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Bram Stoker's Dracula for Super Nintendo SNES
Bram Stoker's Dracula for Super Nintendo SNES is an action platformer in which you guide Jonathan Harker through the world of the film of the same name. Count Dracula has Mina Murray in his power, and Harker wants to rescue her. You begin in an inn and travel across the Transylvanian countryside towards the castle. Later locations include a convent, a cemetery and Carfax Abbey. Rats, bats, armed henchmen and supernatural apparitions make the journey dangerous.
You walk, crouch, jump and attack with your weapon. Attacking during a jump helps you hit an enemy without walking straight into it. The short distance between you and your opponent makes timing important. Van Helsing appears along the way and helps you obtain items, which you must crouch to pick up. An arrow indicates the route, while the displays in the screen's corners show your lives, score, energy and current weapon.
Dracula takes on different forms, so your encounters with him do not always unfold in the same way. You must dodge attacks and find an opening to strike back, while moving platforms and protruding spears also demand attention. You play alone with one standard controller. You begin with five lives; three energy beakers together make up one life. The original cartridge does not save progress and has no password system, so you start again in your next play session.
Region and language
Our Super Nintendo SNES games are PAL editions, unless stated otherwise. This product contains a loose cartridge for the European market. A box is only included if explicitly stated in the product details. We note any different region in the product details. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
With Bram Stoker's Dracula for Super Nintendo SNES, you receive a loose cartridge. A box and manual are not included unless we explicitly state otherwise in the product details. This is the standard way we supply this copy.
The history of Bram Stoker's Dracula
Bram Stoker's Dracula was released for Super Nintendo in 1993, a year after Francis Ford Coppola's film. Sony Imagesoft published this console version, developed by Traveller's Tales together with Psygnosis. The film draws on Bram Stoker's vampire story, with Jonathan Harker, Mina and Van Helsing as important characters. The game turns their struggle against Dracula into side-scrolling action in which the player must make their own way through dangerous locations.
For Traveller's Tales, this project was an important step after Leander. Co-founder Jon Burton later explained that the advance for Dracula allowed the company to get an office and hire staff. The studio had previously operated on a much smaller scale. Burton directly linked that growth to the collaboration with Psygnosis and Sony around the film licence. The project thus helped Traveller's Tales grow from a small team into a more professional development studio.
Games bearing the same film title appeared on different systems, but their implementations differ. This SNES game uses illustrated side views and direct control of Harker; it is not the separate Sega CD or computer version. The route follows recognisable names from the Dracula story, with battles against the count in different forms. After Dracula, Traveller's Tales worked on another licensed game for Sony Imagesoft: Mickey Mania. The collaboration continued, although that next adventure had a very different tone and leading character.
Similar games for Super Nintendo SNES
Super Castlevania IV for Super Nintendo SNES shares Dracula, Gothic buildings and solitary monster hunting with Bram Stoker's Dracula. Simon Belmont, however, uses a whip that strikes in eight directions and can hook onto rings. Jonathan Harker fights at closer range and travels through locations from the film. Both require carefully planned jumps, but the reach and additional movement function of Simon's whip change how you approach enemies and gaps.
The Addams Family on Super Nintendo SNES also combines a film licence with ghosts, strange buildings and platform action. From the central hall, Gomez explores different parts of his mansion to free family members. Harker follows a succession of scenes while hunting Dracula. Much of Gomez's adventure revolves around discovering passages and choosing a route; Dracula places more emphasis on fighting along a predetermined journey.
Disney's Aladdin for Super Nintendo SNES also has you jump through recognisable film locations and dodge dangerous opponents. Aladdin throws apples, jumps on enemies and hangs from beams and ledges. Harker uses his weapon in dark surroundings filled with monsters. Aladdin's acrobatics make movement itself more varied, whereas Bram Stoker's Dracula more often forces you to judge the distance to an opponent precisely before striking.
Like Dracula, Super Mario World on Super Nintendo SNES requires control over jumps between platforms and past enemies. Mario can travel with Yoshi and use power-ups including a cape. Harker has a more limited set of movements and weapons. Mario's secret exits open branches on the world map; Dracula links its scenes to the pursuit of the count, so you spend less time putting together your own route.
Donkey Kong Country for Super Nintendo SNES also alternates platform routes with powerful enemies and dangerous moving obstacles. Donkey and Diddy can take over from one another, throw barrels and receive help from animals. Harker is on his own and uses a weapon against supernatural opponents. While the Kongs build up plenty of speed with rolls and barrel cannons, Dracula often calls for a careful jump and a short attack at the right moment.
