A disturbing trend was beginning to manifest itself in the early 1990s. After Konami released the incredible Super Castlevania IV for the Super Nintendo, there wasn't a single Castlevania game targeted for a worldwide release in the near future. In that same year, the company released Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood for the PC Engine/Turbo Duo, but due to poor sales of the Turbo-Grafx 16 and the near obscurity of CD attachment in the US and other countries, The Rondo of Blood had no chance of being released outside of Japan. There was some hope--Konami unveiled another Castlevania game in 1993, one that would be released on Sharp's X68000 computer system, but once again, fans of the Castlevania series would be left out in the cold as they watched Japanese gamers enjoy another great Castlevania game.

Gameplay is more of a mixture of the original Castlevania and Super Castlevania IV rather than just a direct port of older Castlevania-style gameplay. In addition to using the traditional weapons--the holy water, the holy cross, the ax, the stopwatch--Simon can swing his whip downward while jumping, but he can't whip in any other direction while standing or jumping. It's amazing how much more difficult this makes the game, especially in the later clock tower levels. Many enemies are placed in areas where the only way you can get to them and attack is to be directly in front of them, much like in the older Castlevania games. The Simon Belmont from Castlevania IV would have no problem getting through these levels with the multidirection whip attack. Pull quote: If any Castlevania game deserves the moniker of simply being a remake of the earlier Castlevania games, it's Akumajo Dracula.

The first few levels are nearly identical to the first in terms of structure and item placement. For example, in the first level, you start out in the same courtyard, walk through the same hallway, travel through the same sewerlike area, and fight the same enormous bat. After that level, the similarities fade, and Akumajo Dracula takes on its own feel and personality, as shown by some of the unique levels. There's one stage in which you have to climb a massive statue of Medusa, complete with blood-dripping eyeballs. When these drops of blood splash to the ground, the indestructible red skeletons appear, so the longer you wait, the more red skeletons there are.

Thankfully, the Symphony of the Night development team recently wrapped up its port of Akumajo Dracula X68000 for the PlayStation, complete with updated visuals and new artwork from Symphony's lead art designer. The game was released in Japan at the end of May 2001.