For the first Castlevania game that I seriously played (I have to give it to
OperatorArmisael (Formerly ChaosInsurgent49), one of the developers of the Terraria Metroid Mod Discord for giving me inspiration to try out Castlevania to even help me 100% it), this has to be one of the greatest Castlevania games that I've played. The fact that this game is ALSO a precursor to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night will FOREVER remind me of the transition from Metroid 2: Return of Samus/AM2R/Metroid: Samus Returns to Super Metroid, and I have enjoyed the heck out of the former. I don't have a lot to say about this entry, but this will be one that I might come back to give this game poper justice. (And for those that are in the Backloggd Discord that I was in seeing this, I left due to personal complications involving a series I and 2 other people tend to talk about a lot, and I don't expect for myself to come back I will be reviewing stuff though, which won't stop.
Back to Rondo of Blood. For my first entry to Castlevania, the controls are solid, the cutscenes are great, and the voice acting is sub-par in both regions (I played this as Rondo of Blood and not the original Japanese version, but I watched a TAS of the latter both as the goat named Ritcher Belmont and Maria Renard)
OperatorArmisael (Formerly ChaosInsurgent49), one of the developers of the Terraria Metroid Mod Discord for giving me inspiration to try out Castlevania to even help me 100% it), this has to be one of the greatest Castlevania games that I've played. The fact that this game is ALSO a precursor to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night will FOREVER remind me of the transition from Metroid 2: Return of Samus/AM2R/Metroid: Samus Returns to Super Metroid, and I have enjoyed the heck out of the former. I don't have a lot to say about this entry, but this will be one that I might come back to give this game poper justice. (And for those that are in the Backloggd Discord that I was in seeing this, I left due to personal complications involving a series I and 2 other people tend to talk about a lot, and I don't expect for myself to come back I will be reviewing stuff though, which won't stop.
Back to Rondo of Blood. For my first entry to Castlevania, the controls are solid, the cutscenes are great, and the voice acting is sub-par in both regions (I played this as Rondo of Blood and not the original Japanese version, but I watched a TAS of the latter both as the goat named Ritcher Belmont and Maria Renard)
The game that made classic Castlevania finally click with me. The level design and enemy placement are near perfection that makes playing through a level and wanting to master it practically addictive. The pixel art and cutscenes are gorgeous, the voice acting is wonderfully cheesy and fun, and the enemy designs are so good I almost can’t blame Symphony of the Night for stealing them all. And then there’s the best bit, Maria.
I was hitting a brick wall with the penultimate boss, so I decided to replay one of the earlier levels, as I remembered finding a key that I didn’t know what to do with. So I went back, got the key, found a locked door, and unlocked a new playable character, Maria Renard. Maria is wonderful, and she completely changes the tone of the game in the best way. She is essentially an easy mode, not with boring stat increases, but because she has a bunch of unique moves that make her fun to play in her own way.
Unlocking Maria, using her to get past that brick wall, and then seeing her alternate ending was so much fun. Part of me thinks they deliberately made that boss so hard so that players would replay earlier levels and find her. Either way, a classic game.
I was hitting a brick wall with the penultimate boss, so I decided to replay one of the earlier levels, as I remembered finding a key that I didn’t know what to do with. So I went back, got the key, found a locked door, and unlocked a new playable character, Maria Renard. Maria is wonderful, and she completely changes the tone of the game in the best way. She is essentially an easy mode, not with boring stat increases, but because she has a bunch of unique moves that make her fun to play in her own way.
Unlocking Maria, using her to get past that brick wall, and then seeing her alternate ending was so much fun. Part of me thinks they deliberately made that boss so hard so that players would replay earlier levels and find her. Either way, a classic game.
Me when divine bloodlines starts playing
Great game I would say this is a tie with bloodlines for best castlevania game.
