Konami brings the original Castlevania to mobile for its 40th anniversary

Konami has brought the original Castlevania to phones as part of the series' 40th-anniversary celebration. The official announcement makes the Nintendo Entertainment System version free on Apple's App Store and Google Play from September 25 through October 24 at 23:59 JST.

Players who download the app during the promotion will be able to download and play it after the free period ends. The deadline therefore applies to acquiring the game, not to a server switch that disables it on October 25.

The release is a direct port rather than a remake. Apple's listing describes a visual touchpad and offline play, retaining the original action-platforming structure. Simon Belmont enters Dracula's castle with his whip after the vampire returns to threaten Transylvania.

The store's synopsis places that return 100 years after Dracula's previous defeat. Simon, carrying the Belmont bloodline, sets out alone with an enchanted whip. Those story details and the familiar stage-based challenge remain the point of this mobile edition rather than a newly expanded campaign.