Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a 1993 video game released for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Game Boy, Master System, Sega CD, Game Gear, MS-DOS and Amiga games consoles. Based on the 1992 movie of the same name which in turn is based on the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker, each version of the game was an action-platformer except the Sega CD and Amiga versions which were beat ’em ups, and the DOS version which was a first-person shooter. The Amiga version was released in 1994 for North America and Europe.[1] A CD-ROM version for DOS was released in 1995.[2]
Gameplay
Each console has a different styled genre game based on the film, and in most games the single player character is Jonathan Harker, who is one of the main protagonists of the Dracula film, and the original novel by Bram Stoker, which the film was based on. Mina Harker, Jonathan’s wife, is absent physically throughout each version of the game and only mentioned in the Sega CD version. However, Lucy Westenra, who was also in the novel and the film, is present in SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and Amiga versions of the game as a boss character, though in the original novel and the film, she was destroyed by her suitors and Abraham Van Helsing.
Reception
Reception
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame | NES:   [3]Sega-CD:  [4]SMD: [5] |
| Game Players | SMD: 5/10[8] |
| GameZone | NES: 66/100[6] SNES: 80/100[7] |
| Mean Machines Sega | Sega-CD: 51/100[9] |
| Total! | NES: 60%[10] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Sega CD version a 5.25 out of 10, commenting that the main character’s movements are choppy, the battling with birds and bats is unimpressive and dull, and the full motion video sequences are so pixelated and blurry that it is difficult to make out what is going on.[11] Computer Gaming World stated of the DOS version, “It appears that Psygnosis spent most of their Dracula budget on acquiring the movie license, leaving little for game development and packaging. The game play is uninspired and repetitious”. The magazine recommended Veil of Darkness or Dracula Unleashed to vampire fans.[12]
