After weeks of rumors, theCastlevania Advance Collectionwill launch for the Nintendo Switch later today. Like its name suggests, it includes the three original games released on theGame Boy Advance:Castlevania: Circle of the Moon,Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, andCastlevania: Aria of Sorrow. It also featuresCastlevania: Dracula X, an SNES title based onCastlevania: Rondo of Blood.
Circle of the Moonmarked theiconic Castlevania series‘ debut on the Game Boy Advance in 2001.Harmony of Dissonancefollowed in 2002 andAria of Sorrowin 2003. The three titles were popular enough that they rereleased on the Wii U in 2014. However, theCastlevania Advance Collectionwill be the first time they come to newer consoles.
M2, a studio that already worked with Konami in the past on itsCastlevania Anniversary Collection, is handling the new GBA collection. This includes implementing the newly announced rewind, quick save, and button-mapping options to improve gameplay for new players. Regional versions of the games, along with a gallery of never-before-seen artwork, also sweeten the deal.
Castlevaniais one of the most iconic platformers from the early 2000s.Castlevania: Symphony of the Nightespecially stuck in gamers’ minds with its mix of platforming and RPG elements. It even inspired part of the term “Metroidvania” — a type of platformer adventure game.It’s a different protagonist most of the time, though the vampire-filled, supernatural setting stays the same. Count Dracula haunts the world, whether he happens to be up and about in that particular game or just affecting it through history.
Castlevanialeaks sprang weeks before the official announcement at the recent Nintendo Direct. According to itsESRB Rating,Castlevania Advance Collectionwill also come toPlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in the future. Konami just hasn’t announced it yet.