If nothing else, the atmosphere is second to none. The intro cutscene spoken entirely in German(?), the chilling choral piece accompanying the main menu, the BADASS opening with Richter fighting Death on horseback, the effects of the turbo-grafx 16, the rockin soundtrack, the cutscenes (dated as they are) as far back as 1993, the almost comic book presentation. Come ON, man! I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that its atmosphere is what's kept classic Castlevania relevant, but I would say that you'd be hard pressed to find another game of this era so atmospherically impressive and immersive.
And the central gimmick (for lack of a better term) of this game, with unlockable alternate stages, putting an emphasis on secrets both in visuals and level design, and generally diverting away from bottomless pits, is SUCH a good direction, and feels ahead of its time. And even cooler is the secret moves and ultimate attacks between Richter and Maria and the subweapons. This game is so fucking COOL!
All of this to say, it's so PAINFUL to see how it's held back by unnecessarily restricted controls. In a post Super Castlevania IV world, why in the world can Richter only whip directly in front of him!? Why can you only sort-of manipulate your direction in mid-air?!?! Why, for the love of Dracula, do you get so few I-frames after being hit?!?!?! These archaic, sloppy choices clash so hard with a game that feels like it's going even further than its contemporaries could ever dream of. This feels like it was supposed to be the magnum opus of the series, and many people do consider it that. It's the perfect difficulty, made arbitrarily frustrating due to Richter's lacking mobility and offensive capability. Maria is a godsend, I exclusively used her once she was unlocked, because sometimes this game just isn't fun with Richter.
I will likely warm up more to this game with time and retrospection. It still captures the elation of victory that Castlevania does so well, and I think this series deserves to be remembered because of that. And the atmosphere, again, can't be praised enough. But until Dracula returns, this game sits at the bottom of my Castlevania totem pole. Wie tragisch.
And the central gimmick (for lack of a better term) of this game, with unlockable alternate stages, putting an emphasis on secrets both in visuals and level design, and generally diverting away from bottomless pits, is SUCH a good direction, and feels ahead of its time. And even cooler is the secret moves and ultimate attacks between Richter and Maria and the subweapons. This game is so fucking COOL!
All of this to say, it's so PAINFUL to see how it's held back by unnecessarily restricted controls. In a post Super Castlevania IV world, why in the world can Richter only whip directly in front of him!? Why can you only sort-of manipulate your direction in mid-air?!?! Why, for the love of Dracula, do you get so few I-frames after being hit?!?!?! These archaic, sloppy choices clash so hard with a game that feels like it's going even further than its contemporaries could ever dream of. This feels like it was supposed to be the magnum opus of the series, and many people do consider it that. It's the perfect difficulty, made arbitrarily frustrating due to Richter's lacking mobility and offensive capability. Maria is a godsend, I exclusively used her once she was unlocked, because sometimes this game just isn't fun with Richter.
I will likely warm up more to this game with time and retrospection. It still captures the elation of victory that Castlevania does so well, and I think this series deserves to be remembered because of that. And the atmosphere, again, can't be praised enough. But until Dracula returns, this game sits at the bottom of my Castlevania totem pole. Wie tragisch.
o pai do symphony of the night. simplesmente o melhor classicvania que já joguei, uma pena q lançou só pra PC engine
Zerei com a maria porque não sou gaymer
Rondo of Blood is my favourite classic Castlevania, and the remaining titles I’ve yet to play don’t seem likely to change that. Releasing only two years after Super Castlevania IV, also on a 16-bit console, there is a surprising leap in audiovisual quality. This was due to Rondo of Blood being one of the first games released on CD format. This is fascinating as it meant that Rondo of Blood could feature CD quality music, as well as charming anime style cutscenes with fittingly corny and compressed voice acting all while still being a 2D side-scroller. These cutscenes still look great on the small display of a handheld device despite the limited animation, the best of these is the opening montage which establishes the simple premise of the game and acts as a bit of a hype reel for our new Belmont, Richter. Watching this after booting up the game for testing purposes skyrocketed it to the top of the games, I was interested in playing next and was what got me to consider Castlevania games pre- Symphony of the Night.
