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Akumajō
Dracula [Arcade]
悪魔城ドラキュラ [アーケード版]
Feb 1988 |
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Konami
went on a bit of a tangent for their 4th release in the Akumajo
Dracula series. Named 'Haunted Castle' outside of Japan, this one-off arcade production takes
the same basic setup of the previous games in
the series, and tries to blend them into an arcade-style
action slasher in the same vein as Rastan
Saga (1987).
The result is a disaster of the first order. Hot
damn this is bad. There are some good ideas in
there, like impressive end-of-level bosses and different primary weapons, but the design
is an eyesore and the collision detection a joke.
What went wrong? The soundtrack is decent
enough, but the rest is laughable... The main character is deformed, slow and unresponsive;
most of the levels are bland and unimaginative,
and the hearts and items that fling from downed
enemies are way too tricky to collect, for no good reason at all. In most
instances they disappear before your sluggish character
can get anywhere near them.
This game was haphazardly made, and poorly tested.
The entire framework just wasn't well thought
out, and more often than not, everything falls
apart. Take the 'Clock' sub-weapon for example: it not
only freezes enemies, but also paralyses bosses
- for a measly two hearts a pop. So all you have to do is hold onto
it throughout the entire game for an easy and
somewhat depressing victory. Immobilise Dracula
himself, and lash away to your heart's content.
Pah. As hard as it is to believe, the game does
have its fan base - but it is mostly composed
of die-hard Castlevania aficionados, hell-bent
on mastering one of the more miscellaneous chapters
of the saga.
Rating:   |
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Akumajō
Dracula
悪魔城ドラキュラ
KONAMI GAME SIMULATION VIDEO |
DETAILS
| Format |
VHS |
| Released |
21
Feb 1989 |
| Publisher |
Konami
/ Pony |
| Product
ID |
V38X9639 |
| Size
(cm) |
20
x 12 x 3 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.30 |
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'Game Simulation Video' from
Konami and Pony Canyon, featuring
approx. 30 minutes of in-game
footage and play information.
As you'd expect, this is now
an exceptionally rare and
collectible item - with a
crazy price point.
Standard
video case, 30min NTSC video
tape. |
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Oretachi
Gasen Zoku Akumajō Dracula
オレたちゲーセン族 悪魔城ドラキュラ
PLAYSTATION 2 |
DETAILS
| Format |
PlayStation
2 |
| Released |
25
May 2006 |
| Publisher |
Hamster |
| Product
ID |
SLPM-62729 |
| Size
(cm) |
19
x 13.5 x 1.4 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.16 |
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The
1988 Akumajō Dracula
arcade game remained arcade-only
for close to 18 years, until
this celebratory PS2 port
of it appeared courtesy of
the Oretachi
Gasen Zoku series.
PS2
case includes PlayStation 2
DVD-ROM, replica instructions
card holding audio mini-CD
& mini-DVD-ROM, 8-page
colour booklet, 4-page mini
guide book, trading card. |
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'Akumajō
Dracula' and 'Konami' are registered trademarks of
Konami Corporation
'PlayStation' and 'Sony' are registered trademarks of Sony Corporation
Akumajō Dracula TM & © 1988 Konami All Rights Reserved
Page content, design & layout © 2012 Arcade Gear |
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