I'm going to break kayfabe and admit that I don't actually like Castlevania: The Adventure. That review mostly exists to tie the loop on a long-running bit that's had more life outside this site than within, but if I'm being honest, I do think that it's a bit more reviled than it ought to be. I recognize my opinions on Castlevania can be a little weird, but thankfully I have the most normal take on Bloodlines anybody possibly could. It's good! Great, in fact. Ask some people and they might say it's the best in the series, and while I don't totally agree with that assessment, it does comfortably sit in my number two top spot.

Bloodlines puts you in control of either John Morris, who has the body of a linebacker and apparently a dislocated neck, or Eric Lecarde, who is French. Morris plays like your typical Belmont and can even use his whip to swing over gaps similar to Simon in Super Castlevania IV, whereas Lecarde wields a spear and can jump real good. These differences in playstyle allow Morris and Lecarde to open up alternate paths through levels, and though they're never as substantial as the alternate routes in Rondo of Blood, they offer a good enough incentive to take a second run through the game. Gameplay is otherwise fairly typical of this era of Castlevania. Movement is still stiff but smoother than the NES games, and the action is a lot more fast-paced and broken up by set pieces.

The strength in Bloodlines identity largely comes from how director Tomikazu Kirita and his team were able to break series conventions. This is a "gaiden" game, and as such is not inhibited by series canon. This freedom allowed the team to play around with Castlevania's narrative and aesthetics in some cool ways. The story takes place in Europe during the first World War, which (at the time) made it the most modern setting a Castlevania has taken place in. There are more mechanically themed enemies, and locations like the munitions factory offer a fun twist on classic series tropes (the factory essentially being a stand-in for a clocktower level.) This is also the first Castlevania game Michiru Yamane composed and programmed music for. Of course she's more well known for her excellent Symphony of the Night soundtrack, but Bloodlines is no less capable of giving you an appreciation for her music.

Anywya i think that's the review,, i'm stuck in dracul'as castlea nd the room is splitting into thirds that move at difffrent speeds and i'm going to thorw upt