 |
 |
|
Castlevania Reviews - Castlevania: Dracula X 
Castlevania Dracula X: 
Castlevania: Dracula X (or Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss in Europe) was released for the Super Nintendo in 1995. It is the american version of the highly touted but rarely seen Dracula X: The Rondo Of Blood, or Circle Of Blood, which was released for the Turbo Duo ( PC Engine CD ROM ) in Japan in 1993. I would love to have a review of that version, but I've never played it. There is a rom in the works on a web page, but you need to have a CD burner, and a registered copy of Magic Engine. (Being a Mac user, I can't use Magic Engine. I have sampled the Power PC Engine...but no CD support.) But Dracula X for Super Nintendo isn't half bad. You'll notice particularly if you play a ROM of it on your computer that the color and graphics look really good, but it isn't as deep and detailed as Super Castlevania IV. Cleaner in animations, but not as in depth is all. In this one, we are Richter Belmont for the first time on an american system. Richter can back-flip and do item crashes, and he dresses unlike the previously armored Belmont's. Richter in the Dracula X: Rondo Of Blood intro looks like Ryu from Street Fighter, and many of the pictures of him you see up until the SOTN time have him looking this way also. He even looks Japanese on the box cover painting. Another thing about Richter is he always has the Vampire Killer in his games..no need for upgrades. Here is a look at what Dracula X has to offer. Gameplay: Richter can only whip straight in front of him in Dracula X, there is no brandishing and no multi-directional. He can reverse direction in mid jump and he can also back-flip. A main difference in the gameplay of Dracula X for Super Nintendo is that you cannot find and play as Maria. The coolest attack methods of Castlevania: Dracula X are item crashes. Here is a look at each one by sub-weapon. No sub-weapon: Flame Whip - I like this this one, too bad you can't control it's direction. Uses 15 hearts. Cross Boomerang: Cross Barrage - Many crosses fly out in all directions. In Dracula X: Rondo Of Blood, I hear it is the same item crash as in SOTN. In this one, it uses 15 hearts. Dagger: Dagger Barrage - You throw countless daggers in front of you for about 5 seconds. Also, a normal throw is 3 daggers. Uses 10 hearts. Axe: Axe Barrage - Similar to the cross boomerang item crash, many axes in a circular motion emanate from you. Uses 10 hearts. Holy Water: Hydro Storm - A rain of holy water douses your enemies with it's acidic to evil touch for about 5 seconds. Uses 15 hearts. Stopwatch: Time Barrier - You are surrounded by a circle of clocks shielding you from enemies. Uses 20 hearts. You can also find keys in Dracula X which unlock certain doors. The key can hurt enemies, but there is no item crash, unless you count Richter producing a question mark. Difficulty: Dracula X can be difficult, particularly some of the jumping parts. Mermen are a big problem at the beginning of level 2, and even the skeletons will be a major irritation in level 1. The bosses are no picnic either the first few times, they don't have the same easy to pick up pattern as some of the previous Castlevania's. Dracula is pretty damn hard at first, too. Some of these bosses you will recognize as also being in SOTN, like the Werewolf and Minotaurus. In fact, just about every enemy is in SOTN with the same animations - the skeletons, skeleton apes, Mermen, Sword Lords, bats, Medusa Heads, Bone Pillars, Spear Guards, etc. And the ghosts in this one look just like the ghost familiar from SOTN. Overall, the enemies in Dracula X may be the toughest of any CV game.
Overall: It's not bad. Just because Dracula X: ROB is supposedly worlds better, doesn't make Dracula X a bad game. It does have great music ( re-do's of Vampire Killer, Beginning and Bloody Tears are in this one ), and it has a password feature, and feels right at home in the Castlevania series, something that Bloodlines didn't quite have, I love Bloodlines, but Dracula X has more of that old Castlevania feel. ( Perhaps because Bloodlines takes place in the 1900's. ). Give Dracula X a shot if it isn't in your collection yet, although it is slightly rare. Check out a rom somewhere, there's plenty of them.
| ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
