsenal of Simon, not only the whip “Vampire Killer”. Various additional items for killing monsters are scattered in the castle:

Dagger – Throwing enemies. Flies horizontally. Most likely, the daggers were used by Satanists to make victims Dracula. Or warriors who have long been resting in this castle.

Ax or tomahawk – This weapon was a decoration along with armor in the castle, but it can be used against the same armor, throwing it in the arc.

Holy water (or as written in the American manual “Fire bomb “) – the water consecrated in the church was used to consecrate other objects or even weapons, but the water itself can be used as a weapon, or even as a bomb if it is poured into an empty bottle and thrown into the enemy. It is strange that holy water does in such a place?

Cross (Boomerang (Americans corrected many religious symbols in games) – Simon always carries him with him, for the Lord always protects him. In the way in the sense of. He throws him into the monster and the cross returns back like a boomerang.

Pocket clock – Good Romanian watches of the 17th century. Comfortable for wearing and always show the exact time. And you can stop the time with these hours. Here’s what the Dracula Castle does with the usual clock.

For the use of additional weapons, you need the help of souls, abused in an insidious castle. These souls are displayed in the form of hearts. Each spirit lives in candlesticks and candelabrays.

Also in the bowels of the castle there was a provisions of former warriors, their wallets, stone slabs, which contain the force of use two or three times in a row of additional weapons, as well as the treasures of the column.

“I once asked Akamatsu:“ Why is meat used to replenish health?”
“How why?“Hitoshi answered,“ this is obvious to players! (laughs) “I suspect that he used money bags to add glasses for the same reason (laughs)”

But the whip itself has improvements. At first, Vampire Killer has a small length and inflicts a little damage to the enemies. When you find the first improvement, Simon’s whip will turn into an iron chain of small length, but the applies of greater damage – Morning Star. Finding a third improvement, the chain will lengthen, and you can use the full strength of Morning Star.

Subordinate to Akamatsu once asked him: “Why Belmondo fight whips?”
He replied:
“This corresponds to the world of the game that I want to create. And as for the weapon, the whips do a great job of killing enemies. And yet … because I like Indiana Jones: In search of the lost ark “! (laughs) “

The castle is huge. All 6 blocks we will travel along the column of the count. The whole game is divided into blocks – these are the levels of the lock. Each block has several stages. Passing the castle, we will visit the main lobby, and in the castle dungeon, and in the catacombs, and in the clock tower, where the prince of darkness lives.

Hordes of monsters live in the castle: from zombies and skeletons to fishing and jellyfish. Most enemies were taken from old horror films and mythology. At the end of each block there is a keeper of the castle:

Count Vlad Tepes Dracula – The main antagonist, not only in this game, but also in the book of Bram Stoker “Dracula”.

After the murder of the boss, his spirit appears in the form of a crystalline ball, which has absorbed the strength of which will help in a decisive battle against Count Dracula. But this force will not help against the makeup of the Riper, for it is not connected with the castle. He is connected with the chaos itself. The battle against him will be exhausting and painful.

Death attacks Simon with sickles who appear from different directions, and it is almost impossible to evade them. Therefore, it is not possible to defeat him with a whip. But there is one strategy against him. It can be killed with the help of holy water and a stone plate with a Roman number 3. Attacking the grim of the Riper with holy water all the time, he will not be able to move, and in this case it will be much easier to defeat him.

Once I asked Akamatsu about the battle with death. About how insanely it is difficult to defeat him. He told me:
“The idea of ​​designing the game is that the players understand how to use additional weapons. If you could defeat death with one whip, then you are really good “

Having defeated the death itself, it remains to defeat the distributor of evil on these lands – Count Dracula. The count underestimated Simon, attacking only with three fire balls and teleporting around the hall. For which he paid. The prince of darkness is defeated, but the evil of people was so great that it was embodied in a demonic form. After the victory over the count, the curse of people was released. The battle with him was harder, but Simon Belmont freed people from the curse.

I asked Hitoshi about why, after the victory over the first phase of Dracula, his head flies away.
He replied: “This head? She omenses the resurrection of Dracula “

Leaving the castle, she began to light. The scarlet rays of dawn lit up the column of the count. Belmondo stood on the nearest ledge, observing like an ancient castle, the residence of evil, collapse. The mission is fulfilled: the evil is defeated, the earth is cleaned, and the descendant of the Belmonts can rest, and after a century, the next of the Belmonts will stop the upcoming coming of Dracula, but this is another story.

