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I will give the SNES credit for still having good 2D flame effects going on though! Over on the SNES the sprites are smaller and less detailed, the levels looks a bit darker and more “muddy” and there is a loading sequence in between parts of stages, where the original was pretty smooth all the way to the boss. Rondo has quite large and detailed sprites and clear backgrounds with some fancy effects like waving flames and water. Unsurprisingly the graphics and sound are vastly different between both versions. Love the Werewolf intro for the first big boss fight, leaping from the moon-cast shadow towards the screen and then dropping in front of Ritcher. If you have the means play Rondo, not your region’s SNES titled remake… CASTLEVANIA DRACULA X RONDO OF BLOOD PC ENGINE CD PASSWORDIt’s worth saying however that Rondo of Blood is challenging but in a “keeps you retrying to get better” way, plus has saves in between stages, where as Vampire’s Kiss the difficulty has been massively increased to a “can’t be bothered any more” way and the most you get is a Password system. CASTLEVANIA DRACULA X RONDO OF BLOOD PC ENGINE CD SERIESWith the exception of your regular health restoring or weapon powering pick ups (plus hearts which act as “ammo” for your sub weapons) which are obviously universal across both games (and indeed nearly all games in the Castlevania series in general!) that’s about it! She has a completely different moveset to Ritcher, having animals aid her in combat, literally “firing” birds as projectiles and her six sub “weapons” are all different animals that have similar effects to Ritcher’s weapons. That’s it for Vampire’s Kiss but the original Rondo of Blood had an unlockable character in Maria, once you save her. Let’s see, instant death pits, large tower of fireball firing enemies and a Medusa head just about to float up Ritcher’s arse. Another item you can pick up that will fill your sub-weapon slot is a Key, which you can use to unlock dungeon cells and free your love interest Annette and relative/love interest’s relative (depending on narrative) Maria (plus others if you’re playing Rondo), freeing both key characters before reaching the final level will get you the best ending but finding them requires a specific route be taken… Ritcher, the lead playable character, can also unleash an “Item Crash” for the first time in the series, which is basically a screen-clearer that looks different depending on which of the sub weapons you have on you at the time (the sub weapons being classic offensive weapons in the Cross, Holy Water, Axe, and Dagger, and defensive ones in the Grimoire and the Pocket Watch, the latter of which freezes everything on screen). No Metroidvania exploring or returning to old areas here, though there are branching paths leading to different levels and multiple endings, so it’s not quite as straight forward as some earlier titles. Rondo is a classic Castlevania game, meaning it’s just walking around levels, platforming, whipping enemies and using side weapons until you reach the boss, defeat it and move on to the next level. I’ll never understand why Dracula uses zombies that die in a single strike as the first line of defence… or any line of defence really… (PC Engine)īoth games share most things in common, gameplay-wise, which is why it’s easier to talk about them together here. That being said it still has a way to go before beating the originally Gamecube exclusive Resident Evil 4… So it’s funny to think that a game that originally started as a PC Engine exclusive has ended up on so many consoles in so many different forms. Due to being on virtual consoles and the recently released Advanced Collection it has appeared on the Wii U, 3DS, Switch, PS4, XBOX One and PC over the last decade… It was released in Japan on July 21 st 1995, the US September 1995 and Europe February 22 nd, 1996. ![]() CASTLEVANIA DRACULA X RONDO OF BLOOD PC ENGINE CD SOFTWARELater this translated version of the PC Engine original was released alongside its sequel, Symphony of the Night, as part of the “Castlevania: Requiem” digital package, released in 2018 for the PS4, XBOX One and PC.Īs for Vampire’s Kiss, or Dracula X, the SNES “port” was actually built from the ground up due to a combination of software limitations and Rondo being exclusive to the PC Engine. ![]() CASTLEVANIA DRACULA X RONDO OF BLOOD PC ENGINE CD FULLWhy am I mentioning a remake here? It included a full English translated port of the PC Engine CD version of the game as an unlockable extra. CASTLEVANIA DRACULA X RONDO OF BLOOD PC ENGINE CD PSPIn terms of this original version it did eventually see a release in the West as a PSP 2.5D Remake of Rondo titled “The Dracula X Chronicles” in these parts was released on October 23 rd 2007 in the US, November 8 th in Japan and February 15 th 2008 in Europe. Ritcher still has the Belmont strut! (SNES)Ĭastlevania: Rondo of Blood was first released exclusively in Japan for the PC Engine’s “Super CD ROM” add-on on October 29 th 1993. ![]()
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