Castlevania is free on iOS and Android for 30 days only

To celebrate the franchise's 40th anniversary, Konami is making the NES version of Castlevania available for free on mobile devices for a limited time.

Konami continues to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Castlevania, this time by revisiting the original game that started it all. The very first Castlevania, originally released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, has been ported to mobile devices. Those interested in checking it out can pick it up absolutely free, but their window to pick it up is limited.

The following message was posted to the Konami website on Thursday evening:

Castlevania is a gothic horror action game first released in Japan in 1986, followed by its international debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. Beloved by players around the world, the franchise has grown to include more than 30 titles over the years. On September 26, 2026, the Castlevania series will celebrate its 40th anniversary.
To commemorate this milestone, we are making the original Nintendo Entertainment System version of Castlevania available for free for a limited time on the App Store and Google Play.
As a token of our gratitude to all the players who have supported the series over the years, we are delighted to share the game that started it all and hope you will enjoy experiencing the beginning of the Castlevania saga as part of this special 40th anniversary celebration.

It should be noted that while the screenshots on the Konami site show the 1986 classic in its full glory, the screenshots on the App Store and Google Play shops suggest a fairly big virtual controller interface, which could make the final product smaller than one might like. Those who want to give this mobile port of Castlevania a look can download it right now on iOS and Android for free.

Castlevania, which was inducted into the Shacknews Hall of Fame Class of 2021, will remain available until the end of the day on October 24 in Japan, at which point it will vanish into the night. Fortunately, anybody who downloads it before then and loses it can redownload it at any point after this promotion has ended. Those who want a larger version of this and other vintage Castlevania classics should set their sights on 2019's Castlevania Anniversary Collection, which is on sale right now over on Steam. This collection will cost money, but it'll be worth every penny. Finally, it's worth noting that there's a newer Castlevania on the way in a few weeks. Those interested in learning more about that can check out my full Castlevania: Belmont's Curse preview.

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