Classic

Gobanz.
Tetris. Super Mario Land. SolarStriker. The CastleVania Adventure, once the most challenging Game Boy game I owned is STILL one of the most fun. My cousin Frankie and I struggled through Stage 4, with its Zeldo-Gobanz double team, annoying spikes, and pre-Dracula Gobanz gauntlet. During our 'when you die, I go, and when I die you go" turn alternation downtimes, I did some drawing in an unused 5th grade notebook. Those days, it wasn't easy with a pencil (or pen) to render a Gobanz as he appeared awesomely in The CastleVania Adventure's instruction booklet. At least I caught the basics; helmet eye slit, chained, giant arrowhead as an arm, cross on the skirt, pointy feet. Since the booklet was lost later in 1990, this is the only more exact Gobanz from the early eras. Cousin Lici gave it a red check of approval.

Zeldo.
Lici also gave a red check of approval to my picture of the haunting, mysteriously named ripper Zeldo on the following notebook page. Why're the check marks gray? Common sense. These two pictures are smaller files as grayscales.

The CastleVania Adventure II?
The same red, felt tip pen Lici used to mark the previous two drawings, I used to draw up this The CastleVania Adventure style game scenario. Check out!: Gobanzes, Punaguchi, Death Bats, and THOSE FRICKIN' ANNOYING FALLDOWN PLATFORMS & SPIKES!

For this one, you can say I 'traced' from the CV3 box, only I didn't put the paper on the box, but drew freehand. The only reference model I had was the Trevor and the gears below him. Everything else is improvised. CHECK OUT!: Trevor, Medusa Head, Skeleton Dragon, Bad Bat, and the Skull Knight! (look out! 184k!)

If I remember correctly, this reconstruction of Trevor's last battle with Dracula was drawn from memory. I think I was at the point where I couldn't pass the "Heads" form of Drac. Grant DaNasty, who is shaped like a muppet, is the featured Partner Spirit!

Drac's Castle!
The final stage of CastleVania III presented the ultimate trial; Medusa Heads in the second clock tower, Dragon Skull Cannons on a crumbly bridge, and Bats ready and willing to knock you off the giant pendulums. In addition, a hit by an enemy would take away a noticable fragment of life. Finally, Dracula! During the first battles, my cousin Frankie suggesed using the Dagger near Drac's throne. "Maybe a knife through the heart...you never know." Here's the valid password to the last stage (player name 'Eric'), along with a small scribble of Dracula's second gross form.

Stage 7 with Grat.
Taking an alternate route with the Aquarius music in the background, I jotted down this password and scribbled in the gigantic Leviathan at the end of the stage ruled by the Terror Trio. "Is this the 7th stage boss?" asks Trevor, tossing an axe. "Well, I'm not a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!" says the one-eyed Leviathan. Ah, what you could get away with in 1991. Now THAT'S old skool.

Who would you interview?
Ah, good and beautiful Miss Cassella, whom would become good and beautiful Mrs. _(husband's last name here)_ later that summer of 1991 according to the wedding invite I failed to follow through. During the final days of 5th grade, the class was given numerous little fun assignments, such as "Describe the most useless thing in your room." To that, I described in one sentence my Dino Riders T-Rex, whose lower jaw and right leg were both missing. On the flip side of the page would go her next assignment; answer the question, "Who would you interview and what questions would you ask them?" Since we were cool with each other, I got clearance from Ms. Cassella to interview video game characters. I returned to my desk and jotted down these questions:
1.When and Why did you start to hunt Dracula?
2. Do you think that you'll see Drac again?
3. Is vampire hunting tireiing?
4. Is it tough being a vampire hunter?
5. Is it difficult beating Dracula?
I had to read this in front of the class. You couldn't begin to imagine my embarrassment. I shyed down, but finally began to read to the four who understood the deal and about a dozen who didn't.
"I would interview Simon and Trevor Belmont..."
After the applause, I returned to my desk and drew the picture below. Note 'my' fiendish mug. Note the arsenal. Note the Super NES on top of the TV displaying "Dracula's Curse III". Note that this is June 1991. Note, I had no idea it would be called "Super".

Cast of Vania 3 Dracula's Curse Characters.
I DO use the phrase, "Cast o' Vania 3", elsewhere, now don't I? Here's the existing proof of its origin! Here, I drew all the bad guys I knew of at the time from Dracula's Curse. I think I stopped in the middle of drawing the Axe Man...since there's just half of him floating. Mad enemies here! Featured!: Black Knight, Axe Man (1/2), Chicken Head Medusa (Medusa Skull reference), Pillar of Bones, Skull Knight, Red/White Skeleton, Red/White Gates of Death, Human Head Medusa, 'Skeloton' Dragon I, Acid Rain, Crying Eye, Lightning Man (Mini-Mummy), Skeloton Dragon II, Snake Man, Bad Bat, Fire Man, Mud Man, Mad Man (not in CV3, but refers to misspelled CV Adventure enemy name!), Fish Man, 'Mumy' Man, Cyclops, and Little Bat! (look out! 150k!)

Skull Knight King and Twin Dragons.
The Skull Knight was considered, by today's terms, THE MAN!!!, back then. Those days, I still had my Macy's L2 Copy of the November/December Nintendo Power issue, which served as the guide to help in this drawing of the illustration accompanying the "Skull Knight King". The Skull Knight King pose is better defined in the picture, "KONAMI!", in the Eric Roman Ad Nauseam section. Ohyeah! You can tell this is the King! I drew bones flying out! Also on this page are a pair of kronosaur-ish Twin Dragon Ultimate Evils. I cannot say who's beating the two, though...

Belmontosaurus.
As my aspirations for becoming a Paleontologist (fossil-hunter, in layman's terms) were being gradually overwritten by my passion for the NES, I made up Belmontosaurus, a dinosaur with a whip-like tongue. "Belmont's Lizard" is accompanied by Trevor Belmont for size comparison. In the smaller drawing, a cheap attempt (which I was aware of at the time) at depicting the dinosaur Deinocheirus; the arms were the only fossil bones discovered of this elusive beast... These alone are 6 feet long, and the claws, 1 foot long each! Add the horny sheath which enclosed the claws in life, and...ALL BETS ARE OFF!!! These just HAD to be the terrible hands of a meat-eating dinosaur! Watch your back, Tyrannosaurus, Giganotosaurus, and Epanterias!
...'suppose my dinosaur knowledge never completely disappeared...or will.

Another try at the Skull Knight King, along with another miscellaneous bone warrior. Erased from the original paper were the drawings of McDonald's McDino toys doing battle Mega Man/Street Fighter style surrounded these two.

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