Castlevania

Dracula's castle looms against a mesmerizingly red sky, and you, vampire hunter Simon Belmont, step into it alone, armed only with a strip of leather whip. Thus begins Castlevania by Konami, a game that in 1986 (on the Famicom Disk System, reaching the West a few years later) laid the foundations of an entire gothic action legend.

At first glance it is a straightforward platformer, but the devil is in the details of the controls. Simon jumps in a so-called „committed“ way — once he leaves the ground, you can no longer change his trajectory, so you have to plan every jump in advance. This deliberation transforms the game from reflexive action into a tense duel with space. In addition to the whip there are sub-weapons powered by hearts: holy water, throwing axes, daggers or the clock that stops time. The boss battles — from Medusa through Mummies to the final Dracula, who transforms into a winged beast after being defeated once — are among the best the early NES had to offer.

An inseparable part of the experience is the music. Tracks like Vampire Killer burrow into your memory and to this day rank among the most cited video game motifs ever. Here Konami demonstrated how deeply a soundtrack can shape atmosphere — each level has its own mood, from catacombs to the clock tower.

Castlevania stood at the birth of a brand that lives on to this day. From straightforward action grew, over time, a branching genre that a game named Symphony of the Night would later christen. Without this first ascent of the castle there would be none of what followed — no Alucard, no exploration of an interconnected manor, no decades-long rivalry between the Belmont bloodline and the prince of darkness.

Anyone who takes retro seriously must go through Castlevania at least once. It is stiff, it is merciless, but every honestly conquered stretch tastes like a small victory over the night itself.

Why play: A founding cornerstone of gothic action with unforgettable music and an honestly tough design that has held up even after four decades.