The very first Castlevania game is an 8-bit masterpiece. Originally released for the Famicom Disk System, then later ported to the NES cartridge format for release in the West, it is considered an all-time classic. Castlevania didn’t see many ports back in those days outside of one for the MSX home computer. That version was distinctly different than the NES title and considered by most to be inferior to it’s NES counterpart. Thanks to genius homebrew guru Matthew Kiehl, we now have Intellivania, a port of the NES Castlevania for the Intellivision. Yes, the Intellivision.
The Intellivision, originally released in 1979, touts a pretty devout homebrew community. I’ve seen some impressive work done for the system in recent years. Intellivania however far surpasses anything I’ve seen released for the system. Bridging the gap between fan game, homebrew, demake, and console port, Intellivania has to be seen to be believed.
As seen in the video above, the graphics, animation, and depth of gameplay featured in Intellivania are incredibly impressive, especially for the Intellivision and it’s limited capability. And while it can’t hold a candle to the original, this Intellivision port is still beautiful and its very existence is something that is but should not be. At least not in this capacity. It looks pretty much like a one to one port of the original, capturing the essence of the original game in all its glory.
Intellivania was originally released as a boxed physical cartridge with beautiful artwork (as seen in this article’s featured image) created by Rudy Wilde. Now it’s been released digitally as a ROM download. The digital game is purchasable via Intellivision Collector and can be played on your choice of Intellivision emulators.
Have you played Intellivania? If so, please let us know what you thought in the comments. This might be something that I will have to sink my teeth into for this upcoming Castlevania season. If I do I’ll be sure and write up a review, so keep an eye out for that. Maybe.
[Source: INDIERETRONEWS via Time Extension]
