Backlog Game Reviews 13: Castlevania Rondo of Blood (PC Engine)

                                         

    Hey there and welcome to Backlog Game Reviews. The next game on the review list is Castlevania Rondo of Blood. Made by Konami for the PC Engine on October 29th, 1993. It was only released in Japan and was met with massive praise after its release. Japanese reviews said it was possibly the best CD-based game on the PC Engine. And the Castlevania fanbase considers Rondo of Blood to be one of the best Castlevania games ever. Let's see if Rondo of Blood can live up to its reputation.

              

Dracula's resurrection.

    In the year 1792, the king of darkness Dracula was revived by the dark priest Shaft and his followers. After his resurrection, he kidnaps a woman named Annette, the wife of Richter Belmont. Richter armed with his family's ancestral whip the Vampire Killer heads off to Draculas castle to save Annet and 3 other women that were captured.

                                      

Opening cutscene.

     It's a rather simple story but it's well presented. The animated cutscenes are nicely drawn and fun to watch. What Rondo of Blood's story lacks in substance it makes up for it with style.

                                           

The first stage.

 

Rondo of Blood like other Castlevania games is a platformer. You fight enemies, jump over obstacles and beat a boss at the end of each stage. It sounds easy on paper but don't be fooled, this is a hard game. There are a lot of factors that make this game a difficult one. One of them being Richter's mobility. His jump is decently high and good for avoiding attacks. He also can do a backflip by pressing jump twice in succession, when used correctly it's great for dodging.

                                         

Richter's backflip.

 

His main problem is his walking speed. He never moves faster than a brisk walk. It makes it hard to run away from enemies and if a lot of them are on screen at once it's almost impossible to dodge their attacks because of how slow you are.

                                           

Stage two.

 

Richter's main attack is also very limited. When you press the attack button, he'll use his Vampire Killer whip. It's not a terrible attack, but it can only go in a straight line. Which makes it pretty difficult to hit small or fast-moving enemies with it. Enemies with small weak spots are especially troublesome.

                                              

Richter's main weapon, The Vampire Killer.

Richter does have access to sub-weapons though. Each sub-weapon compensates for the Vampire Killer's lack of versatility. But you can only carry one sub-weapon at a time and you need hearts to use them.

                                          

The Ax sub-weapon. Each sub-weapon requires hearts to use. The number on the top-left of the screen shows you how many hearts you have left.

 

If you have the ax sub-weapon Richter can throw an ax up in the air making it easy to take out airborne enemies. The holy water sub-weapon, on the other hand, is great for taking out fast, small enemies on the ground.

                                        

The holy water sub-weapon explodes into flames when it hits the ground.

 

Sub-weapons also give Richter access to his strongest attacks, item crashes. If you have enough hearts pressing select will make Richter perform a powerful attack called an item crash. The attack he does depends on the sub-weapon he has at the time. He can make it rain holy water or if he has a cross, he can make giant crosses rise from the ground. Item crashes require a large number of hearts to use so it's best to save it for when you're in a tight spot.

                                           

The holy water item crash makes it rain holy water.

 

This game is hard, and most of the difficulty comes from how limited Richter is in his movement and offensive abilities. It's a fair game though. Whenever I died, I never felt like the game cheated me in some way, it was always my fault. With enough patience and practice, you can make it through this game. But if you're having a hard time playing as Richter and want less of a challenge, there is a second stronger character you can choose.

                                        

Maria, the second playable character.

 

Maria, one of the girls that Dracula kidnapped. She becomes a playable character after you rescue her. She's pretty much this games easy mode. She can run, do a double jump, it's easier to hit enemies with her attack, and she can slide on her stomach. It's great for avoiding attacks and running away.

                                         

Maria fighting a boss.

She also has different sub-weapons then Richter. But I can't say that they're better. In terms of usefulness, hers and Richter's are pretty much tied.

                                        

One of Maria's item crashes.

  

She's fun to play as and she makes this hard game much easier. I would recommend unlocking her as quickly as possible.

Maria's game over screen.

                                        

Richter's game over screen.

 

That's all I can say about the gameplay. This is a really fun game but it is by no means easy. If you like platformers and are looking for a challenge I think this is will be right up your alley.

                                         

Ax item crash.

 

Presentation-wise it's all great. The music is where this game shines. Rondo of Blood takes full advantage of being a CD-based game. It's all CD-quality music that wouldn't be out of place if used for a more modern game. I would say that the music alone makes this game worth playing. While the graphics don't stand out as much as the music, it's a good-looking game.

          

 That's all I have to say about this game. If you like old school Castlevania or challenging platformers give this game a try. It's sure to please anyone looking for a challenge.

 Thank you for reading! Next time I'll be looking at a game on the Sega Saturn or Famicom. I hope to see you again at Backlog Game Reviews. 

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood Gameplay video