Back in the day, we had no idea why companies like Konami and Capcom were not supporting the Sega Master System. Well, those of us that even knew what an SMS was in the first place. It was odd. We felt surely, it could do better if companies supported it. I imagined what games like Mega Man and Castlevania would look like on the Sega 8-Bit console. Well, thanks to fans, we are getting an idea of how well, or bad, some classics might have looked back in the day. Take Castlevania for instance, which is advancing through development nicely. There is even hope for a demo in 2026.
While what we see in the video below is impressive, it is imperative to note, this is still early in development. I am not sure how far along xfixium on YouTube is but based on the video below, what is there is quite nicely done. This includes a new title screen and options menu.
It has been years since I last played the original Castlevania but a quick refresher checking out pics and clips shows the colors in this version are more vibrant. This could be due to how the video was captured by the developer (settings in their emulator for instance) but things look great.
Browns are muddy looking, grays are dull, greens and purples are vibrantly in your face, etc.
Xfixium mentions in the description of the video above that they hope to have a demo for Castlevania on the Sega Master System available this year. Based on this being posted around the 10th/11th of January would mean 2026.
I do not mean to put pressure on them, just trying to help fans better understand when to expect to play the demo. I know I am excited.
What game would you like to see ported to the Sega Master System? There are so many NES exclusives that I would love to see but I want to read yours. Let me know in the comments below.
