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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

Excellent Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: October 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

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.

The two best in the series, all on one UMD!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 7
Date: October 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

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!

Best game to never come out

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: October 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought a turbo duo for this game back in 98', played it then loved it. Now I bought PSP for this game over the summer. Its amazing, a MUST have and the graphical improvements really bring it up to the level of younger more graphic-oriented gamers. Its great that you get the original version, so you can see just how freaking hard it really is. Throw in Symphony of the Night and you have yourself a lot of vampire whipping fun in time for Halloween!

I bought a second PSP for this game...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: October 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

That's right, this game is that worth it. Many years ago I bought the original version of Rondo of Blood for the Turbo Duo for $200 and even to this day I regard it not only as my favorite Castlevania ever, but probably my favorite video game ever. I also regard Symphony of the Night as one of the best, and if you're a fan of SOTN and have not played this, you are severely missing out. SOTN basically took everything from this game and expanded on it, turning it into a super metroid style game. You'll notice that most of the monster and character designs in SOTN were pulled directly from Rondo of Blood. Some peole may argue that SOTN is better. However, it's hard to compare the games to each other because the layout schemes are so different.

The best way I can describe it is as follows - Rondo of Blood is the hands down king of the old style [linear] Castlevania games, SOTN is the best of the newer metroid style [free-roam] Castlevania games. To own both of these on one disc is worth far more than the $30 price tag.

Quite possibly the most superior aspect of Rondo of Blood compared to ALL other Castlevania games (including SOTN)is the music. The soundtrack is the most top notch you will ever find in a video game and it makes for an extremely satisfying experience (don't get me wrong, SOTN also has an insanely good soundtrack, but it completely lakcs any original Castlevania remakes - Rondo of Blood has most of the classics). The game designers were obviously aware of the superiority of the score and that is most likely why so much of this remake focuses on music collection and customization. That's right, you can actually take songs from the orginal Rondo of Blood or SOTN and place whatever tracks in whatever levels you want of the remake! For me, this completely enhances replayability. Bored of the game? Well try substituting the orignal soundtrack into the new game, or better yet throw in some SOTN clasics like "Wandering Ghosts" or "The Tragic Prince" and see how the levels play out. It may not seem like much to some, but this is actually one of the greatest features I could have asked for.

As far as difficulty, this game is probably on par with Castlevania 1 or 3. Some people will complain that the play control in Rondo of Blood is not as good as in SOTN or Castlevania 4 for SNES, but to be honest with you, I think these people are way too spoiled on the newer Castlevania games, and the point behind Rondo of Blood is to keep the classic NES Castlevnia play control intact. Rondo of Blood truly is the missing link between the older and newer Castlevania generations.

All good points aside, there are a couple of criticisms I have about the remake. First off, Richter's backflip was a pretty handy technique in the orginal Rondo of Blood because it played smoothly into the controls, but in this remake it is absolutely ridiculous. I find myself accidentally doing backflips almost everytime I jump. In fact, I'd say unintentional backflipping is my number one cause of death in this game. I didn't remember the backflip being such a nuisance in the original so I figured maybe it was just weird because I was playing it on a PSP, but when I unlocked he original and started playing it, everything seemed as normal as ever, so this is obviously an annoyance exclusive to the remake. It's so bad it's hard to not choose Maria over Richter every level.

Another small gripe I have is about the screen size settings of the original Rondo of Blood and SOTN games included. First off, full screen is a must, unless you like feeling like you're playing a gameboy game on a TV with a super gameboy adapter. Full screen mode does eliminate the bottom borders, but still leave you with the side borders, which you fill in by choosing on of a few different frames. The frames all look completely lame, and why they could not allow you to choose just a solid black frame is beyond me. And I do realize these are old games that were made years ago to fit different resolutions, but come on - I had the original Rondo of Blood on my PSP over a year ago with an emulator and was still able to choose a stretched fit that looked fine, so this cheesy border thing is just inexcusable.

One final complaint about the originals is the voice acting. Rondo of Blood was never made in English, so I can't complain too much about the voices and dialogue. But there was absolutely no reason to toy around with the voice acting in SOTN. The voices are definitely different, and I even think some of the direct dialogue has been changed. Besides Richter now sounding like a whiny kid and Death, instead of sounding like a skeleton, now sounds like just some regular dude, the changes are in fact probably better overall because, to be honest with you, the voice acting is the original SOTN was just plain terrible. However, going back and changing something so major from what was supposed to be an "original game" definitely seems to diminish it's authenticity.

In summary, despite some minor undesirable nuances, this is still the best game released for the PSP to date, and if you're a Castlevania fan picking it up shouldn't even be a second thought. This is a great opportunity to own two of the best games ever made, along with a semi-decent remake enhanced with tremendous sountrack customization. I may as well toss the game case, because this game is never coming out of my PSP.

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.

the revival

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: October 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

its finally here and i wanna say im lovin it. first off this game is a remake of one of the best castlevania games ever made. the thing is it was never released in the u.s. well it was and wasnt because when it was released it was really sloppy and wasnt the same at all. this game was made for the pc engine but it was released for the snes.(dont ask me why) but this time not only do u get the original game and the remake you also get another master peice because it includes symphony of the night. so why havent you bought it? now be warned though, this game can be considered hard by soft gamers and may get on your nerves. but with all the newly remastered levels, voice cast and extras its worth the challenge and 30 bucks. woa only 30 bucks? your stupid if your a fan and dont buy it.

