Vampire Killer

Vampire Killer (1986) is a game for the MSX 2 home computer, produced by Konami and released in Japan, Europe and Brazil. Its original Japanese title is Demon Castle Dracula (悪魔城ドラキュラ Akumajō Dracula). While some mistake this as the first Castlevania title (due to the later copyright date in North American NES version), in reality it was preceded by the Japanese Famicom Disk System version by a month. The game's premise is the same seen on many Castlevania games. Simon Belmont ventures inside Castlevania to defeat Count Dracula and restore peace in the land of Transylvania. He fights his way through armies of monsters, wielding only a whip.

However, Vampire Killer is seen as unique in the series for containing several features that weren't seen in other Castlevania games that were intended to be remakes of the original game. For example, to progress in the game, it is necessary to find "skeleton keys" hidden in the several rooms within the game's castle, in order to open doors to other rooms. Other keys also have to be found in order to open treasure chests containing useful items, such as shields for protection and speed boots. Merchants can be found along the way, selling items to the player. The gameplay is also known to be specially hard, due to the large amount of enemies attacking the player at once and the game's high speed as well. The graphics are slightly superior in comparison to the NES version due to the easiness of the MSX computer when dealing with memory.

"Vampire Killer" is also the name given to the legendary whip wielded by several heroes in the Castlevania saga. It was originally created with alchemy by Rinaldo Gandolfi in the Castlevania: Lament of Innocence game. It was completed with sacrifice of a vampire, Sara Trantoul , Leon Belmont's bride. This whip is also known as "Hunter Whip".

Vampire Killer is also the Japanese title of Castlevania: Bloodlines, released for the Sega Genesis in 1994.

Vampire Killer is also the title of a famous song played in many Castlevania games.

External links

• Castlevania Dungeon
• Mr. P's Castlevania Realm