Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Encyclopedia
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, known in Japan as is a platform
video game developed by Konami
for the PC Engine. The tenth installment of the Castlevania
video game series and a 2D side-scroller, it acts as a middleground between the earlier, typically linear Castlevania games and the later open-exploration ones; Rondo of Blood makes use of untimed stages with a clear beginning, but occasionally more than one ending. It was released in Japan on October 29, 1993. A direct sequel to it, the critically acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
, was released in 1997.
Taking place in 1792, Rondo of Blood is set in the fictional universe
of the Castlevania series. The premise of the series is the eternal conflict between the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan and the immortal vampire Dracula. Rondo of Blood centers on Richter Belmont, who searches for his beloved Annette after Dracula's servant abducts her. In Dracula's castle, he frees young Maria Renard, who then becomes a playable character, and two other maidens before finding Annette and defeating him.
Castlevania: Dracula X, a game based on it but with a different art style, redesigned levels and altered gameplay, was released internationally for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
two years later. In 2007, Rondo of Blood saw a North American, European and Australian release and 2.5D
remake
as part of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for PlayStation Portable
. The original PC Engine version became available in Japan in 2008 on Wii
's Virtual Console
and as an imported title, in Australia, Europe and North America in March 2010. Dracula X received mixed reviews while The Dracula X Chronicles was praised for its updated graphics and inclusion of bonus content such as a port of Symphony of the Night.
The objective is to guide the primary player character
Richter Belmont through nine stages, with four alternate routes, as he searches for his kidnapped beloved Annette and ultimately confronts Dracula in his castle. Richter makes use of a whip as his main weapon and one of six sub-weapons: an axe, a dagger, holy water, a grimoire
, a pocket watch, and a cross. While exploring the castle, Richter can rescue four maidens, including Annette's young sister Maria Renard who then becomes a playable character. She attacks using her doves and one of six sub-weapons: a cat, dragon, cardinal
, turtle, egg or musical notes.
Rondo of Blood incorporates elements from the earlier Castlevania games which typically featured linear gameplay and a member of the Belmont clan as the protagonist, and the later entries which emphasized untimed exploration of the environment. Rondo of Blood makes use of untimed stages with a clear beginning, but more than one ending to some levels; this then affects the subsequent environment, monsters, and boss monster that the player character encounters at the end of the level. Items such as money, hearts, and food can be found scattered throughout the areas. Rondo of Blood also features the Item Crash ability reused in subsequent Castlevania titles, which allows a sub-weapon to be used in a super attack. Its direct sequel, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
, reuses many of the monsters.
of the Castlevania series. The premise of the series is the eternal conflict between the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan and the immortal vampire Dracula. The protagonist
is 19-year-old Richter Belmont (Jin Horikawa
), heir to the whip Vampire Killer and Simon Belmont's direct descendant. He comes to the castle after his beloved Annette (Atsuko Honda) is kidnapped by Dracula's servant Shaft. Many times throughout the game, Dracula's trusty lieutenant, Death, attempts to stop Richter before he reaches Castlevania. Along the way, Richter frees Annette's sister Maria Renard (Yoko Teppozuka), an orphaned 12-year-old who was taken to the castle with her and insists on joining him; Terra (Hiromi Murata), a nun who mistakes him for a manifestation of God; Iris (Akie Yasuda), the daughter of the village doctor; and finally Annette. After defeating Shaft and Death, Richter confronts Dracula (Hiroya Ishimaru
) and vanquishes him. The castle then collapses into the sea.
video game series. Produced by Konami
, Rondo of Blood originally saw only a Japanese-exclusive release on the PC Engine on October 29, 1993. Later, a port was released on the Wii
for the Japanese Virtual Console
on April 22, 2008; as an import, it became available in North America on March 15, 2010 and in the PAL region (Europe and Australia) on March 19, 2010.
, allowing for better musical quality. Akiropito, Jigokuguruma Nakamura, Sanoppi, and Mikio Saito composed the soundtrack of Rondo of Blood. The songs from Rondo of Blood, "Overture", "Beginning" and "Opus 13", appeared on a pre-order bonus CD for the 2006 Nintendo DS
game Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
.
