The Original Castlevania Is Free on Mobile Until October 24

Castlevania turns 40 tomorrow. The first game reached the Famicom in Japan on September 26, 1986, and Konami is marking the date the way we wish more publishers would: by giving the original game away. As of today, September 25, the NES version of Castlevania is free on the App Store and Google Play, listed as Castlevania: 40th Anniversary, and the offer runs until October 24 at 23:59 Japan time.

The detail that matters is on Konami's own page: anyone who downloads the game during that window will continue to be able to download and play it after the promotion ends. So this is not a 30 day rental. Claim it once and it stays in your purchase history. The store description calls it a direct port of the original title with a visual touchpad, playable offline, and Konami frames it as a thank you to the players who kept the series alive across more than 30 titles.

Video: KONAMI on YouTube

What you are downloading, and what to expect

This is the 1986 game as it was, not a remaster. You play Simon Belmont walking into Dracula's castle with a whip, a handful of sub weapons and hearts as ammunition, across six stages of stairs, Medusa heads and knockback that has sent players into pits for four decades. The mobile version keeps the original aspect ratio in the middle of the screen and fills the margins with virtual Famicom buttons, which is the honest way to do it, even if a d-pad on glass is never going to feel like the real thing. If you have a Bluetooth controller lying around, this is the moment to pair it.

There is also a wider sale if the free game gets you in the mood. Konami's anniversary topic page lists the Castlevania Anniversary Collection at 80 percent off, the Advance Collection at 70 percent off and the Dominus Collection at 50 percent off, on Steam from September 24 to October 1 and on the PlayStation Store from September 23 to October 7. On PlayStation the Requiem bundle of Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood is 70 percent off, and on Steam the three Lords of Shadow games and the Revelations DLC are 80 percent off. Konami asks you to check each store page for exact timing, so we will not promise the sale is live in your region at the minute you read this.

The rest of the anniversary, and the new game behind it

Two more pieces landed alongside the free app. The tracks from Music from Castlevania Black and Red, the 46 LP soundtrack set, come to streaming platforms on September 26, which is a much cheaper way to hear Vampire Killer and Bloody Tears than tracking down the vinyl. And Konami has announced a Castlevania 40th Anniversary orchestral concert for spring 2027 in Tokyo, London and Los Angeles, with dates and tickets still to come.

The anniversary message from the production team ends with "we have much more in store for the series, so please stay tuned," and the nearest thing on the calendar is Castlevania: Belmont's Curse on October 15 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC. Konami confirmed last week that a free demo of the opening chapter arrives on October 1, with saves that carry into the full game. Playing the 1986 original this week and then the demo next week is a neat way to see how far the whip has travelled.

Our take

Free giveaways of old games are usually a bundle of emulated ROMs behind a subscription. This one is simpler and better: a single tap, no account beyond your app store, and it stays yours. The touch controls will annoy anyone who tries to speedrun stage three on a phone, but the goal here is to let people who have only heard the Netflix name find out where it all came from, and for that it works. Set a reminder for October 24 if you are the type to forget, then go and lose a life to a Medusa head like everyone did in 1987.