Canonical Case Study: Castlevania and Contra
The sharp crack of a leathery whip echoes through mausoleum halls, the booming gunshots of an automatic rifle thunder across an alien landscape – these are the signature sights and sounds from two of gaming’s most storied franchises, Castlevania and Contra respectively, both now over 25 years old as first developed and published by Konami.
These hallowed series made their initial mainstream console appearances as cartridges for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), with Castlevania being released in North America in 1987 and Contra in early 1988. The two properties are still going strong, persisting across several different platforms and spanning four different decades so far. Such lasting brand strength offers gamers a unique case study into how a canon successfully strikes a chord with players, even throughout many sequels.