2019 is the 50th anniversary of the storied games studioKonami, and to celebrate they are releasing three collections of their classic games on modern consoles. Today, the company released theKonami Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection, and they alsoannouncedthe full lineup of games for theCastlevania Anniversary Collection, which is coming May 16.
Last month, the team announced the first four games in the collection:Castlevania,Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge,Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, andCastlevania IV. Joining those four classic games areCastlevania Bloodlines, Kid Dracula, Castlevania the Adventure,andCastlevania II: Simon’s Quest.
Bloodlineswas originally released on the SEGA Genesis. The platformer follows John Morris and Eric Lecarde as they seek to stop Dracula’s niece from reviving the vampire.
Kid Draculawas originally only released in Japan for the Famicom. The adorable, kid version ofCastlevaniavisually stands out from the rest of the pack. You play as a pint-sized version of the head vampire in a comedic take on theCastlevaniaformula. And, as seen in the screenshots from the PlayStation Blog,Kid Draculais being localized to English for this release.
Castlevania the Adventurewas the first portableCastlevaniagame. It came out in 1989 for the Game Boy, which limits the gameplay slightly. Unlike consoleCastlevaniagames there are no sub-weapons, limiting your options for success. It will be interesting to see how it feels on a console.
Castlevania II: Simon’s Questis a bit of a departure from the otherCastlevaniagames of its time.Simon’s Questuses some light RPG elements. Simon can interact with townspeople and buy new items from merchants. The game also uses a day-night cycle which changes up the game quite a bit, depending on what time of day it is.
These new additions make theCastlevania Anniversary Collectionan intriguing product. You can check it out for yourself on August 23, 2025 when it releases on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
