3/7/08- There's no specific theme to this update, so the usual overly thick random list will have to suffice.

In order of submission: (1) Konami Man and his better half join Aria of Sorrow's unused elements. (2) Its "Fun Facts" page, too, has some new additions. (3) Courtesy of Protogem comes promotional posters, cards, tapes, and other in-store paraphernalia for Aria of Sorrow, Harmony of Dissonance, Symphony, Dracula X Chronicles and Curse of Darkness (check under "Scenes, Packaging Scans, etc." for quick links. (4) The same contributor provides information and scans for VHS help videos for Haunted Castle and Simon's Quest. (5) Too, he supplies information for the Supervision re-release of Castlevania. (6) Upcoming DS title New International Track and Field has been added to the cameos section. (7) Three items, as found by Soldjermon, have been added to Symphony's unused elements page. (8) Up for display is Stalker's custom banner. (9) Zead the Undead debuts in the artwork section with a piece dedicated to Dracula's Curse and in random sprites with, naturally, random items. (10) Kev provides casing and manual scans for the European release of The Dracula X Chronicles. And (11) Portrait of Ruin's "Fun Facts" page has been bolstered thanks to several new additions.

After waiting out its year, Portrait of Ruin has gained eligibility for the Mr. P Castlevania Awards. The verdict: It didn't take home any of the awards, but it did displace Dracula's Curse to gain a nominee spot for the "Best Story" award. Now archived, as a result, are past nominees, which can be seen by clicking the "Past Nominees" links where available.

In a bit of sad news: Any aforementioned items as submitted by Protogem might very well be the last we see from the master collector, who has decided that it's time to move on in life and focus on more important matters. Since Protogem is now selling off his collection, he has requested that his "Fierce Collector" page be removed (to which I respond by archiving the list in a new category as seen on the very same page).

It's kind of sad, also, as we near the release of a certain title that this poll turned out to be nothing but wishful thinking--a part of many a childhood fantasy, including mine, squashed in the process. We can only hope, then, that maybe--and just maybe--ol' Solid Snake will carry the torch for his DMTV counterpart in battling that ultimate contest of manliness: Snake vs. Captain Falcon. Be there!

1/22/08- Slow times to start year number nine of this site. I hope to this year give more attention to the recently released Order of Shadows, but it's difficult to do when I'm unable to play the game or figure out just where its storyline fits (the developer's blog gives me no hint). In the meantime, I've got for it some official art and some MP3 tunes, which in itself gives birth to a new category in the music section.

The "Glitches and Fun Facts" pages for Castlevania, Symphony of the Night, Harmony of Dissonance and Portrait of Ruin have been updated with some new goodies. Aria of Sorrow, too, will soon have such a page.

More contributions include (1) scans for the U.S. version of the Legends manual; (2) a big update for Protogem's collection page; (3) four new chapters for the fan fiction Darkness Never Dies; (4) a custom-sprite page for Zead the Undead, who shows off the assets for a new fan-made game; and (5) some new strategies for Symphony's "Galamoth Help" file.

A heads up to for anyone who likes character battles or Castlevania characters in general: Youtube user Solesurvivor is running a contest to determine the top ten series bosses. Follow the link and read the page's sidebar to catch up on the rules. There should be enough games out there to keep everyone busy until the Developer's Game Conference (GDC) in March, when business should pick up and real information might start surfacing.

Until then, stay wild.

12/6/07- There's a lot of new coverage of The Dracula X Chronicles: Its game page is filled with basic information. I've got casing, manual and bonus material scans for the U.S. version and the same for the Japanese version: Casing, manual and bonus material (only available for the Limited Edition). Its character lists, though image-less, are up: Lesser Enemies, Bosses, Dracula Forms and Supporting Cast. Up, also, is its stage listing (though still a work in progress, since I'm still hunting down CDs and learning about any differences in stage design compared to the original). I've written a review. Soundtrack and official guide scans were contributed. And more official artwork and comic strips were added.

Separate from this is a "Guide to Maria," which I've placed on the Chronicles page; it examines the abilities of the newly playable Renard as controlled in the newer version of Symphony. Also as a result of Chronicles' release: Two other game pages have seen updates: The Rondo of Blood and Symphony pages now feature a new category called "Port Differences," which notes any changes made for the PSP versions.

Other sections affected by this are the main boss list, whose Maria Renard description has been revised, and the recurring boss list, which now has a Succubus page. The Hydra, one of the Rondo remake's new bosses, is now also present on the main boss list.

Two notes: For anyone who wasn't paying attention, Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest was recently for Wii's Virtual Console. I would have had screenshots of the menu screens, but Windows Vista, which was preinstalled on this relatively new computer, doesn't seem to like my capture equipment. Otherwise, I've finished removing all glitch- and observation-based entries from the separate code pages in favor of giving each game page a "Glitches and Fun Facts" file; those newly updated in the process are Symphony of the Night (the biggest recipient) and Circle of the Moon.

Filling out the rest of last month's updates: (1) Protogem's collection page has grown considerably, giving it more than a little breathing room. (2) Alucard173's sprite page has some new animations. (3) There are new codes for Symphony including more name-entry options and a tip dubbed "Twice Scorned." (4) Supernatural124's sprite comic page has been redesigned thanks to a new category of "Power Point Presentations." And (5) Symphony's "Galatmoth Help" file now has two additional strategies courtesy of Mr. Paoshin and Jazzexe.

