PSP Review: Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

The Castlevania series has been around since 1986, and although most casual gamers have only heard of the series, many hardcore gamers will tell you that there is a reason for it’s staying power. This is evident in the latest serving of Transylvanian goodness, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. This game will make you feel like a real bargain hunter (and vampire hunter) considering you get 3 — count them — 3 games for the reasonable price of $29.99. I’ll go into the other two games in a moment but first is the remake of Rondo Of Blood. Please note that the original Rondo Of Blood was never released in the U.S., so unless you speak Japanese it will definitely be new to you. One of the things that will definitely stick out to the player right away are the graphics, this game looks like it belongs on a PS2, and it is absolutely gorgeous. Being tasked with remaking a game that is known for breathtaking architecture and beautiful animation is no small task, yet Konami succeeds with room to spare. Every room has incredible detail, so much so that it feels like a crime just passing it by: even though this is still a 2d side-scroller, the art in the background makes you wish you could explore the scenery in more detail. Things like vast cathedrals, countless rooms, mirrors that reflect you one moment and your skeleton the next, and sprawling landscapes all show that Konami really cared about this title, having absolutely nailed the transition from 2D artwork to 3D rendering.

Another thing that will stand out to the player is the difficulty. This was really my only complaint with this game — some battles would take an hour of attempt after attempt at one boss, and the lives system is unforgiving. If you die 3 times you must restart the entire stage, that can sometimes mean you get to the last boss with 1 or 2 lives left, and you can almost always count on losing to every boss your first couple tries. I can really see how inexperienced players would not even be able to finish this game, it is a game that is brutal on your mistakes, and your timing must be absolutely perfect in some areas….but this is Castlevania after all. I think that some adjustable difficulty levels were really called for here, or a much better continue system.

The storyline isn’t particularly deep but it’s by no means boring. The storyline is simply Dracula has yet again been called into our world, you play Richter Belmont, the descendent of past heroes from the Castlevania series, and it is your blood duty to vanquish Dracula. Also there are some maidens that need rescuing, and one happens to be your girl. Now Konami did make a great effort at improving the story, lines have been rewritten from the original, the actor’s lines are no longer horribly delivered, and the audio quality overall has improved. In fact, I was able to stop believing that the actors they found to say these lines were from soap operas and actually buy into the story. So again, you may not find yourself on the edge of your seat, but you’ll certainly enjoy the ride.

The actual gameplay is very simplistic, as Richter you can do the following: jump, swing your whip in one direction, use sub-weapons, duck, and backflip. You start the game with the exact same offensive abilities as you end it with, you will either be a master at all of these abilities or fail miserably at this game. A couple stages in you can unlock another character who is easier to use but dies within 2 or 3 hits, no that’s not a joke. I stuck with Richter on my first run through the game, I would use the other character more as a challenge to myself on the next run. This game can be beaten depending on your skill level within about 2 hours, first timers will probably find it takes them around 6-8 hours. However as with all Castlevania games there are plenty of unlockables.

Two of those unlockables happen to be the two other games on this UMD. First up we have Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. First released on PS1 in 1997 this game is widely considered a masterpiece and has had the honor of being on many a “Best Games of all Time” list, I really can’t decide if this game is the reason you should buy the package or if Rondo of Blood is. Anyway, the story picks up 4 years later, you play Alucard (yes Dracula spelled backwards) Dracula’s son. You awaken from a decades long slumber to see that Castlevania has reappeared, you head inside to see what dear daddy is up to, I don’t want to spoil it but lets just say things are not what they seem. This game employs much the same gameplay as Rondo of Blood yet this time around there are some welcome additions. First, the game goes all super metroid on us, you start out with excellent gear that you can enjoy for a whole 3 minutes before it is taken away, also the castle is one big place; there are no stages anymore. Second some RPG elements come into play, you can level, you can equip weapons, items, and armor. Lastly you being a half-vampire have some special powers you will be able to acquire that mere humans can’t enjoy.

So what makes this game so special? While the graphics are not going to use up as many 3d graphics as Rondo, you probably won’t notice long, the hand drawn backgrounds are beautiful still today and the sprites look great. Playing as Alucard is also a lot more enjoyable than playing as Richter in my opinion, you have many more options open to you, and you don’t have to sling a whip around if you don’t want to. You want to equip a huge scythe? Go for it. The difficulty level is still about the same as Rondo, so you’ll certainly be pulling your hair out more, but you’ll still have a good time if you have patience. The story unfolds to reveal some shocking truths, and when you think you’re done with the game, look again because there is a big surprise that will turn your world upside down….literally. Also some nice additions to this game is new voice acting which is also much improved, and another playable character, definitely a welcome addition.

Lastly is the Original Rondo of Blood, released originally in Japan it’s a fun game to play through if even for the pure joy of seeing what it was like before the remake. It’s a little slower and the graphics aren’t quite as nice, but its still Castlevania, any fan of the series will love going back to the old school roots here and whipping it up with the best of the Belmonts.

Overall I loved this title but again I wouldn’t recommend it for the inexperienced player or the impatient. You’re also basically paying $10 for each game which is a steal. Releasing Symphony of the Night again would have been enough to justify the price, but Konami was obviously in the generous mood with this compilation. I know a lot of people were looking forward to the release of this title and you can rest assured that this is Castlevania in all its beautiful, frustrating, and horror-novelesque glory. Now take a trip if you dare into it’s endless halls — you wouldn’t want to keep Dracula waiting, right?

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