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The elusive and highly sought-after prototype of a cancelled Konami project has finally made its way into someone's hands. A someone who has preserved the game by dumping it and uploading it to the internet, forevermore. Castlevania: Resurrection, the prototype in question, gained notoriety earlier this month when it was discovered after 22 years of only being known through E3 1999 coverage, where it would go on to be cancelled sometime shortly after. However, with the existence of a prototype of Castlevania: Resurrection, preservationists were eager to see what mysteries the disc held in store.

The first information about Castlevania Ressurection began to fall during the magazines of the summer of 1999. It was indeed during this period, in their summer double-number, that the ducks presented in length, width and across the titles presented during the summer. of the Great Video Game Mass, namely E3. At the time, all the journalists were unanimous in praising the spectacular graphics of the game. Konami fully intends to take advantage of the capabilities of the Dreamcast and promises striking lighting effects as well as respect for the Castlevania license, particularly in terms of atmosphere. Looking at the screenshots of our mags, we had to face the facts: Ressurection's visual punch is undeniable! Detailed textures, quality lights, various creatures, Konami's software makes you want to.

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Following an auction, the unfinished game was sold to the owner of the website Sega Dreamcast Info, and now they, along with a handful of others, have investigated the prototype, and documented much of it, from comparing footage found in magazines to the prototype, to gameplay, and a look at the build's files. They've also dumped the disc to .GDI format, and uploaded it to Archive.org, where it's being hosted as a preserved slice of gaming history. Multiple videos are available on the website's YouTube channel, showing the game in action, while a detailed write-up can be found on Sega Dreamcast Info itself.

• The music, composed by "Mark Lindsey" includes only one song that goes on repeat. You can listen to his other compositions on this site .

• As this prototype version is not optimized, it paddles or freeze. Bugs are present such as crossing the scenery.

• The enemy "Lock" system is not yet implemented, we do not know if we hit our target. It's frustrating at first. In the long run, we get used to it.

• When we use the "Start" menu to choose our level, we start the new environment with our health bar and our previous equipment. It is the same when we die, we recover our secondary weapon.

• Secondary weapons do not appear to drop randomly. They drop according to the number of level uploads (to be confirmed). It may be necessary to start over 4 times "Chapel" to find the protective spellbook.

• The more we load to new levels, the more powerful our whip becomes.

• Arriving in front of "Medusa" , there is a freeze. It must certainly correspond to a cutscene not inserted in the beta. Upon killing the boss, an emblem appears. By taking it, the demo relaunches from the Konami logo this time with the player's indications (life bar) previously present in the game only. It will no longer be possible to face the Gorgon again.

• By using a joystick in port "2" , pressing "Start" activates the "Free Camera" mode. You will have to hold "Y" to go up, "A" to go forward, "X" to go back, "B" to go down and the directional cross to orient yourself. The left trigger makes the movements faster.

• Edit : Whip and sub-weapons (items) have a charge attack. Holding X or B will fill the blue bar to remove it. The sub-weapon charge performs an object crash, taking more hearts and performing a unique move (Thanks to GigaBoots for this feedback).

Source

 

[leon315]

Is that from this version which were sold on ebay a few weeks ago?

presumably yes, but only seller and buyer can confirm that.

 

[ov3rkill]

As a person who enjoyed playing Lament of Innocence, this game looks interesting.

Looking forward for a Castlevania with Dark/Demon Souls gameplay.

 

[PatrickD85]

Whoop there it is
Preservation at work once again.

 

[Silent_Gunner]

I am loving it. A huge fan of Castlevania series. too bad that it is not fully version and a fully playable, thought. It is only demo and a bugs.

Honestly, who knows if this game got far in development. Given what Matt McMuscles said about the development of both Castlevania 64s in his "Wha' Happun" series, I wouldn't be surprised if they cancelled it early on.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

He spent a fortune then DUMPED AND UPLOADED IT on internet for everyone to enjoy!
I fucking knew it! I KEWN THAT GUY IS A SAINT!
btw how much did he pay for?

Something in the avenue of $20K. In other words, the full price of a new car like a Honda Civic or a Toyota Corolla!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

As a person who enjoyed playing Lament of Innocence, this game looks interesting.

Looking forward for a Castlevania with Dark/Demon Souls gameplay.

I think we'll be seeing a Castlevania mobile game before we get anything like that, and that's assuming Konami's interests will ever be anything resembling traditional gaming for the foreseeable future.

 

[eriol33]

Sonia belmont is still.not canon

 

[Spider_Man]

code breaker codes

99 timer (not sure what it does as nothing happens when it hits 0)
000C5638 00000063

99 Hearts
000C563C 00000063

Infinite Lives
000C5640 00000003

 

[XDel]

Got it and I intend to check it out during my plane flight back to Ohio.

 

[Kurems]

Like I've explained on another topic.

After some discussions internally during days and nights with other people and members of the scene, the dump files were done way before the bidding and provided to a trustworthy person who kept it to a safe place for professional preservation purposes.
The original owner asked us how to perform the best dump possible.

