Konami has been on a roll with their remakes, with Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater getting some stellar reviews. Despite some fan arguments about these remakes and whether they still have the original’s soul or personality, there’s no doubt that these projects are a success, and we’re going to get more of them.
Instead of being too skeptical about remake culture in gaming, which is a rabbit hole that will leave you depressed and questioning the meaning of art, I decided to roll with it and wonder, “Which Castlevania game should Konami remake?”
To date, Konami has only re-released older Castlevania games as part of their nostalgic retro collections. For the most part, this has been great for older and newer fans, as it allows them to experience the excellent GBA and DS titles in modern systems. Still, there’s a burning desire for some kind of fresh entry in the series, and if we can’t get a brand-new game, a remake is far from the worst thing that could happen.
So with that in mind, here are some valid choices for a Castlevania remake:
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
An obvious choice, but an incredibly valid one. Symphony of the Night isn’t just a great Castlevania title; it helped create the Metroidvania genre that’s running strong to this day. Alongside Super Metroid, Symphony of the Night showed just how good open-ended 2D games can be when you mix gated progression with light RPG elements and simple but fun combat.
Players control Alucard, made popular by the Netflix animated series, who is going through Dracula’s Castle (get ready to read that a lot today) to find out why it returned after Richter Belmont disappeared. That’s all you need to know, as exploring this huge castle is where the fun begins. Filled with monsters, hidden passages, and alternate endings, this is a night Alucard and gamers will never forget.
Symphony of the Night is still really fun to this day. If modern gamers play it now, they will see how much it influenced other games of the genre, like Hollow Knight: Silksong and Nine Sols. A remake could add some QOL features, make the already amazing visuals prettier, and maybe even bring in the Netflix actors for corporate synergy.
Castlevania
While we’re talking about remakes, how about the game that started it all?
The original Castlevania on NES might not be an open-ended 2D game with numerous areas to get lost in, but it’s still a fun game in its own right. Controlling Simon Belmont, you’re armed with a whip and various sub-weapons, as you try to go through Dracula’s Castle (see?) and stop the villain, as per usual. It’s where the series started, and you can see why Konami kept this game going.
Even now, controlling Simon through Dracula’s castle feels really good. The jump might be stiff, but it feels purposeful, as a wrongly-timed attempt could lead to death or character damage. Using Simon’s whip is still fun in a way I can’t explain, as the simple animation is responsive and can hit multiple enemies if you time it just right. Those sub-weapons are also plenty of fun, and it’s easy to see why the upward axes and holy water stayed for future entries.
Remaking this particular entry will be interesting because Konami could either just make a pretty 2.5D version that stays faithful to the original or reimagines the whole thing in 3D. I’d personally like to see a 3D version in the style of Sony’s God of War reboot or Dark Souls, but that’s up to Konami.
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Probably the most unexpected entry in this list, but Curse of Darkness has a lot going for it.
Despite the box art looking like something from Final Fantasy or Devil May Cry, the gameplay is pure Castlevania bliss, but in 3D. After the disaster that was Castlevania 64, Curse of Darkness on PS4 and Xbox learned how to properly bring Symphony of the Night’s search-action gameplay to 3D, and did it well. The combat was swift and responsive, visuals are still good now, and exploring the castle is fun, even if your character’s movement can be a bit slow.
Konami would benefit a ton from remaking this game. Since the gameplay is similar to Symphony, all they have to do is make the visuals prettier to make it appeal to more gamers. Obviously, some QOL improvements would be needed (run button, please), but this should be similar to MGS Delta development-wise.
Netflix fans might be surprised to see that they’re controlling Hector against Isaac, as they both had very different roles in the show. That’s another reason to remake this game, because how has Konami not taken advantage of the Netflix anime’s popularity?
At the time of writing, these are the Castlevania games I want to see remade. Two of them are beloved, one of them’s a bit of a forgotten gem, and they will all get people talking if they got remade. I just want this series to get back in the limelight, and not just because the Netflix shows are good.
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