The debut game of Richter Belmont and just a very good Classicvania all around. The game is closer to Castlevania III Dracula's Curse in design, but has a more cinematic flair to it.
You get some cool cutscenes which shows how cool of a character Richter is, as well as highlights Drucla being an absolute dickhead that we love. This game did wonders for the characterisations for the Castlevania cast.
Gameplay-wise, it is pretty much the first Castlevania but the controls are more fine-tuned. Richter has a cool backflip move that is handy for avoiding a lot of enemy attacks. It's a shame that they didn't give it the Castlevania IV controls considering this came out after that, but I can't complain, Castlevania 1 controls are still fun.
Gameplay is a little more brutal than all the other games. The bosses are some of the hardest I've fought so far so if you are a gamer with little patience, play it on emulator or get the PS5 port.
If you know what to do, you can unlock the secondary character who makes the game a little more easier, but let's also admit a little more fun.
The music is absolutely baginging but that's almost a given for this franchise at this point. A lot of the locales are nice nods to the past castlevania games like the fist level being a Simon's Quest town.
Overall, Great Classicvania game and one of the better ones. Didn't like it as much as Castlevania IV and maybe III, but it's still up there. Richter is my favourite Castlevania character so far.
You get some cool cutscenes which shows how cool of a character Richter is, as well as highlights Drucla being an absolute dickhead that we love. This game did wonders for the characterisations for the Castlevania cast.
Gameplay-wise, it is pretty much the first Castlevania but the controls are more fine-tuned. Richter has a cool backflip move that is handy for avoiding a lot of enemy attacks. It's a shame that they didn't give it the Castlevania IV controls considering this came out after that, but I can't complain, Castlevania 1 controls are still fun.
Gameplay is a little more brutal than all the other games. The bosses are some of the hardest I've fought so far so if you are a gamer with little patience, play it on emulator or get the PS5 port.
If you know what to do, you can unlock the secondary character who makes the game a little more easier, but let's also admit a little more fun.
The music is absolutely baginging but that's almost a given for this franchise at this point. A lot of the locales are nice nods to the past castlevania games like the fist level being a Simon's Quest town.
Overall, Great Classicvania game and one of the better ones. Didn't like it as much as Castlevania IV and maybe III, but it's still up there. Richter is my favourite Castlevania character so far.
This game kicks major ass! It took me a while to warm up to how it played since I haven't played Castlevania in a few years. Actually, I've only played one Castlevania and that's the Original on Famicom/NES. I think that game is pretty good, but this one just captured me more. I think it's the presentation and the fact that I just like Richter more than Simon generally. The presentation is excellent in this: the graphics, the cut-scenes, the CD quality music everything just has this 90s radical blue haze coating it. It's such an atmospheric game. I liked how this game felt like a twist on Castlevania 1. Richter feels basically like Simon from the first game but he has a bit more finesse, like Richter can backward jump and is just generally not as stiff. I think the stages accommodate your move-set pretty well and though at times, something seems unfair or impossible, a bit of thinking and practice will make you realize it's very doable. Nevertheless, I found the game on the more difficult side, but I don't play a lot of classic action games. I still stuck through the entire game and its extra levels with Richter regardless. That's another point of pride for the game, the amount of content. There's a second playable character called Maria who plays completely differently from Richter, though I would recommend a first play-through as Richter since Maria can cheese a lot of stuff and the stages' challenges feel like they weren't designed around her abilities. There are also alternate routes through every stage that are completely unique. If you want to 100% the game you have to play through all of them, they're pretty hidden but I think a lot of the secrets make logical sense. I wasn't really sure if I was a Castlevania fan before but I think I am now. Looking forward to playing Symphony of the Night whenever I get around to it.
It´s the perfection of classic Castlevania that paved the way for Symphony of the Night. Playing both games back to back is peak Castlevania.
Banger absolu atomise son remake
I haven't played Rondo in a bit but I was just thinking about it. Man this game is so good. It's the kind of game you'll just start thinking about for no reason out of nowhere
the stages are a true ass kicking but it's exhilarating to work you way through methodically and eventually conquer them and the bosses, the music is incredible and the art is also quite great considering a lot of it was recycled throughout several more games
Excellent classic-castlevania. Just enough bullshit to keep you wanting to overcome it. Great music, and Maria mode is a cool surprise.
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is the Classicvania formula at its peak.
Whereas Super Castlevania IV focused on creating a dark, dingy atmosphere by playing into the classic horror and pulp stories the series was inspired by, Rondo of Blood goes in the exact opposite direction. Everything about this game is stylish, in-your-face, and downright excessive. The colors are brighter, the music is louder, the violence is gorier, and a new anime-like art style has been applied to the characters. I love it. I love all of it. This game absolutely relishes in how cheesy the Castlevania franchise is at its core, creating a somewhat goofy and action-packed tone that fits the platforming-focused gameplay like a glove.
Speaking of the gameplay, the Belmonts have never felt better. While he lacks Simon’s multidirectional whip, Richter Belmont more than makes up for it by just how buttery smooth his controls are. It’s hard to explain, but jumping and whipping just feels so perfect in this game, and the amount of control you have over Richter’s movement is astounding.
