Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth

Game Overview

In 2009, Konami launched a new (at the time) remake initiative titled "ReBirth". This series of games revisited classic titles from the major Konami franchises, giving them new installments that acted like enhanced remakes of classic titles. These weren't just games with graphical overhauls but completely revamped adventures with new game play, stages, and a ton of additional content drawn from later titles on their respective series. Castlevania, Contra, and Gradius each received a "ReBirth" adventure, with Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth being the third release of this series.

Starring Christopher BelmontThe second ever Belmont, and second hero, revealed in the series, Christopher predated Simon by 100 years within the series Chronology, even if American sources struggled to get the lineage straight., Adventure ReBirth effectively retells the original The Castlevania AdventureThe first Castlevania portable title, it manages to squeeze in the basics of the series onto the four-color Game Boy... but only barely., chronicling the hero's first encounter with the Dark Lord DraculaThe lead antagonist of the Castlevania series and most famous vampire character in all media, all thanks to Bram Stoker.. As in the original game, the story is set 100 years after the time of 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., with Dracula having risen from the grave once again, his dark castle returning to the top of the Borgo Pass. That's what Christopher, current possessor of the Vampire KillerThe Vampire Killer, the legendary whip charged with holy magic and created for the Belmont clan to aid in their fight against the forces of darkness. is called in to handle the demon and save the lands of Romania once more. In essence the major, salient points of the story have not changed.

What has changed about the game, though, is just about everything else. Unlike the original game, Christopher now gets full access to his sub-weapons (all the standards, and not just a dagger and an axe as seen in Castlevania II: Belmont's RevengeThe second Castlevania title for the Game Boy, this game was a marked improvement over its predecessor, becoming a beloved entry among fans and a must have title for anyone with even a passing interest in the series.). The levels have all been completely remixed and rearranged, with new graphics and music across the board (graphics comparable to Castlevania: Symphony of the NightReleased on the PlayStation in 1997, this game, while not hugely successful in the U.S. at the time, went on to become on the most beloved titles in the Castlevania series. era games). The stages may reference the original levels (such as the Caverns and the Dungeons), but their layouts are completely different, while two new levels have been added to flesh out the castle even further.

Stage length was also increased, making for a very long, but at times also rather difficult, game. Unlike many of the more recent entries to come out around Adventure ReBirth, the game wasn't a MetroidvaniaAt the intersection of Metroid and Castlevania lies the exploration platforming genre, the game style with heroes wandering expansive worlds, looking for items to expand their quest, know as Metroidvania. adventure. It hewed much closer to the Adventure's root, playing like an old-school platformer, with the crushing difficulty one would expect from classic, "Nintendo Hard" adventures. It did mark Konami's return to their old-school roots, giving players the classic adventure they'd been requesting for years. But the difficulty of the game, and the fact it was released as a WiiWare exclusive, did limit the audience that could (or would) play the title.

Unlike Castlevania Chronicles (See: Castlevania for the Sharp X68000An updated version of the original Castlevania, with enhanced music and graphics as well as additional (and remixed) stages. Eventually came to the West as Castlevania Chronicles.), which is considered by some as the "definitive" version of the original CastlevaniaThe game that started the series, the original Castlevania was hailed for its combination of action and platforming, all wrapped in Gothic style, to create one of Konami's earliest Million Sellers., Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth holds no such place with fans. While an obvious love-letter to the classic Castlevania games, it's an odd blend of classic style and elements from later games in the series. Plus, the difficulty in finding and playing the game now, especially via legal means, makes Adventure ReBirth one of the more curious oddities in the series. Perhaps if it had been given a wide release across all the consoles of the era, along with physical distribution for the title, then maybe ReBirth would have supplanted Adventure in the minds of fans. Instead it's a late-era "lost" title that likely will never see re-release from Konami again (since that company has all but abandoned the Castlevania series altogether.