Famicom World

Family Computer => Famicom / Disk System => Topic started by: FamicomFreak on September 25, 2007, 09:30:41 pm

Title: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: FamicomFreak on September 25, 2007, 09:30:41 pm
Yes! A great Konami classic. Please feel free to post any info about this game.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: JC on September 25, 2007, 09:49:04 pm
Ah yes, I fell in love with the NES version when I was little. I used to rent it from someplace quite regularly but could never beat it...heck, that must have been when I was eight. :P
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: FamicomFreak on September 25, 2007, 10:08:49 pm
Quote from: JC on September 25, 2007, 09:49:04 pm
Ah yes, I fell in love with the NES version when I was little. I used to rent it from someplace quite regularly but could never beat it...heck, that must have been when I was eight. :P


It did took me a while to beat Dracula on this game as well......I even ended up using a game genie at times!
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: UglyJoe on September 26, 2007, 04:22:08 am
Augh.  Such a great and frustrating game.  That stupid Death boss fight is ridiculous.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: satoshi_matrix on September 26, 2007, 08:53:19 am
I heard that the Famicom cartridge version is sagnificently easier than the NES version. Can anyone confirm this?
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: FamicomFreak on September 26, 2007, 10:16:40 am
Quote from: satoshi_matrix on September 26, 2007, 08:53:19 am
I heard that the Famicom cartridge version is sagnificently easier than the NES version. Can anyone confirm this?


Well I could confirm that using a disk system emulator but I'm sure some castlevania fans know the differences.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: UglyJoe on September 26, 2007, 10:24:04 am
IIRC, the Famicom version lets you select Easy or Normal mode.  (I can confirm this later tonight if I have to).

In Easy mode, enemies only do one block of damage per hit and you no longer get pushed back when you get hit.  This basically means you can jump right through medusa heads and such and only get penalized with a tiny bit of health off -- no more getting knocked off of ledges.

Normal mode is the same as the NES version.

edit:
Confirmation here:
http://www.honestgamers.com/systems/content.php?game_id=3176&console_id=12&review_id=2644 (http://www.honestgamers.com/systems/content.php?game_id=3176&console_id=12&review_id=2644)

QuoteSelect this option and you'll immediately notice that Simon has ten lives instead of the usual four and that he always begins with thirty hearts no matter how many times he might collapse into a lifeless heap. He won't be expiring all that often, come to that; the enemies inflict half as much damage as they normally do, and Simon doesn't even react when he gets hit - that's right, he doesn't hurtle backwards into a pit!
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Jollie on October 10, 2007, 05:16:09 pm
just got it in yesterday for disk system it was like 20 bucks! thanx Jabra!
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: satoshi_matrix on October 14, 2007, 04:24:10 pm
I don't know why the games have to label difficulty as such. It should be

Easy = normal
Normal = hard

because that's really what it is. Even on "easy" Akumajou Dracula (Casltevania) is a pretty tough game. Not as hardcore as other konami action romps such as Contra, but it still up there.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: hehaji on October 15, 2007, 04:55:54 am
I just ending this game last month. I played it on my symbian mobile phone. I use Vnes emulator for played it. And this emulator can save anywhere that easy to ending. In my opinion Death Boss is difficult to kill him than dracula. :)
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Jabra on October 15, 2007, 05:52:42 am
What is the Death Boss ? Which one do you mean ?
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: FamicomFreak on October 15, 2007, 09:09:22 am
Quote from: Jabra on October 15, 2007, 05:52:42 am
What is the Death Boss ? Which one do you mean ?


i think he meant Death. I think you fight him before fighting Dracula
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: hehaji on October 15, 2007, 06:26:49 pm
Death is the Boss before you see Dracula. His face is skull and dress black cloak.
(http://picdb.thaimisc.com/yurapol/6276-37.png),(http://picdb.thaimisc.com/yurapol/6276-36.png)

Dracula
(http://picdb.thaimisc.com/yurapol/6276-48.png),(http://picdb.thaimisc.com/yurapol/6276-50.png)
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Deadly-D on March 15, 2008, 11:50:03 am
Hey everyone! Does anyone here by chance know if the cart version of Castlevania has the Easy / Normal mode options on it? I have the disk version and it does not. :(  I am assuming that the cart version does but... who knows. Thanks everyone!
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: chiaotzu on March 20, 2008, 10:55:48 pm
I don't know if they do or not, but if you plan on getting a copy. Good luck. They seem to go for way more then they are worth in my opinion. I saw one go for nearly $100 dollars with a box. Damn Castlevania collectors drive up the value of all Castlevania related items especially ones with boxes and manuals.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Jabra on March 21, 2008, 06:51:33 am
The cart version has the Easy/ Normal option ! I know because I have the cart !
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Deadly-D on March 21, 2008, 12:52:25 pm
Cool thanks guy's! Yeah it is expensive I saw one from Toysonlinehk for $160 or something like that.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: JC on March 21, 2008, 10:40:06 pm
It's not just that Castlevania collectors drive up the price, but the cart version is kinda rare because, just like with Bio Miracle, the cart had limited release after the failure of the FDS.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: siudym on March 22, 2008, 02:43:51 am
Quote from: Jabra on March 21, 2008, 06:51:33 am
The cart version has the Easy/ Normal option ! I know because I have the cart !


