This ranked guide celebrates Castlevania’s 40th anniversary by assessing games released on Nintendo systems, helping newcomers decide where to begin. It highlights the series’ two main 2D styles: traditional linear platformers and the exploratory “Metroidvania” format associated with Koji Igarashi’s games.

– Haunted Castle: A punishing arcade spin-off with excellent music but little enjoyable gameplay; Haunted Castle Revisited is recommended instead.
– Castlevania: The Adventure: A slow, repetitive and technically weak Game Boy entry best avoided in favour of Belmont’s Revenge.
– Castlevania Judgment: A poorly received Wii fighting game criticised for its controls and character designs.
– Vampire Killer: An MSX2 counterpart to the NES game, notable for screen-by-screen levels and released on Japan’s Wii U Virtual Console.