Famicom World

Intro (Storyline) 3.5

Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun, or Kid Dracula, as it's dubbed in English, is basically a parody game that Konami is famous for doing about their own classics (i.e., Gradius with the joke game Parodius). Unfortunately, this game was not released in the United States (maybe the KKK member with the swastika on his head is the reason). The game has a bit of a childish or cartoonish atmosphere to it, while maintaining a bit of the Castlevania theme, except for the darkness, of course.

You have control of none other then Dracula's son, Alucard (Dracula spelled backwards), or Kid Dracula!

Galamoth (yes, the same Galamoth from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) has challenged Alucard to a fight just after he wakes up from his deep sleep. Not letting a challenge like this go by, he sets out to take down Galamoth. He grabs his father's cape and rushes off into Castlevania to begin his adventure, to go after Galamoth, and fight off Galamoth's army.

Graphics 4.0

Even though in the year previous Konami had developed Akumajou Densetsu with the best and most innovative graphics in the series, they still put out Akumajou Special with lower quality graphics. It's not a bad thing, though, because the graphics were downgraded purposely to maintain that kiddie feel. Nonetheless, they still look awesome. Take a look at the screenshots and look at the brick. How plain can you get with just red bricks outlined in black. It's definitely a drop from Akumajou Densetsu, which had bricks that showed as aged stones with moss growing on them -- that type of detail isn't in this game and isn't needed either. For what the game does have, though, the characters fit with what's going on, they're goofy, silly, and cute, what you'd expect in this type of game. You might say the game has a "Mario feeling" to it.

Audio 2.5

The music, to my knowledge, isn't lifted from anything else. That is, except for the first stage, which was a remix of "Beginning" from Castlevania III -- and that song ROCKED. The rest of the tunes, however, were created strictly for this game and are cartoonish and playful. Nowhere is there the fearful, scary music that Castlevania is known for. You must remember this is a kiddie game after all. The music didn't fail to fit the game at all, and Konami did a good job with it.

The sound quality is good. From what sound effects are present in the game, they are also good. Basically, the sound effects fit very well and Konami even gave Alucard a grunt when he gets hurt -- it isn't the one Simon makes!

Gameplay 4.5

The very wacky approach to Kid Dracula that makes it so different from the other Castlevania games is that it doesn't make sense...at all. But it's actually rather funny at parts, even if what's occurring on screen is not possible. You'll really like the gameplay because each stage will have you asking, "What the heck is going to happen next?" with a smile on your face. Though the first stage is the only Castlevania-like part to the game, the rest of the game features an amusement park roller coaster ride -- going through New York City, the city's subway and Egypt -- and Alucard even appearing on a game show featuring the Statue of Liberty as the host. (I'm not making this up. Isn't it supposed to be set in, what, the 17th century? New York City AND there's a subway system. See what I mean?)

As for controlling Alucard, it plays a lot like Rockman! I'm serious. Jump, move, shoot, climb ladders. Heck, you can even charge up Alucard's shots just like Rockman can! Also, we can't forget the fact that after every boss Alucard defeats, he gains a new weapon, such as becoming a bat or firing out a different type of the Ball of Destruction attack, which you select from the bottom of the screen by pressing Select. There are items that are life-related; the heart in a box gives Alucard a bigger power heart -- kinda like in the Zelda games with the heart containers. Another item is a heart that refills an empty power heart.

As for the main bad guys that follow Galamoth...oh man, you can expect to fight a giant cute KKK member, a giant pyramid head, and a giant chicken, plus some other really stupid, yet cute and funny, enemies. The whole game is a joke, but it's a great parody and you'll have a ball with the game as you play it. Not to mention, after each stage, you get to play some really insane mini games, featuring putting swords in a barrel that a skeleton is in, gambling, and getting dancers to show their asses (not kidding), all while trying to get a few extra lives. You'll have a TON of lives in this game.

Overall, the gameplay is great and very fun to go through, seeing all the various screwed up areas and enemies Alucard must go through and fight to stop Galamoth and bring peace to the world, all while having a fun time and trying to be more like Alucard's father. (In this game, Alucard looked up to his father, but by the end of the game, he realized what his father was like and started to go against him.) For the Castlevania series, this game does not fail to deliver great gameplay like the past games and gives you yet another task to save the world, even if you are playing as the bad guy.

Controls 3.0

I liked the controls this time around for a Castlevania game. Pressing B makes Alucard toss a fireball straight, B + Up on the control pad makes him shoot upward, A makes him jump, Start is pause, and Select allows you to choose a weapon from those you've acquired!

Alucard doesn't move like Simon or Trevor Belmont does, instead moving more like Rockman, with surprising quickness and a very good jump (sometimes). He's not perfect when he gets hit; he's sent flying about two steps back! You couldn't ask for more here, but it's kind of sad that a parody game of Castlevania gets better control than the real thing. Ah well, at least the future Castlevania games MUCH improved the controls, especially with Richter Belmont.

Frustrations 2.0

There's not much to get frustrated over. Maybe the jumps and timing could take some getting used to, and the charged shots can slow Alucard down (like in the Rockman games). Also like in Rockman, the timing of jumps has to be perfect in order to keep Alucard from falling to his death! That's about it.

Fun Factor 4.0

The game is definitely fun! There's a lot to keep you playing: improved control from the other Castlevania games, new techniques per stage, weird cut-scenes, and also a Rockman-like gameplay (climbing ladders, shooting fireballs, charging up fireballs, etc.)! As far as replay value goes, there is none, similar to how the other Castlevania games go, except Akumajou Densetsu, which had a ton of replay value. But once you beat this, you'd probably just laugh, turn off your Famicom and walk away.

Overall 3.5

So Konami has produced a parody of Castlevania, featuring a childish version of Alucard as the star -- and that's how it shaped up to be. Not too shabby. Despite the fact that all the text is in Japanese and you can't get this at your local flea market, since it wasn't made for American release, it's a fun game! It's Castlevania, except you're Dracula's son trapped in the Care Bears' Kingdom of Caring with Rockman-like gameplay. It's a great game to add to your collection, especially if you're a Castlevania fan -- and even more so if you're a fan of Alucard.

This Super Charger cartridge, imported from Brazil, has on it Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun. The game is fun, so it's not such a bad idea to pick up one of these pirates if you want to save some bucks. The licensed release of any game always sells for more than the pirated version.

I don't know if "Super Charger" is the company who made the game, or just some sticker the company threw on there to make the game seem that much more exciting. Perhaps not taking into account Akumajou Dracula II, which was a Disk System game, the makers of this pirate call it "Akumajou III".

I traded some games for this pirate and some other stuff. This won't sell for much, maybe $5 at most. But then it's got a glitch problem that causes the stats at the bottom of the screen to jump, so it's likely worth even less.