Castlevania is one of the most iconic names in video games, so to honor the long-running, vampire-ridden series, we decided to put together a guide to the best Castlevania games of all time.
Unfortunately, Castlevania’s early days are messy, with a handful of slightly altered ports released for different platforms and regions. For this guide, we’re skipping Vampire Killer and Haunted Castle, as well as the Castlevania port for the Sharp X68000, which was later released for the PlayStation and eventually the PlayStation Network as Castlevania Chronicles. All of the aforementioned titles are ports or reimaginings of the original Castlevania. Although they differ in a handful of ways, they’re not distinct enough to warrant their own spots. Still, if you’re a fan of the original game, Vampire Killer and Haunted Castle provide a unique spin.
Rounding out our list is Castlevania’s first foray onto the Game Boy: Castlevania: The Adventure. The Adventure would have been a great game if consoles properly supported its design. Gameboy sets the bar pretty low on visuals, and this game is no exception. The real dealbreaker, however, is that The Adventure is nearly unbeatable, and its impossible level of difficulty just makes for frustrating gameplay.
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