5 Things You Never Knew About Castlevania

Gamers have been exploring Castlevania for 30 years. That’s a lot of time to scour every inch of Dracula’s haunted castle, and it’s paid off. If you thought those chicken legs hidden in the walls were a cool secret, hold onto your seats, because you won’t believe these incredible Castlevania findings!

CASTLEVANIA'S THE MOST REMADE GAME EVER!

The original Famicom game was so popular that versions have been ported to 15 separate platforms. This includes IBM computers, three different arcade cabinets, and of course the SNES. However, those are just the remakes of the FIRST game in the Castlevania series. If you tally up every version of every game in the franchise, the numbers become truly mind-boggling.

In 1988, Nintendo of America had some pretty strict policies about what they’d allow to be depicted in their games. Tons of games that features excessive violence, sexual content, naughty language, or overt religious references were either censored or outright banned. However, anyone who’s played Castlevania can tell you that crosses and holy water are featured so prominently, that they’re actually used as weapons! Considering that even Family Friendly games like Duck Tales had to nix the crucifix, it’s hard to say how Castlevania got around this one.

Once you beat Castlevania, there was a surprise for you after the credits rolled: you got to start the game all over again! However, this time around things were a little different. For one, the game was a lot harder. Enemies could move faster and dealt four times as much damage. But more importantly, it was now possible to find a new, secret item: THE MOAI HEAD!

The Moai Head is a reference to the game Gradius, one of Konami’s earliest successes. Traditionally, Moai heads have been hidden in Konami games for over three decades. Usually they’re just tucked away in the background. But, in Castlevania they could be collected for a whopping 4,000 points, making them the most valuable item in the game!

ALL THE CREDITS ARE TERRIBLE PUNS!

The endgame credits don’t feature the name of a single real person. “Vram Stoker” and “James Banana” are references to the Bram Stoker, author of the original Dracula, and british film composer, James Bernard. Other names like “Love Chaney,””Belo Lugosi,” and ”Boris Karloffice” are all meant to be puns of on the names of the actors Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, and Boris Karloff, who all played classic Universal Movie monsters.

NO ONE KNOWS WHO MADE THE GAME!

Remember those wacky names in the credits? Those weren’t meant as a joke. Back in 1986, all game designers working for Konami were forbidden to attach their actual name to any project. Instead, they were required to create a fake name to be listed in the game’s credits. This was to prevent them from asking for raises, and keep rival companies from stealing their talent.

In some games, Konami employees worked clever hints about their actual identities into their pseudonyms and were eventually recognized for their contributions. This was not the case with Castlevania. Presently, Konami only has an incomplete list of names for the team that designed Castlevania, and no mention of any specific role that anyone played in its creation. Because of this, the inventor of the most legendary horror game franchise in history remains a total mystery. All we can do is thank “Vram Stoker” for his tireless efforts…

So, how many of you knew these bits of terrifying trivia and macabre minutiae? Did our list Re-Vamp your interest in Castlevania or just leave you feeling drained? Let us know in the comments. And hey, if you're looking for a few more awesome horror games to play this Halloween season, Check Out These Terrifying Titles At Our Store.