Castlevania: The Adventure

About This Game

Gameplay

The player controls Christopher Belmont, the ancestor of Simon Belmont, who goes on a quest to defeat Dracula. The game consists of four stages, and unlike other Castlevania games, there are no sub-weapons, but hearts are used to restore health. The player has three lives, after losing them the player must restart the level. Weapons can be upgraded, such as the whip into the chain whip and flame whip, but any enemy damage will downgrade an upgraded weapon. At the end of each level, there is a "primary evil" (boss) to confront. Players can utilize crystals, hearts, and crosses of gold. There is a point counter, and at 10,000 points, a player receives an extra life, and receives one for every 20,000 points after that. Each stage has a time limit in which to complete the level.

History

Programmer Masato Maegawa joined Konami after graduating university and worked on Castlevania: The Adventure. He later left Konami, stating that at Konami you had to make sequels to big titles like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Castlevania games. Without the freedom to develop games like Gunstar Heroes, Maegawa left Konami to form Treasure. In a 1997 interview, Maegawa said that Castlevania: The Adventure was not good. Castlevania: The Adventure was released in Japan on October 27, 1989, for the Game Boy. It was released in North America in December 1989. Konami stated that the game had grossed nearly $9 million in retail sales revenue by 1991.