According to Dreamcast preservationists, the build comes from before E3 1999 and features five 3D environments and a boss fight. You can read more about the game on Unseen64, which explains how it was cancelled due to “disagreements between the Japanese and American Konami teams.” It would have been set in 1666 and featured Sonia Belmont (from Castlevania Legends) meeting new character Victor Belmont (who would later appear in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2).
The anonymous owner boots the game from a disc marked “Sega confidential”, dated 1999, and reading ‘Castlevania Resurrection’ in handwritten text. The owner then shows a number of levels from a “section select” developer menu, including Logo, Title, Courtyard, Stairs, Hall, Corridor and Chapel.
Movement appears intact as ghostly figures follow Sonia around a lava pit and a spooky chapel. If legitimate, it’s a fascinating glimpse into a promising looking game that was never made, an all-too-common story in the games industry. IGN even wrote about the game before it was cancelled, playing an early version and appraising early images.
“Unlike the somewhat bland interface of the N64 version,” IGN wrote, “this game looks like it might have what it takes to bring back the visual flair that once reigned supreme in the series, with a variety of creepy villains and a moody, light-sourced atmosphere that is a creepy as it is breath-taking.”
While Victor Belmont eventually made his debut in 2014’s Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, that also marked the last time we saw a new installment in the series. Konami has since been reluctant to develop new console games for its classic franchises – but it hasn’t shut down its gaming division, despite some rumours.
.
Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
