Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth -- All in One.

I never could justify owning an original Game Boy. I didn't jump in until the Game Boy Advance. In doing so I missed just a handful of games. The Mario Land series, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Metroid 2, and some Castlevania games. I've since rectified Link's Awakening and now Wii Ware has allowed me to sort of rectify Castlevania: The Adventure. Castlevania: The Adventure was originally released in 1989 for the Game Boy. The Rebirth version of the game has some rather drastic changes. Beyond the great looking updated graphics which now of course feature color, and the newly arranged best of series music approach, they've changed the core mechanics of the gameplay as well as added an extra stage. The original game featured four stages to Rebirth's five. The original game didn't have any of the series' trademark stairs and it didn't feature any of the sub-weapons. You also couldn't mess with the momentum of your jumps as you now can in Rebirth. Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth plays like a classic Castlevania of old, they've brought the game more in line with the traditional games. So you're left with a great looking game with one of the best soundtracks I've heard in a while. The controls are spot on for older Castlevania games. The gameplay might frustrate some who aren't used to how Castlevania used to be before Symphony of the Night. The game offers up some fun bosses. There are hidden paths leading to optional mid-bosses in every main stage which extends the replay value a far bit should you be interested. Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth, like Contra Rebirth and Gradius Rebirth before it, has been developed by M2. They've really established themselves as the team to beat with any updated retro game. They're the ones who created the Fantasy Zone sequel on the original System-16 arcade hardware for SEGA some twenty-one years after the SEGA Master System original. M2 has done another great job in Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth. I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with the game. I feel I should point out that the game can be completed in less than hour. It's meant to be played in one sitting. I'm giving Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth an 8.5.