Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth ignores much of the ground the series has covered over the past decade, opting for a back to basics approach proving there is still merit to what Castlevania was initially. Though it takes its name after the 1989 Game Boy game, it isn’t a remake, and more of a reimagining. It tells the same story of Christopher Belmont wielding his fireball slinging whip against the forces of night, but it is a new Castlevania game besides.

The soundtrack features new arrangements of old Castlevania songs with a synthetic sound akin to Castlevania: Bloodlines and the sounds the Sega Genesis produced. Tonally dark, the visuals still feature some brighter colors that ought to have been out of place, but end up breathing more life into the environments. The monsters aren’t the same recycled sprites that have been in Castlevania circulation for over a decade, but something about them or their animations completes the art style as something more primitive and retro that when mixed with the music befits the feel of the gameplay.

It is straightforward arcade action and platforming with all the trappings of early Castlevania games. Dracula is back and that is enough reason to be back in his castle. You’ll be trudging up stairs, getting knocked back into pits, whipping candles for hearts and mining walls in search of food.

Christopher’s weapon of choice is a short-ranged whip with the power to shoot fireballs. In the original Game Boy games, the fireball spitter was retained until the player died, but here that power is acquired via pickup and only lasts for a brief period. The customary set of powered-by-hearts sub-weapons return to supplement Christopher’s whip when it is lacking firepower, so he always has the tools for his task. Despite the arsenal being near identical to earlier Castlevanias, the game never becomes as difficult, but that doesn’t mean it’s a cakewalk.

There are six stages with different paths through them. Keeping a key handy can open up secret rooms or paths less arduous than the alternative. Each level has two bosses, and part of the fun then becomes seeking out the one hidden away somewhere. The way each stage branches out, but ultimately resolves to the same end makes for a more flexible experience complimenting the linear Castlevania formula.

Well-paced and challenging enough to be satisfying, the throwback action of Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth succeeds in providing an experience distinguished enough from the rest of the series to fit in without being too familiar. That it also serves as a professor’s history lesson analogy for describing what Castlevania was like before Symphony of the Night laid out the prevailing blueprint of the series in 1997, makes it all the more worthwhile.