Earlier in 2004, I had heard a few rumors of a Castlevania film coming to life. A few months later, word arrived that the film was to be a homemade production, written by a guy named Ben Isaac. Since Castlevania was always one of my favorite game series on the Nintendo, I was quite interested in seeing what this film was about. After watching a few interesting trailer videos, I ordered a copy of Prelude to War from Ben's website (http://www.benisaac.com).

I was quite pleased with the end-result of Prelude to War. Although the movie was too short for my liking (around half an hour, maximum), it was interesting the whole way through. Prelude to War provides some background history on Simon Belmont's first NES adventure. The film leads up to where the first Nintendo Castlevania game starts. The storyline itself is simple; however it is also enjoyable. I wish there would have been a few more characters in the video. However, due to limited funds and sources, I believe that Ben made the right choice with keeping the plot simple.

Prelude to War has some nice costumes and special effects. For instance, one of the scenes features a flame whip. This scene really impressed me, it was just really neat. I also liked Simon's guise, though sometimes the gauntlets looked too shiny, causing a bad glare. Who knows though, maybe it is just my PC's DVD player causing the trouble.

If you decide to buy the Prelude to War DVD, you might also want to consider buying the movie soundtrack. The musical score to Prelude is beautifully written. Prelude to War is filled with all sorts of Castlevania-ish music. I am always a sucker when it comes to music, and I much enjoyed Prelude's soundtrack.

Castlevania fans should not pass up Prelude to War. Although this DVD is not sponsored or endorsed by Konami, this film was obviously inspired by Castlevania. Prelude to War may just be a homemade production; however it deserves a spotlight of its own.