Castlevania - Play Online Free

About Castlevania

Konami's first handheld Castlevania hands you Christopher Belmont, an ancestor of Simon roughly a century before the NES game. Four timed stages carry him from the castle grounds up to Dracula, and the whip is the entire arsenal, since there are no axes, crosses or holy water to throw. Crystals dropped along the way upgrade that whip from the standard leather to a chain, and then to a version that spits fireballs.

Any hit knocks the whip back down a level, so the game is mostly about not getting touched in the first place. Christopher walks slowly and cannot change direction once he is in the air, and there are no staircases anywhere; ropes take their place, which means climbing while things shoot at you. Hearts restore health here rather than fuelling sub-weapons, another clean break from the NES formula.

Why play Castlevania

As the earliest Game Boy entry it is the odd one out in the series: no sub-weapons, no stairs, a walking speed that makes every jump a commitment, and a third stage that throws spikes at you from three different directions across its length. Christopher came back for the 1991 sequel Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, and Konami later rebuilt this game from scratch as the WiiWare title Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth.

Tips for new players

Pick up every crystal you can find. One hit drops the fireball whip to chain, and a second leaves you back on the starting leather whip.
Ropes replace stairs entirely. Climbing is slow and you have almost no way to dodge while you are on one, so clear the area before you commit to a climb.
There is no mid-air control on the jump, so line the takeoff up on the ground; once Christopher leaves the floor his arc is fixed.
The third stage is the difficulty wall: destroy the screws to hold off the crushing ceiling, climb the ropes ahead of the rising spikes, then outrun the advancing spike wall. Treat it as a memorisation run instead of a cautious one.
Every stage runs on a timer, so backtracking for pickups you do not actually need can cost you a life outright.

Platform

Game Boy

Released

1989

Genre

Action platformer

Publisher

Konami

Developer

Konami

Players

1 player

Price

Free

Default Controls

You can play with keyboard, gamepad, or touch (on mobile). The default keyboard layout is below; remap any key inside the emulator settings.

↑↓←→D-Pad

ZB

XA

AY

SX

QL

WR

EnterStart

ShiftSelect

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the same as Castlevania on the NES?

No. This is Castlevania: The Adventure, a 1989 Game Boy game with four stages starring Christopher Belmont, an ancestor of Simon. The layouts, enemies and the whip-only weapon system are all specific to this release.

Why does my whip keep getting weaker?

Taking damage downgrades it one level. The whip climbs from the standard leather to a chain and then to a fireball version through crystals, and every hit you take walks it back down, which is why the game punishes sloppy play so hard.

Are there sub-weapons like the axe or holy water?

There are none. Christopher only has the whip, and hearts, which normally serve as sub-weapon ammo in Castlevania, restore health instead. That single change is the biggest reason this entry plays unlike the NES games.

Is Castlevania really free to play?

Yes. Every game on OldGames.Games is free to play in your browser. There are no downloads, hidden fees or account requirement for single-player games.

Can I save my progress?

Yes. The emulator supports save states — you can save the exact moment you're at and resume later from any device by signing into a free OldGames account.