The level design has never been better. I can’t even pick a favorite, because they’re all absolute bangers… but fuck it, Stage 5 is my favorite. It’s a haunted ship, sorta like the one from Dracula’s Curse, but there’s so many cool enemies to fight and challenges to overcome. It’s awesome.
The story isn’t anything special, but it’s noteworthy for being the first Castlevania game to have one that fully takes place in-game instead of the manual. You have these goofy ahh cutscenes that are as ridiculous as they are charming, thanks in no small part to the fantastic character design and shōnen-style presentation. Also, this is our first peek into Dracula’s true motives, which Symphony of the Night would base its entire plot off of (it is a direct sequel, after all).
The visuals? Gorgeous. Best of the Classicvanias by a wide margin. Ditto for the music, which takes full advantage of the PC Engine’s CD capabilities to create an appropriately badass and exciting soundtrack. Go and take a listen. You won’t regret it.
So yeah, Rondo of Blood is absolutely fantastic, and it’s one of the best 2D platformers I’ve ever played. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t played it yet.
Whereas Super Castlevania IV focused on creating a dark, dingy atmosphere by playing into the classic horror and pulp stories the series was inspired by, Rondo of Blood goes in the exact opposite direction. Everything about this game is stylish, in-your-face, and downright excessive. The colors are brighter, the music is louder, the violence is gorier, and a new anime-like art style has been applied to the characters. I love it. I love all of it. This game absolutely relishes in how cheesy the Castlevania franchise is at its core, creating a somewhat goofy and action-packed tone that fits the platforming-focused gameplay like a glove.
Speaking of the gameplay, the Belmonts have never felt better. While he lacks Simon’s multidirectional whip, Richter Belmont more than makes up for it by just how buttery smooth his controls are. It’s hard to explain, but jumping and whipping just feels so perfect in this game, and the amount of control you have over Richter’s movement is astounding.
The level design has never been better. I can’t even pick a favorite, because they’re all absolute bangers… but fuck it, Stage 5 is my favorite. It’s a haunted ship, sorta like the one from Dracula’s Curse, but there’s so many cool enemies to fight and challenges to overcome. It’s awesome.
The story isn’t anything special, but it’s noteworthy for being the first Castlevania game to have one that fully takes place in-game instead of the manual. You have these goofy ahh cutscenes that are as ridiculous as they are charming, thanks in no small part to the fantastic character design and shōnen-style presentation. Also, this is our first peek into Dracula’s true motives, which Symphony of the Night would base its entire plot off of (it is a direct sequel, after all).
The visuals? Gorgeous. Best of the Classicvanias by a wide margin. Ditto for the music, which takes full advantage of the PC Engine’s CD capabilities to create an appropriately badass and exciting soundtrack. Go and take a listen. You won’t regret it.
So yeah, Rondo of Blood is absolutely fantastic, and it’s one of the best 2D platformers I’ve ever played. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t played it yet.
if you want to try this series, play this game
Raw. Kino. Swag.
The only negative is that it’s way too short but it’s nothing much.
The only negative is that it’s way too short but it’s nothing much.
GOAT
It’s so cool how much people have come to appreciate this game. Definitely bridged the gab between classic castlevania and SOTN
I'm a great fan of FromSoft Souls games. Not because of their difficulty, but in spite of it. I love the aesthetics, their use of videogame mechanics, the mods, the convoluted story, the characters, the different biomes. I never cared about them being "difficult games". I always found that tag to be simplistic and almost insulting to the quality of the saga.
I can just mindlessly play them from time to time, each one of them, with great pleasure. And after some time, they're not even difficult. They never were truly difficult, they just demand from the player something that is missing from a lot of media nowadays: patience. And I'm the first to have patience, regarding videogames, movies, music, whatever, if the thing is worth it and I'm enjoying whatever I get out of it.
But this. This is archaic sadomasochism. Compared to Souls games or anything like it, THIS is difficult, THIS is painful, THIS is wasting a lot of time recovering from your mistakes having to do the same again and again. I like the aesthetics, but like in cinema and every other art, pretty does not equal quality. This is too old for me to enjoy and even with save-states and cheats and whatever, the game ends up being a chore that gives me almost nothing.
I can understand why people like it. As with everything, those who enjoyed it must get something out of it that outweighs the painful difficulty and old-game shenanigans.
I can just mindlessly play them from time to time, each one of them, with great pleasure. And after some time, they're not even difficult. They never were truly difficult, they just demand from the player something that is missing from a lot of media nowadays: patience. And I'm the first to have patience, regarding videogames, movies, music, whatever, if the thing is worth it and I'm enjoying whatever I get out of it.
But this. This is archaic sadomasochism. Compared to Souls games or anything like it, THIS is difficult, THIS is painful, THIS is wasting a lot of time recovering from your mistakes having to do the same again and again. I like the aesthetics, but like in cinema and every other art, pretty does not equal quality. This is too old for me to enjoy and even with save-states and cheats and whatever, the game ends up being a chore that gives me almost nothing.
I can understand why people like it. As with everything, those who enjoyed it must get something out of it that outweighs the painful difficulty and old-game shenanigans.