Inverted Dungeon Game Reviews

Editor's Note: Some games are listed but, due to their relative availablity, do not currently have reviews. As copies are attained (if they ever are), reviews will be posted.

Hopefully, in exploring the Inverted Dungeon, you have at least an inkling of what the Castlevania series is about: heroes go into a castle, armed with just a whip and a minimal amount of armor (leather skirts being the norm -- Simon has nice legs and likes to show them off), and battle through a gauntlet of pain to take out Dracula and save the world from evil.

From that simple description has come a long running series of games. For those of you new to the series though, you may be wondering just what games are worth playing, and which ones are better read about (and otherwise avoided).

As a service, we at the Inverted Dungeon have taken the time to review the games in the series. Read along, and find out all about the games in the Castlevania series.

Note: As a U.S.-based site, release dates reflect U.S. release dates. Games are arranged by their U.S. release dates (unless they were never ported to the States). Remakes and re-releases are organized as supplemental content under the original titles.

Main Castlevania Games

Classic Era
Transition to 16-Bit and Beyond
Igarashi Era
Lords of Shadow Series

Konami Expanded Universe

Over the eras, Konami has put out a number of other games that have crossed over with the Castlevania. These titles have built up quite the solid multiverse for the game company.

Getsu Fuma Dem
  • Getsu Fuma Den (1987, Nintendo Famicom)
  • Getsu Fuma Den: Undying Moon (2021, Microsoft Windows & Nintendo Switch)
Konami Wai Wai
Parodius
  • Parodius (1988 JPN, ASCII MSX Home Computer)
  • Parodius Da! (1990 JPN, Various Systems)
  • Gokujo Parodius (1994 JPN, Nintendo Super Famicom)
  • Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius (1995 JPN, Various Systems)
  • Sexy Parodius (1996 JPN, Various Systems)
  • Paro Wars (1997 JPN, Sony PlayStation)
Kid Dracula
Krazy Racing
  • Konami Krazy Racers (2001, Nintendo Game Boy Advance)
  • Krazy Kart Racing (2009, Mobile Phones)
Additional Konami Games
  • Hai no Majutsushi (1989 JPN, ASCII MSX2 Home Computer)
  • Jikkyo Power Pro Wrestling '96: Max Voltage (1996 JPN, Nintendo Super Famicom)
  • Evolution Skateboarding (2002, Various Systems)
  • DreamMix TV World Fighters (2003, Nintendo Game Cube & Sony Playstation 2)
  • New International Track & Field (2008, Nintendo DS)
  • Kingdom Dragonion (2015, Mobile Phones)
  • Otomedius Excellent (2011, Microsoft XBox 360)
  • Jikkyou Powerful Soccer (2016, Mobile Phones)
  • Super Bomberman R (2017, Various Systems)
  • Pixel Puzzle Collection (2018, Mobile Phones)

Compilations

Other Games

These games are not only outside of any official continuity, but also were developed by companies other than Konami. They feature characters from the Castlevania series in entires far outside the official series.

  • Brawlhalla (2014, Various Systems)
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018, Nintendo Switch)
  • OBAKEIDORO! (2019, Nintendo Switch)
  • Dead Cells: Return To Castlevania (2023, Nintendo Switch)

Bootlegs

And finally we have games with only the monst tenuous connection to the Castlevania series proper: bootlegs. These games were developed by companies and/or groups not affiliated with Konami, generally using the assets of the series to create copyright-infringing games.