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Showing reviews 6-10 of 35
 Dracula's Nocturnal Issues November 11, 2007
Del Keyes (In the middle of the Sunshine)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
As it's suggested by the title, this review will not be about the praises of "Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles" but rather about the game's faults that you gamers should know before you make the choice of purchasing this title. Although, that's not to imply that you shouldn't get this game, far from it. It's a good PSP game at a good price. However, there are things about this game that annoy me and it needs to be spelled out, so that's how it's going to be.
-1: The controls. I can congratulate IGA for replicating the original for the 3-D Remake (with a few changes), but does he have to keep the same controls intact? Richter Belmont doesn't seem to inherit the preciseness of Simon Belmont ala "Super Castlevania IV", so he handles like a golem with a backache. He walks ALL THE TIME w/ no dash feature, his whip attacks are troublesome against flying creatures and has no whip-shaking ability, and his jumps are just as accurate as his whip attack, meaning it's all about timing and distance if I want to jump from one platform to the other. If the enemies didn't try to kill me, the sluggish controls will try to make that happen, which deals with my next problem.
-2: Difficulty. Now that is pretty subjective: some people just love to have their games to be hard-as-hell. I for one don't mind having some challenges in games, but thanks to the golem-w/-backache controls, it's an exercise in frustration. Some enemies and bosses take a great deal of exploiting Richter's disadvantages, especially the unfair Hydra boss (sometimes, I'm glad this game has an Item Crush ability). The level designs can also be irritating, mainly the ones that require jumping from one ground to the other without falling in a hole or a watery pit as some take the "Mega Man" method of walking to the nearest edge till only one foot touches the edge and jump to the other side, hoping the cheap level design won't lead me to my grave. When this game combines all these factions, they end up killing Richter over and over, with me cursing again and again.
The game became even more absurd when I saved good-golly Maria Renard from the perverted clutches of Dracula's Army. As a playable character, she can move faster, double-jump, obtains useful familiars (aka sub-weapons) that can also be powerful item crashes, and she can SLIDE. Her accessible abilities make the game, what was once hard and strenuous, a walk across candyland; there weren't a whole lot of challenges using her. Not to say Maria isn't fun to play...she just removes the tension that was in the game. There's an imbalance issue involved in the player selection, where I have to choose a character that's too hard or a character that's too easy.
-3: Emulation issues. It's great that the original "Rondo of Blood" port is included and it plays just as smoothly as the remake, meaning it's just as stiff and ridiculous-frustrating to play; although, the port is much faster due to the specs, so the enemies aren't as easy to dodge. The real problem isn't so much the gameplay but rather the cutscenes. For some of the cheesy anime cutscenes, the audio doesn't seem to sync with what's happening on the screen, whether I set it in English or Japanese. Every time the UMD boots (quite loudly), the voice-overs are set back for a few seconds, so for those who are interested in the cutscenes might be disappointed by this issue.
There's also an issue that deals with both "Rondo of Blood" and "Symphony of the Night", as there were audio gaps. Sometimes during gameplay, the UMB boots which causes the audio to mute for a few seconds before it plays again. Basically, the emulation issues are audio issues; aside from that, the ports are very accurate. As long as you don't expect flawless ports, you're going to be just fine with them.
-4: UMD booting. On the subject from the last flaw, the game likes to load a lot. Even during gameplay, and on the PSP slim, the UMD keeps making that loud noise whenever it boot, and it's constant. I guess IGA had little idea how to properly streamline the content that's in the UMD.
-5: No option to re-watch the cutscenes (besides the ending). In the remake, once a cutscene has been shown, it can't be seen again unless a player starts a new game data. I can understand it not being done at the time of the original port and in "Symphony" (it's an action-RPG after all), but I find it odd that I have to start a new game just to see it again, whether or not from a different character. Again, this problem is for those that are into the story.
I could complain about the graphics and the voices, but the graphics aren't that bad and at least there's a language option (for all games), so if anyone doesn't like the lack-of-bravado from the english cast or in the re-dub of "Symphony", they can just change it. I could also complain that the remake last about an hour or two, but considering the extra content and that "Dracula X Chronicles" is only 30 dollars, the game provides some needed value. Even with my complaints, in reality, this game is only must-buy because it's our only chance to actually play a rare Castlevania game that's unreleased in the U.S., and that's the selling point. You just need to know the game, while not bad, can be a hassle.
