Many classic game fans remember the Sega Dreamcast with mixed reception, with most memories being of the popular Sonic franchise. While the Dreamcast was generally successful, it was not uncommon for developers to scrap games in progress for it. Earlier this week, a pre-E3 prototype of a 1999 Dreamcast game was found with footage of its gameplay presented online.
The prototype was for the, at the time, new title Castlevania Resurrection which was designed to be the 17th game in the franchise. The prototype disc was put up for auction on eBay, and it contains previously never seen footage of the canceled project. This prototype build was shown before E3 as a closed-doors presentation for a select few.
Castlevania Resurrection allows players to control Sonia Belmont in a 3D platformer environment. The game was designed to be the first appearance of Victor Belmont, but the game was never released. Victor Belmont has later debuted in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, but this could have been an earlier peek at the character’s design.
The game was rumored to be canceled due to the upcoming release of the PlayStation 2. The new console was expected to compete against the Sega Dreamcast heavily, and creating a title exclusive to the Dreamcast platform would not be as profitable.
Other rumors from Greg Orduyan, the game’s art director, suggest that people within Konami had their own agenda’s regarding this project.
The game was canceled on March 2000, and it would have been the 3rd Castlevania to be made in 3D. The story was set in 1666 before Simon Belmont’s adventure.
This found copy has 5 fully playable stages, but the disc does claim that the “Corrido” stage doesn’t load. These levels include hazards and enemies, but damage does not appear within this title.
Upon loading, the game displays the company screens for Dreamcast, Sega, and Konami, then launches in one of the levels. Available areas are not connected and can only be accessed through the START menu for navigation. The demo also features a boss fight for one of the levels giving a taste of the action that fans would have experienced.
While this game will most likely never see completion, it is interesting to see what it could have been. The unique design suggests it was a standard Castlevania adventure with a slight twist on the known narrative. Nothing was truly lost, however, as the characters and story were most likely recycled.
This game will not be released, but footage of it can be found online for fan viewing.
