Nope, not Altered Beast or Nastar Warrior. From the one play, it sounds a lot like Haunted Castle. I do remember seeing Altered Beast in a grocery store, once, on another family vacation. Now I own the game.
It's probably Haunted Castle. A rare board to find. Even rarer to find one in a cab with all the side art,etc on it. Plus it came out in 88,which fits your time period. I think you could acquire a sword in the game at some point. I can't remember for sure though.
I just played haunted castle on my MAME emulator, begins with a couple getting married and then a vampire taking the bride. Then you play like Castlevania.