The first stage immediately makes an impression on you with a flashy confrontation with Death on top of a moving chariot, a significant step up in sprite work is clear, from the galloping horses pulling you along to the expressive animations of Death himself as he goads Richter, wagging his finger before vanishing from sight. God, I love parallax scrolling, Dracula’s castle just visible in the distance above the trees. The detail in this scene alone is astonishing, pure 16-bit perfection. After a fade to black you make it to the burning village in the opening, another beautiful intertitle slides in, reading “Dinner of Flames” before it dissolves away and the triumphant Blood Relations of Heaven and Earth kicks in, you step forward watching Richter’s Chad walk animation cycle gloriously, you whip the skeletons in front of you and smile, this is Castlevania at it’s peak.
The game ceases to lose this momentum one bit, as each successive stage introduces new locales that are colourful and distinct, alongside new enemies and exhilarating boss battles, which are some of the best designed encounters in any 2D game, certainly the finest in the series. The level design is excellent with lots of verticality and secrets to uncover, enemy placement is challenging but the stages are the perfect length for you to lock in for, without it feeling exhausting, this also mitigates frustration if you get a game over on a boss and have to restart the Stage, as it cuts down on the run back to attempt the battle again. Another improvement Rondo makes is in the removal of frequent insta death pits present in other entries, which can be extremely easy to fall into thanks to knock back and poor enemy placement which often times cannot be reacted to without foresight. Now in Rondo a lot of these ‘would be’ insta death pits lead to alternate paths, adding an element of exploration absent in previous titles, investigating these alternate paths, whipping suspicious blocks, can lead to entirely different alternate stages with hidden maidens to rescue and new bosses that are exclusive to them. I found myself liking the return to the two directional whip as it encourages you to learn effective sub-weapon usage and diagonals aren’t aways consistent on certain D-pads, because of this there is a form of resource management as you collect fuel for these in the form of hearts dropped from candlesticks, conserving hearts is important in giving yourself the upper hand against the concluding boss of each stage as the more your enter the arena with, the more Item Crashes you can unleash. Item Crashes are ultimate moves that you can perform with enough hearts, they launch you into the air where you perform an attack that reflects the current sub-weapon in your possession, these last a long time and deal lots of damage, and depending on the sub weapon can hit the boss when he is out of reach, they can also be used tactically to deal damage while avoiding incoming damage from attacks that cover a large area or are hard to avoid. Some more minor improvements Rondo makes is the ability to jump on stairs and pick up sub-weapons after they’ve been replaced, these changes sound small on paper but they make a huge difference, especially the latter as it allows you to be more tactical in what sub weapon you bring along with you whilst letting you optimise heart collection from candlesticks without worrying about losing you current sub-weapon.
In conclusion Rondo of Blood is a great entry point for the fans of the succeeding non-linear Castlevanias willing to explore the series roots. Rondo of Blood is one of the finest games of its era, sadly overlooked due to it lacking a worldwide release until many years later, with truly incredible stage design, boss battles and a spectacular soundtrack that is one of only two in the series that isn’t constrained by hardware limitations. It’s absolutely an essential play.
The first stage immediately makes an impression on you with a flashy confrontation with Death on top of a moving chariot, a significant step up in sprite work is clear, from the galloping horses pulling you along to the expressive animations of Death himself as he goads Richter, wagging his finger before vanishing from sight. God, I love parallax scrolling, Dracula’s castle just visible in the distance above the trees. The detail in this scene alone is astonishing, pure 16-bit perfection. After a fade to black you make it to the burning village in the opening, another beautiful intertitle slides in, reading “Dinner of Flames” before it dissolves away and the triumphant Blood Relations of Heaven and Earth kicks in, you step forward watching Richter’s Chad walk animation cycle gloriously, you whip the skeletons in front of you and smile, this is Castlevania at it’s peak.
