Back in April, a fansite happened upon some classic gold with the long-lost prototype of Castlevania: Resurrection. And now, more treasure has surfaced with the rare beta of Konami’s only Sega Genesis offering for the franchise in Castlevania: Bloodlines.
Fan forum Sega Saturno has posted the 0.5 beta, which was obtained by user TARA200 and put up for auction on eBay. And while it’s very playable, the beta is still very rough and unfinished.
You’re probably wondering what the big deal is about the 0.5 beta. Well, the beta includes the airship and foundry levels that were cut from the final version of the game, as well as different sprites for a couple of the bosses and enemies.
This version of Bloodlines also has the famous Konami Code, which allows you to use the level select, and grants you 30 lives. Granted, you probably aren’t going to make use of those lives, since the game stops after level 5. Still, it’s pretty cool to see this beta that was originally sent out to magazines at the time for previews.
If you’re hungry for more Bloodlines, you can always grab the Castlevania Anniversary Collection and get your nostalgia on that way.