Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge

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Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
Castlevania II Belmont's Revenge.jpg
North American box art
Developer Konami
Publisher Konami
Programmers Toru Hagihara
Yukari Hayano
Artist Koichi Kimura
Composer Hidehiro Funauchi
Series Castlevania
Platform Game Boy
ReleaseGame Boy
Genre Platform
Mode Single-player

Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge [a] is a 1991 platform game developed and published by Konami for the Game Boy. It is the second Castlevania title for the Game Boy and serves as a sequel to Castlevania: The Adventure . Belmont's Revenge is included in color in the European Konami GB Collection Vol.4 compilation.

Contents

Gameplay and premise

Christopher battling a boss Tn belmontsrevenge.png
Christopher battling a boss
Castlevania series fictional chronology
Original series

1094 - Lament of Innocence
1450 - Legends
1476 - Dracula's Curse
1479 - Curse of Darkness
1499 - Belmont's Curse
1576 - The Adventure
1591 - Belmont's Revenge
1691 - Castlevania (1986 video game)
1698 - Simon's Quest
1748 - Harmony of Dissonance
1792 - Rondo of Blood
1797 - Symphony of the Night
1800 - Order of Ecclesia
1830 - Circle of the Moon
1844 - Legacy of Darkness
1852 - Castlevania (1999 video game)
1917 - Bloodlines
1944 - Portrait of Ruin
2035 - Aria of Sorrow
2036 - Dawn of Sorrow

Lords of Shadow series

1047 - Lords of Shadow
1073-1101 - Mirror of Fate
1102-2057 - Lords of Shadow 2


✝ = Retconned
Sources: [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Unlike the previous Game Boy title, sub-weapons in the form of holy water and axes (or the cross in the Japanese version) are available in the game. There are four initial levels, each taking place in a separate castle with a unique theme such as air, plant, earth, and crystal, and can be completed in any order, similar to Mega Man . [11] [12] There are large trap rooms in the levels. [11] The game utilizes a password system. [13]

Set fifteen years after the events of Castlevania: The Adventure , Dracula returns and kidnaps Christopher Belmont's son Soleil at his coming of age feast, and turns him into a demon. With Soleil's mystical powers, Dracula retakes human form and rebuilds his castle, forcing Christopher to confront Dracula once again to save his son and Transylvania.

Development and release

The North American version of the game changes one of the sub-weapons, replacing the cross with an axe. [12] The cross had a long-range horizontal trajectory similar to the fireball whip, while the axe can go in an upward arc motion that can go through walls and barriers. The Konami GB Collection , released in Japan and Europe only, restores the original cross.

The packaging artwork for the North American and European versions was created by Tom Dubois, who designed the packaging for many other Konami titles outside Japan. [14]

The game was released in Japan on July 12, 1991. [15]

The game has seen a re-release for the Castlevania Anniversary Collection in 2019. [16]

Reception

The game sold nearly 2.5 million units, grossing over $100 million in retail sales revenue. [29]

IGN thought the game made better use of the Game Boy's hardware than the first Castlevania handheld game, and applauded its inclusion of traditional Castlevania items, weapons, and having a cleaner graphical aesthetic. It was still hurt, however, by a lack of character speed and its short play time. [11] GameSpy called it one of the best action games on the original Game Boy. [12] Game Informer 's Tim Turi considers it the best Castlevania game on the original Game Boy; he cited the improved graphics and use of sub-weapons. [30]

Notes

  1. Known in Japan as Dracula Densetsu II (ドラキュラ伝説II, Dorakyura Densetsu Tsū; The Legend of Dracula II) [1]

References

  1. Perfect Selection Dracula ~New Classic~ (Media notes). King Records Co., Ltd. 1992. Archived from the original on 2009-09-30. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
  2. "Konami Castlevania timeline 2007" (in Japanese). Konami. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  3. Castlevania The Timeline. 20th Anniversary Pre-Order Bundle. Konami Digital Entertainment Co. Ltd. December 2006.
  4. "Lords of Shadow Interview for PS3". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  5. Kalata, Kurt (July 26, 2006). "Tales from the Crypt: Castlevania's 20th Anniversary Blow-out". 1UP.com . Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2008.
  6. Vasconcellos, Eduardo. "Castlevania: Order of Shadows Q&A". IGN. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012.
  7. Fletcher, JC. "Castlevania's last 'Rebirth' – as a pachinko machine". Joystiq. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  8. "Konami Parlor Entertainment's blog – February 28, 2012". Konami Parlor Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  9. "Konami Parlor Entertainment's blog". February 28, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. 「悪魔城ドラキュラ 闇の呪印」が元となっています (Pachislot Akumajo Dracula is based on Curse of Darkness). ラルフ側から見たもうひとつの物語が、 パチスロ版の悪魔城ドラキュラI・IIのストーリーとなっています (Pachislot Akumajo Dracula I&II story is "another story" from Ralph's perspective).
  10. "Castlevania Storyline". The Castlevania Dungeon. Archived from the original on July 18, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2007.
  11. 1 2 3 Bozon, Mark (2007-01-18). "Castlevania: The Retrospective". IGN. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  12. 1 2 3 "Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge (1991)". GameSpy. 1999-01-01. Archived from the original on 2009-07-18. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
  13. Konami staff, ed. (1991). Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge instruction manual. Konami. p. 11. ???-CW-USA.
  14. Gidney, Adam. "Tom Dubois artist page". BOX=ART. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  15. 1 2 Mizuno, Bucho; Saito, Stapa; Morishita, Mariko; Ueno, Geesen (July 26, 1991). "New Games Cross Review". Famicom Tsūshin (in Japanese). No. 133. ASCII Corporation. p. 38.
  16. McWhertor, Michael (March 19, 2019). "Konami announces anniversary collections for Castlevania, Contra, and arcade classics". Polygon .
  17. Upchurch, David (October 1991). "Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge". ACE . No. 49. p. 83. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  18. Anton, Michael (December 1991). "Spukschloss. Die Zweite". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  19. Steve; Ed; Martin; Sushi-X (September 1991). "Castlevania 2". Electronic Gaming Monthly . Vol. 4, no. 9. p. 22. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  20. Slasher Quan (September 1991). "Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge". GamePro . No. 26. p. 42. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  21. "Castlevania II". Games-X . No. 24. October 1991. p. 35. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  22. The Diva (December 20, 2015). "Test: Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Archived from the original on January 25, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  23. "Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge". Joypad (in French). No. 1. October 1991. p. 112. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  24. Julian; Rich (December 1991). "Castlevania 2". Mean Machines . No. 15. p. 162. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  25. McFerran, Damien (August 1, 2009). "Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge Review (GB)". Nintendo Life . Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  26. Andy (May 1992). "Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge". Total! . No. 5. pp. 50–51. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  27. Englhart, Stephan (August 1992). "Castlevania 2". Video Games (in German). p. 110. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  28. "Castlevania II". Power Play (in German). October 1991. p. 154. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  29. Konami marketing binder. Konami. 1991. Retrieved 2026-02-11 via Video Game History Foundation.
  30. Turi, Tim (2012-04-04). "Ranking The Castlevania Bloodline". Game Informer . Archived from the original on 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2013-12-05.