Castlevania: The Adventure

The first Castlevania game for the Game Boy, released in 1989. It also received a Compilation Rerelease in the first volume of the Konami GB Collection.

It is 1576, and Dracula once again awakens from his slumber of a hundred years to terrorize Transylvania.

You are Christopher Belmont. Armed with the ~~Mystic Whip~~ Vampire Killer, you take on the task of destroying Dracula.

This game is particularly known for introducing the "whip fireball" to the series, a new whip upgrade that shoots a fireball in the direction of whipping. This power-up returns in the next two installments for the Game Boy, as elemental variations in Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, and as an equippable item in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance.

The Adventure also received a Milestone Celebration Video Game Remake titled, Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth.

Tropes used in Castlevania: The Adventure include:

Above the Ruins
Advancing Wall of Doom: Stage 3 is essentially this trope. Not only did you have to destroy gigantic screws in order to keep the spike-laden roof from crushing you to death in the first third of the stage, but you also had to contend with the rising spike floor variety as you SLOWLY climbed up ropes in order to survive the second third of the stage, and then outrun a spike wall for the final third.
All There in the Manual: Initially, there was confusion over who exactly was the guy with the whip. The description on the North American box implied that The Adventure took place after the first Castlevania and Simon's Quest, leading many to believe that you were playing as Simon Belmont. However, the Japanese manual for the first Castlevania game mentioned Christopher's story, which took place before Simon's time. Finally, with the release of the sequel, it was made clear that you were indeed playing as Christopher in The Adventure.
Crowning Music of Awesome: Battle of the Holy
Degraded Boss: The first boss.
Easy Levels, Hard Bosses: Bosses are typically easier than the levels themselves.
The End - or Is It?: After the credits roll and our standard Above the Ruins shot, all is well in the world. But wait...what is that bat flying out from the ruins of the castle]]?
Enemies with Death: Subverted by the fact that Death doesn't even appear anywhere in the game.
Faceless Eye: The Big Eye enemies.
Fake Difficulty: Your whip downgrades by one level whenever an enemy touches you.
- And unlike other Castlevania games, there are no sub-weapons. Better get used to that leather whip...
Nintendo Hard: Even by Castlevania standards. Though there are only four stages in the game, said stages are quite lengthy and you only have three lives (assuming you don't pick up 1ups) before starting over at the beginning of the level.
- Christopher is also the slowest-moving Belmont in the entire series. Until the remake, that is.
Rise to the Challenge: One of the sections in the third level had rising spikes.
Whip It Good