Revealed a month ago, the Castlevania Anniversary Collection has been the subject of much speculation. When initially revealed the collection was said to include 8 games from the long running franchise with only 4 being known at the time (Castlevania, Castlevania III, Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge and Super Castlevania IV). Many myself included wondered what else might be in store for the collection and if it would include legendary hits like Rondo of Blood or Symphony of the Night or maybe even a more modern entry from the PS2 days.

Today Konami has ended this speculation once and for all as it has revealed the final 4 games that will be available in the upcoming collection. Joining the previously announced titles are Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, Castlevania: The Adventure, Castlevania Bloodlines and Kid Dracula. The inclusion of Kid Dracula is quite awesome as until now the game has been locked to a Japanese only release. It is also great to see Bloodlines becoming more readily available with both this collection and its inclusion on the Genesis Mini! Konami also revealed that the compilation will release on May 12.

Honestly this is a great list of games and gives a wonderful starting point for anyone looking to get into the legendary franchise. It has all of the originals that spawned the franchise, the first portable entries and the 2 16-bit game changers! Not to mention a previously unavailable game for the majority of the world! The term origins collection couldn’t be better applied.

And that is my main sadness about the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, a ton of great origin games but lacks a majority of the franchises biggest hits and fan favorites like Symphony of the Night, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow and more. I can only hope Konami will make similar compilations for the rest of the franchise. In which case this list would make far more sense. I do have to wonder though, what happened to the 3rd Gameboy Castlevania game Castlevania Legends?

What do you all think of the final games list for the Castlevania Anniversary Collection?