Rondo of Blood rules. It’s a timeless encapsulation of what made games from this era so special, a point when there wasn’t necessarily a strict formula to game design. The lines between challenging to frustrating and secretive to overly obscure were oftentimes still not waked with precision, but Rondo of Blood absolutely walks those fine lines and leaves a striking impression as a result. The game definitely is a challenging experience but it never feels brutally unfair or like it’s disrespecting your time and that’s a boon for Rondo of Blood that absolutely cannot be understated - it’s a very tight, concise package that still offers a lot the more you’re willing to invest. You’re rewarded for exploring and the game is filled with secrets and optional paths to uncover without straying into “I would need a Nintendo Power to have any idea how to find any of this who the hell designed this” territory (a common pitfall games from this time would find themselves in, oftentimes purposefully).
In a game like Rondo of Blood, establishing a level of trust with your player through the game’s design is crucial. You never want to feel like you’re going to be punished for exploring, or too afraid to take a step forward because you could be thrown into a situation you would never have any idea on how to be prepared for. If the player constantly finds themselves in a situation like this, they’re going to either outright drop the game or tear at the seams of it, bending, breaking, and cheesing until immersion and the natural flow of the game is irreparably broken. Rondo of Blood does a good job of establishing and maintaining that vital trust with the player; traps and the like are made distinctly clear and enemy placement is fine-tuned to accommodate the spacing you’ll need to start-up and connects attacks. It’s all very thoughtful and it constantly fuels this drive for betterment which is really what all games of this kin should be striving for. There were so many times during my playthrough that I would “one more time” a stage because I knew I could get through it a little bit better, without taking damage, or without dying. It’s great stuff.
Equally as important is how much Rondo of Blood’s presentation rocks. Art direction is instantly enticing, distinctive, and loaded with charm and I can’t get enough of those cheesy ‘90s-style dubs. I would, of course, be remiss to not mention how stellar the soundtrack is. Bloodlines? Bloody Tears? All-time classics. It’s cooking beyond our comprehension of cooking.
I somehow got sucked into Castlevania on a complete whim after coming to the realization that the series is an egregious gap in my completed games library and I keep coming out thoroughly impressed. I’m really glad that it happened, why did no one tell me how cool these games are?
In a game like Rondo of Blood, establishing a level of trust with your player through the game’s design is crucial. You never want to feel like you’re going to be punished for exploring, or too afraid to take a step forward because you could be thrown into a situation you would never have any idea on how to be prepared for. If the player constantly finds themselves in a situation like this, they’re going to either outright drop the game or tear at the seams of it, bending, breaking, and cheesing until immersion and the natural flow of the game is irreparably broken. Rondo of Blood does a good job of establishing and maintaining that vital trust with the player; traps and the like are made distinctly clear and enemy placement is fine-tuned to accommodate the spacing you’ll need to start-up and connects attacks. It’s all very thoughtful and it constantly fuels this drive for betterment which is really what all games of this kin should be striving for. There were so many times during my playthrough that I would “one more time” a stage because I knew I could get through it a little bit better, without taking damage, or without dying. It’s great stuff.
Equally as important is how much Rondo of Blood’s presentation rocks. Art direction is instantly enticing, distinctive, and loaded with charm and I can’t get enough of those cheesy ‘90s-style dubs. I would, of course, be remiss to not mention how stellar the soundtrack is. Bloodlines? Bloody Tears? All-time classics. It’s cooking beyond our comprehension of cooking.
I somehow got sucked into Castlevania on a complete whim after coming to the realization that the series is an egregious gap in my completed games library and I keep coming out thoroughly impressed. I’m really glad that it happened, why did no one tell me how cool these games are?