Castlevania References

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[Castlevania References] [Borrowed Elements]

 

TMNT: Turtles Tournament Fighter

	Date Released	Created By
	1993	Konami
	Systems For	Playable Characters
	SNES, Genesis and NES	Multiple TMNT Mascots
	Reference Made
	If you don't move the cursor on the title screen, one of three demo modes will begin shortly after boot up. Thereafter, it will spotlight one of the characters by showing him, her or it in action, this followed by a profile that shows nicknames, heights, weights, eye colors, ages, weapons, favorite activities and goals. It's the erratic Wingnut whose profile makes reference to our series.

In the early 90's, fighting games, spurned by Street Fighter 2, were all the rage, for home consoles and especially in the arcades. Konami wanted to get in on the action, and they had a great license with which to work and apply--the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which had already peaked and would soon be ushered out by Power Rangers but was still an incredibly hot property. And Konami would show no shame and outright emulate Street Fighter 2's style of play with the Turtles characters plugged right in. Those characters include Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, Raphael, War, Aska, Wingnut, Armaggon, Chrome Dome, Cyber Shredder (this game's M. Bison) and secret characters Rat King and Karai.

          

Konami was given creative license to add to the characters' backgrounds, and they did so with our most notable specimen, Wingnut, whose profile lists its "Favorite Activities" as "Castlevania 2095." This is either a throwaway reference or foresight telling us how many sequels were to come. The mix seemed like a natural, but the game didn't fare too well critically or commercially despite fighting games' popularity or Tournament Fighter being available for the two most well-known 16-bit platforms; this may be why Konami maximized its available resources and even released a watered-down version of the game for the aging NES, which would again be following Capcom's lead in light of Mighty Final Fight. I used to play it a lot, actually, if only to abuse Cyber Shredder's aura-deflector shield.

 

Van Helsing

	Date Released	Created By
	2004	Vivendi Universal
	Systems For	Playable Hero
	Playstation 2 and X-Box	Van Helsing
	Reference Made
	Within the game's library, the starting point of one of the game's stages, Van Helsing can securing a way out examine a bookcase that details the history of Transylvania and its famous families. One book in particular catches his interest--one that mentions the family of legend, the Belmont clan.

Van Helsing is a popular figure in Dracula's history. The original Van Helsing, who appeared in old novels and monster movies, was an elder man, a vampire hunter with great knowledge of vampire lore; he used this expertise to help protect Lucy Westenra (or other such potential victims) from Count Dracula. The character has appeared in other related films and novels, including his genesis in Bram Stoker's Dracula, to fill a similar role as the resident know-it-all. His character's latest incarnation appears in the 2004 big-budget film Van Helsing, where it receives a bit of a facelift; in this form, Gabriel Van Helsing (played by Hugh Jackman) is a brooding vampire hunter, his qualities somewhere between Blade and Alucard, and he uses his tools of destruction--mainly rifles and a discuss blade--to destroy vampires and other creatures of the night, like our pals Dracula, Igor, wolfmen and even some harpies and banshees. Following a trend, a video game based on the movie was in the works at the same time. (Click on a screenshot for the larger version.)

          

          

The game is loosely based on the movie's sequences, but it recreates well the film's atmosphere. It's a familiar atmosphere, too, for one reason: Because of its nature and its source material, Van Helsing is already closely related to Castlevania. Clearly, it shares the same universe of ideas--so much so that I'm surprised that the game wasn't licensed to and produced by Konami, which seems to know this material better than the game's creator, Vivendi Universal. However, Konami had to have some sort of influence on the project because Vivendi Universal gives it a proverbial "shout out" in the opening of Mission 3, which pits you in a library. (Click on the image for a larger version.)

In the library, Van Helsing can search a bookcase, located on the room's left side, that supposedly chronicles the history of old Transylvanian families. One book in particular catches both his eyes and ours. As the game notes: "One well-worn book entitled 'The Belmonts' catches your eye." It's just another throwaway reference, but it makes you wonder where the Belmonts were hiding while Dracula and friends were running wild. Sadly, neither the game nor the movie gives a specific time-period ("sometime in the 19th century"), so no true link can be made. Oh, well. (Reference suggested by fatphillipthegreat@hotmail.com.)

 

Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3

	Date Released	Created By
	2005	Konami
	Systems For	Playable Hero
	X-Box	You, the player
	Reference Made
	One of the songs included in the package is Akumajo Dracula Melody. While you act out the song using your dance pad, an animated person will come forward from the background and start dancing within the castle grounds, which resemble an area that looks as though it might come from Castlevania 64. During the song, there is for some reason a scream.

Dance Dance Revolution (known also as the acronym "DDR") is Konami's quirky music-game series that started life in Japanese arcades but through its rising popularity soon found its way to the world's most well-known consoles. There are, in fact, well over sixty iterations of DDR. To play a DDR game requires the use of a special dance pad (think "Power Pad") that's adorned with four directional arrows. To complete a song, the player must move in rhythm and dance according to the arrows appearing concurrently onscreen. The iteration of DDR most important to us is Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3 for the original X-Box. (Click on the image for a larger version.)

With multiple versions and sequels spread over several systems, it's odd that it took Konami this long to make a series reference--but it happens here in the form of Akumajo Dracula Melody, a specially made tune whose quick tempo changes very much remind one of the difficulty experienced in a Castlevania title. It at first sounds like a wedding song (The Wedding March, in particular); it freezes during the 13th note due to a loud scream; it resumes with gothic rock that plays in the form of a Vampire Killer-like remake with thrown in a little Bloody Tears; it picks up after a low beat with a more natural Bloody Tears; and it then ends with the ever-famous "Game Over" jingle. (Thanks to SpikeyZ for this information.)

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