“This is a monster born of a curse of people. Dracula would not exist in the peaceful era, ”said Akamatsu.

In the credits, developers, instead of their names, took the slightly changed names of the actors of classic horror films, for example: Christopher Bee (Christopher Lee), Vram Stoker (Bram Stoker), James Banana (James Bernard) and so on.

After the victory over Dracula, the game did not end. The player could go to the second round to the so -called “second quest”. In the “second quest” enemies beat more painfully and there are more of them, and new secrets appear in some places.

Passing through the castle, you will hear music under the authorship of Kinuyo Yamashita and Satoe Terashima. In the game itself, they are presented under the pseudonym “James Banana”. Jamasita wrote Wicked Child, Walking on the Edge, Heart of Fire, Poison Mind, Notching to Lose, Black Night and worked on the sound of effects.

Stage 07 Wicked Child

Stage 10 Walking on the Edge

Stage 13 Heart of Fire

Boss Battle Poison Mind

Final Battle Boss Nothing to Lose

Final Battle Boss 2 Black Night

Although another composer, Sata Terasima, wrote only 4 tracks: Stalker, out of time, Voyager and the legendary Vampire Killer, but she added a composition that will move from playing the game and will personify the entire series in the future. Akumajō Dorakyura will be associated not only with vampires and Gothic themes, but also with one of the best musical compositions in video game history.

Stage 04 Stalker

Stage 16 Out of Time

Ending Theme Voyager

Stage 01 Vampire Killer

According to the visual and graphics Akumajō Dorakyura was very beautiful at that time. At Famicom then very few could boast of such a study of the environment. Wandering on it, you understand in which part of the castle you are now. The Old Main Hall, who once received high-ranking guests. Old flooded catacombs, where the deceased inhabitants of the castle and brave warriors lie. An hourly tower, in which all mechanisms for the work of large hours are visible, in front of the chambers of the Draculas themselves. And, accordingly, the chambers themselves and the corridor in front of them.

Akumajō Dorakyura sold well and was worthily by the public. The Japanese Game Journal “Damsu” gave the game 34 points out of 40. And it was a good reason for Konami to release the game to the west. But there were small problems. Since the game wore a lot of religious symbols, and the translation of the name of the game was like a “devilish castle of Dracula”, it was decided to replace the name for some subjects, as well as the name of the game itself.

Since the place of action takes place in the castle of Dracula, in Transylvania, the name was taken from two words Castle And TransilVania. Now the game, in particular, the series of games, in general, will be called Castlevania. Also in the game the regime of conservation of progress was removed, but the complexity of the game did not change. Therefore, Castlevania is considered one of the most difficult games on NES. On May 1 in 1987, the game was released for NES in North America and on December 19, 1988 in Europe. In the West, the game was well received. In the official guide from Nintendo the Official Nintendo Player’s Guide, which described the full passage of Castlevania.

This game was reprinted many times. The first time it was reprinted as a cartridge for Famicom in 1993. Since there was also no conservation function in this version, a slight mode was added to the game. Enemies inflicted twice less damage, Simon did not jump back after each blow. At the start, 9 lives are given and 30 hearts. Additional weapons after death do not disappear. In this mode there is also a “second quest”.

In November 2002, Konami released a collection of games in Contra and Castlevania – Konami Collector’s Series: Castlevania & Contra. It included the first three games in the Castlevania series on Famicom/Nes and the first three games in the Contra series on the same platform. In this collection it was possible to persist and load at any time. Konami Collector’s Series: Castlevania & Contra in 2020 went to GOG.com, so with a special desire it can be purchased licensed.

But personally, I do not see much sense in this, since in 2019 collections dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Konami: Contra Anniversary Collection, Arcade Classic Anniversary Collection and Castlevania Anniversary Collection. This collection already includes 8 games of American regions and 7 Games of Japanese regions. The electronic encyclopedia of The History of Castlevania: Book of the Crescent Moon for 80 pages was also added to it. It contained information about a series that was not published anywhere before. The collection reached PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

In 1987 for the Arcade Cabinet Nintendo vs. System was released vs. Castlevania. It was a port with a version. The game was more complicated than the console version: the enemies inflicted more damage, 170 seconds instead of 300 were given to the bloc, and less bonus glasses were charged. There was also an arcade office with 10 different games on NES – Playchoice -10, in which there was Castlevania.