10/21/07- Not as much an update but a reminder that The Dracula X Chronicles will be arriving soon (October 23rd). You have only a short time left to pre-order if you still want the bonus item--a "Free 8-bit Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest Simon Belmont figure," as listed. The Japanese consumer is getting the better of the deal with a much more enticing bonus package, about which you can find out more on the News Wire (along with a new Koji interview).

Some updates have occurred: (1) The Order of Shadows page has been bolstered with a lot of new information, including an overview, character and item listings, a General Information help file, and some sprites where available. Special thanks to Congo Joe for supplying a huge amount of information. (2) Kev's "Castlevania Arsenal Origins" CV Library feature has expanded to include Portrait of Ruin. (3) For those interested, the "Castlevania cell phone version #2" page has been updated to include information on the American release. (4) A Symphony of the Night poster/advert from Dengeki Playstation Magazine has been submitted by Megamedia; it can otherwise be accessed from the Symphony page. (5) In light of glitch-type entries being out of place on the typical code pages, I've begun adding to the individual game pages files called "Glitches and Fun Facts," the first of which is for Symphony of the Night, which already has to it some new entries. Look under "Text Documents and Help Files" for these. (6) There's a new tip for Circle of the Moon titled "Nathan's Sensitive Touch." (7) There's another for Bloodlines called "(Satis)factory Rewards." And (8) there's a solo entry for Miscellaneous Sprites from Zappsoft: Castlevania's map edited to reveal Stage 4's true structure.

Updates for The Dracula X Chronicles will begin soon after its release. Up first is scans followed by a review, the posting of any new artwork, and the addition of unique code and stage pages if need be. Publications haven't exactly been raving about the game's arranged mode, but who cares, really? This is all about the original work, a superior title that didn't even need a makeover. To those long-sufferers who have for years been deprived of the masterpiece best known as Rondo of Blood: We know you won't be disappointed.

9/10/07- Skake-ups and realities are the themes for this update. In what is the most bizarre announcement in a long time, Konami this past week announced the arrival of an original series title on of all things cell phones--this following its dabbling on the platform with three iterations of the NES classic Castlevania. If you haven't been keeping up with the site, I have the breaking news on Castlevania: Order of Shadows, a preview, and a game page with for now just a logo and basic information. It sees release September 18th.

This is a problem for me in that I don't have the means to actually play the game, as there's no way I'm purchasing a whole new cell phone for this purpose. So I'm going to need some help--I'll need for someone who has access to the game to supply me information on the characters, stages, weapons, codes and the like. This may very well be the site's immediate future; the continued scattershot release of titles for multiple platforms is an unfortunate reality that will prevent me from following the series past this point, since I can't possibly purchase every console, portable, and mobile phone on the market. That said, everything will work itself out in time, and I will one day play these games (be it even years from now) when they appear as ports or should they work their way into classic compilations and such. So as promised, this site will continue on as an extreme long-term project--there's really no reason to rush, as I'll one way or another over time come to fully cover these games.

Not much else going on this month as we await another title in the form of The Dracula X Chronicles, which from the looks of the official Japanese site will come packaged with some extras (an art book, for sure). New this month: The homebrew Java game Castlevania: Serenade of Chaos has seen a major gameplay update (link provided). Mark provides a new sculpture in the form of Disc Armor Lv.2. And I've finally started adding more enemy sprites to the Dawn of Sorrow list (I'd like to do this at a faster rate, but this thing kills my computer's virtual memory).

With the Tokyo Game Show and others in the line of useless trade shows upcoming, there may soon be more news, which could include information on a new, as "promised," DS entry or Mr. Igarashi's console plans, which will no doubt not include the console on which a series title would actually sell.

8/13/07- Slow times as we inch toward the end of summer and witness what's becoming an odd occurrence for the video game industry: The release of actual games! If you told these nits that there were nine other months in the year, they'd look at you like you were a two-headed creature.

E3 came and went without much in the way of series-related unveilings and a largely unnoticed presentation of The Dracula X Chronicles, which I didn't expect would happen; this left us with only some new videos and and a few screenshots. There was also no word on whether or not a series character would be appearing the ever-upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl. With the desired selections now completely obvious (fans want Simon, Alucard or the surprisingly popular Soma Cruz), as shown in the poll results, I've replaced the current poll with a new one that asks the following: "Which genre type should the Castlevania series next conquer?" I'd like to one day see a Final Fight-style tag-team beat-'em-up, which would be the solution to IGA's ambition to broaden the series' appeal while creating action-oriented titles.

It's all you this month: (1) Sculpting master Mark directs your attention to some photos of the NECA-created toys/figurines; seen are Simon Belmont, the Succubus, Count Dracula and Alucard. (2) Balsamicosu provides more official art for Rondo of Blood--listed last on the list, as usual. (3) The same contributor has for us also a Rondo magazine ad. (4) George Martin gives us his reader review for Dawn of Sorrow. (5) Justin Gildow's poem set has been organized into one neat little page and updated with several new pieces. (6) The fan fiction Castlevania: Dracula's Curse The Movie moves past the prologue with its opening chapter. And (7) the long-running fan fiction Darkness Never Dies sees its own latest chapter.

Symphony of the Night, if you haven't been following my little news outlet, was digitally re-released for PS3 and its handheld counterpart.

On a special note: I've been informed by Press Start's own Ed Glaser that Robert Belgrade, who voiced Alucard in the western version of Symphony of the Night, will be starring in (or "speaking in," as it were) the latest episode of Bonus Levels (which you'll remember provided us Symphony of the Trite). You can check it out starting August 31st by visiting the site linked above.

 

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