Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is a 2018 platform game developed and published by Inti Creates. It is a companion title to developer ArtPlay's 2019 game Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and was conceived to fulfill the promise for a retro-style accompaniment to Ritual of the Night after its Kickstarter campaign exceeded crowdfunding goals. Curse of the Moon follows Zangetsu, a cursed swordsman hunting down demons for revenge, as well as three other playable characters named Miriam, Alfred and Gebel. It features an 8-bit aesthetic and gameplay style similar to Castlevania games on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), particularly Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (1989).

The game was developed in six months, revealed at a Japanese indie game festival, and released two weeks later. Critics found the game a satisfying homage to Castlevania III. Some felt the game adhered too closely to its inspiration, while others praised new options and game modes for adding a modern feel. The game was found to be short albeit fulfilling for its purpose as a prelude to Ritual of the Night. A sequel, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2, featuring Zangetsu and three new additional characters, was released in July 2020.

Plot;
The story follows Zangetsu, a swordsman searching for revenge upon the demons who magically cursed him. He feels the presence of a great demon, and swears to kill all demons he can find as he quests across the areas of Curse of the Moon. During his search he encounters Miriam, Alfred, and Gebel. Based on how the protagonist treats the other travelers, the ending changes. In all paths, he fights the archdemon Gremory in the final stage. If Zangetsu allies with all three potential party members, Gremory's final attack on the party is blocked by him, who absorbs the dark power and becomes corrupted. Miriam, Alfred, and Gebel manage to escape the castle, but are not able to forget about Zangetsu who was left behind. If the protagonist ignores all three potential party members and travels alone, then the three of them arrive to block Gremory's final attack, sacrificing themselves and saving the main character. If Zangetsu mixes recruiting, ignoring, and killing the others, then he (and any allies) will leave the castle and watch as it crumbles with the sunrise, but the swordsman is not freed from his curse. If Zangetsu chooses to kill the other three and absorb their power he will absorb Gremory's dark energy attack and become the new dark emperor.

In "Nightmare" mode, unlocked if the player defeats the game while recruiting all three potential allies, Miriam, Alfred, and Gebel travel back to the castle to defeat the corrupted Zangetsu, who is that mode's final enemy. The three kill the emperor and free his soul from the curse of the moon. Zangetsu's soul is then driven to the afterlife, and he awakes at the top of a futuristic building referencing the title screen of Mega Man 2.