Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge

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Not to be confused with Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
North American box art
Developer(s)Konami
Publisher(s)Konami
Programmer(s)Toru Hagihara
Yukari Hayano
Artist(s)Koichi Kimura
Composer(s)Hidehiro Funauchi
J.s. Bach
SeriesCastlevania
Platform(s)Game Boy, Game Boy Color
ReleaseGame Boy
  • JP: July 12, 1991
  • NA: August 1991
  • EU: November 26, 1992
  • JP: February 19, 1998 (Konami GB Collection Vol. 3)
Game Boy Color
  • EU: July 26, 2000 (Konami GB Collection Vol. 4)
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)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 the previous title, Castlevania: The Adventure. Belmont's Revenge is included in color in the fourth volume of the Konami GB Collection compilations.[2] 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.[3][4]

Gameplay[edit]

Belmont battling one of the bosses

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.[3][5] There are large trap rooms in the levels.[3] The game utilizes a password system.[4]

Development[edit]

The North American version of the game changes one of the sub-weapons, replacing the cross with an axe.[5] 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.[6]

The game has seen a re-release for the Castlevania Anniversary Collection in 2019.[7]

Reception[edit]

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.[3] GameSpy called it one of the best action games on the original Game Boy.[5] 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.[21]

Notes[edit]

  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[edit]

  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. ^ "Moby Games – Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge". MobyGames. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Mark Bozon (2007-01-18). "Castlevania: The Retrospective". IGN. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  4. ^ a b Konami staff, ed. (1991). Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge instruction manual. Konami. p. 11. ???-CW-USA.
  5. ^ a b c "Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge (1991)". GameSpy. 1999-01-01. Archived from the original on 2009-07-18. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
  6. ^ Gidney, Adam. "Tom Dubois artist page". BOX=ART. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  7. ^ McWhertor, Michael (March 19, 2019). "Konami announces anniversary collections for Castlevania, Contra, and arcade classics". Polygon.
  8. ^ Upchurch, David (October 1991). "Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge". ACE. No. 49. p. 83. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Anton, Michael (December 1991). "Spukschloss. Die Zweite". Aktueller Software Markt (in German). Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Slasher Quan (September 1991). "Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge". GamePro. No. 26. p. 42. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  12. ^ "Castlevania II". Games-X. No. 24. October 1991. p. 35. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  13. ^ "Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge". Joypad (in French). No. 1. October 1991. p. 112. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Julian; Rich (December 1991). "Castlevania 2". Mean Machines. No. 15. p. 162. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  16. ^ McFerran, Damien (August 1, 2009). "Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge Review (GB)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  17. ^ "Game Boy: Now Playing". Nintendo Power. Vol. 29. October 1991. p. 69. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  18. ^ Andy (May 1992). "Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge". Total!. No. 5. pp. 50–51. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  19. ^ Englhart, Stephan (August 1992). "Castlevania 2". Video Games (in German). p. 110. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  20. ^ "Castlevania II". Power Play (in German). October 1991. p. 154. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
  21. ^ Turi, Tim (2012-04-04). "Ranking The Castlevania Bloodline". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
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