This Japanese platformer first gained popularity during 1987 when it was released for the NES, although the first releases of the game were during 1986 for the FDS and MSX2 computers.
The plot of the game revolves around a group of vampire hunters called the Belmonts and their fight with Dracula. The player must lead Simon Belmont (Hmm, not really a very exiting name for a fighter - apologies if you're actually called simon!) through Dracula's maniacal castle fighting off his enemies. Your main weapon is kind of whip called a called a Vampire Killer - no prizes for guessing what it's used for! Collect the hearts to gain power for your weapons.
This excellent fversion of the game is pretty faithful to the original NES version and has very responsive controls - use ctrl to fire and your arrow keys to move. Simply jump across the platforms and whip your enemies (including those pesky bats!) to clear the way to the next room.
Screenshot of the 1980s NES version
