There's some interesting ideas, such as 3D environments, levels being a little more interactable (for instance, the bridge that collapses when you hit it, thus allowing passage) and the game taking place on a more modern setting. However, coming from Super Castlevania IV and Rondo of Blood, this one feels a little unambitious with very little added to the hunters' movesets (and even taking away a lot of what Simon and Richter had previously) but Eric is still pretty fun to use. Overall, it's Castlevania for the Mega Drive and not much beyond that.

You know for a genesis game this aint too bad! In-fact, I'd say this is a great entry in the franchise. It's not too long nor is it too short I think its the right length and difficulty. However if you're playing on anything other than the collection or even switch online then you'll most likely have to deal with the limited continues so that's actually a downside i'd say. Most games had unlimited continues so idk why this one had to revert back. Still, a great game and entry in this long running series, this one is tied with Super Castlevania 4 in my opinion maybe underneath it.

bloodlines e super castle 4 são paralelos em ideias, reformar a gameplay para os consoles mais potentes que o nintendinho, porém, enquanto castle 4 é particularmente sem sal pra mim, bloodlines transborda personalidade. Ele repagina não apenas a gameplay em ritmo e level design, reformulam: subitens, inimigos, armas principais, personagens, mecânicas, gráficos (algo mais estilizado, lindão), além duma ambientação moderna sensacional.

um castle que não é nem subestimado, só não é conhecido mesmo, infelizmente um jogo incrível de bom foi esquecido por motivos que nao sei.

This is exactly what you would expect from a Castlevania on the Sega Genesis; it's edgy, hard, weird, stylish, unique, all in the best way possible.
Following my journey through the classicvanias, Bloodlines is surely a welcome entry, I played the first half with John Morris, and the second half with Eric Lecarde, and the second one is definetely my favorite, being able to simply attack upwards is a comfort I haven't had since Super Castlevania IV.
Overall the game is super fun, levels are great to go through and always keeping you entertained with a new gimmick, never making it unfair; bosses are mostly fun (some don't even look like Castlevania monsters lol), and I can't quite remember if there any other linear games on the franchise with sub-bosses, which is weird, beacuse they're really cool

Eu já tava naquela expectativa de achar esse jogo top e realmente não me decepcionou mas como a Konami fez um ótimo jogo da franquia no meu console favorito

O gráfico é muito bom,a trilha sonora é assustadora de boa e a gameplay já é de se esperar na franquia,os personagens andando tudo que parece que borraram nas calça

Os Bosses são muito bem trabalhados,usando muito dos belíssimos gráficos do mega drive e gostei muito do game papo reto

Despite coming out after IV, this isn’t really a continuation, this is the only CastleVania game ever made for the Genesis. What I mean by this is Bloodlines is doing it’s own thing, it takes a few steps back, but easily has some of the most well designed levels so far.

The story involves 2 new protagonists going after a woman trying to revive Dracula, we kill her, then we kill him. The ending is laughably short, literally about 2 seconds then the credits roll.

Bloodlines only has 6 stages, but not only are they some of the best so far, but they are way more creative. Instead of crypts and mansions, you travel through Europe, in a museum, a munitions factory, walking along the skeleton of a dinosaur to get by. It’s extremely memorable, and overall I think the difficulty is spot on, the bosses are great here.

You have 2 playable characters, both proving a different experience, and while the control has gone back to having a stiff jump, I really don’t mind it much here.

It’s a hard game, and for some reason you have limited continues, but there really isn’t much here I’d consider unfair. Loved the music too, and it’s easily the best looking game so far. It’s a shame there aren’t more stages, and both characters share about 90% of the same adventure, but considering how much more complex these levels are, I didn’t mind - 7.5/10

First GOTM finished for March 2024. What the devs were able to do with this game in terms of visual effects and gimmicks is borderline astounding. It looks incredible, it sounds incredible, I just wish it felt incredible to play. The platforming is awfully stiff, and needing to be precise and anticipatory with many of the inputs was a big 'ol pain. It wasn't brutal in its requirements, per se, but I don't know how many times I fell down because I didn't push up on the D-pad at the right time or in the right context when trying to go up stairs. Bosses were fun and mostly unique in their mechanics, and while the level design was a little dull it was still fun to explore the spaces. Had a good time with this one overall!

Castlevania: Bloodlines is a decent game, playable and enjoyable, but it doesn't quite stand out. The balance feels standard, and the difficulty progresses steadily without becoming too extreme. The controls are okay, but the whip and staff jump mechanics feel underutilized compared to previous games in the series. The first half of the first levels can be a bit boring and repetitive. The art is mostly fine, but the second stage's first half feels bland compared to the rest of the game.

Technologically, the game suffers on the Sega Genesis, showcasing the hardware's limitations compared to other platforms. It doesn't bring much new to the table, lacking innovations seen in previous titles. Despite these drawbacks, the game is still somewhat fun to play, with music being a standout feature. However, the game feels like a step back for the series, lacking certain features and improvements. The boss reuse adds some repetitiveness, but it's not overly frustrating. Overall, Castlevania: Bloodlines may not be the best in the series, but it leaves players feeling somewhat satisfied, with some desire for more. replayability is decent, especially with the other character. While it has its moments, it lacks a special factor that would make it truly memorable.