The game ceases to lose this momentum one bit, as each successive stage introduces new locales that are colourful and distinct, alongside new enemies and exhilarating boss battles, which are some of the best designed encounters in any 2D game, certainly the finest in the series. The level design is excellent with lots of verticality and secrets to uncover, enemy placement is challenging but the stages are the perfect length for you to lock in for, without it feeling exhausting, this also mitigates frustration if you get a game over on a boss and have to restart the Stage, as it cuts down on the run back to attempt the battle again. Another improvement Rondo makes is in the removal of frequent insta death pits present in other entries, which can be extremely easy to fall into thanks to knock back and poor enemy placement which often times cannot be reacted to without foresight. Now in Rondo a lot of these ‘would be’ insta death pits lead to alternate paths, adding an element of exploration absent in previous titles, investigating these alternate paths, whipping suspicious blocks, can lead to entirely different alternate stages with hidden maidens to rescue and new bosses that are exclusive to them. I found myself liking the return to the two directional whip as it encourages you to learn effective sub-weapon usage and diagonals aren’t aways consistent on certain D-pads, because of this there is a form of resource management as you collect fuel for these in the form of hearts dropped from candlesticks, conserving hearts is important in giving yourself the upper hand against the concluding boss of each stage as the more your enter the arena with, the more Item Crashes you can unleash. Item Crashes are ultimate moves that you can perform with enough hearts, they launch you into the air where you perform an attack that reflects the current sub-weapon in your possession, these last a long time and deal lots of damage, and depending on the sub weapon can hit the boss when he is out of reach, they can also be used tactically to deal damage while avoiding incoming damage from attacks that cover a large area or are hard to avoid. Some more minor improvements Rondo makes is the ability to jump on stairs and pick up sub-weapons after they’ve been replaced, these changes sound small on paper but they make a huge difference, especially the latter as it allows you to be more tactical in what sub weapon you bring along with you whilst letting you optimise heart collection from candlesticks without worrying about losing you current sub-weapon.
In conclusion Rondo of Blood is a great entry point for the fans of the succeeding non-linear Castlevanias willing to explore the series roots. Rondo of Blood is one of the finest games of its era, sadly overlooked due to it lacking a worldwide release until many years later, with truly incredible stage design, boss battles and a spectacular soundtrack that is one of only two in the series that isn’t constrained by hardware limitations. It’s absolutely an essential play.
Truly a great game. Fun, smooth innovative and has that special sausce that makes a great game. It never feels to tedious and I found myself replaying levels to 100% without any sense of time wasted. Music is great but not the best the series has to offer. The remixes are better than Super Castlevania IV. I got a little confused first when I didn't realize that in the main menu you could go back to levels to try different paths and I was woried of a repeat of Castlevania 3 and having to replay the whole game to get the full experience.
What I really liked:
The multiple endings and cut scenes were really nice.
What I wish was different:
A way to go to change levels and characters mid game without a system restart.
What I didn't like:
I didn't like the movement controls going backwards. No whip tricks, crawling.
I felt the backflip was cool but Maria proved they could have had a cool movement set for both characters.
Next review I am going to try a new format.
What I really liked:
The multiple endings and cut scenes were really nice.
What I wish was different:
A way to go to change levels and characters mid game without a system restart.
What I didn't like:
I didn't like the movement controls going backwards. No whip tricks, crawling.
I felt the backflip was cool but Maria proved they could have had a cool movement set for both characters.
Next review I am going to try a new format.
En la línea de Super Castlevania IV y Bloodlines. Arcade con estética y banda sonora guays.
Las cinemáticas rollo anime molan.
Las cinemáticas rollo anime molan.
Trilha sonora fantástica, pixel art de respeito, boss fights interessantes, variação de gameplay bacana com a dinâmica da troca de personagens. Um dos melhores da saga, sem dúvidas.
Punitivo e agressivo, mas recompensador e justo. Esse jogo apresenta a experiência definitiva dos castlevanias pré SOTN