A prototype of the cancelled Castlevania: Resurrection Dreamcast game has emerged in the form of a playable demo disc.
Castlevania: Resurrection was originally set to feature Victor and Sonia Belmont in a linear 3D platforming adventure.
The game was demonstrated at E3 1999 behind closed doors, with two of five stages being playable. The newly discovered prototype predates the original E3 demo and features five different areas and a boss fight. The areas are accessible through a plain-looking menu, which corresponds to specific sections of the game [via NintendoLife].
Footage of the game has been uploaded to YouTube and features an unidentified preservationist launching the game on Dreamcast hardware.
The prototype’s current keeper is an acquaintance of the preservation site Sega Dreamcast Info Preservation Games. The demo itself appears to be stored on an official writable GD ROM, which has “Castlevania Ressurection” written on its label. The disc also has “11 ‘5 ‘99” written on the date section of its surface, which gives us an idea of when this demo was created.
Konami’s cancelled Castlevania caper had a somewhat troublesome development. The game was allegedly “sabotaged” by Konami itself, according to its art director, Greg Orduyan.
In a 2007 interview posted by The Castlevania Dungeon, Orduyan stated that “some people within Konami who had their own agenda”. Ultimately, the game was cancelled due to the launch of the PlayStation 2, alongside various other planned Dreamcast projects.
Unfortunately, the demo’s current owner hasn’t disclosed whether they’ll make it available to the public. The preservation site concluded its reveal by stating that it doesn’t want to “harbour false hopes” as it doesn’t know what its acquaintance’s intentions are for the demo.
Hopefully, the disc’s contents will be archived online for the sake of video game preservation and historic accessibility. With any luck, we’ll be able to delve into this forgotten Castlevania chapter sometime soon.
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Featured Image Credit: YouTube:cvr exists