Castlevania: Bloodlines is a strange little game, but that’s definitely to its benefit.

You don’t play as a Belmont this time around (well, one of them is related to the Belmonts, but only distantly); rather, you play as John Morris— the son of Quincey Morris from Bram Stoker’s original Dracula novel— and Eric Lecarde, a noble spearman out to avenge the death of his wife. Dracula and Death are still here (as always), but the main antagonist this time around is instead Elizabeth Bartley (based on a possible serial killer from the 1600s), Dracula’s “niece” who orchestrates World War I to raise an undead army and resurrect the Count himself.

None of that story stuff is really relevant; it’s all found in the manual and a brief opening cutscene. Yet the sheer amount of detail the developers shoved into the game’s backstory goes to show that this isn’t your typical Classicvania.

Instead of exploring Dracula’s castle or the Transylvanian countryside, you’re on an international adventure across a war-torn Europe. Gothic castles? Creepy graveyards? Nah, now you’re trekking across battlefields, wading in Atlantean ruins (for some reason), scaling the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and invading munitions factories. And yes, there is a skeleton with a fucking machine gun.

All of these unique settings, combined with the Sega Genesis' graphical capabilities and the typically solid Castlevania art direction, make for some truly memorable set pieces that stand out among a series filled with awesome set pieces.

Also, don’t play as John. Play as Eric. His spear has a ridiculously long reach and allows him to pull off a super jump. He’s awesome.

Overall, what Castlevania: Bloodlines lacks in length, it more than makes up for with its fast-paced action, fun platforming, and sheer creativity. I’ll have to play Portrait of Ruin at some point to see where this wild storyline goes next.

Bloodlines e um dos castlevanias na qual eu mais demorei pra saber da existencia na epoca ja que a grande maioria dos jogos foram lançados nos consoles da nintendo e sony, bloodlines e exclusivo do mega drive e ele e um exelente jogo e nessa analise vamos falar sobre os personagem, fases, trilha sonora, chefes e inimigos e vamos iniciar falando dos 2 personagens da historia que nesse jogo nao são os belmonts mas sim a dupla dinamica Eric lecard e John morris que são descendestes da familia belmont e eles estão em uma missão de impedir o ressurgimento de dracula que esta sendo arquiteado pela feiticeira Drolta tzuente, os 2 personagens são unicos e cada um tem uma jogabilidade diferente e dependendo do personagem que voce escolheu talvez o jogo fique mais dificil ou mais equilibrado digamos assim, Eric possui a lança de alucard que tem um longo alcance e isso ajuda muito em certos inimigos e alem disso ele tambem possui um salto que te deixa invencivel ate terminar a animação e com esse pulo você pode ir pra rotas diferentes nas quais John não consegue acessar e falando do John ele para mim te a gameplay mais dificil do jogo ja que apesar do chicote ter um bom alcance ele acaba sendo curto em comparação a lança de Eric porem e só isso mesmos John não possui muitas habilidades igual o outro personagem mas pra não dizer que nao tem nada ele consegue se prender no teto e se balançar, agora vamos falar das fases que meu amigo que fases maravilhosas serio mesmo cada fase e linda ainda mais porque cada uma se passa em um lugar da europa e cada fase tambem tem varios detalhes maravilhosos e cores vibrantes deixando tudo mais bonito, uma das minhas fases favoritas e a ultima ja que tem uma mecanica muito interessante com espelhos e na gameplay e algo bem doido. Agora falando da trilha sonora ela e muito boa com muitas musicas boas com cada uma sendo unica e dando uma sensação de calma, adrenalina e tensão e certamente a melhor musica do jogo inteiro e da fase "The Sinking Old Sanctuary" que para mim me traz uma paz e me da a sensação de como se eu estivesse no tomo de uma montanha com um linda vegetação esverdeada enquanto eu olho o por do sol apos uma longa jornada, por fim vamos falar dos inimigos e chefes e vamos falar primeiramente dos inimigos que em grande maioira são os que a gente ja conhece que são varios tipos de caveiras, morcegos, zumbis, armaduras amaldiçoadas e entre outras variedade de inimigos e cada um sendo bem caracteristico as fases que estão, e pra finalizar vamos falar dos chefes que no total são 14 chefes no total e a grande maioria são muito boas como o golem que tem uma mecanica muito daora de ir quebrando as pedras do seu corpo para voce acertar a cabeça e derrotar ele, tem tambem a engrenagem que são varias engrenagens juntas e apenas dela nao ser dificil eu gosto bastente desse chefe porque parece muito que ele e 3D causando uma ilusão muito boa mas infelizmente os chefes desse jogo não são tão memoraveis como os outros jogos ja que tem um chefe que e literalmente um pilar que lança bolas que rebatem nas paredes porem algo que eu acho muito daora e insano e a batalha final que e extremamente desafiadora na qual voce tem que passar uma fase dificil com sessões ate que interessantes como a do espelho e de um corredor de cabeça para baixo e quando você chega no final encontra a dona morte que tem uma batalha facil em si mas oq dificulda e que pra luta começar mesmo você tem que derrotar 3 chefões das fases anteriores e isso pode dificultar bastante, apos derrotar a morte você ainda tem 2 lutas seguidas sem tempo para respirar e essas lutas são contra a feiticeira e o dracula e elas não são muito dificeis mas exige bastante dos reflexos do jogador para desviar dos ataques poderosos