I have cart, but i dont see easy/normal option :-[

Quote from: JC on March 21, 2008, 10:40:06 pm
It's not just that Castlevania collectors drive up the price, but the cart version is kinda rare because, just like with Bio Miracle, the cart had limited release after the failure of the FDS.


Pirated versions are also rare?? I see many famicom Castlevania cartridges ;)

Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Deadly-D on March 22, 2008, 10:30:35 am
Quote from: siudym on March 22, 2008, 02:43:51 am
I have cart, but i dont see easy/normal option :-[


I found a rom of Akumajou Dracula and it's right at the title screen. I almost missed it myself when I first played it.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: JC on March 22, 2008, 12:10:16 pm
Quote from: siudym on March 22, 2008, 02:43:51 am
Pirated versions are also rare?? I see many famicom Castlevania cartridges ;)


Yes, but they don't sell for much. I'd be curious if the pirated carts are the licensed FDS or cart version.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Jabra on March 22, 2008, 02:45:48 pm
I am intersted in Castlevania pirate the nes version. Can anyone help me find one ?
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Jabra on May 15, 2008, 03:22:03 pm
Are there any significant differences between the cart version and the disk version of Akumajou Dracula ( Castlevania 1) ?
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Kuvio on May 15, 2008, 03:53:57 pm
I know it originally was released on disk and later to cart, but I am unsure of any noticeable differences. However, I know there were some pretty big differences between the MSX2 version and the Famicom (cartridge) version. The MSX2 version was released around the same time as the FDS version was so they could be simiar. Again, I really don't know I am just making infereneces.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: UglyJoe on May 15, 2008, 05:44:59 pm
The Famicom cart version has normal/easy selection at the title screen, the FDS version does not.  The FDS version can save your progress (and has an extra song for the save selection screen), the cart version does not.  There may be some differences in the songs, depending on how much Konami utilized the saw wave in the FDS version.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: satoshi_matrix on May 15, 2008, 10:16:42 pm
I'm going to review this game once I finish up Devil World. Kid Icarus will be posponed.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Joppers on May 16, 2008, 06:44:56 am
Surely the main difference is the price!!  :)
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: NintendoKing on May 16, 2008, 06:58:51 am
Quote from: KEVMAN569 on May 15, 2008, 05:04:37 pm
As far as I know the cart version is like the NES version, lacking an easy mode.

Which is a good thing because easy mode is for chumps. Lol.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: satoshi_matrix on May 16, 2008, 12:08:13 pm
As far as I'm concerned, easy mode of Akumajou Dracula is the only way to play it. In reality, easy = normal and nomral = hard.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: KEVMAN569 on May 17, 2008, 06:51:58 am
Quote from: satoshi_matrix on May 16, 2008, 12:08:13 pm
As far as I'm concerned, easy mode of Akumajou Dracula is the only way to play it. In reality, easy = normal and nomral = hard.


I believe easy mode is where you are not knocked back by enemies and you only take two bars of damage on each level. Normal is what we're used to on the NES version.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Profeta Yoshitake on May 17, 2008, 08:56:58 am
I don't think that Castlevania is sooo badly hard...
Ok, I confess that I never killed Death  ??? but it seems to be the major obstacle in this game...  ::)
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Kuvio on May 17, 2008, 11:53:56 am
I never really played the original Castlevania that much. Although, I did complete Super Castlevania IV, which was a really good remake IMO. I really enjoyed the sound upgrade with new remixes of past songs. I am a fan of the music from the Castlevania series.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: UglyJoe on May 17, 2008, 02:24:30 pm
Quote from: Profeta Yoshitake on May 17, 2008, 08:56:58 am
I don't think that Castlevania is sooo badly hard...
Ok, I confess that I never killed Death  ??? but it seems to be the major obstacle in this game...  ::)


Yup, I'd agree with that.  There's a vial of holy water near the beginning of his stage.  If you can grab that and manage not to get killed for the entire level, you can keep lobbing holy water on him and he'll never move.  That's the only way I've managed to beat him.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Profeta Yoshitake on May 17, 2008, 02:45:01 pm
I'm gonna try it for sure!  ;D
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: KEVMAN569 on May 18, 2008, 06:58:35 am
Quote from: UglyJoe on May 17, 2008, 02:24:30 pm
Quote from: Profeta Yoshitake on May 17, 2008, 08:56:58 am
I don't think that Castlevania is sooo badly hard...
Ok, I confess that I never killed Death  ??? but it seems to be the major obstacle in this game...  ::)


Yup, I'd agree with that.  There's a vial of holy water near the beginning of his stage.  If you can grab that and manage not to get killed for the entire level, you can keep lobbing holy water on him and he'll never move.  That's the only way I've managed to beat him.


