Um remake ÓTIMO e que conseguiu manter bem a essência do Rondo of Blood, deixando ele até mais Castlevaneaesco que o Rondo of Blood original.
E o melhor de tudo, ele é um pack de 3 jogos em um: 'Castlevania Rondo of Blood Remake', 'Rondo of Blood Original' e 'Symphony of the Night Expanded'. Apenas isso já é motivo mais que o suficiente para dar 5 estrelas para ele, mas eu tirei meia estrelinha pq, quando fui testar o Rondo original, ele tava sofrendo com diversos probleminhas de áudio (sons cortando, músicas acabando do nada e ficando tudo silencioso, cutscenes com sons dessincronizados, etc), mas essa foi a única falha que eu encontrei no jogo inteiro.
Antes de tudo, quanto a comparação do Rondo original e do remake, ambos são incríveis à sua maneira. Claro, são bem parecidos na maioria dos aspectos da gameplay, mas o remake mudou certos quesitos, como adaptar a progressão para melhor direcionar a gameplay, mudar a personalidade dos personagens para um tom que melhor encaixa no tema gótico e melancólico dos Castlevanias e mudar as batalhas contra bosses para durarem mais tempo, assim forçando o jogador a ser mais defensivo e cuidadoso durante essas batalhas - para isso funcionar bem, vários bosses acabaram ficando mais fáceis (mas não todos, alguns ainda são uma desgraça de passar - Shaft, to olhando pra vc!).
Com isso, mesmo que o remake possa ser considerado uma versão definitiva do Rondo, tanto o remake quanto o original estão em pé de igualdade em suas qualidades gerais de gameplay, servindo como fator de desempate apenas o gosto pessoal pelo estilo artístico e personalidade dos personagens. Eu, particularmente, prefiro o Rondo original justamente por esses dois aspectos - amo pixelart e adorei as cutscenes animadas do jogo (além de ter simpatizado muito com a personalidade confiante e cômica da Maria original) - mas, mais uma vez, ambos são jogos incríveis e vale MUITO A PENA jogar ambos para poder presenciar as duas faces fenomenais dessa pérola que é o Rondo of Blood!
E o melhor de tudo, ele é um pack de 3 jogos em um: 'Castlevania Rondo of Blood Remake', 'Rondo of Blood Original' e 'Symphony of the Night Expanded'. Apenas isso já é motivo mais que o suficiente para dar 5 estrelas para ele, mas eu tirei meia estrelinha pq, quando fui testar o Rondo original, ele tava sofrendo com diversos probleminhas de áudio (sons cortando, músicas acabando do nada e ficando tudo silencioso, cutscenes com sons dessincronizados, etc), mas essa foi a única falha que eu encontrei no jogo inteiro.
Antes de tudo, quanto a comparação do Rondo original e do remake, ambos são incríveis à sua maneira. Claro, são bem parecidos na maioria dos aspectos da gameplay, mas o remake mudou certos quesitos, como adaptar a progressão para melhor direcionar a gameplay, mudar a personalidade dos personagens para um tom que melhor encaixa no tema gótico e melancólico dos Castlevanias e mudar as batalhas contra bosses para durarem mais tempo, assim forçando o jogador a ser mais defensivo e cuidadoso durante essas batalhas - para isso funcionar bem, vários bosses acabaram ficando mais fáceis (mas não todos, alguns ainda são uma desgraça de passar - Shaft, to olhando pra vc!).
Com isso, mesmo que o remake possa ser considerado uma versão definitiva do Rondo, tanto o remake quanto o original estão em pé de igualdade em suas qualidades gerais de gameplay, servindo como fator de desempate apenas o gosto pessoal pelo estilo artístico e personalidade dos personagens. Eu, particularmente, prefiro o Rondo original justamente por esses dois aspectos - amo pixelart e adorei as cutscenes animadas do jogo (além de ter simpatizado muito com a personalidade confiante e cômica da Maria original) - mas, mais uma vez, ambos são jogos incríveis e vale MUITO A PENA jogar ambos para poder presenciar as duas faces fenomenais dessa pérola que é o Rondo of Blood!
Just speaking about the remake of Rondo of Blood in this package, frankly it doesn't feel as good to play as the original. It somehow feels slower, and the music isn't as good. It's still Rondo though so it still slaps.