 The two best in the series, all on one UMD! October 24, 2007
Drewboy (Urbana, IL USA)
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Up until the point that this game was starting to be publicized, I had never heard of the Japanese Mega-Drive (Sega Genesis) game "Castlevania: Rondo of Blood", but it was apparently hailed as the best of the linear Castlevanias. It does take very much gameplay to figure out why it garnered such praise! The game has been remastered of course, and it feels very fresh on the PSP. It is probably the 2nd most challenging game in the series that I've ever played, behind Gameboy's "The Castlevania Adventure", but that's a good thing. I had felt that all the games that followed after it, N64 entries excluded, had been too easy. Don't take this the wrong way, but this is a game where I'd be hitting it against my leg because it is so challenging - unfortunately you really can't do that with a $170 PSP. Again though, the challenge is a good thing.
On Rondo of Blood, pretty much everything about the game has been remastered. It looks, and sounds beautiful. As you go through the game, you unlock extras that you can access through the title screen. This includes a full (slightly updated) port of the PS1 hit "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night"!!! Back about a decade ago, that is the game that really made me a fan of the Castlevania series. It integrated an open layout similar to that used in Metroid, with the bosses positioned throughout the zones and such. It was and still is a tremendous amount of fun to play and when I found out that it was coming (legally) to the PSP I had to buy this game simply for the port.
For $30 upon release, this package of games is a terrific deal. You get two of the best games in the Castlevania series for a bargain price. This PSP game is a keeper. Try it out, I believe you'll feel the same!
Excellent Game October 24, 2007
B. Tam (chicago IL)
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
Many secrets and hidden character that you can get.
Collecting the original game and music scores will have you repeating the levels. But the levels have different paths you can take. Audio track for both English and Japanese are superb.
A must for Castlevania fans October 26, 2007
J. Harvey
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm a late adopter of the PSP, having bought it when the PSP Slim was first released as part of the PSP Daxter Entertainment Pack - Ice Silver. At the time, I didn't know that this game was coming, and I hesitated, not knowing if the PSP would be worth the cash when I have much more faith in Nintendo systems. Mega Man Powered Up was what pushed me over the edge, but if I had known about this, I would have bought the PSP with that much more confidence. This game is a Castlevania fan's dream. If you are one, and own a PSP, stop reading this immediately and buy the game. If you're less familiar with the series, read on.
"Akumaj Dracula X Chi no Rondo", or "Demon Castle Dracula X Rondo of Blood", was released in 1993 for the PC Engine Super CD, a CD-based add-on to the PC Engine, known as TurboGrafx-16 in North America. The TurboGrafx-16 was never particularly popular here, and the Super CD was quite rare, perhaps impossible to find in some areas. As such, Rondo of Blood never made it to America. When PC-based console emulation became popular in the late 90's and beyond, American gamers re-discovered Rondo of Blood, playing it in its original Japanese on the Magic Engine, a PC Engine/Super CD emulator. For those who did so, they needed to either buy the game from an auction site, which could cost $100 or more, or download it illegally, a questionable practice. With either method, if said gamer does not know Japanese, the plot is completely lost; despite this, many hardcore Castlevania fans enjoyed the game regardless, hailing Rondo of Blood as one the finest of the early Castlevania games.
14 years after its original Japanese release, Rondo of Blood is back in a remastered 2.5D format, with CGI cinematic sequences and live voice acting in both English and Japanese - though, interestingly, the opening cinematic is in German with subtitles. Even if you don't prefer remastered games, the original PC Engine version is unlockable by finding a special item hidden in the remastered game (NOT by simply beating the remastered game). Also lurking in the game is an unlockable version of the PlayStation classic, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night! Additional new features include audio track items that enable you to customize the music in the game, boss strategies that can be purchased with money dropped from enemies, and four prisoners to rescue, three of which grant you new abilities and one an additional playable character. All of the levels of Rondo of Blood have two exits, which lead to a "normal" path and an "alternate" path. From the file select screen you can choose to replay any level you've completed, in case you want to search for pick-ups or prisoners you've missed.
