Good afternoon, retro gaming fans. Today I'm going to talk about a game that no one expected at the time and that surprised everyone. I'm talking about none other than Haunted Castle Revisited, the extra we received in the Dominus Collection and what I consider to be its importance for the future of the franchise.

Haunted Castle Revisited is, as I said, an extra we got in the Dominus Collection, and I consider it a clear sign of Konami's intentions.
But first, let's give a little background.

The last Castlevania game we had from Konami was Grimoire of Souls, a mobile game that ultimately ended up being exclusive to the Apple system due to its low sales.

Aside from that, we hadn't had another game on consoles since 2014, with Lords of Shadow 2... 11 years ago. So yes, we'd had a game drought for quite some time.

Suddenly, the announcement comes completely unprepared, being a Shadow Drop that no one expected. Along with the Dominus Collection, the most disastrous title in the Castlevania franchise, known for its extreme difficulty, arrives along with a remake of it.

This remake:

• Not only fixes all the excessive difficulty it already had,

• But it was remade from scratch, both in terms of levels and sprites.

Of course, it maintains a certain closeness to the original product, just as the X68000 was at the time, as opposed to the first Castlevania for the NES. Therefore, we have a product that greatly respects the original, but at the same time improves on it in every way.

I know many expected a longer title, but we must remember that Haunted Castle was born as an arcade game, with great difficulty but that, with skill, you can finish in less than an hour. Of course, this title in particular... let's just say it went over three difficulty levels, but fortunately they managed to fix that here.

Konami's statement of intent

Now, why do I say Haunted Castle Revisited is a statement of intent?
Because I feel like this is a prelude to Konami preparing something much bigger for us.

Remember, the new Konami is bringing back legendary franchises like:

• Contra

• Silent Hill

• Metal Gear

While Haunted Castle Revisited counts as a new game, I know that due to the short time it takes to complete, it's a bit of a challenge for many.
But still, it's the message:

"> We haven't forgotten about you. More and better Castlevania is coming."

What can come next?

Mind you, I don't mean we'll get something on the level of Silent Hill, where they announced several games and a movie. But it could be a title big enough to keep the franchise's fandom happy.

It's still unknown what title they'll surprise us with, but if you ask me, it will be:

• With a remake of the first Castlevania, or

• With a remake of Symphony of the Night.

Titles that are widely remembered by the fandom. Of course, they could also bring us a completely new title... I hope so!

Although I feel that if they bring a new game, the public will be angry that they don't give them the same battle they did in 1999. And if they do, that it's not exactly what they want. You know... the mental masturbation everyone can have about this particular battle.

You just have to be patient. Come on, we've barely been able to release the game for a month, and they're already asking for a new one.

Remember, the days of annual games from the IGA era were left in the first decade of the last century, and that ship has long since sailed.

Come on, not even IGA with its new franchise is releasing annual games.

As I told you, Konami is back and is bringing us several new games, but we must be aware:

Castlevania will have its new game very soon. We just have to wait.

Remember, Konami isn't just Castlevania, and it still has a large number of games that have been waiting even longer for a new one.

If not, ask the fandom of:

• Gradius

• Sunset Riders

• Goemon

• TwinBee

Just to name a few... And well, that's all for today, what do you think?