Konami Style published the two-disk soundtrack of the remake of the game, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, on November 8, 2007. The songs "Vampire Killer", "Beginning", "Cemetery", and "Divine Bloodlines" were rearranged; it also included a bonus track of an English-language version of "Nocturne" from Symphony of the Night. Within The Dracula X Chronicles is an option which enables players to choose songs from Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night to play in the background. These songs are found in the form of records hidden within the game.
. While the plot is similar to Rondo of Blood, it featured a different art style, redesigned levels, and altered gameplay elements such as having only two alternate levels and Maria as a nonplayable character. It was released on July 21, 1995 in Japan, on September 1995 in North America, on February 22, 1996 in Europe. and on June 22, 1996 in Australia as an uncensored release.
remake of Rondo of Blood for the PlayStation Portable
. It includes the original game and a port of its sequel, Symphony of the Night, as unlockable content. Symphony of the Night included the option to play as Maria, and redone scripts and voice acting. Gameplay in The Dracula X Chronicles remains largely unchanged from Rondo of Blood. However, a Boss Rush mode was added and completion of it three times unlocks the mini-game Peke.
It was released in North America on October 23, 2007, in Japan on November 8, 2007, in Europe on February 15, 2008 and in Australia & New Zealand on April 9, 2008. In 2008, the North American edition was re-released as part of the "Greatest Hits" label while the Japanese edition was re-released on July 15, 2010 under the "Best Selection" label.
described Rondo of Blood as "a beautifully crafted action game in the classic Castlevania style" and a "long-coveted classic". IGN
awarded the Wii port its "Editors' Choice" and described it as enjoyable and "worth the wait". Nintendo Life rated it 9/10, praising the level design, soundtrack, graphics, and level difficulty. Rondo of Blood was awarded Best Japanese Action Game of 1994 by Electronic Gaming Monthly
.
Dracula X received a ranking of 73.75% from Game Rankings
, based on four reviews. Dracula X received mixed reviews from critics. Some reviewers labeled it as "an incredibly inferior port" and "an inferior attempt at a conversion." IGN's retrospective on the series referred to it as "still one of the best traditional Castlevania games", and that it "holds its own" in terms of graphics, including a brighter color palette and Mode 7
graphics, but suffered from weak A.I. and bad level layout.
Critical reaction to the remake, The Dracula X Chronicles, was generally favorable. Metacritic
listed The Dracula X Chronicles as 80/100 while Game Rankings gave it an 81.40%. Reviewers praised the updated visuals, enjoyable soundtrack, inclusion of Symphony of the Night and other bonus content. The high level of difficulty was noted by reviewers as potentially frustrating for players unused to it, and the voice acting drew criticism as "soap opera fare". Conversely, GameSpy called The Dracula X Chronicles "a solid remake", but considered it unnecessary and "worse than the original".
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
video game developed by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
for the PC Engine. The tenth installment of the Castlevania
Castlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
video game series and a 2D side-scroller, it acts as a middleground between the earlier, typically linear Castlevania games and the later open-exploration ones; Rondo of Blood makes use of untimed stages with a clear beginning, but occasionally more than one ending. It was released in Japan on October 29, 1993. A direct sequel to it, the critically acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...
, was released in 1997.
Taking place in 1792, Rondo of Blood is set in the fictional universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
of the Castlevania series. The premise of the series is the eternal conflict between the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan and the immortal vampire Dracula. Rondo of Blood centers on Richter Belmont, who searches for his beloved Annette after Dracula's servant abducts her. In Dracula's castle, he frees young Maria Renard, who then becomes a playable character, and two other maidens before finding Annette and defeating him.
Castlevania: Dracula X, a game based on it but with a different art style, redesigned levels and altered gameplay, was released internationally for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
two years later. In 2007, Rondo of Blood saw a North American, European and Australian release and 2.5D
2.5D
2.5D , 3/4 perspective and pseudo-3D are terms used to describe either:* 2D graphical projections and techniques which cause a series of images or scenes to fake or appear to be three-dimensional when in fact they are not, or* gameplay in an otherwise three-dimensional video game that is...
remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
as part of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. The original PC Engine version became available in Japan in 2008 on Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
and as an imported title, in Australia, Europe and North America in March 2010. Dracula X received mixed reviews while The Dracula X Chronicles was praised for its updated graphics and inclusion of bonus content such as a port of Symphony of the Night.
