Castlevania Dracula X is the infamous reversion of Rondo of Blood that the rest of the world outside of Japan got instead of Rondo of Blood itself. Here the meme of “mom, can we have Rondo of Blood? -Mom: we already have Rondo of Blood at home” totally applies.
It's actually a different game, though it's also definitely a big downgrade from the quality of the original game, but I still think it's not too bad all things considered... or maybe I'm just being masochistic.
The plot is the same, it's a retelling of Richter's story, with minor variations like Maria and Anette being sisters, or that the other damsels don't exist (no cutscenes either). The level design is also totally different, and it is also the case for the stage graphics, in this aspect I can say that Konami did a really great job, because everything looks spectacular, it is one of the best looking Castlevania games of the 16-bit era and in my opinion surpasses the original Rondo of Blood. As for the characters and enemies, here the sprites are reused from Rondo of Blood, so they look equally good, although there are also a couple of new bosses. The music is also reused, and the sound team did a great job converting the music, because despite not being CD quality, it is impressive how well it was translated.
So, let's get to the heart of the matter; the gameplay. I have to say that this game plays pretty well, the gameplay from Rondo of Blood is almost 100% translated, although the control doesn't feel quite as good, as it's a little bit clunkier (try doing the backflip or crouching too many times in a row), but it's almost identical to the original installment, and as such, it plays better than most classic Castlevanias for that fact alone (or at least it will if you have mastered the Rondo of Blood gameplay). However, the real problem with this game stems from the balancing that was given to the difficulty. Because the field of view is smaller compared to the PC-Engine game, the development team made some adjustments, like everything moves at a slower speed, they reduced the knockback that enemies generate when they hit you, and they also decreased the invincibility time they give you after being hit, so in other words, with these small changes they foolishly increased the difficulty of the game, so now it's more punishing. For example, if a medusa head hits you, it may not hit you once, but twice in a row, and this may cause you to fall into a bottomless pit and die, a cheap defeat.
Another thing is that the level design is more similar to the NES installments, so in that sense it's a step backwards. It contrasts a lot with Rondo of Blood, because that game had a perfectly balanced difficulty and level design, instead this one is a bit more challenging and punishing, so if you are not very skilled playing this kind of games you are going to have a very bad time and I don't recommend you even try it.
Things I like is how not saving Annette makes her become a boss, a concept that would be brought back for the PSP remake of Rondo of Blood. And I must say the infamous Dracula battle as well. Everyone knows that the original installment has an overly easy battle, but this time around they made it quite a bit harder, although it's not that hard if you know what you're doing. If you're equipped with the axe as sub-weapon and stay in a certain position, the first phase is like taking candy from a child, and the second phase isn't that hard, but if you're not careful you can get insta-killed.
Conclusion
Yes, the game is not that bad, except that it has a little cruel difficulty. Obviously with respect to the original Rondo of Blood it pales, because while that game felt like a premium quality Castlevania game, this one feels like an attempt to mimic that greatness, but falls short in many ways, and the fact that it wants to be a more challenging version plays against it because some parameters are not as well adjusted as they should be, making the result not so great.
However, if you are someone who enjoys the gameplay of Rondo of Blood and you are looking forward to a bigger challenge, trying this game might be a good idea, but if you are not such a fan of the classic formula, don't even dare to play this game or you will totally regret it.
It's actually a different game, though it's also definitely a big downgrade from the quality of the original game, but I still think it's not too bad all things considered... or maybe I'm just being masochistic.
The plot is the same, it's a retelling of Richter's story, with minor variations like Maria and Anette being sisters, or that the other damsels don't exist (no cutscenes either). The level design is also totally different, and it is also the case for the stage graphics, in this aspect I can say that Konami did a really great job, because everything looks spectacular, it is one of the best looking Castlevania games of the 16-bit era and in my opinion surpasses the original Rondo of Blood. As for the characters and enemies, here the sprites are reused from Rondo of Blood, so they look equally good, although there are also a couple of new bosses. The music is also reused, and the sound team did a great job converting the music, because despite not being CD quality, it is impressive how well it was translated.
So, let's get to the heart of the matter; the gameplay. I have to say that this game plays pretty well, the gameplay from Rondo of Blood is almost 100% translated, although the control doesn't feel quite as good, as it's a little bit clunkier (try doing the backflip or crouching too many times in a row), but it's almost identical to the original installment, and as such, it plays better than most classic Castlevanias for that fact alone (or at least it will if you have mastered the Rondo of Blood gameplay). However, the real problem with this game stems from the balancing that was given to the difficulty. Because the field of view is smaller compared to the PC-Engine game, the development team made some adjustments, like everything moves at a slower speed, they reduced the knockback that enemies generate when they hit you, and they also decreased the invincibility time they give you after being hit, so in other words, with these small changes they foolishly increased the difficulty of the game, so now it's more punishing. For example, if a medusa head hits you, it may not hit you once, but twice in a row, and this may cause you to fall into a bottomless pit and die, a cheap defeat.
Another thing is that the level design is more similar to the NES installments, so in that sense it's a step backwards. It contrasts a lot with Rondo of Blood, because that game had a perfectly balanced difficulty and level design, instead this one is a bit more challenging and punishing, so if you are not very skilled playing this kind of games you are going to have a very bad time and I don't recommend you even try it.
Things I like is how not saving Annette makes her become a boss, a concept that would be brought back for the PSP remake of Rondo of Blood. And I must say the infamous Dracula battle as well. Everyone knows that the original installment has an overly easy battle, but this time around they made it quite a bit harder, although it's not that hard if you know what you're doing. If you're equipped with the axe as sub-weapon and stay in a certain position, the first phase is like taking candy from a child, and the second phase isn't that hard, but if you're not careful you can get insta-killed.
Conclusion
Yes, the game is not that bad, except that it has a little cruel difficulty. Obviously with respect to the original Rondo of Blood it pales, because while that game felt like a premium quality Castlevania game, this one feels like an attempt to mimic that greatness, but falls short in many ways, and the fact that it wants to be a more challenging version plays against it because some parameters are not as well adjusted as they should be, making the result not so great.
However, if you are someone who enjoys the gameplay of Rondo of Blood and you are looking forward to a bigger challenge, trying this game might be a good idea, but if you are not such a fan of the classic formula, don't even dare to play this game or you will totally regret it.