Dracula X comparisons.

[Shea]

Old-school Castlevania... don't you miss it?
Well now you don't have to. Some of you may have heard of the "holy grail" of Castlevania titles called Akumajou Dracula X: Rondo Of Blood, and how it was hailed as the best old-school CV out there.

It only recently came to pass that the average western schmuck would be able lay his hands on this most sacred of treasures... and in 4 new flavors no less. Here I will compare the original (Vanilla) with the new flavors.

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The original. (Vanilla.)

One hopeful day on Ebay was spent looking for the holy grail and boy did it set me back a pretty penny. I spent $175 on the original Dracula X Rondo Of Blood, and at the time I thought it was worth every penny. Of course this was about 5 years ago back when there was no hope of this game ever seeing the states, otherwise how could I justify such a purchase now?

The game boots up and you get one the first examples of an FMV cutscene. The narrator speaks German while Japanese subtitles flash up on the bottom of the screen. (Weird.) When you start playing the game you're instantly overwhelmed with nostalgic glee. It's Castlevania at its finest, and our control comparison.
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SNES version (Freezer burned vanilla.)

In 1995, two years after ROB came out, rumors began to circulate about a "lost Castlevania" and when the rumors turned out to be true Americans began to bitch, moan, and even beg Konami to release this game over here. One problem. ROB was for a system called the PC Engine Super CD, which is called the TurboGrafx 16 CD over here. Why is this a problem? Well, no one had it. At least, no one I knew.

So, a port! Sorta...
Dracula X ROB was retooled for the SNES and boy was it ever meh. People were very disappointed in the crippled retooling of what they were told was a masterpiece. Gone were the FMVs, branching levels, detailed and engaging surroundings, and the CD quality music. Also, the SNES version only had 9 levels as opposed to the original's 12. On its own, DXROB SNES is a decent CV game, but a shameful followup to Rondo Of Blood.
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12 years later... a remake. (Vanilla bean flavor. As in vanilla with little bits of what tastes like rice.)

2007 was the year Americans finally saw Rondo Of Blood in the form of The Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP, an unnecessary 2.5D remake of Rondo of Blood. Why do I say unnecessary? The original was already great, and it showed that the stylish sprites used in the game would stand the test of time. (For Christ's sake they still use the same sprites today!) Not to mention that all of the visual style and appeal that the original sprites had did not translate to 3D well at all. The attractive scenery and genuinely menacing enemies looked bland as hell in 3D. Also, ALL of the characters got a visual "update" that ruins their appeal. Richter still looks okay, but Maria lost her cuteness and gained these big-ass fuckin' alien eyes, Iris and Tera became bland as hell, and what the fuck happened to Annette's neck?. This is completely unnecessary because ROB was already on the Wii's VC in Japan, and all we wanted was for it to appear on the American one, not a bland makeover.

The gameplay is still pretty much the same, but the visual appeal is all gone. Oh, and did I mention the music? The terrific music featured in the original has been remixed... for the worse. A few tunes are alright, but the rest has lost all feeling. Bottom line, the remake feels like the developers weren't trying to do anything more than to make an excuse to not have just Rondo and SOTN on one UMD. Which leads me to my next observation.
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The Star of the show becomes a fucking unlockable... (Mint Chocolate flavor. The best version.)

Included in Dracula X Chronicles is a revamped version of Rondo Of Blood. This version retains every thing that made the original great, plus customizable controls and English text and voice acting all on your PSP. Rondo... on the go!

Now you can set up the controls so that you just press the R button for sub-weapons instead of up+attack, which makes using sub-weapons on stairs much easier. The music is back and is as glorious as ever. The game also features English Voice actors, and to be honest they don't sound half bad. Also the German intro is now spoken by a different actor, although I don't know why.

There are only two problems.

1.) Play this on a Model 3000 PSP otherwise the sounds for the FMVs won't sync up correctly and they will be very delayed.

2.) You have to play the bland as fuck remake to unlock this game and SOTN. Ain't that a bitch?

But this version is still the one that I recommend the most as it costs only 15 dollars now.
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CVDX:ROB on VC (Chocolate.)

On the 15th of March, ROB became available on the Wii's Virtual Console for only 900 points.(9 bucks.) This version is the exact same as the original except that the new German intro used in the PSP version is also used here, and again I don't know why. But when I say the exact same, I mean the exact same. The Japanese subtitles are back, and so are the Japanese voice actors, and no, there are no translations available. If you want the most authentic version of ROB available, this is the one for you.
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So now that all these versions of the game are out, I'm pissed the fuck off. Why? BECAUSE I STILL SPENT 175 DOLLARS ON THE ORIGINAL, THAT'S WHY! Damn you Konami!

[Smidge]

Castlevania... original... boxed near mint or mint even? ... if so, money well spent!

[Shea]

Castlevania... original... boxed near mint or mint even? ... if so, money well spent!

Mint condition, factory sealed, complete with Konami brochures from 1993.

[Evil Jim]

I have never played a Castlevania better than 1, 3 or 4.

However, I do admit I haven't seen ROB just yet, but it would have to be amazing for me to change my list.

Also, Castlevania Adventure II for the Game Boy was quite good too... I never forgave Castlevania Legends for removing the original weapons set.

[Shea]

I have never played a Castlevania better than 1, 3 or 4.

However, I do admit I haven't seen ROB just yet, but it would have to be amazing for me to change my list.

It is amazing. What are you waiting for!?