If you’re one of the talented few who have completed Konami’s 1986 gothic horror action-adventure game Castlevania then you’ve seen the game’s unusual closing credits. Instead of a list of the names of people who worked on the game, it is instead an homage to those involved in classic horror cinema. Among the names are the actor Christopher Lee (written as Christopher Bee) but also the much more obscure name of Terrence Fisher – director of British horror film company Hammer’s 1958 Dracula.
Bram Stoker’s 1897 popular novel has been adapted in countless ways, and the vampire has appeared on screen in about 400 different incarnations from all over the world. The Castlevania video game series is deeply influenced by the vampire’s filmic outings and across the 30 or so games you can find references littered throughout.
This reverence for the monster’s cinematic history is because, as one of the game’s creators Hitoshi Akamatsu has said, the team wanted players to feel like they were in a classic horror film. It is no wonder then that the game has been adapted into two series by Netflix: Castlevania and the newly released Castlevania: Nocturne.
