The act of 'demaking' games has become a rather popular endeavour in recent memory, with Game Boy Demakes on Twitter showcasing numerous impressive attempts to authentically recreate popular games with the handheld console's visual aesthetics.
The latest game to receive the 'demake' treatment is Koji Igarashi's Castlevania-inspired adventure Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, which released on the Switch in 2019. The game itself - rather contentiously - opted for a 2.5D approach to its visuals, which disappointment many fans at the time due to the obvious nods towards Konami's seminal masterpiece, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
Although the demake showcases a few key mechanics from Ritual of the Night, including the map feature and damage indicators, the overal visual aesthetic is undoubtedly more in line with classic Castlevania titles on Game Boy, including Castlevania The Adventure, and Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge.
We've included similar images from the game itself below for the sake of comparison (note that these are not necessarily from the Switch version of the game) - enjoy!
Just recently, Game Boy Demakes also contributed to a rather special visual adaptation of the Breaking Bad spin-off, Better Call Saul. It included several key characters and scenes from the series that fans will absolutely love!
What do you think of this 'demake' for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night? What other games would you like to see get the same treatment? Let us know!
[source twitter.com]
Comments 18
This is just pixel art right? You need to be way more clear in telling us whether this is a homebrew GB rom or a piece of pixel art.
Could someone fill me in here please re: demakes? I had a gameboy years ago and loved it back in the day.
Is this remake on a GB cart? Is it on a GB emulator? Is it on a PC with just the look of a GB game?
Apologies for ignorance.
@EarthboundBenjy I think we are asking the same question! Yours is more succinct
I like the idea but that pixel art looks a little too good to have actually run as a playable game, barring some kind of next level development wizardry.
@EarthboundBenjy yeah just pixel art. Says so in the hashtag
I'm tired of fake demakes that i can't play on my gameboy! Make them playable!
Man Bloodstained was so good. I never really cared for all the extra goals they reached, so I'm hoping the sequel is in active development alongside all that extra content.
Throwing my credit card at the screen, but nothing seems to be happening
https://lifeis2d.itch.io/
My running playable complete adaptations of the first three episodes of Life is Strange aren't just some cute pixel art but actual games in GB ROM, browser and emulator friendly form.
Must be where I'm going wrong. Should've just made a bunch of pictures instead of actual games people can play.
@wonderclassic That’s incredible! Started up chapter 1 and it’s honestly amazing. I’ll definitely give this a whirl. Thank you for sharing!
@somnambulance @EarthboundBenjy Read the actual thread on Twitter. While Ollie (NL author) was terrible with conveying the message well here, the Twitter user actually does link to the Game Boy ROM (.gb file) and also includes a .pocket file for Analog Pocket or whatever that system is.
GameBoy software amazes me more than any other console's due to how many technical achievements can be pulled off with it.
I'll be completely honest, I think I like the pixel art version more than the original art direction.
@Kilroy Awesome. I’ll have to take it for a spin. Ritual of the Night was a good enough game (like a 6 or 7/10), but I’m sure it’s better as a demake, just based on my personal tastes. Hope Iga approves a Switch port someday.
@somnambulance I haven't played Bloodstained since the randomizer update (which was honestly an insult as it didn't randomize rooms like promised) and only beat the base game once, but it was an easy 7.5, but not much higher. I think my issue was I didn't want something so close to Dawn of Sorrow. DoS is one of the best DS games I've played, but that's beside the point.
Bloodstained was so frickin' good. I can't wait for the sequel.
This article needs to be more clear — especially the title. Really borders on clickbait.
@somnambulance Thank you very much. Episode 4 may take a while but plenty to work through before then if you like it.
I had the cart of Bloodstained: RotN, and some of this post-release content has interested me, especially this demake GB mode! Geez... RotN2 when?
@Waka_the_Prophet I guess I stand corrected.
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