Pachislot Castlevania

Game Overview

After the success of Castlevania: The MedalThe earliest of Konami's second wave of gambling machines, this is a two-phase slot game starring Richter Belmont as he goes on a recreation of his adventures at Castle Dracula. -- a digital, five-reel, multi-line slot machine with bonus modes -- Konami went all in pushing the Castlevania series onto further ventures. A year later this led to the release of Pachislot Castlevania (titled Pachislot Akumajo Dracula in Japan, with the "Akumajo Dracula" translating as "Demon Castle Dracula"), the second slot-machine style game designed for Japanese arcades and parlors.

Unlike in the U.S. where arcades are basically dying and, even among those places that are still alive, traditional video games reign, the Japanese market has serious love for pachinko games. A traditional pachinko game sees a player pay tokens for metal balls that they then shoot into a machine. The balls will drop through the machine and, eventually, land in slots that either win or lose tokens or tickets or whatever the parlors use as currency. If you've ever seen The Price is Right then you know that the game show has Pachinko as one of its games and you should be familiar with the basics.

Although it shares a name with Pachinko, Pachislot isn't really the same thing. Yes, reflexes are still involved, but this is a slot-machine not a standard Pachinko game. Like Castlevania: The Medal, this game starts off with the player spinning the main reels (three, in this case) in an attempt to make matches. However, the "pachi" spin on the game allows the players to press buttons tied to each of the reels in an attempt to stop them at the right moment. Press each reel to make combinations, and if the player makes a combo of Lucky 7s they can then unlock various "Bonus Missions" that play out across the top screen of the game. Most of these bonus missions are automated and totally random as to the outcome, but they still add an additional element to the game beyond a simple slot machine mechanic.

This is the first of three Pachislot games released around the same time, each featuring elements and characters from Castlevania: Curse of DarknessKonami's 3D follow-up to Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, this game featured expanded powers, exploration, and story, marking a deeper, although maybe not better, game.. Although the game is light on story (with most of the actual "story" being left to the player's imagination), the basics see hero Trevor BelmontThe third Belmont revealed in the release history of the franchise, Trevor's clout among fans has grown. Between love for his first game, and his starring role in the Castlevania anime, Trevor is perhaps even more popular now than even Simon. taking on DraculaThe lead antagonist of the Castlevania series and most famous vampire character in all media, all thanks to Bram Stoker. Based on the historical figure Vlad the Impaler, a vicious ruler of Wallachia in the mid-1500s. across three zones -- the castle's chapel, a warehouse area, and the outer walls -- after the demon is resurrected. We're also introduced to a new character, Church-sanctioned warrior (and dancer) AngelaAdded into the series via the Castlevania Pachislot games, Angela is a mage (and dancer) who aids Trevor in his quest to find and defeat Dracula., who aids Trevor in his fight (and provides a fair bit of cheesecake for the male players in the audience).

Overall, like the other gambling machines, Pachislot Castlevania is a fairly shallow experience. That, though, is viewed from a Western perspective, to be sure; in Japan the game was popular enough to see two sequels (and then a Pachislot Castlevania: Lords of ShadowThe fourth Castlevania pachislot game from Konami, this game came out a few years after the initial set. Instead of focusing on Trevor, this game is all about newer protagonist Gabriel Belmont on his quest against the evil lords of the realm. spin-off years later). So while we think these games are weird, Konami was obviously onto something in their home country.