The release date and full lineup for the Castlevania Anniversary Collection are both official, and dedicated vampire slayers will be pleased to know that it includes a few deep cuts from the Castlevania catalog. You can start playing the retro collection on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on May 16 for $19.99 / £15.99.
When Konami initially unveiled the collection (along with similar offerings for Contra and arcade favorites) it only announced half of the included games. There are a surprising number of Castlevanias - some with the same number despite being different games - so here's a quick rundown of the entire Castlevania Anniversary Collection.
- Castlevania (NES) - Started all this monster-whipping, axe-throwing business back in 1986.
- Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest (NES) - A black sheep at the time, its nonlinear, RPG-inspired mechanics would return fully formed in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
- Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (NES) - Scaled back the then-weirdness of Simon's Quest but kept some of the nonlinearity via branching paths.
- Kid Dracula (NES) - The first time this self-parodying spinoff will make it outside of Japan, not to be confused with its Game Boy remake/followup that is also called Kid Dracula.
- Castlevania: The Adventure (Game Boy) - This simplified version of the core jump-and-whip premise doesn't even have stairs, but the music remains killer.
- Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge (Game Boy) - This is a sequel to Castlevania: The Adventure, not a different version of Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest.
- Super Castlevania 4 (SNES) - You can whip in eight different directions. Now you're playing with Super Power!
- Castlevania: Bloodlines (Sega Genesis) - The dripping blood and water effects were a visual tour-de-force at the time, now you can focus on the good ol' side-scrolling action.
The Castlevania Anniversary Collection also includes "Bonus Book" extras, such as a video interview with Castlevania Netflix producer Adi Shankar. If you're still waiting on the Contra Anniversary Collection, you'll have to sit tight a while longer. Konami still says it's coming sometime this summer.
Find more to look forward to in our list of new games 2019. Or see what's going on in games and entertainment this week with the latest edition of our Release Radar video series.