Still the main way I've experienced Rondo of Blood. This game slaps, it's got some great gameplay and music.
Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP is a remake of the masterful Castlevania Rondo of Blood. It recreates very faithfully the original, keeping the traditional 2D gameplay of the franchise but with 3D graphics, also implementing some additions and adjustments that modernize the title a bit, making it my favorite version.
First of all, I'd like to talk about why this remake was important and necessary in its time. Rondo of Blood was originally a game released only in Japan for the PC Engine's Super CD-ROM, so outside of Japan there really weren't many options to play Rondo of Blood, not to mention that most Castlevania fans knew that game existed because Symphony of the Night is a direct sequel to it and its introduction is literally the end of this game. So, The Dracula X Chronicles was made with the intention of being the first global release of Rondo of Blood, but not being a simple ROM re-release of the PC-Engine version, but as a remake on a globally more popular console like the PSP was.
And what can I say, I love it. Even though the characters and scenarios are made from 3D models, the character control was painstakingly made to recreate the gameplay of Rondo of Blood accurately, I even think it feels more responsive and fluid, so if you're someone who has mastered the gameplay of the original you'll feel right at home. One subtle change that makes the whip feel slightly more satisfying when you hit an attack is that this game adds the “hit stop” effect when an enemy gets hit, something that was present in virtually every classic Castlevania game, including the NES ones, but that the original Rondo of Blood lacked.
I've always loved the art style and atmosphere that Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness have, so I like that this remake had a very similar graphical style. The characters were redesigned by Symphony of the Night illustrator Ayami Kojima herself, and while the original designs still have their charm, I prefer the new ones by far. As for the graphics, these are a bit divisive among the community, as in some parts of the game there are things that look a bit unpolished, which makes it feel like a very cheap 3D, however, this is not always the case, as there are levels where the graphics look pretty good, such as the clock tower level. Considering it's a PSP game, I think it looks good for the time and overall I also consider it a substantial improvement over the original (Original vs. PSP), as the scenarios gain a lot by having more detail and better represent the gothic and horror structures that the Castlevania series always tries to bring. A compromise that had to be made for the models and level structures to be mostly 3D, is that the game runs at 30FPS, however, the classic Castlevania gameplay translates very well to that framerate and is very easy to get used to. To finish talking about this, I just want to say that I totally understand if you don't like this remake because of the graphics, after all the graphical style changes a lot, and each style has its own appeal.
The level and boss design remains pretty much the same in most cases, albeit with some minor adjustments to fit the PSP screen size. I like how in some ways the boss battles feel more fair despite having the same patterns, since the enemies are now made with 3D models, it makes their animations more detailed than the original pixel art sprites, making it easier to read if they are about to make an attack. Yes there are a couple of changes in some cases though, for example, the final battle now has a surprise for all those who may have thought the battle against Dracula was too easy in the original. Stage 7 now has Annette as the boss, Richter's beloved, who is transformed into a vampire if we fail to rescue her, and in fact, rescuing her is now more difficult, because to do so we need the ability to break crystals and destroy red skulls, skills that we can get if we save the other 2 damsels. The alternate Stage 5, now instead of being a remix of all the levels is a new level, which maintains a very high difficulty, but is very satisfying to complete and also awaits a very cool new boss battle. Something that I like, is that now it is easier to discover the alternative stages, because in the original it was very easy to miss them and never discover them if it was your first time playing the game (many players miss almost half of the game content when this happened).
Unpopular opinion, but the remix of “Divine Bloodlines” in this edition is my favorite version of that song; I like how it starts with synth like electronic music (that sounds like it belongs to a Mega Man X game) and alternates between that violin that makes it keep that classic touch while at the same time it sounds modern and optimistic. I don't know, the first time I heard it on my PSP it gave me goosebumps (and still does). The musical arrangements included in this version are great. I know many here will prefer the original songs and that's totally understandable, that OST was very hard to beat, even so, it's still great to have remixes with a different musical style of all the songs, in some cases it's an improvement. Stage 7 for example, changes the remix of Vampire Killer (Den), for Moon Fight, and that was the best decision for the last level of the game, it goes better with the setting and the story up to that point.
