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Judging
from screenshots and the game's very aesthetic, it would appear that Kid
Dracula is a remake of Akumajou
Special: Boku Dracula-kun, which
was released for the Famicom three years prior. To the contrary, Kid
Dracula is that odd "sequel" that has perhaps a little too
much in common with its predecessor to be deemed as such. In that sense,
Kid Dracula is much like fellow Game Boy entrants Mega Man in
Dr. Wily's Revenge and its sequels in how they borrow from the console
titles while still serving as standalone adventures. Though, unlike the
Blue Bomber's portable escapades, Kid Dracula's are not part of any canon;
they're more akin to those
"What if?" scenarios read in comic books, if clearly not parody.
So our young anti-hero once again finds
himself in a pickle: Though he bested Garamoth in a battle for superiority
(defeating both his normal and "Illegal Alien" forms), the resilient
King has returned to fight a second round. Having learned nothing
from their previous ill-planned defection, many of Kid Dracula's allies
have again switched allegiances to Garamoth. Our objective is to guide
the young Dark Lord through eight frantic stages of action (a couple of
which will be very familiar to those who experienced the Famicom title),
to slice through an army of allies-turned-adversaries, and to infiltrate
the fortress of King Garamoth. If Kid Dracula is to again take
back the title he feels is rightfully his, he must destroy this encroaching
demon, who's learned a few new tricks.
While Kid Dracula's cutsey presentation
is aesthetically similar to the NES Castlevania games (at least
in the early stages), its jump-and-shoot-style gameplay is rather unique.
That is, the Count ditches armament in favor of his magical propensity,
which entails the tossing of multi-directional fireballs/projectiles and
eventually other expected vampire abilities. The key to victory is utilizing
these abilities, matching them to the corresponding plight, and solving
each stage's riddle. Kid Dracula is a shorter game than its predecessor,
and it features a password system, eliminating the urgency to clear
it in one shot.
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