Now you're in the misty midst of Dracula's less than welcoming lair. There's no place to hide, no place to run. The only direction you can go is "dead" ahead into the darkness that is Castlevania.

With the taste for sweet revenge on the tip of his fangs, the blood thirsty prince of darkness hungers for a succulent delicacy, and your throat is definitely on his menu. But before you reach this host of horrors, you must risk your neck against multitudes of unearthly evils that lurk around every corner.

Released in December 1989 for the Nintendo Game Boy, Castlevana: The Adventure is the story of Christopher Belmont, the forefather to the legendary Simon Belmont's quest to destroy Count Dracula. It is the year 1576, well over 100 years before Simon's historic battle with the Count, and Christopher Belmont must go through 4 difficult stages which feature enemies and bosses never before seen in the Castlevania series. Castlevania: The Adventure was released just a few months after the Game Boy, Nintendo's first venture into the world of handheld gaming, was brought to the United States. The Adventure is very limited in terms of game play, graphics, design and even sound effects when compared to the Castlevania Game Boy Advance and DS releases. The Adventure is a very short game, 4 stages in total. There are no stairs to climb, no special sub-weapons like the Axe of Knife, and while it does have whip upgrades, your character loses them each time he gets hit in battle. None of the classic Castlevania enemies like Medusa, Death or even Skeletons and Zombies can be found in this game. The artwork on the box cover looks great, but everything is completely downhill from there with the exception of the soundtrack. Playing Castlevania: The Adventure eventually got a little better when Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance because it automatically colorizes the game, as does playing it on the Game Cube. However the only way to use the Game Genie codes, which are almost necessary to beat the game is to play it on the Game Boy. Castlevania: The Adventure is a low point of the popular franchise. It has been highly criticized throughout the years and also has been quickly forgotten by many fans of the series.