Castlemania - The Mission

OK... so I had an idea today. Probably one of my more stupid ideas, but at the moment I'm quite excited and up for it. I was thinking about how I tend to sample a lot of games but stick with very few - even when I'm very much enjoying the ones I move away from. This got me thinking about the many classics I've missed out on over the years. Games I've played, sure, but not ones I've finished or even put any decent effort into.

So, seeing as exciting new games are thin on the ground and I'm a grumpy old retrohead anyway I've decided on a mission. I'm going to take a classic game series and play through it from the debut title to the most recent - to completion. No abandoning because I'm having trouble with a boss, no drifting away because some new RPG comes out that I want to play 10 hours of then forget about. Nope, I'm going to go back to the old days in both respects: old games and the old attitude I used to have about them - that I would beat the damn things.

Choosing the series came pretty easily, though I whittled it down from a shortlist. I settled on Castlevania - a series I've dabbled in to various degrees and been thrilled and frustrated by, but one that I've not really put a lot of effort into (the closest I've come to finishing one was 95% or so on Circle of the Moon, but gave up on being unable to defeat Dracula). It's remained resolutely 2D for the most part, and even the entries that have gone into 3D have only done so in a limited manner - unlike Metroids move into the first-person realm (the one reason that series was discarded). I like the style of game it's developed into but in the past I've had issues with frustrating bosses. I gave in too easily! The earlier games make a refreshing return to simpler A-Z platforming, too, and to my shame I can admit I've barely touched any of the NES entires before.

So, without further ado here's the list, in the order I'll be playing them. Each will be completed before I move onto the next. One caveat I have is that I only need to see a victory screen - it doesn't have to be a 100% effort (in the case of those titles where exploration and item collection are factored into the completion rating).

Castlevania - NES
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - NES
The Castlevania Adventure - Game Boy
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - NES
Super Castlevania IV - SNES
Castlevania II: Belmot's Revenge - Game Boy Color
Akumajo Dracula X: Rondo of Blood - PC Engine
Demon Castle Dracula X68000 - Sharp X68000
Castlevania Bloodlines - Megadrive
Castlevania Dracula X - SNES
Castlevania Symphony of the Night - Playstation
Castlevania Legends - Game Boy
Castlevania 64 - N64
Castlevania Legacy of Darkness - N64
Castlevania Circle of the Moon - Game Boy Advance
Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance - Game Boy Advance
Castlevania Aria of Sorrow - Game Boy Advance
Castlevania Lament of Innocence - Playstation 2
Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow - Nintendo DS
Castlevania Curse of Darkness - Playstation 2
Castlevania Portrait of Ruin - Nintendo DS
Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles - Playstation Portable

There was an MSX game that came out prior to the NES one, but as far as I can tell it's the same thing...

Well. I can say no more other than: updates will be forthcoming!