Haunted Castle Revisited

Review by Mike Finkelstein

It had been so long since Konami had published a new Castlevania game that all of the fans (creators of this site included) had basically given up the ghost. It seemed like Konami was more interested in using the brand to make pachinko machines while the fans of the actual games had to sate themselves on rerelease compilations of the classic titles, along with the occasional licensed tie-in with some other company’s games (a Dead Souls here, a Super Smash Bros. there). Hell, the best news fans had in 2024 was the announcement of the Dominus Collection, a long desired, and oft dreamed of, collection of the Nintendo DS games. But surely Konami wasn’t going to surprise drop a new Castlevania game in the process.

And yet that’s exactly what they did. Included in the Castlevania Dominus Collection, Konami also put out the first classic-style game in the series in 15 years. And it was for a title that many fans expected Konami to never revisit (hint towards the title) again. And yet, alongside the three game Nintendo DS games – Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia – the company gave us Haunted Castle Revisited, a reinvention and enhancement of one of Konami’s few arcade adventures.

Developed by M2, who also developed Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirthA loose remake of the Game Boy game for the Wii, taking inspiration from many of the later games in the series. and have overseen the three Castlevania collections (Anniversary, Advance, and Dominus), Haunted Castle Revisited is a remake of the 1987 arcade title, Haunted Castle. It’s a classic Castlevania adventure with one man, Simon BelmontThe first hero of the Castlevania series (by release date), he's been featured in more games, and referenced more times, than almost any other character in the series., entering into the halls of Castle Dracula, all to take on the feared master vampire, DraculaThe lead antagonist of the Castlevania series and most famous vampire character in all media, all thanks to Bram Stoker., after that undead fiend captured and kidnapped Simon’s wife, Selena BelmontThe first female to appear in the series, technically Selena was just a bride to be saved, a female prize at the end of the castle, but then that was how so many games of the 1980s played out., stealing her away to his edifice of evil. Across six stages Simon must battle the fiends of Hell, taking on the worst of Dracula’s minions, all for a shot at the big man himself.

Plotwise, Haunted Castle Revisited hews closely to the original. It’s the same basic plot, the same setup for the adventure, the same motivation for Simon’s quest. In fact, in many ways this game sticks closely to the original material. While it’s not a one-to-one adventure, taking many liberties and changing up the original game in a number of ways, this is a fairly faithful love letter to Haunted CastleKonami's first original foray into arcades for the Castlevania series. This game built on the concept of the series although it took some ideas in different directions, with mixed results., and not the massive reinvention that Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth ended up being.

From the minute this game boots up, you’re going to feel like you were transported back to the era of the late 1980s arcade scene. Simon here closely resembles his arcade counterpart, big and thick, stockier and beefier than he appears on home consoles normally. The chunkier sprites of the arcade title have been honored here, with everything given that “plus size” upgrade to match the look of the classic arcade title. That’s not to say that the graphics look old; M2 used the power of modern systems to give everything more color, more style, and plenty of particle effects, lending this remake the necessary spit and polish you’d want from a new title in the series.

The gameplay, too, sticks close to the formula of the original game. Simon is big and slow, with noticeable lag for his attacks. He’s not a fast man, so you have to keep an eye out for traps and enemies and plan ahead. That is, often, easier said than done as the game loves to put a ton of enemies on screen, spawning in from all directions, and sometimes even appearing right on top of you out of nowhere. The enemy placement sometimes feels cheap, little traps meant to cause you damage and send you back. It’s almost cruel in its design, which feels appropriate in a way since that’s how the arcade title was as well. There are moments, though, where you really wish M2 had been a little bit less precise in their honoring of the original game, a little more willing to be kind instead of cruel when it comes to enemies.

Not that everything is hard as nails about the game (even if so much of it is). Falling in pits, for instance, isn’t an instant kill here, unlike in most Castlevania games. You will take damage from the fall, yes, but then you’re placed right back where you jumped from so you can try again. More interesting is that continues (when you inevitably lose all your lives) don’t reset you back to the beginning of the stage. You pick right back up at the section you were in, able to move on as if it was just a minor inconvenience.

This was especially helpful in the fight against Dracula. There, once you get past his first phase and move into his second (and final) version, losing all your lives puts you right back in his room, at the second form, able to take on this phase of the fight once more without waiting. I’m sure there are some Castlevania purists that see this as a betrayal of the formula, that you couldn’t do the fight all in one go so you don’t deserve the “easy mode” of just being able to jump in halfway and get back into the battle. As someone that sucks at hard games, though, I appreciated that I could simply focus on the battle and not stress about lives or time.

While we’re on the subject, the Dracula battle is a real highlight of the game. It’s one of the places where the remake deviates from the source and massively improves the experience. The Dracula fight in the original game is laughably easy, one of the few times where the game swings too far in the other direction away from cruel difficulty. The new game does make it hard, but it also changes up much of the battle, taking inspiration from the original – with a first form that teleports around, throwing swords, and a second form that features from massive heads of the vampire throwing out varied attacks – to posit a new and far more interesting experience.

Most of the boss battles in the game follow this route. They reference the original fights, from the battle against Frankenstein’s creature to the pitched fight against the stained glass warrior, to do something far more interesting with the fights. Each boss has tells you can learn for their multitude of new attacks, but expect to die many times as these boss fights are all much more difficult. That’s fine, though, as the overall experience feels fresh and interesting in ways the original Haunted Castle never could manage

That is, in fact, the special thing about Haunted Castle Revisited. Despite its unrelenting difficulty at times, and its willingness to punish you for not memorizing the placement of all the enemies, it still does so much that’s interesting and creative that the game feels fun. It’s hard as nails at times, but it shows kindness where it counts and a freshness to its overall design. I liked this game much more than expected, especially considering the Haunted Castle name on the package. Its old school vibes belay a game that with a lot of creative flourishes that enhance and upgrade the original games experience.

The Nintendo DS titles are the focus of the Dominus Collection, and rightly so. Those games will get their due time to shine, finding a multitude of gamers that didn’t get a chance to play the titles before. But as a bonus, and unexpected treat added to an already great package, Haunted Castle Revisited is the true highlight of the experience. Finally, Konami gave fans exactly what they asked for, a new Castlevania game after a drought in releases. And to do this all in one fantastic collection experience, well, that’s better than any fan could have ever imagined.