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A must for Castlevania fans

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

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.

Rondo of Blood in the US for the First Time

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles is a big collection of sorts. It contains the never before released: Rondo of Blood. A different version of this game came to the Super Nintendo in 1995 and was called Dracula X. However, this version was completely different from the original which appeared on the Turbo Grafx-16 in Japan. For more than a decade, American gamers have been wondering when they'll get the chance to play Rondo of Blood. Now is the time.

Rondo of Blood is more or less the prequel to the all time best: Symphony of the Night. You control Richter Belmont on a quest to defeat Dracula. Something the Belmont clan does each and every time Dracula is resurrected. There isn't much of a story here. There are some cutscenes but not much else. The original Rondo of Blood, however, was not huge on story either. It was, however, big on gameplay and that's exactly where Rondo of Blood hits a high and a low point at the same time.

If you can remember the Castlevania games before 1997's Symphony of the Night, you'll instantly be able to familiarize yourself with the gameplay. You play as Richter and you use the whip to smite your enemies. You also have your fair share of sub weapons like knives, axes and the cross. It's all simplistic stuff. You'll go traversing through the levels and fighting bosses at the end of each level. It takes no time flat to learn the game because it plays exactly like the old school Castlevania games of the NES and SNES days. However, it seems like too much comes from that era.

To say Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles is hard is an understatement. The game can be downright punishing. Especially for those who've never played a Castlevania game. It's great that it's a challenge, but it's only a challenge because they didn't work on mechanics that weren't so good in the early Castlevania games to begin with. Jumping for example is clunky. You have little control once you jump. In fact, the majority of your deaths will probably come from you falling into pits. Either because you land on an enemy and fly back or because you don't make the jump. And since you have little control when you jump, it actually gets annoying. It seems like a minor issue, but trying to survive this through several stages is annoying. They changed almost nothing about the game. The enemies (particularly bosses) do a good decent amount of damage as well. If you're looking for a challenge, you'll definitely find it here. The problem is that it sometimes borders on frustration rather than actual challenge. In other words, this game is old school right down to the core. With that in mind, it goes without saying that the game is fairly short.

For those interested you can also unlock the original Symphony of the Night. This will certainly please some of the more hardcore Castlevania fans who consider it to be the best in the series.

Rondo of Blood is a 2D side-scroller. It scrolls from one end of the level to the other, but the characters and enemies are all 3D. The game also has lots of 3D environments. It's actually pretty good looking and runs just fine. The music, of course, is fantastic. Casltevania is known for having some of the greatest music in gaming. Rondo of Blood certainly isn't the best soundtrack in the series, but it is definitely a good one. There is voice acting in the cutscenes, but it's not very good. You can, at least, change the voices to Japanese if you so choose.

The Dracula X Chronicles is a really good game. It's really fun and exciting, but in some merits it is just too old school for its own good. It's a great game, but not for anyone who began with games from the post Symphony of the Night era.

The Good:

+Release of a good game never before released in the United States
+Great graphics
+Fantastic soundtrack
+Fun gameplay and easy to pick up on
+Some really nice cutscenes to advance the story
+You can unlock Symphony of the Night

The Bad:

-Frustrating jumping mechanics
-Very difficult games

Excellent on all levels

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was a bit worried about playing Rondo of Blood, seeing as how I suck at old school games. But the remake is tons of fun (even though I have over 50 continues!) It's got good level design, the enemies are imaginative in their attacks and movements, and of course there's the beautiful artwork of Ayami Kojima to be enjoyed. You play as Richter, and as soon as you rescue Maria you can start using her as well. Players can also choose to play through with either the English or Japanese dialogue. And the absolute best part is you can also unlock the original Rondo of Blood and the legendary Symphony of the Night; three games on one disc!

A Great Buy for anyone

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game brings back memories of the original nes and snes castlevania. My favorate game ever is Castlevania Symphony of the Night and when I heard it was an unlockable bonus in this game i knew i had to get it. As a PSP fan and Castlevania fan i was not disapointed, the opening cutscene had me hooked from the beginning with its graphics that i could have mistaked for an Xbox 360 cutscene and cryptic diologue as the Dark Priests ressurected Dracula. If you are more a fan of the RPG castlevania's such as Symphony of the Night, Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, and Portrait of Ruin dont fret because you only need to beat 2 levels and go about halfway through another to unlock SOTN. It is in a hidden level, if you need help, look up how to do it on [...]. SOTN is remastered with new voice acting and the game looks alot clearer on the psp screen instead of our old TVs. If you enjoy the classic castlevania style more, this game has 7 levels you have to play to win, along with other levels hidden along the way, so in total i'd say about 10 or 12 levels. It also has 4 girls to save and each will help you in some way. there are other hidden unlockables like castlevania soundtracks and the original rondo of blood as well. Sound quality and graphics are great for psp and voice acting is decent. The music is unmatched by almost any video game i've ever played. The bosses are uniquely designed and usually challenging. The final battle with Dracula was a very intense and epic battle and will challenge your knowledge and skill. Sometimes it can get frustrating but it is overall very fun. If you own a PSP and have never played Castlevania before, this is a great game to start out on. I give it a 7 out of 7 (i rate games on a scale of 7 points, i know, its wierd, but thats how i rate stuff) BUY THIS GAME!!! you wont regret it.

You can't go wrong with SOTN

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is really a great game. I mainly bought it so I could take Symphony of the Night with me where ever I go but the main game itself is really good. I am a sucker for old school games but sometimes I felt like Richter could have had some better moves. He is a vampire hunter after all. But I suppose they were staying true to the original. If you use Maria, things are much easier.