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

Wading through the darkness...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: October 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Konami's classic Castlevania series has had a pretty good track record in the portable gaming world, and The Dracula X Chronicles is no different. Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles features the never before released in the U.S. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. The game has been remastered and puts you in the shoes of Richter Belmont (and eventually a girl named Maria as well) as you take the fight to Dracula once again. The remastered game features some numbing difficulty, a nicely realized mix of 2-D and 3-D graphics, and some brilliant level design as well. While Rondo of Blood is a little on the short side, there are some extras (one in particular) that are worth the price of admission alone. The original Rondo of Blood can be found as well, but the real meat and potatoes is the fact that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is an unlockable extra. Yes, that's right, the classic game that is one of the finest games ever made is available as an unlockable extra, and even better, it runs virtually flawlessly on the PSP. Whether you manage to beat Rondo of Blood though is another story, as the game does offer some quite unforgiving difficulty. This really shouldn't be too much of a surprise for veterans of the series, but be warned, casual gamers will get turned off. That aside, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a great excursion in the long running and beloved series, and the fact the legendary Symphony of the Night is included makes this game an absolute must own for PSP owners.

Awesome collection unites two of the finest games in the series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 42 / 47
Date: October 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles

Over the years, Konami's Castlevania series has become one of the most beloved and successful video game series of all time. Two decades and over twenty games later, this phenomenon shows no signs of letting down.

Sadly, when it comes to this classic series, North American gamers have always gotten the short end of the stick. Some of the games' North American incarnations have featured inferior sound/graphic quality, and some games have been missing entirely from the North American roster. One of the most notable titles that didn't get an American release was the PC-Engine (Turbo-Grafx 16) Japan only Dracula X: Rondo of Blood. Widely revered as one of the best titles in the series, it never saw the light of day here.

Now Konami has set out to redeem themselves, by giving us a single PSP game which features an enhanced 3D graphical version of the lost title, as well as, in the form of unlockables, the original sixteen-bit version of the game, and even a port of the game widely received as the best in the series, the thirty-two bit Symphony of the Night! And the issues are few and far between.

Let's start off with Rondo, which is only now making its North American debut. The enhanced port of this game looks great - the graphics are reminiscent of those from last year's PSP Mega Man X Maverick Hunter, and that's a good thing. 2D gameplay with 3D graphics, it looks awesome. The occasional cut scenes are of amazing quality, considering this is a handheld

The game plays true to the original. You'll start the game as Richter Belmont, the latest heir to the Belmont clan. He gets the traditional whip, as well as several secondary weapons - some familiar, some new. In addition to being able to collect small hearts to use secondary weapons, he can use a ton of hearts at once to perform an Item Crash - a huge, flashy attack that damages multiple foes. Why hasn't this feature been seen in more games?

As you play through the game there are tons of secrets and alternate pathways. You can rescue young girls as you progress, with each one usually granting you a new ability. For instance, one will unlock the new playable character, Maria. She seems more like a "joke" character than anything else, with her animal-based attacks, but she's still fun to play.

However, one issue people are going to have with Rondo is its insane difficulty. The level continue points are few and far between, and when you lose all your lives, you have to start the level over. Nearly every pre-Symphony Castlevania is like this, but this one is different in the fact that it's a LOT easier to lose life. It doesn't take a whole lot to die this time around. Rondo's not for those seeking a walk in the park.

Just the same, Rondo is an AWESOME game, quite possibly the finest pre-Symphony game in the series. As I had previously stated, the original sixteen-bit PC Engine version of the game is unlockable as well.

Also unlockable, as I previously stated, is the holy grail of the Castlevania series, Symphony of the Night. This game, long out of print and fetching massive prices on sites like eBay over the years, was the precursor of the Metroid-style titles in the series that have graced the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS systems. However, you must UNLOCK the game, which is an inconvenience. Honestly, this is not that big of a deal, however the game's packaging rambles on about the game's inclusion and fails to mention that you are required to unlock it. Once again, not a big deal, but it's sure to disappoint fans that just want to rush home and play Symphony. This could be taken as false advertising.

Sadly, this is more-or-less a straight port of the Playstation version of Symphony. We don't get the enhanced Saturn port with the extra areas added to that version of the game. Still, this isn't going to bother most fans, who are only familiar with the Playstation version anyway.

As you play through the enhanced version of Rondo, you'll also be able to find new pieces of music to unlock for the game's sound/music test mode. A pretty nifty little feature, especially considering this is a series that has always had great music on its side.

I do have to make one final complaint, but it's a big one that needs to be addressed - DRACULA XX IS NOT INCLUDED (this was the game called Dracula X in America.) The Super Nintendo remake of Rondo is the version of the game best known to North American gamers, and it too has long been out of print in the states. How can you make a game called Dracula X Chronicles and not include the game in the subseries that is the most well known for American players?

Ultimately, this package DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. Arguably the finest PSP title to date! Aside from the little flaws here and there and the gaping omission of XX, it's an awesome package that every PSP owner should pick up. Considering how rare some Castlevania games have become, I would advise every PSP owner who is a fan of action-adventure titles to rush to the game store right now, and pick this up. If you're a fan of this series you will not be disappointed.

One of the year's best. Thumbs way up.

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