By Devon Lord-Moncrief

Castlevania first debuted on the NES in 1986 with a whip crack that kickstarted one of gaming's most beloved series. The 8-bit adventure was simple in terms of its presentation and gameplay, but its simplicity was tempered by its fantastic core components that offered one of the best arcade action experiences of its generation. Later sequels would explore and expand on the ideas introduced in the first game, such as traveling across all of Transylvania, recruiting new playable characters, and adding new movement tech into the mix. Still, for all the advancements the series brought to the table, the original Castlevania still retained a great deal of polish and potential.

In 1993, seven years after the release of the first NES title, a port of Castlevania was released on the Japanese home computer system, the Sharp X68000. With astoundingly greater processing power, the Sharp X68000 became the ultimate platform to create the most fully-realized version of Castlevania yet. With its dramatically improved graphics, sound, and playability, the Sharp X68000 Castlevania became the definitive version of the NES classic and also one of the best entries in the entire series.

The Sharp X68000 Version of Castlevania Was a Major Overhaul of the Original Game

It Plays Like a Dream and Sounds Just as Good, Too

Image via Konami

Castlevania for the Sharp X68000 is a complete remake of the original NES game. As such, it is a retelling of the original game as it stars vampire hunter Simon Belmont in his quest to defeat the evil Count Dracula. New to the platform is the addition of an animated cutscene at the beginning of the game that helps to further explain how exactly Dracula was resurrected.

Christopher Belmont led the Castlevania series onto Nintendo's handheld system to some truly impressive results.

It doesn’t provide any new pieces of lore to the core story, but it’s a supremely cool video that helps set the tone of the game perfectly. The most important aspect of the Sharp X68000 port of Castlevania is the increase in processing power that the computer gave to the game. This doesn’t just mean that the game looks better than its NES predecessor; the entire game is better in every way.

It feels like a completely original game rather than just a spiffy reskin of an older title, and with the sheer amount of extra and new content that was added to it, it absolutely deserves its own spot in the Castlevania line-up. Unlike the MSX2 port of Castlevania, which was essentially the same game but with puzzle elements incorporated into it, the Sharp X68000 feels like a top-tier arcade experience.

The Sharp X68000 Castlevania Added New Levels, Gameplay Features, and More

It's a Completely Different Vampire Hunting Beast

Image via Konami

At its core, Castlevania on the Sharp X68000 is still the original Castlevania game. Simon Belmont, clad in brown and beige leather, fights his way through Dracula’s domain in an effort to reach the vampire and defeat him. Simon will pass through several familiar locations, collecting classic sub-weapons and hearts, all while whipping, jumping, and climbing his way past countless obstacles. What makes this incarnation of Castlevania so different is how the game has been completely overhauled.

To begin with, the graphics are absolutely gorgeous. Decaying tapestries hanging on walls, creatures flying past the screen in the depths of dark caverns, and the hues of purple, pink, and red that make up pregnant night skies are a feast for the eyes. But it’s the extra graphical flair that really stands out, such as the undulating streams of water in the third-stage fountain.

It’s the massive portrait of writhing bodies in the seventh stage, or the giant walls of green slime that snap apart in the second stage that make this version of Castlevania look truly remarkable. The music is also stellar in every sense of the word, with the Sharp X68000 pushing the limits of what the original soundtrack was capable of producing. The Sharp X68000 utilized multiple different sound modules like its native Yamaha YM2151 FM Synthesizer, as well as the Roland CM-64 and Roland SC-55 modules, among many others.

Castlevania actually offers multiple OSTs for fans to listen to as they play the game, depending on whether they are chosen at the beginning of the game or not (the Japanese version being the only one to offer the selection without having to input a code to access the option). Tracks such as “Vampire Killer”, “Thrashard in the Cave”, and “Etude For the Killer” are out of this world, even more so considering how many iterations there are in the game.

As for its gameplay, Castlevania improves on the original title by giving Simon a few more tricks to work with. Simon is now able to attack in a downwards diagonal direction while mid-jump, something he wasn’t able to do before. This might not seem like a big deal, but this opens up countless new strategies and movement options for players to defeat enemies.

A brand-new and ultra-rare sub-weapon is included in the game, the healing herb, which can restore six points of health at the cost of ten hearts. The herb can only be found as a random drop from enemies, from an exceedingly rare number of candles, or can be bought from the secret Pied Piper hidden in the second stage. The herb is easily the most useful and life-saving item in the game, as it can make even the worst of encounters a breeze (assuming players have enough hearts).

The new areas that are introduced in the Sharp X68000 version of Castlevania are among the most exciting in the series and offer some of the most memorable moments in the game. The caverns in the second stage are packed with dripping stalactites, neon-green slime walls, and an explosive boss battle against a giant bone dragon atop a rushing raft.

The third stage takes Simon through a fetid swamp full of mud monsters, toads, and ravens that culminates with a trek into a slippery cavern made of ice. The enemy that crashes out of the stained-glass in the fourth stage is unforgettable, especially as it explodes its shards of glass when defeated. These moments and more are all in the game, elevating it hands-down above its NES counterpart.

The Japan Exclusive PC Title Received an Awesome PlayStation Port, Finally Bringing It To the West

It Got Pricey, Though

Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness were solid action games that showcased what Castlevania could be in 3D.

The only issue with the Sharp X68000 version of Castlevania is that it was originally only released on the Sharp X68000, a Japanese-exclusive PC. So, while Western fans did get the amazing Super Castlevania IV and the elusive Castlevania: Dracula X on the SNES, it wouldn’t be until 2001 that the Sharp title would be available for fans outside of Japan. Released as Castlevania Chronicles, the PlayStation port featured the original Sharp X68000 game and a completely revamped Arrange Mode.

The Arranged Mode is the same game, but with gorgeous updated sprites for Simon and Dracula, completely rearranged music, and a rebalancing of the game's steep difficulty. As if that wasn’t enough, players who completed the Arrange Mode unlocked a Time Attack mode, as well as an exclusive interview with series producer Koji Igarashi.

This interview offered a fantastic insight into the creation of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, as well as the evolution of the series as a whole. With two complete runs of the game available, plus the Time Attack Mode, Castlevania Chronicles gave fans plenty of Castlevania action for their money.