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Big let down

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 11 / 36
Date: November 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I was highly anticipating this game, especially after seeing the online videos. I picked it up day 1 and have had it for almost 1 month. I tried really really hard to like this game, but it's not happening.

I guess I didn't really comprehend that it is a remake of an old game. As a result all they really did was spruce up the graphics and sound.

But the gameplay and controls are terrible. I am mostly comparing the game to recent Castlevania games I played on the gameboy advance (GBA). On the GBA games your character could do slides, get whip power ups, double jumps in the air and so on. In this game all of that is removed, so you can only jump and whip over and over and over.

My biggest complaint with the game is the presentation of the levels is just boring and seems pointless. Everytime you scroll off screen you are in a new room (which loses the feeling of being in a specific part of the castle), the enemies just attack you at regular intervals and show no real AI of any kind.

For example, on one level an enemy speared me from above which made me fall back through a hole in the groud, when this happened I was suddenly in a new room with swamp creatures. So I ran to the left to avoid them, the screen scrolled, and AGAIN I was in a 3rd new room. All this in under 10 seconds. I felt totally lost and had no idea where I was in the game. So you slowly begin to drudge back to where you were but it just feels OLD. With the lack of double jump and slide attacks I feel too limited to dodge attacks effectively.

In a NUTSHELL, it feels like they took the original 8-bit NES Castlevania, and improved the graphics, while sadly throwing away all the cool improvements to Castlevania games over the years.

Only nostolgic people who loved the original Castlevania games will like this game. If you've played the more recent ones, you will be let down.

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.

Decent remake on a classic, a few bonuses, and...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

First and foremost, I gotta start out with the one aspect of the game I hated the most-- the voice acting. Oh sure, you've heard whining about it countless times, but this game seems to find room near the bottom of my list of worsts. It's not sound quality, that's definetly there. But if you've played Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night and loved the voices in that game, you'll feel cheated here. I can't help but comment how late-20th century "American" the new voices sound --both in accented speech and in chosen words-- for something supposedly set in 16th century central Europe. Anyone remember how erotic Maria sounded as she pronounced "Richter" in CSOTN? That's gone. Gone is the deep, dark voice of Shaft, replaced with what sounds like a mid-20-year-old. So is Dracula's commanding voice of grandeur. It may just be me, but almost all the voices are replaced with, what seems like, an almost identicle voice actor to every character in the game (aside a few of the females). I'm sure they are different, but...they are just TOO similar for my tastes. I haven't played through completely to give my full accessment, but there IS an option to change it to the original Japanese voices. Are these the same Japanese voices as 10 years ago? Probably not, but Japan does a much better job picking appropriate voice actors for their games than we (Americans) do.

I really don't mean to b*tch and moan, but the game had alot of other things that kind of irritated me. For instance, if you want to play CSOTN or Rondo of Blood from the main menu, select it, then go grab yourself a Latte, because it takes at LEAST 45 seconds for the game to load. Music, too, from these classic games takes a few seconds to load. No, it's not the end of the world, and this is a minor nitpick, but when you're used to the PSX version smoothly transitioning music between tracks, you really notice the 3 - 4 second silence. This probably could not be helped.

Okay, now for the good stuff. The plot is the same as almost every other Castlevania-- Dracula is back, and your job is to kill 'im. The graphics are GREAT in the remake game. The backgrounds, baddies, and cut scenes, though short, are a real treat for something on this platform. It has alot of replay value, since you need to accomplish a few things before getting the best ending. The music, most remixed, a few new "replaced" themes, is fantatic (EXCEPT for Dance Of Illusions, which kind of disappointed me). The sound effects-- most were really good, and some were...not. For example, a few of the cut scenes were stock. The "crashing" door the Minotaur made sounded like loud knocking. The skulls Death controlled made a humming harmonica-ish sound, which just came off as silly. Other than that, the rest was gravy.

Before you purchase, take note that this is modeled after classic Castlevania, where the controls are stiff, the baddies have the upper hand in movement, and it takes REAL skill to maneuver your character around and out of danger. This means 4 - 5 hits equals death, whether it be at the blade of an enormous ax, balls of fire and chaos, or simply landing on a frog. Also note that because of it's age and genre, the characters can be slow for some. This is old school at it's finest, my friend.

If you've trained yourself not to care at all about some aspects and love the Castlevania series, then give this game a shot. But if it's the complete package of cutting-edge graphics, music, control, plot, and voice work, you'll have some complaints.

PROS:
It's Castlevania
Original Games Symphony Of the Night, Rondo Of Blood
Improved Graphics and music on the remake
Switch between Japanese/English voices
Old school feel / Challenging

CONS:
Nothing too new
Voices and dialogue completely changed, and suck big time
Old school feel / Difficult for some
If you beat the game, viewing the ENTIRE list of credits is mandatory... EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Dracula's Nocturnal Issues

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

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.

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

Great Castlevania, but...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: December 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

First of all, I enjoy the Castlevanias that I currently own. So far, all of them have great controls. But Rondo of Blood... the graphics was great and the openings are great with one major problem: the controls suck. It's like the developers didn't take their time fixing that problem. Symphony of the Night was great and even though I have to unlock that game by putting up with this crappy one, then so be it. Once it's beaten and the game is unlocked, i won't turn back. Screw Rondo of Blood. The controls are outdated and the levels are too short it reminds me of those cheesy computer games from back in the early nineties.

