Haunted Castle Revisited

Haunted Castle Revisited, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure platformer video game developed by M2 and published by Konami. It is a remake of the 1988 arcade game Haunted Castle, now featuring improved graphics and gameplay mechanics. It was released on the compilation Castlevania Dominus Collection on August 27, 2024 on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S.
==Plot==
:Count Dracula sleeps for a long hundred of years. During this time, peace exists at the village and Dracula is nothing but a mere legend.However, one day a young couple named Simon and Selena were celebrating their wedding at the village's church.The couple were enveloped with happiness, as the wedding bells rang, their future seemed blessed...Suddenly, the empty sky was covered with dark clouds and with a rolling thunder that shook the earth, Dracula has once again awakened. Asking for the beautiful girl's blood, he flew down during the middle of the wedding and suddenly took the bride with him.Now in order to save Selena, Simon heads to the demon castle.
— Official Help Video description for the original Haunted Castle.
==Gameplay==
Gameplay is largely different from the original Haunted Castle arcade version, but much closer to the Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (both developed by M2), with the following changes:
*Candles have returned and yield Heart and Sub-Weapon drops.
*Candle drops now fall to the ground with similar animations than most other Castlevania games and aren't sent flying away like in the arcade original.
*The whip can be enhanced with crystal balls. The second upgrade will extend range with a spiked tip, but the effect fades after a while or getting hit. Unlike ReBirth, however, it is possible to find another crystal ball during the enhanced state, where picking it up grants 1,500 points and refreshes the timer.
*The Sub-Weapon arsenal available to the player has been heavily reworked from the arcade original in number, appearance and behavior, to more closely resemble the five sub-weapons found in most classic Castlevania games. Changes include:
**The Dagger has been added to the game, whereas it didn't appear in the arcade original. When thrown, it quickly flies in a straight line.
**The Axe has been added to the game, whereas it didn't appear in the arcade original. When thrown, it flies upward and then descends tracing an arc.
**The Boomerang now returns after being thrown and doesn't fly straight away, acting more similarly to the standard Cross.
**The Torch now produces a stationary explosion when thrown that stays for a moment harming enemies and no longer produces a trail of flames, acting even more similar to the Holy Water than in the arcade original.
**The Cross now produces a flash of holy light that harms all enemies onscreen, acting more like a Rosary that can be activated on demand.
*The player has remaining life stocks.
*At the end of each stage, Hit Points are always refilled to full and Hearts are converted to points. There are also Roast Chickens found in various objects.
*Each stage is divided into a few segments, unlike in the arcade version, where the whole stage was loaded in one time.
*Falling off pits will only reduce some hit points and respawn the player at a previous safe spot, and may also reset the terrain (such as falling bridges and platforms). In the arcade, this was only applied to Japanese versions.
*Dracula's physical appearance is now closer to more recent depictions of him in the series, mainly his Symphony of the Night by Ayami Kojima.
==Stages==
Stage	Name 	Boss 	Music
1 	Graveyard 	Medusa 	Cross Your Heart
2 	Cave 	Skeleton Snake 	Lullaby of the Devils
3 	Banquet Room 	Stained Glass Warrior	Bloody Tears
4 	Basement 	Golem 	Basement Melody (Den of Worship)
5 	Clocktower 	Frankenstein 	Clock Tower Fear
6 	Vampire's Room	Dracula 	Heart of Fire (Can't Wait Until the Night)
==Development==
Haunted Castle Revisited was exclusively released on the Castlevania Dominus Collection, a compilation whose main features are the three Castlevania titles previously released on the Nintendo DS. This bundle also includes the original arcade version of Haunted Castle, with both this title and Revisited possibly added to give more value to the whole package.
The Castlevania Dominus Collection, and by extension Haunted Castle Revisited, was released on August 27, 2024, without any previous announcement; the first mention of the bundle appeared on the August 27, 2024 Nintendo Direct for the Nintendo Switch. Haunted Castle Revisited was developed by M2, who had previously developed for Konami on the previous compilations, Castlevania Anniversary Collection and Castlevania Advance Collection; but most notably on Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, with Revisited having a heavy resemblance to the latter, both aesthetically and gameplay-wise.
==Gallery==
Haunted Castle Revisited - 02.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 03.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 04.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 05.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 06.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 07.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 08.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 09.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 10.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 11.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 12.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 13.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 14.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 15.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 16.png
Haunted Castle Revisited - 17.png
==Videos==
Castlevania Dominus Collection – Launch Trailer – Nintendo Switch
==Related products==
*Castlevania Dominus Collection - The bundle this game was originally released on.
*Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth - The previous game made by M2.
*Haunted Castle - The original game this is a remake of.
==References==
Category:Computer Games
Category:PlayStation 5 Games
Category:Switch Games
Category:Xbox Series X and S Games
Category:Castlevania Games