Akumajō Dracula X: Chi no Rondo is the perfection of traditional Castlevania; in many ways, it feels like a groovy remake of the original game, informed by the lessons learned in the prior games. There's alternative paths and levels, but they're pleasant surprises, rewards for exploration instead of outright choices made between levels. The movement and attacks have been streamlined—Richter's whip attack is only horizontal, and his jumping requires NES precision. The only thing that sets Richter apart from prior Castlevania PCs is his backflip, which is useful and quite satisfying to pull off. But Rondo's focus isn't addition—it's perfection. He feels great to drive here, especially compared to how he feels in Castlevania: Dracula X, where he drops and slides like a slick stone.
Like in Castlevania 3, you're encouraged to rescue other characters, but there's only one other playable character, Maria. She plays very differently, and also changes up the tone. With floaty hops and the ability to double-jump, and her button-mashing rewarding double dove attack, Maria is somewhat of an easier character player to play as compared to Richter, who requires precision, but she takes far fewer hits before she's killed. She's a lot of fun to play as, and throwing cats never gets old. Her Game Over screen is more playful, with flowers and a toyish font. Interestingly, her victory screen after you beat Dracula is a lot less poignant than Richters. In Maria's, the simpler castle collapses into the ground like the prior games; there's also much brighter colors.
The presentation is the strongest of all the games—the anime cut scenes are cool, if primitive—but the in-game set-pieces also have a cut-scene-ish quality to them--they have a narrative drive. The set-pieces in Super Castlevania IV or Castlevania: Bloodlines are cool, creative gameplay sequences, but there's no story reason for IV's Mode 7 platform level, or Bloodlines' disorienting upside-down hallways. Rondo begins with a bang, as Richter fights Death while riding the wagon, who warns Richter he won’t be so easy on him next time.
The titles for each stage are slick and cool, and I never got tired of watching them slide down the screen. The stages themselves are just as memorable. Stage 1 is an awesome rush through a village from Castlevania 2 as it burns down. The golems are nice mini-bosses, and the ape skeletons are fun, throwing barrels like DK. Great song in this one too.. Stage 5 is one of my favorite levels in all of the Castlevania games. It's a spooky pirate ship! And the song is awesome, at once chill and stirring.
The bosses are mostly very fun; the only one I don't love is the headless knight Dullahan. The rest are all pretty satisfying, and the boss rush in Stage 6 is a blast. The Dracula fight isn't too tough once you get the timing down to hit his head and fireballs at the same time, though the demon form can be a little annoying to dodge because Richter's movement speed is so slow, and you have to be placed just right before he hops so you can walk underneath him. I also kept getting cornered while Demon-Dracula spat eye balls, and I was never totally sure how to dodge that.
Altogether, this is the Castlevania masterpiece. Please, Konami, put out a Rondo/SOTN collection for platforms besides PS4.
Like in Castlevania 3, you're encouraged to rescue other characters, but there's only one other playable character, Maria. She plays very differently, and also changes up the tone. With floaty hops and the ability to double-jump, and her button-mashing rewarding double dove attack, Maria is somewhat of an easier character player to play as compared to Richter, who requires precision, but she takes far fewer hits before she's killed. She's a lot of fun to play as, and throwing cats never gets old. Her Game Over screen is more playful, with flowers and a toyish font. Interestingly, her victory screen after you beat Dracula is a lot less poignant than Richters. In Maria's, the simpler castle collapses into the ground like the prior games; there's also much brighter colors.
The presentation is the strongest of all the games—the anime cut scenes are cool, if primitive—but the in-game set-pieces also have a cut-scene-ish quality to them--they have a narrative drive. The set-pieces in Super Castlevania IV or Castlevania: Bloodlines are cool, creative gameplay sequences, but there's no story reason for IV's Mode 7 platform level, or Bloodlines' disorienting upside-down hallways. Rondo begins with a bang, as Richter fights Death while riding the wagon, who warns Richter he won’t be so easy on him next time.
The titles for each stage are slick and cool, and I never got tired of watching them slide down the screen. The stages themselves are just as memorable. Stage 1 is an awesome rush through a village from Castlevania 2 as it burns down. The golems are nice mini-bosses, and the ape skeletons are fun, throwing barrels like DK. Great song in this one too.. Stage 5 is one of my favorite levels in all of the Castlevania games. It's a spooky pirate ship! And the song is awesome, at once chill and stirring.
The bosses are mostly very fun; the only one I don't love is the headless knight Dullahan. The rest are all pretty satisfying, and the boss rush in Stage 6 is a blast. The Dracula fight isn't too tough once you get the timing down to hit his head and fireballs at the same time, though the demon form can be a little annoying to dodge because Richter's movement speed is so slow, and you have to be placed just right before he hops so you can walk underneath him. I also kept getting cornered while Demon-Dracula spat eye balls, and I was never totally sure how to dodge that.
Altogether, this is the Castlevania masterpiece. Please, Konami, put out a Rondo/SOTN collection for platforms besides PS4.