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• General

• Technical profile

• History of the Videogame

General

Vampire Killer, originally Akumajō Dracula in Japanese (which directly translated means Devil's Castle Dracula), is an action and platforming game from the Castlevania series. This game was the second to come out from this series given the fact it was released the month after a game with the same Japanese title in the Famicom Disk System (FDS). It was released on the MSX2 home computer as an alternative version that was specially focused on puzzles and exploration rather than straightforward action.

Castlevania

Vampire Killer

This game, alongside with its versions, reached enough popularity to establish a whole different genre inside 2D platformers together with Metroid (1986) that added more layers and depth by featuring single large, interconnected maps usually divided in sections. These areas may be locked and usually require certain items such as keys to unlock. There is the possibility that the final room of these maps also includes bosses. Nowadays there are lots of games that share these characteristics and are classified as Metroidvanias.

With its release in Japan on October 30, 1986 it became the 81st best selling game of the year there having sold about 10,000 copies grossing around a total of 200,000$ in that year.

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Technical profile

The game began its production in 1985 for the MSX and it was sold as a cartridge. The controller was the keyboard from the computer, which used the arrow keys for right and left movement, crouching and jumping as well as the space-bar for attacking.

The MSX was a home computer, born from a colaboration between Microsoft and ASCII Corporation in 1983. It was firstly thought for the Eastern sector, and marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi (vice-president at Microsoft and director at ASCII Corporation). The project was an attempt to create standards among various home computing system manufacturers. Sony was the main manufacturer of MSX systems, which made the console really big in Japan.

The main specifications of the second version of MSX, MSX2, which was the one where Vampire Killer came out, are the following:

• CPU Zilog Z80A compatible at 3.579 MHz (8-bit)
• 32kB BASIC/BIOS ROM and 16kB Sub-ROM
• RAM: Minimum of 64kB
• Video Display Processor: Yamaha V9938
• Video RAM at least 64kB
• At least 70 keys, QWERTY with JIS or 50 Onjun key layout for Japanese keyboards.
• General Instrument AY-3-8910 Programmable Sound Generator. 8 octaves and 3 sound channels.
• RTC compatible with RP5C01
• One connector for tape/data recorder. Transfer speed: 1200 or 2400 baud in MSX-BASIC (FSK format).
• At least one expansion BUS or cartridge slot.
• Two General Purpose ports, normal 9-pin D-connector, male. (Game controllers, graphic tablet, mice, paddle controllers are optional)
• One Printer interface

For more detailed specifications please visit here

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History of the Videogame

Konami started the development of the game for the MSX2 system in 1985, by the hands of Nagata Akihiko. Inside Konami, another group entered a parallel development after seeing the potential the game had but taking advantage of the prefered scroll system the FDS/NES had over to that one of MSX2. This group created Castlevania for Nintendo's iconic 8-bit console, which was a simplified version that was aimed at a younger audience.

NES / FDS

MSX2

Castlevania's release (only in Japan) benefited from the simpler and cheaper proccess it took to duplicate disks for the NES rather than the complicated system for the single-megabyte cartridges for MSX2 and started its marketing shortly before Vampire Killer.

Vampire Killer

Castlevania

Besides, it was the first one to be released outside of Japan, specifically in Europe, but it was not given the saga’s branding, which commenced in 1987 with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) version that was also localized in North America.

Vampire Killer

Castlevania

Much later in July 22, 2014, an emulator video game service for Windows launched by Bothtec made playing retro computer games possible. This "Project EGG" included MSX2 games, and with that, Vampire Killer. The game was lastly published on Wii U's Virtual console for Japan only in December 17, 2014, as an emulation too.

Vampire Killer on Wii U

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