The 1986 tale of Simon Belmont which involved our main character donning tights and whipping bats, sine-traveling Medusa heads, and Dracula himself has persevered throughout gaming history with many sequels and iterations for a heck-ton of consoles then and now.

With the upcoming release of Castlevania: Harmony of Despair as well as Castlevania: Lord of Shadows, how about we take a look at some of the Castlevania games most of us remember? I’ll start with the games from 1986 all the way to 1999; the next “A Look Back @” will feature the games from 2000 and beyond.

Castlevania (Famicom/NES, 1986)

Historical Significance: The very first Castlevania, duh. Castlevania for the Famicom is the beginning of a long-running franchise which introduces Hollywood horror icons into videogames. It’s also the debut appearance of one Simon Belmont, his iconic weapon, his sub-weapons like the classic Axe and Holy Water, and trademark horrible jump scheme.

Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest (Famicom/NES, 1987)

Historical Significance: Contrary to popular belief, Simon’s Quest was the one which invented the concept of a “Metroidvania” game long before Symphony of the Night (see below) coined the term. The game was non-linear and expansive, though not without its faults. Clues on where to go and what to do on maps and locations are vague, no thanks to the townsfolk in the game’s village hub, and then there’s that transformation curse thing that happens when it’s nighttime.

Still, it was revolutionary for its time, and it led to a lot of Nintendo Power issues sold back in the late 80s since it had a help section for Castlevania 2.

Castlevania: The Adventure (Gameboy, 1989)

Historical Significance: This marks the first time a brand new Castlevania game is made specifically for the Gameboy. This also marked the first time that not every Castlevania game was pure gold. It lacked sub-weapons, its hero was slow and had a huge hitbox (bigger than his actual sprite, mind you), and the levels were littered with too many agile enemies in the mix. Not many people were that desperate for a portable Castlevania fix due to the aforementioned problems.

Castlevania 3 (Famicom/NES, 1989)

Historical Significance: This Castlevania is the bigger and badder version of the first game. While sticking true to its 2D linear platform-action roots, the game introduces branching paths and multiple playable characters like wall-climbing pirate Grant Danasty and bat-changing Alucard.

It also screwed a lot of Americans out of the full Castlevania 3 experience; you see, the Famicom Disk version of the game had high-quality music because it had the VR6 chip and some added graphical elements. Due to cutting costs, the North American cartridges of Castlevania 3 had to use the cheaper MMC5 model to squeeze into the default cartridges.

Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge (Gameboy, 1991)

Historical Significance: It definitely helped Gameboy owners forget the travesty that was Castlevania: The Adventure. Taking into account the system’s limitation, it made changes into the formula while also preserving its 2D platform action template that made past Castlevanias a fair and memorable challenge. You get to choose which among the four offered stages to start on, you get alternate branching paths, and you get to wield two different sub-weapons at once.

Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 1991)

Historical Significance: A high-definition (for its time) remake of Castlevania, Super Castlevania IV made SNES owners wet their pants with its 16-bit graphics and kick-ass audio. The game wasn’t too shabby either, as it introduced what the game mechanic sorely needed: the ability to whip in all eight directions.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (PC-Engine CD/SNES, 1993)

Historical Significance: This is the first time Castlevania was on the CD medium, and it showed. The Redbook-processing quality meant that every background music in the game was composed to the fullest, and every background and character was detailed. It also introduced branching paths which led to different outcomes and endings, not to mention a chance to play as the hidden character Maria, who essentially made the entire game a cakewalk once chosen. This was also one of the games heavily sought by importers around the mid-90s, and also helped contributed to the “Japanese Games > American” mentality.

An SNES port of the game was conceived, but it was a shadow of the original’s majesty.

Castlevania: Bloodlines (Sega Megadrive, 1994)

Historical Significance: The first Castlevania to be made exclusively for the Sega Megadrive, not to mention one of the last true 2D linear action Castlevania games. The game also reverts back to the multiple playable character option from Castlevania 3, though only two were available: the whip-bearing John Morris and the spear-wielding Eric LeCarde. Between a guy with a short whip and someone with a long-reaching spear that allows you to do a semi-invincible “pogo-hop”, the game is significantly easier with the latter character.

Castlevania: Symphony of The Night (Playstation One, 1997)

Historical Significance: The Castlevania game which everyone from the Playstation generation remembered. Not only did it take the Metroidvania template from Simon’s Quest, it improved upon it and made it its bitch while also tossing in a few Castlevania tropes here and there for one magnificent crockpot. Everything about this game is polished and painfully detailed, meticulously designed right down to the upside-down castle (spoiler warning, by the by), beautiful to look  at, and soothing to the ears thanks to Michiru Yamane’s compositions. If we were to go back in time and give it a rating, it won’t be less than a 10 out of 10.

Castlevania Legend (1997)

Historical Significance: The only Castlevania game with a female protagonist (up until Order of Ecclesia) and a projectile-chucking whip. It’s also the one Castlevania game redacted by series handler Koji Igarashi. He states that the game was an embarrassment to the series and wished that the development team had the guidance of the original team of the series.

Castlevania 64/ Legacy Of Darkness (1999)

Historical Significance: The first-ever Castlevania to break the 2D mold. Also, the first to prove that the game itself is handled better on a 2D plane. They’re also taken out of the official Castlevania story timeline, as the directors for both these games considered them as side stories.

Stick around later this week for the other half of the bite-sized Castlevania retrospective.