That same year saw also saw the release of Stargate – Jarvis and Larry DeMar’s sequel to Defender. Like Defender, Scramble was ferociously difficult, particularly when the rolling planet surface gave way to claustrophobic little tunnels, where the environment became as deadly to negotiate as the waves of alien craft. The player’s ship traversed a rocky landscape, taking out alien craft with bullets and bombs while replenishing a constantly-falling energy supply by taking out fuel drums lying on the surface. Less mind-bogglingly fast than Defender, Scramble was clearly derived from the same DNA as Williams’ earlier hit. Just one year after Defender appeared in arcades, along came Konami’s Scramble. While Defender established Williams as one of America’s big names in game design – Joust and Robotron 2084 were two of its other major hits in the early 1980s – other developers were also looking closely at Eugene Jarvis’ breakthrough shooter. As a result, Defender became one of the most popular games of the amusement arcade’s golden era, and the side-scrolling shooter was born. No need to choose though, since Mondo's vinyl re-issue contains both, spread across two 12" LPs, housed in a gatefold jacket featuring amazing new artwork by Sachin Teng.After the static screens of Space Invaders, Galaxian and their assorted clones, Defender’s speed and relentless intensity was mesmerising. Despite this audio handicap the US version is still terrific, and the superiority of the which version best is still a matter of debate to this day. The Nintendo Entertainment System could not process this level of audio, so the version released in the US needed to have the audio scaled back. The VRC6 Audio chip contained in the Japanese version allowed for a wider array of sound channels, producing a brighter, fuller soundtrack than on the cartridge released in the US. Not only for fan favourite track 'Beginning,' a track you'd be nary to find excluded from any future Castlevania game, but for the dynamic audio introduced on the Japanese version of the game. The soundtrack to Dracula's Curse is important as well. The story follows Trevor Belmont, Simon's ancestor and his battles with the prince of darkness, alongside three other warriors: Grant Danasty the Pirate, Sypha Belnades the Mystic, and Alucard, Dracula's Son, who makes series debut here, and will play a more pivotal role in the games to come. Mondo is proud to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Castlevania franchise with the premiere vinyl release of the original soundtrack to the 1989 Famicom / Nintendo Entertainment System Three-quel / Prequel: Dracula's Curse.ĭracula's Curse is a dark horse for most beloved of the original NES / FAMICOM trilogy, as it was a happy marriage of the linear elements of the first Castlevania and the more exploratory elements of Simon's Quest - a union that led to the introduction of multiple playable characters, multiple paths and multiple endings - that remain franchise staples even today. Features both the NES and FAMICOM versions of all 28 BGM tracks from the game spread across two 12" LPs.
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