The eBay bidding was canceled as people tried to threaten and done false copyright claims on the proto and parts of the code/music.

The disc was sold privately to a Castlevania collector some days after and the proto dump files were passed on to that trustworthy person who was in charge of the release after the conclusion of the deal.
The final price of the proto disc remains undisclosed at the moment and will be keep confidential; knowing who bought the disc, it will most probably never reappeared.

We were called early in the process for cracking the security on the original extracted code and in order to remove the necessity of a System 2 Boot Disc (a special disc used for developers, beta testers and press reviews).

We could hack further inside the boot files and reconnect the correct functions for booting the corridor section in the future, but decided to let it unpatched for the moment.

 

[Deleted User]

It's cool to see this surface, but why the flying fuck does this look so awful? I realize that true 3D action games weren't really a thing until the likes of Devil May Cry and Onimusha, but Ocarina of Time's combat was so much more competent than this!

 

[Rj.MoG]

It's cool to see this surface, but why the flying fuck does this look so awful? I realize that true 3D action games weren't really a thing until the likes of Devil May Cry and Onimusha, but Ocarina of Time's combat was so much more competent than this!

Because OOT was a AAA game and this was a thrown together proof of concept?

 

[Deleted User]

Because OOT was a AAA game and this was a thrown together proof of concept?

Last I checked, companies will only approve proof of concepts if they look like they have potential as a finished game. Clunky combat and underwhelming visuals don't scream "approve me, I have potential!

 

[Spider_Man]

It's cool to see this surface, but why the flying fuck does this look so awful? I realize that true 3D action games weren't really a thing until the likes of Devil May Cry and Onimusha, but Ocarina of Time's combat was so much more competent than this!

Its a demo on a console that was build on an arcade infrastructure running shitty windows ce.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Last I checked, companies will only approve proof of concepts if they look like they have potential as a finished game. Clunky combat and underwhelming visuals don't scream "approve me, I have potential!

Clearly not played castlevania before.

Forgetting, the dc was subpar of current gen (ps1/n64) with a few aaa breaking games.

 

[Deleted User]

Its a demo on a console that was build on an arcade infrastructure running shitty windows ce.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


Clearly not played castlevania before.

Forgetting, the dc was subpar of current gen (ps1/n64) with a few aaa breaking games.

What the fuck are you talking about? The Dreamcast's life outside of Japan was about a year and a half or so, maaaybe two, and yet it has more big games crunched into that time frame than any other console that comes to my mind. Lemme list a few, just a few.

• Sonic Adventure
• Jet Set Radio
• Shenmue
• Phantasy Star Online
• Resident Evil: Code Veronica
• Power Stone
• Power Stone 2
• Skies of Arcadia
• Sonic Adventure 2
• Shenmue 2
• Samba de Amigo
• Alien Front Online
• Grandia 2
• Rez
• All of the Sega Sports games
• Soul Calibur
• ChuChu Rocket
• Project Justice

The Dreamcast is god's gift to mankind.

What do you mean by "clearly not played Castlevania before"? I've played the first and fourth games, along with Bloodlines and Symphony of the Night. Was I supposed to play the god awful N64 games? I mean, this looks like those. That doesn't matter. This looks like a boring, completely unremarkable action adventure game. I can't imagine anyone being impressed by this. Is that my fault? What was I supposed to do about that? That wasn't a rhetorical question, please answer me.

 

[coffinbirth]

Last I checked, companies will only approve proof of concepts if they look like they have potential as a finished game. Clunky combat and underwhelming visuals don't scream "approve me, I have potential!

Because the team that worked on this had previously only worked on soccer games.
Not kidding.
Fuck Konami.

 

[Undwiz]

Saw the rom on another site. I should download it before anything happens.

once it's out there it always will be one way or another

 

[Deleted User]

Because the team that worked on this had previously only worked on soccer games.
Not kidding.
Fuck Konami.

What the flying fuck. Of all the teams at Konami, they chose this one. I'm sure there was plenty of very talented people at the company that loved Castlevania, and had plenty of ideas as to how to bring it into a full 3D action adventure game, but they got this team.

 

[Silent_Gunner]

What the flying fuck. Of all the teams at Konami, they chose this one. I'm sure there was plenty of very talented people at the company that loved Castlevania, and had plenty of ideas as to how to bring it into a full 3D action adventure game, but they got this team.

If that pisses you off, wait until you see what I think is the same team's struggles with both of the Castlevania games on N64:

 

[Spider_Man]

What the fuck are you talking about? The Dreamcast's life outside of Japan was about a year and a half or so, maaaybe two, and yet it has more big games crunched into that time frame than any other console that comes to my mind. Lemme list a few, just a few.