I've always liked it when platform games hide collectibles in the levels, as it makes them more replayable and makes it more interesting and rewarding to discover secrets. The collectible that this remake adds are the discs, which are hidden in the levels and once obtained can be used to unlock music from this Remake, from the original Rondo of Blood, or even from Symphony of the Night, and the best thing is that these songs are not only used to play them in the music player, but we can assign them to the levels freely. It sounds like a minor addition, but having the freedom to switch between the original music in the levels we specify is a great feature. Try playing SotN's “Marble Gallery” on Stage 3 and you'll thank me.
What do you say, you still don't like the remake?, well, The Dracula X Chronicles has you covered, because one of these hidden discs unlocks the full localized original Rondo of Blood. I've already talked about Rondo of Blood, having such a mythical game included in its remake is simply the best. In addition, all the cinematics are also dubbed with the voice actors of this remake. As a curiosity, Akumajyo Dracula Peke is also included, a small easter egg from the original PC Engine version, that although it's not a big deal, it's a good thing to have it preserved here.
What do you say, you never really liked the classic Castlevania formula and you're only here for the Metroid/RPG style Castlevania games?, well, this game has you covered too, as Symphony of the Night is also unlockable. And what can I say, it's literally Castlevania SotN portable and that straight up is like the coolest thing ever created in history. Best of all, this version restores the deleted content from the western PS1 version, and also adds Maria as a playable character (Michiru Yamane also returns to compose a new song for the credits). The script was re-translated and the scenes re-dubbed with the new cast voices, and while the original dub will always be iconic, I actually prefer this new one.
Anyway, if you don't like the new voices, this game offers you the option to switch to the original Japanese voices from the options menu.
Conclusion
You may like it more or you may like it less, but one thing we can't deny is that The Dracula X Chronicles was an extremely important title, and the fact that together with Order of Ecclesia they were the last important releases of the franchise makes it even more special. Not to mention, it was a wise move on Konami's part to include revised versions of Rondo of Blood to preserve the original and Symphony of the Night to celebrate the game that let us know outside of Japan about Rondo of Blood. As a curious fact, those versions were later reused for the PS4 collection.
In conclusion, a great recreation of one of the best games in the franchise, that rather than trying to be a replacement for the original, tries to be a version that celebrates and preserves its legacy while spicing up the original experience a bit to make it feel fresh and modern.
First of all, I'd like to talk about why this remake was important and necessary in its time. Rondo of Blood was originally a game released only in Japan for the PC Engine's Super CD-ROM, so outside of Japan there really weren't many options to play Rondo of Blood, not to mention that most Castlevania fans knew that game existed because Symphony of the Night is a direct sequel to it and its introduction is literally the end of this game. So, The Dracula X Chronicles was made with the intention of being the first global release of Rondo of Blood, but not being a simple ROM re-release of the PC-Engine version, but as a remake on a globally more popular console like the PSP was.
And what can I say, I love it. Even though the characters and scenarios are made from 3D models, the character control was painstakingly made to recreate the gameplay of Rondo of Blood accurately, I even think it feels more responsive and fluid, so if you're someone who has mastered the gameplay of the original you'll feel right at home. One subtle change that makes the whip feel slightly more satisfying when you hit an attack is that this game adds the “hit stop” effect when an enemy gets hit, something that was present in virtually every classic Castlevania game, including the NES ones, but that the original Rondo of Blood lacked.
I've always loved the art style and atmosphere that Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness have, so I like that this remake had a very similar graphical style. The characters were redesigned by Symphony of the Night illustrator Ayami Kojima herself, and while the original designs still have their charm, I prefer the new ones by far. As for the graphics, these are a bit divisive among the community, as in some parts of the game there are things that look a bit unpolished, which makes it feel like a very cheap 3D, however, this is not always the case, as there are levels where the graphics look pretty good, such as the clock tower level. Considering it's a PSP game, I think it looks good for the time and overall I also consider it a substantial improvement over the original (Original vs. PSP), as the scenarios gain a lot by having more detail and better represent the gothic and horror structures that the Castlevania series always tries to bring. A compromise that had to be made for the models and level structures to be mostly 3D, is that the game runs at 30FPS, however, the classic Castlevania gameplay translates very well to that framerate and is very easy to get used to. To finish talking about this, I just want to say that I totally understand if you don't like this remake because of the graphics, after all the graphical style changes a lot, and each style has its own appeal.
