On the 18th, Konami announced which games in the Castlevania series will be included in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection.
The collection, announced in March, contains several classics from the Castlevania franchise, four of which had already been confirmed. The selected games are:
- Castlevania (NES, 1986)
- Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (Game Boy, 1991)
- Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (NES, 1989)
- Super Castlevania IV (Super Nintendo, 1991)
- Castlevania: The Adventure (Game Boy, 1989)
- Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (NES, 1987)
- Castlevania Bloodlines (Mega Drive, 1994)
- Kid Dracula (NES, 1993)
The last four games on the list were revealed on the 18th. The selection makes it clear that the collection will focus on the franchise's early era, from the NES generation through the SNES/Mega Drive generation, before the Metroidvania style was established in games such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Konami has nevertheless left open the possibility of more collections in the future. Capcom did something similar with Mega Man Legacy Collection, with each collection representing an era of the franchise.
It is worth noting that the NES version of Kid Dracula had never been released outside Japan, so the collection gives fans an opportunity to officially play the title.
It is also important to note that this will be the first time Castlevania Bloodlines has been re-released. Until now, the title was playable only on Mega Drive and had not appeared on another console. Even so, the game will also be included in Mega Drive Mini, launching in September.
The game is part of Konami's 50th-anniversary celebration, which has already included the release of Anniversary Collection Arcade Classics and will include Contra Anniversary Collection later this year.
Along with revealing which games would be in the collection, Konami also announced its release date. Castlevania Anniversary Collection will launch on May 16 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and Steam.