Nota: 9

​Coming out at the tail end of '93, we have our last classic Castlevania game on the Anniversary Collection as well as really the last proper classic-style Castlevania game made before Symphony of the Night revamped what the whole series was about (at least if you consider Dracula X on the SNES as a port of Rondo and not its own game, which is debatable). I don't like it quite as much as Castlevania IV or Rondo of Blood, but it's still an excellent entry in the series. This was one that took me only a few hours to get through the six stages of, with serious save state use only used in the last stage.

This is a bit of an odd Castlevania in how the story is both simple but also quite different from the simplicity of its predecessors. Sure, it's still basically "Oh look, let's go beat up Dracula again, he's a baddie", but this time you aren't even a Belmont (not by name, anyhow). This game takes place in 1917, and the vampire killer whip has passed to a distant relative of the Belmont clan known as John Morris (hilariously called "Johnny Morris" in Japanese). You can play as either him or as Eric Lecarde (who looks quite feminine in the Japanese version) who is out to avenge his vampirized girlfriend, as they trek across Europe to several famous spots to hunt down Dracula's allies before he can be taken on himself. While the story itself isn't really that interesting other than it calling into question how you can go from Romania to Germany to Britain during the height of World War 1, or the really funny way that one level is a German munitions factory (which also has a castle because of course it does) that is populated by skeletons wearing military helmets, it DOES give you the ability to play as one of the two characters. While Morris has his whip, Lecarde has a spear.

The two characters aren't nearly as different as Richter and Maria are in Rondo of Blood, but they play meaningfully different enough that a playthrough with each is definitely still worthwhile. I played through as Johnny, and he can whip in front of himself, but also diagonally upwards to swing on ceilings and even down (although your jump is so low that the downwards whip isn't all that useful). Lecarde's spear, on the other hand, can stab directly upwards and has a slightly longer range than Morris does, and he can also do a high jump. Morris' grapple whip and Lecarde's high jump give them access to slightly different paths through the levels, making even the levels themselves slightly different depending on whom you're playing as.

Instead of going through Transylvania, you're treking all around Europe to all sorts of different locales. Even Dracula himself isn't even in continental Europe at all, but in a castle in England. The different countries make for some very interesting level designs (like the swaying in the Tower of Pisa), and despite this game having fewer levels than the other 16-bit Castlevanias, they're quite long compared to those levels and each level feels very different to the others. My main complaint about the game is how stingy it can be with whip/spear upgrades. There are many bosses, particularly in Dracula's castle, for whom range is paramount to how easy a time you'll have with them. If you die once, you won't be given two whip upgrades to fight the boss again, you'll only be given one, and that aspect to the boss design really left a sour taste in my mouth. It's certainly far from how tilted the difficulty can feel in Castlevania 1 depending on the loadout you brought, but it's analogous enough to that frustration that it keeps me from holding this game in quite a high a regard as the other 16-bit Castlevania games.

The presentation is also no exception to the series general rule of excellence. The music and graphics that really show the kind of speed and color you could get from the Mega Drive come 1993, and it's probably one of the prettiest looking of the older Castlevanias in general as a result. Most of the differences between the Japanese and Western releases are cosmetic (such as making Lecarde look more masculine, Morris' first name), but one important difference is that the Japanese normal mode is the English easy mode, so even though I played through the game on "normal", what I played through compared to the rest of the world was easy mode.

Verdict: Highly Recommended. Though this may be my least favorite of the 16-bit Castlevanias, it is by no means not a great game. It still sets a high water mark just as most of the other games do, and is very well worth playing.

This was definitely an enjoyable one. Bloodlines is a bit on the easier and shorter than some of the other Castlevanias I have played before, but it's a tight and consistent experience.

Like many probably have said before, this game looks and sounds absolutely beautiful. It really takes everything it can out of the limited hardware to offer a memorable gothic experience, even showing couple clever visual tricks to show that the devs really knew what they were doing. While the level design itself is nothing really to call home about, the bosses managed to keep the pace up with their interesting designs and mechanics.

As a platformer, the game gets a pass from me. The controls feel really limited and stiff at times and while I didn't have to fight the controller itself at any point, it felt like every input needed to be firm and made with two week's notice. In the end, this didn't bother me too much since the game seems to rely more on spacing and careful actions rather than quick last-minute ones.

I can confidently recommend playing it if you're interested in more classic Castlevania games. There are two playable characters that offer some alternative routes to levels, so it even has some replay value.