Akumajo Dracula X: Chi no Rondo

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Akumajo Dracula X: Chi no Rondo; Turbo-CD
Topic Started: Jan 17 2008, 06:09 PM (115 Views)
dagoss	Jan 17 2008, 06:09 PM Post #1
Level 1 Scholar / Level 10 Wizard Posts: 2,851 Group: Member Member #29 Joined: September 20, 2006	Akumajo Dracula X: Chi no Rondo (Turbo-CD) [size=1](a.k.a. Dracula X: Rondo of Blood)[/size] Perhaps the most famous game in a popular series to not see a US release¹, Dracula X is fabled to epitomize the old style of Castlevania (meaning before Symphony of the Night). This reputation has been expounded upon due to an unfaithful "port" to the SNES that left many fans to only fantasize about how good the original really was. The further agitate the issue, high demand and low production of the title has inflated the value of used copies by an exponential amount. Worse yet, the Turbo CD itself was not a successful accessory in the US and is itself quite costly. Despite it's mythic status, it is not the holy grail if video games -- though it is without question extraordinarily well done. The very simple design of the original Castlevania is here taken to its very limits, blending both rudimentary and complex platforming sequences with organic and memorable enemies, the smoothest images the Turbo-CD could produce, and high quality CD music in such a way that it is really difficult to ask more from the game. Most players will likely encounter Dracula X after Symphony of the Night, though the former leads chronologically into the later. The two games share the same similar style of horror-undertones combined with catchy dance music and skeletons that throw their own bones as weapons. Unlike Symphony of the Night, Dracula X retains the same loosely linear level structure of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Every level in the game has some split (usually hidden) that will take you to an alternate boss and thus to an alternate stage. The stages are some of the most unique and memorable in the series, from the initial backdrop of a burning village to a race across a collapsing bridge to rafts floating down a lively river to the rotting hull of a ship wreck. The bosses are equally memorable, starting with the fight against Death on a speeding chariot and ending in the inevitable assault on Dracula's throne room. While only nine levels are required to reach the Count, several features contribute to a relatively high replay value. Once a level is played, you can select it at any time so that you do not need to play through the rest of the game. With multiple routes to find and a variety of secrets to uncover, the game is essentially incomplete until you play a second time. There are also maidens to rescue, including Maria (who appeared as an adult in Symphony of the Night), who becomes playable once she is freed. The alterations her character makes in the way the game is played -- different power-ups and weapons (she attacks with birds -- yes, birds) to her speedy double jumps and tumbles -- defamiliarize the game's physics enough to make the experience entirely new. Most importantly, the game is a flat-out brilliantly put together, and will likely solicit your attention multiple times, even if it is just to hear that remix of "Bloody Tears" or to remind Death why he shouldn't be so proud. At it's heart, Dracula X is a very simple game. You push one button to jump and another to brandish your whip. You hit things with said whip. You walk around. The formula is as simple here as it was 1987. Yet at the same time Konami has taken that simplicity to its limits. If you've ever played a Castlevania game and, while running across a bridge swinging away at bats, you found yourself humming along and in some sort of quasi-spiritual ecstasy, then you will immediately understand what Konami has managed to accomplish here. Dracula X is by no means the end all of video games that it's mythic status has sometimes made it out to be, but is it a near it a near perfect swan song for the old style Castlevania series? Without a doubt, yes. Rating: 10/10 A playthrough of the entire game, including cut-scenes. [size=1]¹ Dracula X has since been rereleased as The Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP, which contains the original game and a remake. This review is of the original Turbo-CD game.[/size]
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