The Castlevania Dominus Collection hit as a surprise drop alongside the Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase earlier this week, and now that the dust has settled it’s clear that the package has one highlight that stands out above the fantastic DS classics on offer – a full remake of the forgotten arcade game Haunted Castle.
The heart of Dominus Collection is the trio of Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia, the three DS Castlevania games. These are all classics from the height of the series’ post-Symphony of the Night Metroidvania era, so you know they’re great. Even better, the package – like other recent Castlevania collections – was handled by M2, a Japanese studio that’s grown legendary in the retro gaming sphere for its quality emulation work.
But Dominus Collection also contains something arguably even cooler in the form of Haunted Castle Revisited. The original Haunted Castle is a somewhat clunky entry from the series’ linear action era, and while this remake maintains the retro vibes, it also dramatically improves the visuals and gameplay. In the end, it looks like a brand-new 16-bit game made in widescreen, and it offers enough improvements over the original Haunted Castle to effectively be a whole new experience.
M2 built something very similar back in 2009 with Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, a WiiWare game that similarly remade the series’ first Game Boy entry. As with Haunted Castle, the remake turned a clunky, oft-forgotten part of the series into something equal parts new and great. After all these years, it’s great to see M2 still putting out quiet bangers.
Once you’ve run out of Castlevanias and Metroids, it’s time to explore the best Metroidvania games that came in their wake.
