Released: 1993 (Japan Only)
Systems: PC Engine/Turbo Duo
After it heard numerous complaints about the linear gameplay in Super Castlevania IV, Konami once again went back to the drawing board to figure out what it could do to make exploration a greater factor in a Castlevania game without turning it into another Simon's Quest. At the time, the best option appeared to be a re-creation of Castlevania III--one in which you select the path to take to Dracula's lair. Apparently, Konami didn't think that was enough, so it looked deep into Castlevania's past and found Vampire Killer and a recipe for a new Castlevania game.
Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood starts off with an amazing opening sequence that depicts a woman lying on top of a coffin, surrounded by soldiers with odd grins on their faces--the typical "sacrifice a human to raise Dracula from the dead" scene. The opening goes on to show a group of vicious monsters and skeletons ransacking the village of Richter Belmont, who's the latest hero in the Belmont line. Richter dons his vampire-killing gear and goes to work, just as his ancestors had done so many times before.
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| Much of Dracula X's popularity comes from the game's opening sequence, which shows Richter Belmont getting ready for battle. |
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Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood plays much like previous games in the series. The main character, Richter, can do everything the previous Belmonts can do, such as whipping, jumping, stair climbing, and the standard special weapon attacks. But Richter has some added jumping ability in the form of a completely useless back flip, which most fans hardly ever use. Well, it isn't totally useless since you can jump away from enemies a little quicker or avoid enemies coming up from behind without completely turning around, but it's much easier to just use the regular jump. Richter can also use a special all-out item attack called the item break, which, depending on the weapon, unleashes a devastating attack that usually destroys all the enemies on the screen at once. If he has holy water, it rains; if he has the holy cross, a storm of crosses encircles him, destroying everything in its path. It's a very useful attack for tight situations, but the item breaks are even more effective during battles against the level boss.