Castlevania Chronicles is a remake of Akumajō Dracula – the first Castlevania game – and it was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET) and first published by Konami in 2001. In it, you play as the vampire hunter Simon Belmont, who must defeat Dracula and save Transylvania from the vampire’s tyranny.

The game has two initial play modes: Original Mode and Arrange Mode. Original Mode is a port of the Sharp X68000 version of Akumajō Dracula, but with some new stages exclusive to this version of the game. Arrange Mode is a modernised remake of Akumajō Dracula, with new sprites and cut scenes. Arrange Mode also adjusts the game difficulty as you play, providing a more accessible experience than the X68000 version, which is notoriously difficult.

A third play mode: Time Attack Mode, can be unlocked by completing the game in Arrange Mode. In this mode, you can race to complete chosen stages in the fastest time possible. An art gallery is also unlockable, and there are also some video segments where the director (Hideo Ueda) is interviewed about this, and previous and future Castlevania games.

Castlevania Chronicles is arguably the best way to play the very first Castlevania, and it is a rare 2D game on the PlayStation that shows the console’s power when it comes to non-3D games. The graphical enhancements are relatively minor overall, but the introduction of new stages is a major addition. There are also new soundtrack elements (which should appeal to Castlevania fans), and the game-balancing feature in Arrange Mode is also a major plus, at least for those who might struggle with the game’s difficulty otherwise.

Note that the grabs here show Original Mode first, and Arrange Mode second, with shots of the video segments in-between.

Castlevania Chronicles was also released for the PlayStation Portable, PS3, and PS Vita, although many years after the PS1 release.

More: Castlevania Chronicles on Wikipedia