• Sonic Adventure
• Jet Set Radio
• Shenmue
• Phantasy Star Online
• Resident Evil: Code Veronica
• Power Stone
• Power Stone 2
• Skies of Arcadia
• Sonic Adventure 2
• Shenmue 2
• Samba de Amigo
• Alien Front Online
• Grandia 2
• Rez
• All of the Sega Sports games
• Soul Calibur
• ChuChu Rocket
• Project Justice

The Dreamcast is god's gift to mankind.

What do you mean by "clearly not played Castlevania before"? I've played the first and fourth games, along with Bloodlines and Symphony of the Night. Was I supposed to play the god awful N64 games? I mean, this looks like those. That doesn't matter. This looks like a boring, completely unremarkable action adventure game. I can't imagine anyone being impressed by this. Is that my fault? What was I supposed to do about that? That wasn't a rhetorical question, please answer me.

Wow someones pissed in their cornflakes.

You just got tottaly offended over a comment that is actually correct, ignored the part which i said had some good games.

And then your here moaning about a beta/demo when it uses the same gameplay as.....

Ohh the ones that was how castlevania was like when it first entered into 3d.

So go back to your own post and kindly stfu with your moaning.

Ohh and fyi look up about the dc as everyone knows it was basically an arcade machine fitted into a home console.

And of course this is going to look like the n64, as it was what games was like back then, as it followed the n64/ps1

 

[Deleted User]

Wow someones pissed in their cornflakes.

You just got tottaly offended over a comment that is actually correct, ignored the part which i said had some good games.

And then your here moaning about a beta/demo when it uses the same gameplay as.....

Ohh the ones that was how castlevania was like when it first entered into 3d.

So go back to your own post and kindly stfu with your moaning.

Ohh and fyi look up about the dc as everyone knows it was basically an arcade machine fitted into a home console.

And of course this is going to look like the n64, as it was what games was like back then, as it followed the n64/ps1

Yes, I'm mildly annoyed that someone on the internet said something. And yes, I know that the Dreamcast is essentially just a home conversion of the Sega Naomi boards. I'm not stupid. You seem to be trying to communicate that the Dreamcast was difficult to work with when, last I checked, it is well known for being one of the easiest consoles to develop for. And no, I should not have my expectations for triple-a visuals on Dreamcast to be on par with that of the N64. If you didn't know the Dreamcast was positioned as being significantly more powerful than the competition. Something tells me that's one of the most distinct things about the console. I dunno though, Dreamcast games are easily mistaken for average N64 games.

WHICH IS FOR DREAMCAST? I CAN'T TELL!

Also, I'd really appreciate it if you put some effort into what you're writing, instead of just whipping it up on the shitter. It really isn't that hard to write things out like an actual human being. It really isn't. I'm not writing long rants about an unreleased game. I just said that it didn't look good. You should really stop moaning on the internet about what someone said about an unreleased video game. It seems that you're in need of getting a life. Try not to be an asshole next time.

 

[Spider_Man]

Yes, I'm mildly annoyed that someone on the internet said something. And yes, I know that the Dreamcast is essentially just a home conversion of the Sega Naomi boards. I'm not stupid. You seem to be trying to communicate that the Dreamcast was difficult to work with when, last I checked, it is well known for being one of the easiest consoles to develop for. And no, I should not have my expectations for triple-a visuals on Dreamcast to be on par with that of the N64. If you didn't know the Dreamcast was positioned as being significantly more powerful than the competition. Something tells me that's one of the most distinct things about the console. I dunno though, Dreamcast games are easily mistaken for average N64 games.

WHICH IS FOR DREAMCAST? I CAN'T TELL!

Also, I'd really appreciate it if you put some effort into what you're writing, instead of just whipping it up on the shitter. It really isn't that hard to write things out like an actual human being. It really isn't. I'm not writing long rants about an unreleased game. I just said that it didn't look good. You should really stop moaning on the internet about what someone said about an unreleased video game. It seems that you're in need of getting a life. Try not to be an asshole next time.

You early can not read, never said anything that you suggest and to then turn around call me an ass hole, learn to read.

You commented about this e3 demo yes?

As i then added it is a beta, why have such high expectations on an unreleased game. Only an idiot moans about a beta been terrible, its a test run.

Add the fact that these were how castlevania games were back in the day.

Also loads of dc games looked and performed like this as back then.

If you want people not to quote your stupid comments, maybe try educate yourself before acting like an ass, and stop been so angry over nothing.

And again, i already said the dc had some good games, take a breath, calm the F down and go back and read exactly what i put.

As for the games, open your sodding eyes, majority of games were little different to the gen before, it did get some good games, but it definitely failed to move away from the type of games last gen had, while the ps2/cube/xbox all started to offer games with new things we couldnt get in gens before.

If your tiny brain still cant, then sod off little angry child.

I really question your age, go get help, seriously, end of the day your bitching over an early beta for been to the standard of a final release, forgetting games like this is how they were (especially castlevania to which you admit to have never played their first 2 3d games, as this is what they were like too).

And lool at shadowman, nightmare creatures and many more games of this type, theyre very similar, as this is what games were back then.