Pretty much a Castlevania's fan dream come true, in the palm of your hand!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania is one of the most beloved games of all time in video game history. Way back in 1986 it made a big splash with it's introduction on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Since then the series has progressed, and here in 2008 the series is as popular as it was back in 1986. People who have never played the series, now might be a good time with this gem of a catch, and I personally consider it to be the best PSP game around at this point.

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a collection of 3 games. The first unlocked game you're available to play off the bat is Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. This game overlooked by many was never released in the U.S, and finally in the palm of your hand. It's an amazing game from all directions, including amazing graphics, tremendous sound, and awesome gameplay. If you never played it before, this game is strictly focuing on the action aspects of the series. Lots of jumping, slashing and running from enemies. No worries about using magic or RPG elements to slow the game down. This is do, or die for this vampire slashing game. This particular version of Rondo of Blood can be considered a remix of the original(also included). What's so great about it, Castlevania fans will recognize the remixed music brought back from many of the original Castlevania games including the orignal level theme from the original Castlevania on the NES!! A true fans dream of hearing this music all new and synthesized with the power of the PSP. Even better, when you unlock the levels, you can setup each level with each theme song you want to use for that particular level, now how cool is that??? All that with new updated graphics, sound, etc. Rondo's graphics are amazing, the 3D cutscenes look great and although the game is considered to be 2D like the classic Castlevania games, you can probalby say it's 2.5 with the 3D look it has while all the action is taking place.

Word of warning, Rondo of Blood is an unbalanced game in difficulty with parts amazingly easy to get through and bouts of amazing difficulty levels that will frustrated casual gamers from the start. Replenishing energy is so sparse and the game makes you start levels over adds to the frustration. Even levels in the beginning will be test of ones patience because you're going to die, a lot. But the reward of getting through this game will be worth the price of admission because along your journey in Rondo, you can unlock probably the greatest game of all time, Symphony of the Night.

When you finally manage to unlock Castlevania Symphony of the Night (which by the way, is no easy task) this game alone would have been worth the price you pay for the game, that's how good it is. Before I get into the game itself, I have to slap Konami across the face not allowing people to play this game right out of the box. And considering it's right on the cover as one of the game choices, I was a bit angry myself when I turned the game on and couldn't jump right into Symphony. If you need to know exactly how to unlock it, there is a nice video of a guy on the youtube that shows you the path, that's probably your best bet unless you want to waste time looking for it yourself, because I will tell you, I would have never found it without knowing first.

Symphony of the Night orignally released in 1996 on the Playstation. It was kind of a rebirth for the series. Going back to it's roots with awesome action and incredible presentation. Considered by many to also be the best orchestrated score for any video game, ever, is quite a statement. And considering the gameplay is almost as good, you can't really pass this game up. What's so great about the game too is its' enormous size, it's a pretty long game, especially considering it's age, and once again, it's still considered by many to be the best adventure games ever. I actually didn't think the game would be awesome like it was on the PS1, boy was I wrong. The music, the graphics, the gameplay, it's all better on the PSP. Heck, they even redid the characters voices with all new dialogue. You need to crank this baby up with some nice headphones, wow! The game has an enormous amount of depth, the weapons, the magic, the things you can do seems unlimited and the amount of levels is astounding. Defintely take this game for those long road trips.

If you're looking for a PSP game that is worth money, you really can't go wrong with Castlevania Chronicles, it's three great games in one. I personally bought the game for being able to play Symphony of the Night in the palm of my hand, but amazingly, Rondo is very very fun too as long as you can deal with it's difficulty spats. Great sound, great graphics, fast load times, and 3 games in one. Sound good to you? Me too.

Trick Or Treat

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I've always enjoyed Castlevania games...well old school Castlevania games. Well...in general I'm a fan of old school games anyway. So I may be just a bit biased. However, in the end Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a strong addition of the PSP library and Castlevania lore. "Rondo Of Blood" is a challenging in both it's original and re-invented form. Those enjoying a strong platformer look no further. This is hardcore Castlevania.

"Symphony of the Night" (the best of all the Castlevania titles) is the perfect addition to this compilation. The one complaint is that it must be unlocked in order to play it. It's not difficult to do...and lord knows video game developers love unlockables!

Pick up this treat for yourself if you're a fan of the series and want to try out "Rondo of Blood" in either of its forms. It's a great bargin and especially fun to play.

Love SOTN not much else

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: February 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

If you are buying this game to get Symphony of the Night then you will be happy with buying this game. The other two games in it are not worth the time or money. I even went as far to download a gamesave so I wouldn't have to burn time unlocking the game I actually wanted to play. I wish they'd come out with another Symphony of the Night sequel that actually followed the same format and had the role playing aspects and all the hidden items that Symphony of the Night has. Util then I keep buying these re-treads.

As for the PSP version of Symphony of the Night it is pretty spot on with the PS1 version and they don't take full avantage of the wide screen format on the PSP but at least give you some decorative bars on this sides and it isn't too annoying. I still would have preferred they just recreate Symphony of the Night to fit the PSP resolution and leave out the other games they tried to redo and include in this.

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.

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