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I would be hard pressed to include a Castlevania title this year given how I did such last year with Castlevania Judgment. But given how the Wii U’s Virtual Console is getting a lot of Castlevania love this month with Castlevania: Dracula X, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon and Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, I thought this would be a good time to highlight a Castlevania title that might get overlooked by Wii U owners. I am hopeful that Wii U owners might be able to buy this WiiWare title that seems to have been long forgotten. I hardly hear anyone speak of this title, especially after the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. So hopefully you’re all in the mood to dust off your Nintendo Wii’s (or have the urge to enter your Wii U’s into Wii Mode to see if you can buy this little gem) for some retro gaming goodness with my number 9 pick for Octoberween 2014 – Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth.

Don’t let the trailer’s music fool you! It’s not what you think!

As part of Konami’s ReBirth series on WiiWare, Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth follows the main premise, like Gradius ReBirth and Contra ReBirth before it, of revisiting old classics from the NES era of gaming, revamps them with upgraded graphics, sound and gameplay, mixes elements from other Castlevania titles, puts them all in a blender, hits the puree button and what comes out is nothing short of pure fantastic old skool Castlevania goodness that we’ve not seen in a very long time. In truth the game that got the “ReBirth” treatment wasn’t really an NES Castlevania title at all, but the first Gameboy Castlevania to be released for that system.

The Adventure ReBirth follows the same story from the original title with you playing as Christopher Belmont as he does what other Belmont’s have done before him: Kill Dracula. But from there the similarities’ between the original Gameboy release and this WiiWare release end the moment you click on the channel button on your Wii’s dashboard. I had the pleasure of playing the Gameboy version of this game back in the day and I can say from experience that the differences were very noticeable. It may not be fair given how the original title was made for the Gameboy after all. But upon playing this ReBirth title I could never go back to it. Don’t believe me? Why not check out the level one comparison between the original Gameboy title and ReBirth.

First the Gameboy level.

Aside from the music everything else was primitive even for a Castlevania title with slow controls, fewer levels, no sub weapons and few frames of animation. But it did add the ability to shoot a fireball from your vampire killer was a nice feature. For a Gameboy title it did the job well.

Now the WiiWare version.

Damn. Just damn! Sure what a difference 20 years can make but still. Which title would you want to try out? Basically everything that made Castlevania great back in the 16 bit era is all here in Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth. It’s as if M2, the developers of this game for Konami, had a Castlevania  Awesomeness checklist and made sure they did all they could to fulfill that checklist. The music? Check. The graphics? Check. The boss fights? Check. The difficulty? Check! The controls? Check and check!

 As you play this game you can catch glimmers of gaming concepts from other Castlevania titles borrowed to be placed in this game. Christopher’s fireball whip attack is still here once you collect enough orbs, along with enemy types from the original game. The branching paths found in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, complete with keys to access secret areas, are present in multi-area glory. Christopher controls almost like Simon Belmont from Super Castlevania IV with fluid animation and great whip/jump control. There are even some excellent scrolling effects found in this game similar to the Genesis game Castlevania: Bloodlines, from swinging guillotines to giant bosses. Yet even without those graphical effects the game still looks stunning, from the background where you see Dracula’s castle by a full moon to the castle’s interior, they can rival even current 2D Castlevania offerings. Old and new enemies from past and present castlevania offerings make their appearance in this title from the medusa head’s you’ve grown to hate to different armored knight variants that act more like wind up tin soldiers. But the best part to Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth is the music. Good Lord, the music! Don’t let the trailer fool you, from old classics like “Vampire Killer” and “Lullaby sent to the Devil“ to other songs that remind you of other past Castlevania games are all here. All of them remixed and enhanced to sound just as good, if not better, than how you remembered them back in the day.

Now mind you the game doesn’t get everything quite right. Though Christopher controls well you can’t, jump on/off steps like prior games nor can you perform a multi directional whip strike like Simon or find any whip swinging levels from Super Castlevania IV. Also you won’t have the ability to perform a sub item crash attacks or have the ability to play as other characters like in Rondo of Blood. But despite those lacking features this game more than makes up for it with a robust options menu. Game too hard for you (you wussy)? Knock down the difficulty. Not enough lives? Give yourself 9 total? Screen size don’t quite fit your gamerig? Fix it to your personal taste. All that is missing is a BGM mode but I’m sure it’s in there once you beat the game somehow.

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth is an ideal title to own and enjoy during any Octoberween night. And given that it took me till this year to finally discover it is why this game makes my list this year of 2014. It is indeed a game that is worthy to stand toe to toe with other Castlevania greats that it strives to mimic. Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery but in truth this game is more like a love letter to Castlevania fans who love themselves some old skool, liner leveled gaming goodness. Hopefully Wii and Wii U owners can get a chance to purchase this title before it’s no longer accessible on the Wii’s Shop Channel. Konami would be wise to see about making a complication disc of their ReBirth series if only so that others could get a chance to enjoy what I’m sure a good number of people might’ve passed up on and never realized.

You can get this game right now for 1000 Wii points or $10 if you prefer the simple conversion price. Its money well spent if you want to enjoy a retro Castlevania title with a new twist. So if you’re a Wii owner trying to find an excuse to visit the Shop Channel or a Wii U owner that would want a complete diet of Castlevania, you’d be wise to seek this title out before it vanishes like Dracula’s castle after his defeat. And unlike Dracula reincarnation cycles, there is no guarantee that you’ll see a game like this again in another 100 years.

My Top 11 Octoberween Game Titles for 2014

#11) Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir – 3DS: $9.99 new

#10) Resident Evil: Director’s Cut Dual Shock Version – PSOne (PSN): Free

#09) Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth – WiiWare: 1000 Wii points ($10)

What are your thoughts about this game? Is it truly a love letter to those who love Castlevania of old? Or was it a cash grab for Konami to hit all their bases as they prepare Lords of Shadow? Let me know if this game is actually fur or am I wearing rose colored nostalgia googles with this one.