When Konami first published Castlevania in 1986, there was no way the Japanese video game company could have predicted that this homage to the Universal Monster movies of the 1930s and ‘40s would one day change platformers forever. Of course, Castlevania’s influence on platformers and non-linear action-adventure games would evolve over time as the series progressed.

Before Castlevania arrived on the scene, platformers were usually straightforward affairs: get from point A to point B without dying. The early Super Mario games, basically. But with Castlevania sequels Vampire Killer, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, and especially the seminal Symphony of the Night, along with Nintendo’s Metroid and Super Metroid, platformers began to take a different shape. Together, these two franchises spawned the “Metroidvania” subgenre, which emphasizes exploration, backtracking, and role-playing to progress through the game. And even though this subgenre is most commonly associated with 2D side-scrollers, elements of it have even made it into modern 3D fare such as Batman: Arkham Asylum and Dark Souls.

The Konami of the ‘80s was a different company from what we know today. By the end of 1987, Konami had released Castlevania, Contra, Metal Gear, Gradius, and the casual gaming sensation Frogger. The ‘90s were just as good, with debuts such as Silent Hill, Policenauts, and Dance Dance Revolution (not to mention some excellent Ninja Turtles games). For more than 20 years, Konami was a house of innovation and AAA blockbuster hits.

Recently, Konami has shifted its business focus from AAA video game development to the gambling and mobile market, using its valuable IP to develop games for a wider audience. In 2015, Konami CEO Hideki Hayakawa told Nikkei, a Japanese news outlet, that mobile was the future of gaming and that it would be the company’s main platform going forward. While Konami still releases at least one console game a year, the popular Pro Evolution Soccer, the publisher has pretty much abandoned AAA game development. This means many of Konami’s other franchises have fallen by the wayside, including Castlevania.