By Joseph "Skull Vault" Walter
Today we're going to be discussing the moody title screen of the SNES adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula.
The game itself isn't particularly special: it looks and plays like a Castlevania knock-off and, while it has its moments, it fails to offer anything as exciting as its fellow non-Castlevania peer, Nosferatu (especially when it comes to that game's impressively epic intro.)
All faults aside, though, it's impossible deny how unflinchingly bad-ass Bram Stoker's title screen is:
Following silent credits over a black background, you're soon blindsided by a splash of vivid purples and pinks.
Accompanied by bursts of lightning and an increasingly sinister theme that sounds like something Jesper Kyd would have cooked up in his earlier days, the camera pans across a battlefield littered with billowing flags and impaled corpses, until finally setting on a shadowy figure.
Another bolt of lighting reveals it to be Dracula in the film's satanic, red armor, and just as we come to grips with this imposing figure, he disappears in a flash, revealing the game's title.
While certainly not one of the most impressive title screens we've ever discussed, Bram Stoker's Dracula still manages to make a bold (and eerie) statement with its powerful imagery and heavy atmosphere.