Super Castlevania IV was a legendary video game from 1991. It was the first release in the series by Japanese developer and publisher Konami on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The game is a classic gothic 2D side-scroller, with a protagonist named Simon Belmont, armed with the chain whip named the “Vampire Killer”. The Belmont clan has battled the infamous Dracula for centuries .Super Castlevania IV is essentially a remake of the first Castlevania for the first Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), this new version utilizes all the new tech of the SNES, and expands the level designs by starting the player on a journey to the castle, instead of the original that began inside the castle.

Vinnie and I have many fond memories of this, one of our favorite videogames of all time. Whether on our original SNES systems, or later the Wii virtual console, we've beaten the game numerous times. Though, I may have broken a controller or two in the second to last stage where the spinning spike ball of doom chases you up as you hop on little slivers of pixels.

Being that this was one of the first games on the SNES, at the time in 1991, this transition from 8-bit to 16 bit was akin to the transition to 3D graphics with Mario on the N64. We were awestruck by the amount of detail in the backgrounds, the Mode 7 graphic effects of the spinning chamber and rotating room, being able to let your whip go "limp and crazy" by manuevering it in all directions. Of all the incredible aspects of the game though, the biggest standout is THE MUSIC.

The original music was composed by Masanori Oodachi and Souji Taro, and it's the main reason Vinnie and I were inspired to start this remix project. We wanted to remain faithful to these incredible compositions as much as possible, at the same time updating them with a modern feel. We were shocked to discover no one else has ever tried to remix the entire album, and only a few staples like "Bloody Tears" have ever been remixed before. A special shout out to YouTube user King Baldwin for his incredible piano covers of some of these Super Castlevania IV tunes that also helped to inspire us for this project.

We are huge Castlevania fans, and we hope the fanbase and all music lovers will appreciate what we've done here…and if you don't, well we'll just have to petrify you with a horde of flying medusa heads.

-Beyond Z (Joshua Hurwitz)