Anyhow, I loved this game. Symphony of the Night had a new translation that I wasn't thrilled with but it still had the feel of the PS version. I certainly recommend this to anyone who is either a fan of castlevania or side-scrollers. There is many hours of gameplay here. So, you will definitely get your money's worth. Hope this helps!

(You gotta love the German at the beginning. ^_^ )

I would give it higher than 5 if I could

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Chances are, if you're a fan of the series and you own a PSP, then you probably already own this, so I'm probably just "preaching to the choir" here, but I just had to add my thoughts. This is, without a doubt, the greatest game to grace the PSP. As far as value, replayability, and quality, it's going to be a tough one to beat. Aside from some extreme-difficulty on the part of "Rondo", there is only one other thing to fuss about (more on that in a sec). The updated version of "Rondo" is simply amazing (albeit, harder-than-hell) and it's stunning just to look at. Playing through it, while challenging, is also a very rewarding experience and I would have been happy with this version alone, but wait: the box actually touts this is as being a 3-in-1 experience, afterall, the word "chronicles" is in the title. This is what leads me to my gripe:

It's probably no big secret by now, but the other two games are not immediately playable. That's right. You want to play "Symphony of Night", then you're gonna have to earn it by doing some unlocking. HOWEVER, hit up your favorite cheat site and you should be able to play it in roughly 20 minutes. That being said, my gripe really isn't a gripe but it still would've been kinda nice to have it readily available once you popped in the UMD.

Once you have it unlocked, then that old feeling from a decade ago will come back in a flood. I instantly remembered why this is my favorite game of all time and I'm more than happy to report that it translates perfectly to the PSP. So there ya go. If you're a fan of the series and you don't already own this one, please do yourself a favor. I would go so far as to say that it's reason enough to get a PSP.

An addicting experience that's also a lot of fun...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Don't kid yourself, this game is tough! Everything that attacks you is faster than you, and you only have your whip and a subweapon at your disposal. Expect that you're going to have redo stages often, but I promise after a few tries the stages get easier. There are a ton of unlockables and secret areas in both games, Rondo and Symphony, so make sure you consult a walkthrough to find all of the goodies and see all possible endings. Graphically this game looks really nice, the 3D character as a side-scroller works really well. This game really shines in the sound department as well. The music is appropriately ominous, and the voice-acting isn't bad either. This game is well worth the money for a PSP owner who's willing to put up with quite a few game over screens. If you play your PSP casually, then I would avoid getting this game...maybe LocoRoco instead.

Insanely difficult!!!!!!!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The re-mastered version of Rondo of Blood is one of the hardest Castlevania games I have ever played. It is not so much the enemies or the obstacles you have to overcome, it's the restrictions of the main character-Richter Belmont. Once you get to the third stage you can rescue Maria and use her as a playable character. She is much easier to control than Richter. You can also unlock Symphony of Night ("S.o.N") and the Original Rondo of Blood in subsequent stages. You can also use the old cheats for S.o.N which makes things interesting. The graphics are really incredible for the re-mastered Rondo of Blood, but it is really frustrating to get through the stages because of Richter's restrictions. If you are a fan of the series you won't be disappointed; just try not to break your PSP.

Random thoughts on Castlevania psp

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Having been a fan of Konami and the Castlevania series since the original NES game, I more or less knew what to expect from The Dracula X Chronicles. Castlevania games are very basic: You collect hearts, weapons, and kill bad guys. That's pretty much the game reduced down to it's simple form. But to Castlevania fans, the series is much more than a mindless platformer. The series has always had a certain charm that has kept it going strong for over 20 years. Dracula X Chronicles is no exception.
First off, the graphics are probably the best in the series. The psp delivers some of the smoothest, complex graphics ever seen in the series. The music is very appropriate for the series as well.
My only complaint about the game are the controls. At times they can be a little stiff and it can be difficult making jumps or trying to fight bosses. It will definitely take time to get adjusted to. Also worth mentioning, is the difficulty of the game itself. Castlevania games were alway notorious for their frustrating difficulty levels, and this one is no different. You'll most likely find yourself getting killed a dozen times before you learn the lay out of stages and boss routines, which can be frustrating. Once you get past the controls and the difficulty level, you'll really enjoy this game for what it is: A top notch entry into the Castlevania series.
As an added bonus, you can unlock the original Rondo of Blood game (stick with the remake, it's much better), and the PS one classic, Symphony of the Night. My only complaint about the latter, is that the screen ratio does not take advantage of the psp's flat screen. You have to play at a smaller ratio, which really takes alot away from a really great game. Also, this version of SOTN seems alot harder than I remembered it being on the PS one.

All in all, there is no reason this game shouldn't be in your psp collection. Great graphics, killer sound, challenging game play, and unlockable content make this a must have for any Castlevania fan or anybody who just likes great games.

yeah yeah

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 26
Date: October 23, 2007
Author: Amazon User

no i do not own this yet but i give it the maximum rating due to the fact that it is castlevania and a side scroller (all three of them) i am now going back to stare out the window and wait for ups to come hopefully it will arrive within the next couple of days oh and I must plug in my psp till its fully charged so it will be ready for some heavy gaming. You should considered camping next to your mailbox to do this u will need a tent, water, rations, a bucket(filled with cat litter *optional),and basic toiletries. UPDATE i now have the game and its like a drug that i cant quit. ok here is a little tip make a quick save when u reach a boss battle then copy that save to another space then fight the boss that way if u loose and run out of lives rather than start at the begining of the level u have a spare save at the boss copy again and again as needed overwriting failed attempts this is handy at higher level boss battles and relieves frustration

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