The level and boss design remains pretty much the same in most cases, albeit with some minor adjustments to fit the PSP screen size. I like how in some ways the boss battles feel more fair despite having the same patterns, since the enemies are now made with 3D models, it makes their animations more detailed than the original pixel art sprites, making it easier to read if they are about to make an attack. Yes there are a couple of changes in some cases though, for example, the final battle now has a surprise for all those who may have thought the battle against Dracula was too easy in the original. Stage 7 now has Annette as the boss, Richter's beloved, who is transformed into a vampire if we fail to rescue her, and in fact, rescuing her is now more difficult, because to do so we need the ability to break crystals and destroy red skulls, skills that we can get if we save the other 2 damsels. The alternate Stage 5, now instead of being a remix of all the levels is a new level, which maintains a very high difficulty, but is very satisfying to complete and also awaits a very cool new boss battle. Something that I like, is that now it is easier to discover the alternative stages, because in the original it was very easy to miss them and never discover them if it was your first time playing the game (many players miss almost half of the game content when this happened).
Unpopular opinion, but the remix of “Divine Bloodlines” in this edition is my favorite version of that song; I like how it starts with synth like electronic music (that sounds like it belongs to a Mega Man X game) and alternates between that violin that makes it keep that classic touch while at the same time it sounds modern and optimistic. I don't know, the first time I heard it on my PSP it gave me goosebumps (and still does). The musical arrangements included in this version are great. I know many here will prefer the original songs and that's totally understandable, that OST was very hard to beat, even so, it's still great to have remixes with a different musical style of all the songs, in some cases it's an improvement. Stage 7 for example, changes the remix of Vampire Killer (Den), for Moon Fight, and that was the best decision for the last level of the game, it goes better with the setting and the story up to that point.
I've always liked it when platform games hide collectibles in the levels, as it makes them more replayable and makes it more interesting and rewarding to discover secrets. The collectible that this remake adds are the discs, which are hidden in the levels and once obtained can be used to unlock music from this Remake, from the original Rondo of Blood, or even from Symphony of the Night, and the best thing is that these songs are not only used to play them in the music player, but we can assign them to the levels freely. It sounds like a minor addition, but having the freedom to switch between the original music in the levels we specify is a great feature. Try playing SotN's “Marble Gallery” on Stage 3 and you'll thank me.
What do you say, you still don't like the remake?, well, The Dracula X Chronicles has you covered, because one of these hidden discs unlocks the full localized original Rondo of Blood. I've already talked about Rondo of Blood, having such a mythical game included in its remake is simply the best. In addition, all the cinematics are also dubbed with the voice actors of this remake. As a curiosity, Akumajyo Dracula Peke is also included, a small easter egg from the original PC Engine version, that although it's not a big deal, it's a good thing to have it preserved here.
What do you say, you never really liked the classic Castlevania formula and you're only here for the Metroid/RPG style Castlevania games?, well, this game has you covered too, as Symphony of the Night is also unlockable. And what can I say, it's literally Castlevania SotN portable and that straight up is like the coolest thing ever created in history. Best of all, this version restores the deleted content from the western PS1 version, and also adds Maria as a playable character (Michiru Yamane also returns to compose a new song for the credits). The script was re-translated and the scenes re-dubbed with the new cast voices, and while the original dub will always be iconic, I actually prefer this new one.
Anyway, if you don't like the new voices, this game offers you the option to switch to the original Japanese voices from the options menu.
Conclusion
You may like it more or you may like it less, but one thing we can't deny is that The Dracula X Chronicles was an extremely important title, and the fact that together with Order of Ecclesia they were the last important releases of the franchise makes it even more special. Not to mention, it was a wise move on Konami's part to include revised versions of Rondo of Blood to preserve the original and Symphony of the Night to celebrate the game that let us know outside of Japan about Rondo of Blood. As a curious fact, those versions were later reused for the PS4 collection.
In conclusion, a great recreation of one of the best games in the franchise, that rather than trying to be a replacement for the original, tries to be a version that celebrates and preserves its legacy while spicing up the original experience a bit to make it feel fresh and modern.
This game is torture-perfected. If slop had an image in the dictionary it would be this, next time someone mentions cock and ball torture I will only think of this, if ever I hear about CIA torture methods this game must be involved.