Konami rides on NFT wave with Castlevania collection for 35th anniversary

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs for short, may not be the most necessary thing in the art world, but there's no denying their rising popularity in recent times.

As Castlevania turns 35, Japanese gaming giant Konami is greeting 2022 by taking a slice of the proverbial pie with the Konami Memorial NFT collection.

The new initiative is set to feature 14 unique artworks from the popular series, and comprises of game scenes, background music, and newly-drawn visuals over the years.

The full line-up will be put up for worldwide auction on the popular marketplace, OpenSea, from Jan 13, 2022 at 6am (UTC+8), with more details coming soon to the official website.

This marks Konami's first foray into NFTs and blockchain technology. Following this initial collection, the brand is looking to "explore new developments and listen to player feedback." Interested parties may keep an eye out for these selected works:

• Castlevania - Dracula's Castle Pixel Art: Original pixel art, newly drawn for this collection. The art is based on the Dracula's Castle map that appears in the original Castlevania game, with the corresponding stages and creatures added to relive the action.
• Castlevania - Vampire Killer: The iconic music track from the opening level (Block 1) of the original Castlevania, presented as a video with numerous in-game scenes shown.
• Castlevania - Highlights: A highlight movie edited with various gameplay footage, focusing on scenes that are most memorable to Castlevania fans. The movie condenses the records of the legendary vampire hunter, Simon Belmont, and his attack on Dracula's Castle to 3 minutes and 34 seconds.

Prior to its NFT effort, Konami most recently released the Castlevania Advance Collection, featuring three classic Game Boy Advance titles, for PC and consoles, alongside Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls for Apple Arcade in 2021, which technically marked the franchise's 35-year milestone after its inception in 1986.

This article was first published in Geek Culture.