Carrie and Reinhardt set out on a quest to stop Count Dracula's impending return to power after a century of dormancy.

The characters travel to and explore Dracula's grand estate in their mission to defeat the count and his horde of undead minions.

For example, the Cerberus hounds can outrun Carrie's orbs, and Reinhardt must jump to land blows when fighting the vampire in the Castle Keep.

Platforms are usually stationary, but some may rotate out from under the player, move through the environment like a rail shooter (the gondola in the Tunnel level), and crumble or fall away underfoot.

In addition to the trappings and narrative devices of Gothic horror, players are often placed in situations that may evoke feelings of stress, anxiety, and vulnerability.

Players may be trapped in caged fights with monsters, such as the battle with the Cerebrus hounds in the Villa when the screen darkens to near-black.

If the player doesn't break free by rapidly rotating the control stick, the character's status changes to "vamp" and they will not be able to use their primary weapon or healing items.

Castlevania also features two other survival horror sequences: In the Villa's maze garden, players must follow Malus through the labyrinthine hedges while strong, unbeatable enemies give chase.

This element of exploration and discovery is strengthened by the fact that there is no in-game map, requiring players to rely on memory alone to navigate.

For example, in the Villa level players must meet Rosa at sunrise in the rose garden and Charlie Vincent will be asleep at night.

Players save their in-game progress by using white jewel items scattered throughout the levels, which must be touched to activate and can be used indefinitely.

Two young heroes sense his return: Carrie Fernandez, a girl gifted with magic powers, and Reinhardt Schneider, heir to the ancient Belmont clan of vampire hunters.

As they penetrate the castle walls, an aristocratic vampire appears to warn Carrie and Reinhardt that "all who oppose the Dark Lord will die".

Beneath the estate's maze garden lies a subterranean path to the castle's center, where Dracula's servants (Actrise and Death) attempt to waylay the heroes by pitting them in battle against their loved ones (the Fernandez warrior and Rosa).

If the player took fifteen or fewer days to reach the second chamber on the stairs to the Castle Keep, they will arrive before Charles Vincent (thus triggering the good ending).

Attempting to dupe the hero, he will pretend to have no recollection of the battle, but Vincent will arrive and douse the boy with holy water.

[11] In January 1999 a Japanese release date was set for March 4, 1999[12] and Castlevania won the "Game of the Month" award at IGN.

Tomoya Tomita was the game's sound producer and director, while the music for Castlevania was composed by Masahiko Kimura, Motoaki Furukawa, and Mariko Egawa.

Tomokuni Katayama performed the violin solo, a rendition of "Bloodlines" from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, that greets the player on the title screen.

Bianca Allen provided the voice for Carrie, Andrew Hanikson for Reinhardt, Harald Gjerd for Malus, and Scott McCulloch for the Narrator.

A few of the prominent missing songs include a variation of the boss theme "Shudder", as well as the background music that plays during scenes in which the hero converses with Renon or Charles Vincent.

GameSpot praised the graphics, audio and gameplay, saying "The developers have done a fantastic job of capturing the atmosphere and spirit of the series, while providing a well-balanced, challenging gameplay experience that's filled with pretty visuals, awesome (though limited) music, plenty of secrets, and some incredible bosses (just wait until you see Death...

Novices will be chilled to the bone at the thought of replaying a huge level after an untimely fall (fortunately, there are numerous save points).

This sentiment was not shared by GameRevolution, who instead said that "The gameplay, arguably the mainstay of the Castlevania series, just doesn't match up to its predecessors",[30] and Nintendojo who said "It's not horrendous or even bad; just extremely disappointing in execution".

Game Informer's Tim Turi felt that it was frustrating and flawed; it had a "special place" for him however due to its "desperate lonely atmosphere.

Moving close to an edge in order to jump to a lower platform is tedious – you end up mastering the lemming dive before you are able to do it with some degree of success".