Konami’s Rebirth games on WiiWare were revivals or remakes of some of its classics into glorious… er, SD. Although the first Castlevania Game Boy game had previously had an upgrade on the GBC, it was chosen for a retool by the legendary M2. The result feels like a lost 16-bit classic with an extra sheen on top.

No SNES, PC Engine, or even PS1 game ever looked this good. It’s got the trademark evocative Castlevania style but smoothed over. I also appreciated them not simply reusing Rondo of Blood’s sprites yet again. The music is going for throwback synthesised tones but there’s maybe not enough variety in instrumentation. Still, it contributes to that neo-classic feel (architecture nerds will not like me using that term, I’m sure).

While the the visuals are a step beyond Rondo or SCIV, the mechanics are not up to that level. Christopher has very basic moves; no backflip, slide, fancy whip moves. All the normal sub-weapons are there, as well as the GB game’s whip upgrade system, but it feels simple compared to even the few small tricks Rondo had available; you can’t even jump on and off stairs! It’s by no means easy however; the level design and enemy behaviours are much more complex than the GB source and that’s where the fun and challenge arise. I did appreciate the option for more lives!

My main problem with the game was it didn’t seem to have much to say compared to other linear Castlevania games. I admit that my experience is limited but Rondo was more fun to play for me, especially with Maria. I suppose the retro style is exactly what they were going for, but I would have thought a remake would be a great opportunity to expand a bit more; a slightly more involved plot or second playable character (again, like Rondo). That said, and I’m no level design guru, but in terms of pure game-ness it does manage to elevate an extremely simplistic handheld game to a “proper” stage-based Castlevania experience. It does this by completely reworking almost everything about the game, but still.