5-1-1987		9-22-1987
	12-19-1987		-

The year? 1691. There has been a hundred years of peace, thanks to the efforts of the infamous vampire slayers, known as the Belmont clan. Dracula was defeated by Christopher Belmont, and all was quiet, happy, peaceful.
Suddenly, almost as if to answer the happiness of the world, Dracula returns, and sends his unholy minions to rid the world of the living. The people cry out for help, and there is one who takes up the fight. Simon Belmont takes his family weapon, "Vampire Killer", and sets out for the Counts dreadede home.

Castlevania was released in America in 1987 on the NES, and was met with success. The genre of horror being so popular at the time, might have aided in the popularity of the game. You found all the famous horror movie villains in the game. Frankenstien, Death, Medusa, and the Mummy have become something of staples for the series. The games popularity has lead to many sequals, prequals, and related titles. It is one of the largest game series in the world.
Graphically, it was a good game at the time. There was a good use of the limited colors of the time, which added a bit of fright to the game. The use of bright colors for the foreground, while leaving the backdrop dark, seemed to push the cation area out at the player. This still will get your involvement in the game, some 23 years later.
There was no story line at all, at the time of release. It was not until later, that the story of Castlevania was placed together.
The music was awesome at the time of release, and is still great even now. Composed by Kinuyo Yamashita, the track was creepy, and frightening from beginning to end. The tone of the music set the game perfectly, and sometimes for younger kids was almost too scary. (I know at the age of 5, my sister was too scared of the music when I played the game, and would ask Mom to have me turn it off)
If you want challenge, this game will give it to you in abundance. To this day I have not beat Dracula. Dracula's final form is one of the most challenging enemies of the NES, as is his close friend Death. Some say it is due to the enemies attacking fast, while your characters movement is sluggish, and limited. Though this could be true, i would like to think it is because it was far more challenging that most other games of the time.
Now, 23 years later, Castlevania still is held with high regard. When Nintendo Power did its top 200 games on the NES, Castlevania ranked #23.
When it was re-released on the Virual Console for the Wii, IGN gave it a good rating of 7.5. They said that though the game shows its age, the soundtrack is famously creepy and the game is still atmospheric and challenging.
My personal opinion...it is one of the great franchises in the gaming industry. It definitely holds itself against the likes of Final Fantasy, Zelda, and Mario. If you have never played this game, I suggest doing so. You will be in for one heck of a challenge, not to mention a good scare.