PS2 - Japan
Release Date: November 24th, 2005
- Its Japanese title is Akumajou Dracula: Yami no Juin, which translates to Demon Castle Dracula: Shade of Night. A more rough, diretct translation is Demon Castle Dracula: Curse-Stamp of Dark.

Xbox - Asia
Release Date: 2006 (Month Unknown)
- The Xbox version never arrives in Japan but sees a larger "Asian" release. See "Version Differences" for more information.

PS2 - Europe
Release Date: February 4th, 2006
- This version reaches European shores early on in the following year.

Xbox - Europe
Release Date: February 17th, 2006
- The European Xbox version follows closely on the heels of the PS2 release.

2007:
   PS2
   Developed By: Konami
   Release Date: Japan - February 15th
The PlayStation 2 version is re-released in Japan as part of the Konami the Best series.

                                                 Prologue                                                 

1476, Valachia
A great war raged between Dracula and humanity. Just when it seemed that there was no hope for mankind to prevail, out of the darkness and despair, a champion arose -- a true-blooded vampire hunter named Trevor Belmont.

Belmont and his comrades triumpantly slew Lord Dracula -- a truly glorius victory for all. However, the evil one did not pass from this world in silence. With his final words, Lord Dracula left a demonic curse that enshrouded all of Europe in misery and torment.

Ravaged by hideous plague and dire famine, the people's hearts turned black and murderous. The weak were slain without pity, while the land was pillaged and scourged without remorse.

Three years have passed since the deat of Lord Dracula -- and the invocation of Dracula's Curse.

                                                The Story                                               

Take control of the devil forgemaster Hector, who is seeking vengeance for the death of his beloved Rosaly. Falsely accused of witchcraft, she was burned at the stake in a sham trial orchestrated by Isaac, another devil forgemaster still loyal to Dracula's forces.

Before you can make Isaac pay for his sins, you must journey across the cursed land of Valachia and make your way to Dracula's Castle. Along the way, hordes of terrifying friends lie in wait, attempting to make each battle your last. It will be a tough battle, but by harnessing the power of the Innocent Devils and weapons that you create along the way, vengeance may finally be yours.

Quickly following the release of Dawn of Sorrow, the more traditional GBA entry, is Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, which has a couple of distinctions. Primarily, it's the series' fourth foray into the three-dimensional realm. It's therein, engine-wise, a direct follow-up to 2003's Lament of Innocence. And it's most intriguingly a storyline sequel to Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, whose very own Trevor Belmont makes a guest appearance as a recurring supporting cast member.

Our hero, though, is a man named Hector, a devil forgemaster who betrayed Count Dracula three years earlier. You must take control of Hector and guide him through ten areas of Valachia to hunt down the game's antagonist--Isaac, a fellow forgemaster and former friend who blames Hector's betrayal for Dracula's defeat at the hands of Trevor and friends. (There are hidden areas game-wide where you can battle special bosses, but traveling these paths is optional.) The action is seemingly free-roaming but in reality controlled through the areas' sheer size. Hector starts with only a short sword, with which he can execute combo attacks, but if he hopes to survive, he must enhance his overall ability using the game's RPG system: He'll gain levels through the earning of experience; he'll learn new techniques through the finding of special artifacts; he'll thanks to his combining ability don weapons, armor and accessories for increased statistics; and he'll lengthen his meters by finding max-up symbols. Otherwise, he'll locate and nurture through stages of evolution a selection of "Innocent Devils," which fight by his side and help in combat and act as means for further accessibility. Also, as is his other aforementioned specialty, he can forge new armament by combining elements (which are collected in special rooms, stolen from enemies, or found after their defeat), equipment or combinations thereof.

After finishing the game by defeating the real ultimate evil, more options will become available: (1) You can play in "Crazy Mode," which is the game's "hard" difficulty. (2) By entering a warp room (assuming you've beaten all of the game's bosses), you can access the "Boss Rush" mode for a marathon boss battle. (3) You can play as secret character Trevor Belmont (in the vein of Leon Belmont) through a similar-but-undeterred mission; he, too, can partake in the "Boss Rush" fun. And (4) you can through the "Boss Rush" mode collect the Music Box, which on the title screen enables the "Sound Mode" where you can listen to the game's many music tracks.

For the Xbox version: Some of the system's games have in common a feature that will display subtitles in Japanese if the system's browser is set to "Japanese." Curse of Darkness is a beneficiary of this treatment. (Thanks to Sam Mills for this information.)

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness marks the series' first true multiplatform release (the computer versions of Castlevania and the Saturn version of Symphony are more reworked ports). And since the consoles have certain specifications, noted strengths or weaknesses as compared to their competition, there are differences that should be noted.
- For instance: The Xbox is widely known to be a much more powerful, more efficient machine than the PS2, which for Curse of Darkness means that the Xbox-version's graphics are higher in resolution and its load times are much shorter if not nonexistent.
- From correspondent Sam Mills, who has experience with both versions: "The Xbox version has a small mistake; it uses the Japanese spelling of Belmont ('Belmondo') in all of its subtitles. The vocalization of said names is correct, but their spelling is not."
- He adds: "Another feature in the Xbox version--one that is common among Xbox games--is the use of subtitles, which will actually appear in Japanese if the system's browser is set to 'Japanese.' Though it's a small difference, it shows that the Xbox is the more versatile of the two consoles."

Japanese Version
- The obvious difference is that Trevor Belmont is instead called "Ralph Belmondo," as he was in Dracula's Curse and according to Japanese series canon. The game's music composer, Michiru Yamane, even makes light of the name-difference on the U.S. version's Sound Test menu.
- In question is the release status for the Xbox version. Says contributor Protogem: "Curse of Darkness was not released for the Xbox in Japan. However, there is an Asian release with Japanese region-coding and Chinese characters featured in the cut-scenes, as used to dress up what is merely the American version of Curse of Darkness with subtitles."

Soundtrack

Links
Music Files: MP3
Soundtrack Release: Official Soundtrack and Castlevania Best Music Collections Box
Game Credits: Available

Lesser Enemies

Bosses

Dracula Forms

Supporting Cast