It looks cool, but some hassle to play. I'll still give it a go.

Keeps crashing after I select Start. I can read the error message: it says "Can't open Map file. Application closing"...

I have Japanese installed (this is a Japanese computer) and tried both 16 and 32 bit colour. What a shame...

wow thats cool.
you keep finding the gems tim.

i love the castlevania series from the beginning of the nes classics castlevania 1+3.

this seems to be a faithful tribute.
i will check it out and hope i will get it to work on my pc.

installed language pack (according to the faq)
switched to 16 bit.
game works.
finsihed first level.
good game. :)

I guess I am one of the few entities living on this planet who really don't find much joy in playing any of the Castlevania games. And who dislike that the developers keep copying their own games time and time again. Plus, flying candelabra hanging all around forests and stuff?.. (That's the one thing I actually do like)

Anyway, this doesn't look bad. I like that you can actually block and can also use the weapons you find for melee combat. I just think that the graphics of the mid-air blocks look rather out of place, considering that everything else looks more organic.

if you can't get it working, make sure the filenames don't come out garbled and not in japanese after you extract it, -- it's a good idea to change your regional + language settings to japanese before extracting it

I can't play the game, cause the game give me an error message after I start the game. It shows me a japanese error message. :(

have you installed the
japanese language pack

and switched to 16 bit mode?

Now I installed Japanese Language Pack, but the games shows me the same error message. When I click start from game menu it gives me this error:
http://img180.imageshack.us/my.php?image=erroroh2.jpg

i cant speak japanese but i know a cool guy from japan.
so i wrote him a mail.
as soon as i get an answer i will tell you what the error means in english.

Thank you very much, AuthenticKaizen! :D
I hope I have soon a reply.

no problem. :)

it could be that i get an answer today but also it could be that i will recieve an answer later....maye in a few days.
so icannot say when but i will post here again if i get one, that for sure.

I have the same problem/situation as Guy.

Make sure you install the language pack and switch your computer to Japanese *before* installing/extracting -- doing it after will probably do nothing. I had that problem when trying to install Shoot the Bullet.

Now it works for me!
I deleted the game folder, then I extract the game again, and now it works correctly.
Thanx for your suggest Paul Eres.

so the problem is solved.
good to know. :)

by the way
i remember that i couldnt start the excellent shooter mogura 2
because of the japanese named files.
renamed the 4 files with proper english names and it worked fine.

Hah! 16-bit mode is not required if you just set compablity-mode to Windows 95

16-bit is not required if you play the game in full screen.
I have desktop at 32-bit color depth, but it works fine in fullscreen.

um.... Castlevania clone?
Like exactly the same thing. Did anyone else notice this?

I don't have an XP disc, is there anywhere I can DL the japanese language pack?

No, nobody noticed that. Nobody noticed, and I'm positive you've read the page.

Already known this for a couple of months, very difficult but a great tribute to the early Castlevania games nonetheless. I love the Medusa boss - you have to face left when she is about to unleash her gaze, or you will be petrified for some instants!

Figured out the problem:

In addition to having Japanese language installed in general you need to set the "language for non-unicode programs" to Japanese (control panel, regional settings, advanced tab). And this needs to be set *before* extracting the files (otherwise the filenames came out garbled). That was my mistake...

The error message mentioned says "Cannot open the map file. Application will close".

So basically, if you are getting that error message, I'd say the first thing to do is check the filenames - if they are garbled up, recheck your language settings then try to re-extract the files.

as said i will answer and post the translation as soon as i get an answer from ...

message means translated:

" Can not open map-file. Application is aborted. "

oh i see guy has already solved the problem. :)