There were two initial versions of Akumajô Dracula released in 1987: a Famicom Disk System version and an MSX version. The original Famicom version is a more action-oriented game, where the player can acquired power-ups to enemies and can clear stages by simply going from point A to point B. On the other hand, the MSX version is more of an exploration game, requiring player to find keys to clear stages and having to purchase their power-ups from merchants. The level designs and some of the enemies are different as well. The MSX version uses the same sprites as the Famicom version (with more colors), but with different backgrounds. In Europe, the MSX version was released as "Vampire Killer" and most people often erronously believed that it was made first due to the later copyright date in the localized NES version (Castlevania).