What I do is get a triple holy water on level 2, and if I'm doing good that day I can lose no lives up until Death.  The biggest obstacle isn't exactly Death, it is the room before where you have to fight the Axe Armors while dodging Medusa Heads, which majorly deplets your energy then Death finishes the job.

BTW Triple holy water is the best sub-weapon you could have in the game IMO.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Profeta Yoshitake on May 18, 2008, 05:45:12 pm
For me the biggest enemy is still the Death!
Even reaching Death with no loss of energy, she
kills me fast with lots of boomerang sickles!
But I did not used the holy water yet!  ::)
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: ReyVGM on October 31, 2009, 10:06:21 pm
I feel like I've played this game before, I'm not sure. Or maybe I've seen it mentioned before.

But in case I'm just having a bad case of deja vu, here's another Castlevania clone for the FDS, titled Matou no Houkai: The Hero of Babel.

It's a lot like Castlevania 1, only that you use a sword. Also a lot like Castlevania 2 with the obscure puzzles and weapons.

(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/ReyVGM/forums/MatounoHoukai-TheHeroofBabel-0.png) (http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/ReyVGM/forums/MatounoHoukai-TheHeroofBabel-1.png) (http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/ReyVGM/forums/MatounoHoukai-TheHeroofBabel-3.png)

Look at this! This game IS Castlevania 2!

(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/ReyVGM/forums/MatounoHoukaiTheHeroofBabel-2.png)

Shame shame shame. Look at the weapons.

The cross, the fire (from CV2) and the holy water.

(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/ReyVGM/forums/MatounoHoukaiTheHeroofBabel-142.png) (http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/ReyVGM/forums/MatounoHoukaiTheHeroofBabel-143.png) (http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/ReyVGM/forums/MatounoHoukaiTheHeroofBabel-144.png)

Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: JC on October 31, 2009, 10:12:26 pm
Where does this come from? Fan clone with just a ROM or found on a disk? Looks kinda fun.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: ReyVGM on October 31, 2009, 10:16:16 pm
Matou no Houkai: The Hero of Babel (FDS)
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: JC on October 31, 2009, 10:18:44 pm
Oh I see what you're saying. :P
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: ReyVGM on October 31, 2009, 10:21:06 pm
It's a real official game, not a pirate :)
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: ericj on October 31, 2009, 10:22:25 pm
I have Matou no Houkai and was surprised how similar it is to Castlevania when I first played it.
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: ReyVGM on October 31, 2009, 10:31:34 pm
Another Castlevania clone.

Like 8 eyes, Youkai Club (silly name) is another student of the school of Castlevania. But apparently it spent all day not paying attention because none of the things that made Castlevania good was absorbed by this game.
It is better than 8 Eyes though. If Youkai Club was not paying attention, 8 Eyes was asleep.
The graphics are decent for 1987 standards and the controls are decently tight. You have subweapons like bombs and umm... flashlights and... glasses... Death had nothing to do and fights you 3 different times, and there's even a doppelganger battle at the end, predating the classic Castlevania 3 doppelganger fight on level 9.

During the first few levels it looks like the developers wanted to do their own thing, but by the 3rd stage it becomes much more apparent who their inspiration is.


(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/ReyVGM/forums/yokai.png)


Amazingly, the style of the character sprite looks a lot like the Trevor sprite from SotN with its long legs and broad back:

(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b41/ReyVGM/forums/FTrevor.png)
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: Profeta Yoshitake on November 03, 2009, 04:50:28 am
Holy waters!  ;D
This Matou no Houkai: The Hero of Babel looks quite Castlevania-esque!!!
Besides all the similarities, is this game fun to play?

Talking about Youkai Club, I found it pretty more likely to Metroid than to Castlevania...
And yes, it is a good game, specially if you take in count that this game is from 1987!
Title: Re: Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania)
Post by: ReyVGM on November 03, 2009, 11:15:12 am
Fun... well what can I say. The game definitely grows on you, but it's not as fun as a real Castlevania game. Use a FAQ to figure out the secrets and you'll definitely enjoy it a bit more.