Mondo is proud to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the CASTLEVANIA franchise with the premiere vinyl release of the original soundtrack to the 1989 Famicom / Nintendo Entertainment System Three-quel / Prequel: DRACULA'S CURSE. DRACULA'S CURSE is a dark horse for most beloved of the original NES / FAMICOM trilogy, as it was a happy marriage of the linear elements of the first CASTLEVANIA and the more exploratory elements of SIMON'S QUEST - a union that led to the introduction of multiple playable characters, multiple paths and multiple endings - that remain franchise staples even today. The story follows Trevor Belmont, Simon's ancestor and his battles with the prince of darkness, along side three other warriors: Grant Danasty the Pirate, Sypha Belnades the Mystic, and Alucard, Dracula's Son, who makes series debut here, and will play a more pivotal role in the games to come. The soundtrack to DRACULA'S CURSE is important as well. Not only for fan favorite track 'Beginning,' a track you'd be nary to find excluded from any future CASTLEVANIA game, but for the dynamic audio introduced on the Japanese version of the game. The VRC6 Audio chip contained in the Japanese version allowed for a wider array of sound channels, producing a brighter, fuller soundtrack than on the cartridge released in the US. The Nintendo Entertainment System could not process this level of audio, so the version released in the US needed to have the audio scaled back. Despite this audio handicap the US version is still terrific, and the superiority of the which version best is still a matter of debate to this day. No need to choose though, since Mondo's vinyl re-issue contains both, spread across two 12" LPs, housed in a gatefold jacket featuring amazing new artwork by Sachin Teng.
A**R
Five Stars
Excellent
