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