The Castlevania Thread

[Arasoi]

http://akumajo.free.fr/games.htm

Its under Wai Wai 2, at the bottom.

A lot of games were released like this orginally, including Rockman and Forte. Interesting stuff, I didnt know XX was released this way.

[Ed Oscuro]

Me neither! I wonder what other Konami games were released in such a manner...and now I'm hoping somebody has saved a ROM image of the files. Might not be any major differences, though.

[Arasoi]

Well, I know Rockman and Forte was identical in both box released and download format, Id assume XX is the same... hmm

[Arasoi]

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-...ce-70-3f1.html

Just wanted to point this great deal out to everyone. You can get a large Lament of Innocence Japanese promotional poster for under 12 dollars (including shipping)

I picked one up last night, and it appears they still have stock left.

[Rook_Jones]

I understand the desire to collect the old fashion way, digging through bins and looking through glass cases, wiping dirt off covers in a dirty swap meet box. Its fun to work to find your stuff.

I totally relate. Probably that's why I waited to buy a Famicom until I was in Japan.

How much did Dracula-kun go for? It's not that rare, is it? I've been looking for it. Mainly because of Galamoth, his short description of "wants to take over the underworld" just sets the imagination on fire...

Oh, and Arasoi, since you're a CV fan, I'm sure you've heard of Parovadius?

[Arasoi]

Boku went for about 50, I think I have a photo of its condition on page 3, not too bad really. Im not sure on its rarity, it IS hard to find complete on EBay is all I know.

Yes Ive heard of Parovadius, I believe it wasa flash movie done by Eric Roman and starred a flying Slogra/Berrigan. (Correct me if Im wrong though )

[Rook_Jones]

Yeah, that's the one. He remade it in 2005, I hotlinked "parovadius" in the above post if you want to check it out.

[Arasoi]

Just picked up Vampire Killer (MD) mint for $145.

Yes.

[Ed Oscuro]

Yeah, that's the one. He remade it in 2005, I hotlinked "parovadius" in the above post if you want to check it out.

A while ago (actually over a year now, I think) Eric showed me a page in Japanese where somebody tried to suss out the meaning of all Eric's intentional misspellings and jokes.

Hillarious. Even if you kinda cringe to see somebody going "hey, that arse is making fun of our language!" Then again, it was too funny to care.

Congrats on the find, Arasoi.

[Arasoi]

Some interesting auctions on Yahoo Japan:

http://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r25782735

Looks like an old game guide from 1986, for Akumajo Dracula and some other stuff. Funny cover art either way.

"Blah! Have some skittles!"

http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d63168972

An EXTREMELY rare and expensive Akumajo Dracula arcade board (Japanese Haunted Castle) with its overlays and manuals.

http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e55747190

http://page10.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m31501859

A couple of doujin music CDs, some of these can be fairly interesting to get.

http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f45188117

One of the various Akumajo Dracula Super Famicom (SC4) guides, this is one of the rarer red versions.

http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/90612403

Another of the SFC Akumajo guides, a black cover guide.

[mills]

Arasoi, I have that Odi et Amo CD on my computer. It's a japanese band covering castlevania tunes with guitars, drums, keyboards, etc. VERY good cd, if you want it AIM me at "millsnes"

[Arasoi]

That was a great album, thank you for sharing that with me. Ill see about uploading it sometime within the week..

[walrusmonger]

Here is my collection (minus the castlevania: CoD whip, my japanese version of SotN for PS1, CastlevaniaoS and my copy of CoD that I didn't update the photo for)
Sadly I had to sell off my super mint Dracula X and my Rondo of Blood earlier this year to pay bills

[mills]

[Arasoi]

Thats a pretty nice collection, sad to hear you sold off your mint Dracula X (im on the lookout for one)

I see you have the Majesco re-release of Bloodlines too. Is your SCV4 the same? (you can tell by checking the bottom right corner of the back of the box)

[walrusmonger]

Nah, the SCIV is from 1991 and konami

[Synergy]

I have a couple slight off-topic questions for Arasoi, or anyone else that can answer them. I didn't see the point of making a separate topic since there's a nice 'Vania conversation going on here:

1) For Rondo of Blood, does it need the PC Engine to run, or can it boot with a Turbografx-16 here in the states?

2) If it does work on U.S. consoles, which model TurboGrafx do I need to run it?

3) How much do the different Turbografx models go for (TurboGrafx-16, Turbo Duo, PC Engine, etc.)?

I'm a total noob to the Turbografx systems, but as I mentioned in another thread, I'm really thinking about buying one just to play Rondo of Blood.

[walrusmonger]

I can kind of help you:

I bought a duo-r system (white turbo duo) for about $200 loose but in great shape (just to play rondo).

I played rondo to death for a couple of weeks, LOVED IT (easily the best castlevania besides SotN) and then sold the system. I wanted to keep the game but needed to sell my high priced games for bills (rondo, drac x, radiant silvergun, suikoden 2, etc) and really regret it.

Think about it like this: you can buy and play the game, get your kicks and resell the stuff for at least what you paid. The game is so good it doesn't depreciate and the same goes for the duo. It's much easier to just buy a working duo then to get ahold of the system and a cd drive, in my opinion.
good luck!

[Synergy]

(easily the best castlevania besides SotN)

It's a really, really tough call for me. I love all the Castlevania games, but my absolute favorites are Symphony and Simon's Quest, and choosing just one is like choosing an eye to gouge out. And now Rondo is quickly climbing the ladder right behind them.

Think about it like this: you can buy and play the game, get your kicks and resell the stuff for at least what you paid. The game is so good it doesn't depreciate and the same goes for the duo.

Sweet, that's exactly what I was thinking. I knew it would cost a bit, but they're just going to appreciate in value, IMO.

[Arasoi]

Hm, Im not sure about a US CDROM system being able to boot it up. If theres a way to get Japanese CDROM2 games to boot in the system it should work, and I believe there is.

The best solution is a Duo overall, it has no region protection on CD games, and has the system card 3 built in.

As for price.. well those can be pretty steep. But I personally think its the best solution to all TG16/PCE needs.

Theres much more for Pc Engine than just Dracula X though. Theres a ton of great Japanese only games. Like the Japanese versions of Hellfire on CDROM2 (Hellfire S), Double Dragon 2 on Super CDROM2, an awesome conversion of Garou Densetsu Special(Fatal Fury Special) with its own special arrange tracks, etc etc.

I hope this helps, sorry for not giving better pricing information, but I dont really look into the original hardware much, just the Duo.