This Lost Castlevania Game Is Finally Up For Sale

Despite being a gaming household name, the "Castlevania" series hasn't always been full of successes. Releasing over 30 entries over the course of as many years, this classic franchise has seen its fair share of flops alongside its fondly-remembered successes. Most of the worst "Castlevania" games fell victim to design oversights and mistakes — such as the janky controls of "Order of Shadows" — while others were just the result of unlucky bids made on unsuccessful platforms. For instance, "Castlevania Resurrection" was in development for Sega's Dreamcast before being canceled the same day Sony announced the PlayStation 2. 

But "Resurrection" isn't the only lost "Castlevania" prototype to be unearthed in recent years. In 2019, retro game developer Brandon Cobbs received a prototype cartridge for a port of the fan-favorite entry "Symphony of Night" that was developed for Tiger Electronics' obscure handheld console, the Game.com (per Time Extension). And as of November 13, 2022, he has officially listed it on eBay for a timed auction purchase. Here's what "Castlevania" fans need to know about this lost port and how to get a chance to own it.

The average, non-retro-enthusiast might not have heard of Game.com, never mind the forgotten "Castlevania" port. As noted by Diskman Presents' "The End of the Game.com" — a website dedicated to archiving info on the forgotten system, created by Cobbs himself — it boasted touch screen functionality and online connectivity, as well as multiple utility features, including built-in calculator and a free copy of "Solitaire." Unfortunately, the hardware failed to live up to playable standards, resulting in many of its planned titles never seeing the light of day. Ultimately, the Game.com took its unreleased port of "Castlevania: Symphony of Night" with it in its fade to obscurity. 

Until Cobbs managed to get his hands on a copy of the prototype, that is. According to Time Extension, the cartridge was originally non-functional, and so Cobbs enlisted the help of retro emulation creator Osman Celimli to restore its functionality. As of September 2022, he had a working emulation of it that showed the port was quite far along in development before getting canceled. It's also, apparently, pretty rough. Footage of the port has since been uploaded to the Diskman Presents YouTube channel, and good luck to any aspiring vampire hunters who are trying to make out what's happening on the screen.

Even so, the eBay listing for the Game.com "Symphony of the Night" cartridge has already climbed past $500, and will most likely be jumping in price quite a bit before the end of the auction. In the listing, Cobb hypes the title as "the most impressive game.com title of them all!" If you're itching to get your hands on a piece of gaming history, you will have until Nov 16 at 10:30pm EST to make your bid.