The game was also reprinted to GBA as a series of Classic Nes Series in America and Europe, and Famicom Mini Series in Japan. The game also reached Wii, Wii U and 3DS in Virtual Console.

In 1990, 3 ports of games on 3 different systems were published: Commodore Amiga, Commodore 64 and MS-DOS.

Canadians from Unlimited Software (USI) received the right to develop a game for a game for Commodore 64 and MS-DOS. Interestingly, the name Unlimited Software is the pseudonym for DistINhetic Software (DSI). It is presumably that DSI took such a pseudonym when she portended the game unofficially, that is, without the permission of copyright holders. DSI was then engaged in porting games for personal computers of that time and developing games for the same computers on well -known franchises. Now this company is known as EA Canada.

The version for Commodore 64 from the first minutes is felt like a good port, but, of course, with its reservations. The game is well postponed in the game. Music does not sound so irritating. But due to the peculiarities of the joystick for Commodore, control was changed. Since there was only one button on the joystick, which was intended to strike, for the jump it was necessary to tilt the joystick upwards. Now, in order to climb the stairs, you need to direct the joystick up the diagonal. Well, to use additional weapons, you need to clamp the impact button. Needless to say, for many critical points, if you use additional weapons, it will end fatally. And the responsiveness of management also requires the best. The time between clicking on the button and the action of the character himself lasts a mili-second. This is not so much for this game, but in some points this factor can play a cruel joke.

Due to the lesser resolution of the game than on NES, Levele-design of levels was partially changed. So, for example, Mumiy and Grim Riper have no some blocks, which makes them complicated. Part of the level that was placed in one screen, now Sidskroll is. Enemies in this version have just a frantic respin. It is worth just leaving the place where they were a millimeter, and will return back, and they stand as if nothing had happened, and can be cut back immediately after the appearance. And yet, Holy Water now does not slow down any ordinary enemies, nor bosses, nor make -up Riper. Even ordinary blows do not slow down enemies. You beat them with a whip in the face, and they rush on a break. Although some first bosses work hours. On the first bosses! Not on makeup riber. Now killing this boss is a very difficult task. But now the Dracula itself is easier to kill. Not much. Also in this version there is no musical theme of the battle with the boss.

In principle, this version is playable and passable. Even with her problems, I personally received a certain pleasure with her passage. So, if you have already passed the original Castlevania on Nes or Famicom, and you want more trials, you can try this version. Fortunately, “People’s License” lies in the public domain on the Internet.

The port on MS-DOS graphically turned out better than on the Commodore 64. The enemies have many hearts, money and even add. weapons. Bosses are quite simple, taking into account the fact that after damage, Simon remains invulnerable for a long time. Although the same makeup of Riper has a simple trajectory, respectively, it will be easier to evade it. And the management is now normal. We jump and attack with individual buttons, that is, you can already climb the stairs normally and use weapons. Here they even added a separate screen of death if you spent all your lives. But not everything is so good.

In addition to the jambs of the version like the Commodore 64 (enemies do not slow down, a slightly changed left design), MS-DOS has its own problems. For example, unresponsive management. It is periodically worse than even Commodore. But the most important difference that you will hate is music. This port has 3 versions of the soundtrack: for PC Speaker, sound cards and Tandy 1000. The trouble is that the guys from Unlimited Software decided after every blow to the candlestick, into the enemy, after receiving damage and selecting objects to stop music. It turns out such a cacophony of sounds that in five minutes the head begins to hurt, and it seems that you are among the playing machines by the type of one -armed bandit, Pachinko or a slot of cars. And Sidskroling is very intermittently. I personally, after 15 minutes, my eyes on my forehead climbed.

If you turn off the music, then this version, in principle, is also +/- Comfort to play. It is not complicated, and it can be defeated in an hour. But do you need it? If you are yelling in old Dosov Games, or you have little the first Castlevania, then, in principle, you can try. But I personally do not advise.