Rondo of Blood is a fairly short, highly difficult game, though truly no more difficult than the first three NES Castlevania games I grew up with. Most NES games (Contra, another Konami game, comes to mind here) stretched replay value by making games so hard that you'd routinely throw a controller out the window. While I don't recommend doing that with a PSP, Rondo of Blood may seem incredibly challenging to less experienced players. Although you can complete the entire game solely as the whip-wielding Richter Belmont, rescuing Maria Renard in Stage 2 is highly recommended, as the game is much easier to complete with her. She is more frail, but her double-jump and unique variety of special weapons makes even Dracula a pushover to defeat.
Symphony of the Night, being a bit easier and a lot longer in gameplay, nicely balances the nasty, brutish and short experience that is Rondo of Blood. If you're a veteran of the PlayStation or Saturn version, you may notice that the entire game has been re-done with new voice acting (minor unimportant changes have been introduced in the script as well), two new familiars - helper characters - have been added, one new boss has been added and one new playable character has been added as an extra after beating the game as Alucard. Even if you've played it before, it's definitely worth a replay or two.
The only downside to this game is that none of it is really "new". If you know Japanese, have played the Japanese version of Rondo of Blood, and have played any version of Symphony of the Night, you MIGHT just be bored with this - but if you're a hardcore enough Castlevania fan to have imported Rondo of Blood, you'll probably want to pick this game up anyway. If you're against 2D games in general, though, you might as well skip this one.
A classic gets its long-awaited released in the US November 4, 2007
Marianna Bartold (United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
[This review is from one of my sons.]Back in 1997 when 'Castlevania: Symphony of the Night' was released, I was instantly enthralled with the series, and I've been wanting more ever since. The game I wanted the very most, however, was the original game with Richter. I once had a test-play on Dracula X at a PlaySource store, but it wasn't long before I learned that the said title was a pathetic redo of an awesome legendary PC game only released in Japan. I was severely disappointed that this awesome title would never rest in my hands. Fortunately, 9 months ago I received word of the PSP port and remake and instantly decided that I would be getting a PSP just for this.
After finally playing the Remake, the Original Rondo and Symphony again, I realize that this game is a complete steal - $30 for two (three, if you count the Remake and Original as separate) legendary games on a handheld. The Super Nintedo game "Dracula X" is not included, but Rondo of Blood is much better anyway. You have to unlock the original games, but you will so happy to play the Remake and look around for its secrets this shouldn't take long. You even can unlock "Akumajyo Dracula Peke", a silly Easter egg that originally played on the original PC game when said PC was imcompatible with the disc.
About the Remake: the game is really fun, and has great graphics, almost like a 2D game with a Lament of Innocence look. After playing the Original Rondo all the way through, I realized this Remake is not exactly the same - there are some various changes throughout, such as having to find all the maidens before being able to rescue Annette, and having to fight the Hydra on level 5'. If you save all the maidens, you also have to Dracula in a third form, much harder than the first two (which you can almost easily beat without a scratch). There are also various puzzles to find various record discs which you can use to Assign Music to different stages. Said music includes music from all three games. It can be quite funny to fight Dracula with the Long Library's (from SotN) music!
The Original Rondo was somewhat more fun to play for me; for some reason I have a taste for old school games, even the remake is awesome. The graphics in this game are great too, considering it was made 14 years ago. While no doubt still being challenging, it is a bit easier than some of the older titles, such as the very first Castlevania. The Item Crash also gives you an edge, as does the backflip(which actually works better than it does in SotN) against enemies, especially against a large horde attacking all at once. After playing through all the stages, alternative stages and all, you can see why they called this the Holy Grail of the old school games.
Symphony of the Night is something most CV gamers probably already have, but for some reason playing it on a handheld makes it more convenient and fun. This game is not exactly the same as the PS version, as there are new familiars from the Saturn Japan Only version, as well a fight with Maria and being able to play her once you beat the game but, sadly, the missing levels were not added. If they were going to add so much Saturn additions, why not include all of the addition features? Still, the additions to the classic game are interesting, even though I would have liked to have seen the two extra levels as well.
As I have said before, this game is a steal. It is cheaper than most other PSP games and, in my opinion, is the best PSP game on the market currently. A lost (and awesome, and vital) chapter in the Castlevania series is finally here in the US, so if you want a thrill and a bundle of fun for weeks (and years of replaying), look no further. You're looking at a bundle of the two best games of both generations of Castlevania gaming.
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