Vampire Killer (song)

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"Vampire Killer" is the name of a piece of music played in the Castlevania series of video games. The popularity of the song within the series is arguably due to being the first background theme heard in a Castlevania game. The tune was originally composed by Kinuyo Yamashita of Konami's Kukeiha Club of composers for Vampire Killer, but has been arranged and remixed by various other composers for use in other games.

[edit] Castlevania games featuring "Vampire Killer"

  • Castlevania (FDS, NES) - Played at the first level. The FDS and NES versions are slightly different from the MSX version of the track. Despite the fact that the game was first released on Famicom Disk System, the FDS wavetable channel is not used, so the NES and FDS versions of the song are identical.
  • Vampire Killer (MSX) - Similar to Castlevania.
  • Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (NES) - Known as "Déjà Vu" in the game sound test and album release. The track is essentially the same as the original, and is used very late in the game.
  • Super Castlevania IV (SNES) - Composed by Masanori Oodachi and Sotaro Tojima (Souji Taro). Despite Super Castlevania IV being a remake of Vampire Killer/Castlevania, the track is not played until the final level.
  • Akumajō Dracula (Sharp X68000) - Composed by Shin Chan, Jigokuokusama Iisuka and Deur Shibata. Another remake of Vampire Killer/Castlevania. Since the game utilizes three different sound hardware devices, there are three different renditions of the tune.
  • Akumajō Dracula X: Chi no Rondo - Composed by Mikio Saitou. Used in the second level of the game, which happens to be a remake of the original Castlevania's first level.
  • Castlevania: Bloodlines (SMD) - (Titled Vampire Killer in Japan and Castlevania: The New Generation in Europe) Composed by Michiru Yamane. Used as power-up music.
  • Castlevania: Dracula X (SNES) (Titled Akumajō Dracula XX in Japan and Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss in Europe) - Composed by Tomoya Tomita, Masanari Iwata, Harumi Uekou and Masahiko Kimura. Used in the second level of the game.
  • Akumajō Dracula X: Gekka no Yasōkyoku (Saturn) - Composed by Michiru Yamane. Two remixes of "Vampire Killer" exist in this game: a techno/goth remix and a rock remix.
  • Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness (N64)- Composed by Masahiko Kimura. A quote from "Vampire Killer" is heard at the beginning of the music for the first level, Foggy Lake. In Cornell's quest only, the song is heard when encountering Dracula's coffin.
  • Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (GBA) (Titled Castlevania in Europe) - Composed by Hiroshi Mitsuoka and Sotaro Tojima. Used in the Observation Tower - the last area explored by the player.
  • Castlevania Chronicles (PSX) - Arranged version composed by Sota Fujimori. This version of the song also contains "Prologue" and "Stalker" within it; two songs from the original Castlevania. Since the game is a port of Akumajō Dracula for the Sharp X68000, it contains all three renditions of "Vampire Killer" from that game as well.
  • Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance - Composed by Michiru Yamane. A special remix of "Vampire Killer" and Castlevania III's "Clockwork" music, titled "Vampire Killer 2002". Acts as the music for a secret retro version of the game's Boss Rush mode.
  • Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (PS2) - A slower rendition of "Vampire Killer" can be heard roughly halfway through the credits sequence.
  • Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (NDS) - The music used for the Silenced Ruins area of the game, a remake of the first Castlevania stage.
  • Castlevania: Order of Shadows - It is played on the first stage when the unlockable "classic music" option is turned on.
  • Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP) - It's a remix of Vampire Killer from Dracula X: Rondo of Blood. Some pieces of the song can also be heard during boss battles, in the theme Tues Deus Meus.

In addition, several other Castlevania games are associated with "Vampire Killer":

  • Castlevania: The Adventure has a track (track #5) which has the basic structure and nearly the same harmonies as does "Vampire Killer".
  • Castlevania Legends uses a track that begins with a quote from "Vampire Killer" as the final battle music.
  • Castlevania: Resurrection, a cancelled Castlevania game intended for the Sega Dreamcast, was to feature a techno remix of the song. This track was discovered when MP3s of the game's soundtrack were leaked onto the internet by its developers via the Castlevania Dungeon website [1].
  • Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, one of the quotes of "Vampire Killer" is used in the track of Cordova Town.

[edit] Non-Castlevania games featuring "Vampire Killer"

  • Wai Wai World - the song is played for the background music whenever the player chooses Simon Belmont.
  • Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Paseri Jou - the song can be heard on the second act of the final stage, which takes place in Dracula's castle.
  • Contra: Hard Corps has a full remix of the song called, "Simon 1994 AD," that is played when fighting a secret boss which resembles Simon Belmont. The song can also be heard in the game's sound test. Notably, this soundtrack was written by Michiru Yamane, herself famous for several Castlevania soundtracks.
  • Sexy Parodius the track used for the castle stage (Stage 3B) called "Chu Chu Polka," quotes the beginning of "Vampire Killer" but quickly turns into the "Clarinet Polka".
  • Dance Dance Revolution Universe features this song as "Castlevania (Freestylin' mix)"

[edit] Reference(s)