The player controls Jumpman or Mario in home versions. His objective is to reach the top of the stage to save the Lady (Pauline in home versions), although he must jump over barrels and avoid fire, springoboads and sand piles. It became one of the best selling arcade games of its time and set the basics of the platform subgenre.

Castlevania was a cakewalk compared to this bloody curse. You thought you had the Prince of Darkness defanged – eh, Simon Belmont? Well think again, ‘cause according to a damsel in distress, evil Count Dracula has left a horrifying curse in his wake. And the only hope you have of ending the terror is to destroy his missing body parts! Talk about your frightening quest, searching a maze of mansions, graveyards and dark, eerie forests – each guarded by man-eating werewolves, fire-throwing zombies and other devilish demons. Your grim chances are kept alive in Transylvania, where cowardly villagers offer clues to the whereabouts of Dracula’s remains. And where you’ll purchase magic weapons, including silver knives and flame whips. But beware the night. For when the sun disappears, Dracula’s curse grows deadlier. And your chances grow dimmer and dimmer.

Step into the shadows of the deadliest dwelling on earth. You’ve arrived at Castlevania, and you’re here on business: To destroy forever the Curse of the Evil Count. Unfortunately, everybody’s home this evening. Bats, ghosts, every kind of creature you can imagine. You’ll find ‘em all over the place, if they don’t find you first. Because you’ve got to get through six monstrous floors before you even meet up with the Master of the House. Your Magic Whip will help, and you’ll probably find a weapons or two along the way. But once you make it to the tower, you can count on a Duel to the Death. The Count has waited 100 years for a rematch.

In the game, each player controls one of the two Bubble Dragons, Bub and Bob. The player can move along platforms, as well as jump to those above and to the side, similar to most platform games. The player can also blow bubbles. These can trap enemies, who are defeated if the bubble is then burst by the player’s spiny back. Bubbles that contain enemies can be popped at the same time resulting in different foods being projected around the level. Each enemy trapped in a bubble equates to a different food. Food is consumed and transferred to points (an increasing scale of 1000 points is awarded for each enemy burst in tandem with another meaning: one enemy burst equals one food item worth 1000 points, two enemies burst equals two food items worth 1000 and 2000 points, three enemies burst equals three food items worth 1000, 2000 and 4000 points, and so on), which results in earning lives. These same bubbles also float for a time before bursting, and can be jumped on, allowing access to otherwise inaccessible areas. Players progress to the next level once all enemies on the current level are defeated. Enemies turn “angry” — becoming pink-colored and moving faster — if they are the last enemy remaining, escape from a bubble after being left too long or a certain amount of time has been spent on the current level. A monster will also become angry if either player collects a skull (the only negative item in the game), and the monster is hit by the resulting comet crossing the screen (however, this is a rare occurrence). After a further time limit expires, an additional invincible enemy appears for each player, actively chasing them using only vertical and horizontal movements. These do not need to be defeated to complete the level, and disappear once a player’s life is lost. Contact with enemies and their projectiles (rocks, lasers, fireballs, etc.) results in death.