With the upcoming new series of Netflix's Castlevania: Nocturne coming next month I figured now was a good time to finally play Rondo of Blood as it's based around it and it's one of the few games in the series I have yet to get to. Considering the first game I played was Symphony of the Night which is linked to Rondo so strongly this has been long in line for a correction.

The first thing that really hit me playing through this is the soundtrack. Being originally released on the TurboGrafix-CD really allowed for higher quality sound over previous games in the series and it really shows. There are classic versions of Vampire Killer and Bloody Tears in an almost rock funk version mixed with a load of unique tracks and almost all of them are fantastic. In addition to it's great audio I think this is one of the best looking Classicvania games to boot. The opening scene of Richter Belmont riding a cart through the rain after a sequence with a man speaking German for the opening set up is so amazingly atmospheric still considering the game is 30 years old at this point. The game makes use of a lot of in game almost anime cinematics for certain story scenes or when hidden characters are rescued. It's a shame the English voice acting is so painful to listen to but that almost gives it it's own retro charm.

It's a shame then that Rondo of Blood comes with the same weaknesses as all the games before it feeling stiff to control, with cheap enemy placements. Take the last section of Stage 5 on the alternate route for example. You have to jump or kill medusa heads while getting past spears being thrust from above on platforms that if you jump onto will spin to throw you into the water for an instant death. Now not every level is like this but it almost has a punishing design like it's an arcade game trying to take your money which just seems needlessly difficult for no reason. You can unlock a secondary character Maria Renard who controls in a much smoother manner and is generally seen as easier to use with a double jump, slide and ranged attacks making her have better utility than Richter which for my old man reactions I appreciated. Even using Maria however this game is no cake walk without practice. Having said all that though by the time I was on my second playthrough I could no damage a lot of the bosses as I'd learned learned their attack patterns on my first load of attempts.

That aside though I can't really fault the game much. There are two routes to take with new areas and bosses, tons of secret locations and hidden goodies to find and the game looks and sounds fantastic. It's not quite my favorite Classicvania game but it's pretty high up there as an overall package.

+ Great visual and art design.
+ Kick ass soundtrack.
+ Some decent replay value with different routes, two playable characters and secrets.

- Some of the level and enemy placement are cheap and needlessly frustrating.