The slightly changed puzzles for two unlockables (finding Iris and Annette) were both an interesting twist and a bit of a "bruh I gotta get a guide to find these now?" with how they are.
Otherwise it seems all arond like Rondo but with a muddier 3D facelift (though it made the snake boss easier to stop fearing), and some songs are good if not kinda close to Rondo's ,others are alright but definitely not as good, and then there's Stage 7/Moon Light which is the one song I would say that beats the original song used.
Stage 5' isn't THAT different in that it did have a neat visual overhaul but when you have played Rondo, the stage does share a similar structure and layout (ducking under spikes over platforms in water, the split with knights guarding the areas, and that going the upper path will have you meet two black knights). Very similar in the first-time frustration factor as well.
A few moments were jankier to platform due to the 3D hitboxes (and Stage 7 has been tweaked to be a little bit more difficult) but other than that, the stages are often the same as Rondo in difficulty, and the bosses feel easier to keep track of which is kinda funny (though I couldn't bother with the Lesser Vampire so I ended up looking up how to find Annette and fight the real boss there)
Its still a version of Rondo which means that it does hold up, and having Rondo/SOTN in the same package really adds to value (even though you will likely need to look up where to find them, or at least Rondo in my case), but while the music remapping feature is cool, having to search so much to find EVERY song from both past games isn't so much. That and not being able to put the OG Rondo music for Dracula's fight; why show the option but lock that out?
That aside, I think that the visual style being kinda cluttered in some stages, the music unlocks (not going for a 100% run because of those when they are kinda useless if I have played everything already unless you want to revisit in the future or are a completionist) and getting a bit frustrated over "OH SO THEY WERE HERE ALL ALONG" moments with Iris/Annette along with Stage 5' being Stage 5' might have knocked off that one/half star from the Rating (though that frustration is also likely because I only played it the most on a phone...but it also means that I can say I beat Dracula and all stages except 5' so far on that of all things), but on the other hand, at least it doesn't break everything and what's still familiar feels more accessible than before.
I like Rondo more but a lot of what done here was clearly done with care for the fans, and PSP owners were eating real good when this came out.
Otherwise it seems all arond like Rondo but with a muddier 3D facelift (though it made the snake boss easier to stop fearing), and some songs are good if not kinda close to Rondo's ,others are alright but definitely not as good, and then there's Stage 7/Moon Light which is the one song I would say that beats the original song used.
Stage 5' isn't THAT different in that it did have a neat visual overhaul but when you have played Rondo, the stage does share a similar structure and layout (ducking under spikes over platforms in water, the split with knights guarding the areas, and that going the upper path will have you meet two black knights). Very similar in the first-time frustration factor as well.
A few moments were jankier to platform due to the 3D hitboxes (and Stage 7 has been tweaked to be a little bit more difficult) but other than that, the stages are often the same as Rondo in difficulty, and the bosses feel easier to keep track of which is kinda funny (though I couldn't bother with the Lesser Vampire so I ended up looking up how to find Annette and fight the real boss there)
Its still a version of Rondo which means that it does hold up, and having Rondo/SOTN in the same package really adds to value (even though you will likely need to look up where to find them, or at least Rondo in my case), but while the music remapping feature is cool, having to search so much to find EVERY song from both past games isn't so much. That and not being able to put the OG Rondo music for Dracula's fight; why show the option but lock that out?
That aside, I think that the visual style being kinda cluttered in some stages, the music unlocks (not going for a 100% run because of those when they are kinda useless if I have played everything already unless you want to revisit in the future or are a completionist) and getting a bit frustrated over "OH SO THEY WERE HERE ALL ALONG" moments with Iris/Annette along with Stage 5' being Stage 5' might have knocked off that one/half star from the Rating (though that frustration is also likely because I only played it the most on a phone...but it also means that I can say I beat Dracula and all stages except 5' so far on that of all things), but on the other hand, at least it doesn't break everything and what's still familiar feels more accessible than before.
I like Rondo more but a lot of what done here was clearly done with care for the fans, and PSP owners were eating real good when this came out.