Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is the Classicvania formula at its peak.

Whereas Super Castlevania IV focused on creating a dark, dingy atmosphere by playing into the classic horror and pulp stories the series was inspired by, Rondo of Blood goes in the exact opposite direction. Everything about this game is stylish, in-your-face, and downright excessive. The colors are brighter, the music is louder, the violence is gorier, and a new anime-like art style has been applied to the characters. I love it. I love all of it. This game absolutely relishes in how cheesy the Castlevania franchise is at its core, creating a somewhat goofy and action-packed tone that fits the platforming-focused gameplay like a glove.

Speaking of the gameplay, the Belmonts have never felt better. While he lacks Simon’s multidirectional whip, Richter Belmont more than makes up for it by just how buttery smooth his controls are. It’s hard to explain, but jumping and whipping just feels so perfect in this game, and the amount of control you have over Richter’s movement is astounding.

The level design has never been better. I can’t even pick a favorite, because they’re all absolute bangers… but fuck it, Stage 5 is my favorite. It’s a haunted ship, sorta like the one from Dracula’s Curse, but there’s so many cool enemies to fight and challenges to overcome. It’s awesome.

The story isn’t anything special, but it’s noteworthy for being the first Castlevania game to have one that fully takes place in-game instead of the manual. You have these goofy ahh cutscenes that are as ridiculous as they are charming, thanks in no small part to the fantastic character design and shōnen-style presentation. Also, this is our first peek into Dracula’s true motives, which Symphony of the Night would base its entire plot off of (it is a direct sequel, after all).

The visuals? Gorgeous. Best of the Classicvanias by a wide margin. Ditto for the music, which takes full advantage of the PC Engine’s CD capabilities to create an appropriately badass and exciting soundtrack. Go and take a listen. You won’t regret it.

So yeah, Rondo of Blood is absolutely fantastic, and it’s one of the best 2D platformers I’ve ever played. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t played it yet.

"Remember me, and your true self as well, also that which you must become. The one who will lead us to Paradise with blood stained hands!"

I'm not a really big fan of survival horror games, or horror games in general, because I get scared easily, so I feel like I never get to fully enjoy these games and their qualities, mostly because I end up looking for guides and walkthroughs online.
Before the Silent Hill games that I played for the first time last summer, I had only played RE 2 and 3 remakes, and those were both games that i didn't like very much. Luckily,  that wasn't the case for the Silent Hill games, because I loved them. After finishing Silent Hill 2 in one day and loving it, I decided to play Silent Hill 3, which quickly became my favorite in the series, even more after playing Silent Hill 1. After one year, while watching my friend play sh2, I decided to replay sh3, and my opinion on it hasn't changed.
I think that Silent Hill 3 is the best game in the original trilogy for a different number of reasons, from the gameplay to the even more absurd horror elements and the incredible story and characters.

First of all i wanted to talk about how good all the different "levels" in this game were, they were all perfectly crafted and scary but fun to go trough, my favorite one was the hilltop center, mostly bc i really liked the change to the otherworld and also i feel like they are the most scary ones with the church, that is one of the best parts in the game with the recalls to silent hill one, the shopping mall and the subway were also good but in this replay i found them really fast to go through and didn't think much of them other than the fact that the mall is a perfect preview of what the game is going to be, then bookhaven hospital is in my opinion the least fun one because you already go through it already in sh2 so its a bit repetitive in its normal form; overall i think that every place visited is good in its own way and doesn't fail at making you feel scared thanks to the perfect sound design but also to its little eastereggs like the cutscene in the subway that always freaks me out.

The gameplay is also better than in sh2, thats because theres more types of weapons that make the gameplay more fun and engaging, also i love the ng plus weapons like the infinite flamethrower, the infinte submachinegun and my favorite one which is the beam saber. Also the costumes add to the game a lot of replayability thanks to all the different shirts and outfits that Heather can wear, even though in my opinion her original outfit is the best one bc its more iconic and particular.

I loved the cult story and how it managed to deliver an interesting and particular narrative, even though it can be considered more "common" than the one in Silent Hill 2.

My favorite characters were Heather, Douglas, and Vincent. The best one is Heather, who has probably become my favorite female character, she acts like a real person during the game by showing a wide range of emotions but also by her interactions with the world around her, and I love how she has her own unique personality, i also really liked Douglas because i think hes a really intricate charachter and i love how the game makes you hate him at the start but then not only he becomes a very important part in the plot, but he also becomes an important person to Heather, then theres Vincent which I really liked because of its contrast with claudia about their beliefs and their different view on the same religion.

The themes of the game are very delicate but at the same time very important to talk about, like unwanted pregnancy, abortion, and womanhood in general. I would love to talk more precisely about each one of them, but I think that since they are a big part of the game, I would end up spoiling something.

I can say that Silent Hill 3 is, at least in my opinion, the peak of horror gaming, and even if I don't play a lot of horror games myself, I don't think that there will ever be a game that surpasses the feeling of anxiety, terror, and also sadness that Silent Hill 3 gave me. This game is a must-play for everyone, even for the people who, like me, aren't really big fans of the horror genre.


PS:
Even though the review is finished, I wanted to share 2 of my favorite quotes from the game:
"Is every person here a mental case?"
"Monsters? They looked like monsters to you?"