Gameplay
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
Richter Belmont through nine stages, with four alternate routes, as he searches for his kidnapped beloved Annette and ultimately confronts Dracula in his castle. Richter makes use of a whip as his main weapon and one of six sub-weapons: an axe, a dagger, holy water, a grimoire
Grimoire
A grimoire is a textbook of magic. Such books typically include instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination and also how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels, spirits, and demons...
, a pocket watch, and a cross. While exploring the castle, Richter can rescue four maidens, including Annette's young sister Maria Renard who then becomes a playable character. She attacks using her doves and one of six sub-weapons: a cat, dragon, cardinal
Cardinal (bird)
The Cardinals or Cardinalidae are a family of passerine birds found in North and South America. The South American cardinals in the genus Paroaria are placed in another family, the Thraupidae ....
, turtle, egg or musical notes.
Rondo of Blood incorporates elements from the earlier Castlevania games which typically featured linear gameplay and a member of the Belmont clan as the protagonist, and the later entries which emphasized untimed exploration of the environment. Rondo of Blood makes use of untimed stages with a clear beginning, but more than one ending to some levels; this then affects the subsequent environment, monsters, and boss monster that the player character encounters at the end of the level. Items such as money, hearts, and food can be found scattered throughout the areas. Rondo of Blood also features the Item Crash ability reused in subsequent Castlevania titles, which allows a sub-weapon to be used in a super attack. Its direct sequel, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1997. It is the 14th installment of the Castlevania series, the first installment released for the PlayStation, and a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.Symphony of the...
, reuses many of the monsters.
Plot
Taking place in 1792, Rondo of Blood is set in the fictional universeFictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
of the Castlevania series. The premise of the series is the eternal conflict between the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan and the immortal vampire Dracula. The protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
is 19-year-old Richter Belmont (Jin Horikawa
Jin Horikawa
is a Japanese voice actor from Hyōgo Prefecture. He is a member of Office Osawa, the same agency that employs distinguished voice actors such as Yuji Ueda, Mitsuo Iwata, and Fumihiko Tachiki...
), heir to the whip Vampire Killer and Simon Belmont's direct descendant. He comes to the castle after his beloved Annette (Atsuko Honda) is kidnapped by Dracula's servant Shaft. Many times throughout the game, Dracula's trusty lieutenant, Death, attempts to stop Richter before he reaches Castlevania. Along the way, Richter frees Annette's sister Maria Renard (Yoko Teppozuka), an orphaned 12-year-old who was taken to the castle with her and insists on joining him; Terra (Hiromi Murata), a nun who mistakes him for a manifestation of God; Iris (Akie Yasuda), the daughter of the village doctor; and finally Annette. After defeating Shaft and Death, Richter confronts Dracula (Hiroya Ishimaru
Hiroya Ishimaru
is a Japanese voice actor most famous for performing the role of Kouji Kabuto in the 1972 series Mazinger Z and its sequels. He also gave voice to Tutty from Bosco Adventure and recently voiced Ultraman Taro in Ultraman Story, Ultraman Mebius, and Ultraman Mebius and Ultra Brothers He is also the...
) and vanquishes him. The castle then collapses into the sea.
Development
Rondo of Blood is the tenth installment of the CastlevaniaCastlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
video game series. Produced by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
, Rondo of Blood originally saw only a Japanese-exclusive release on the PC Engine on October 29, 1993. Later, a port was released on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
for the Japanese Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
on April 22, 2008; as an import, it became available in North America on March 15, 2010 and in the PAL region (Europe and Australia) on March 19, 2010.
Audio
For the audio, Rondo of Blood makes use of a CD in contrast to a HuCardHuCard
A HuCard is a memory card developed by Hudson Soft. It is the size of a credit card and is used with the NEC PC Engine and SuperGrafx video game consoles. HuCards contain an integrated circuit that is placed close to the connectors and protected by a thin plastic shield...
, allowing for better musical quality. Akiropito, Jigokuguruma Nakamura, Sanoppi, and Mikio Saito composed the soundtrack of Rondo of Blood. The songs from Rondo of Blood, "Overture", "Beginning" and "Opus 13", appeared on a pre-order bonus CD for the 2006 Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
game Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, known in Japan as , is an action video game developed and published by Konami. The game was released on November 16, 2006 in Japan, and in the US on December 5, 2006 for the Nintendo DS handheld game console...
.
Konami Style published the two-disk soundtrack of the remake of the game, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, on November 8, 2007. The songs "Vampire Killer", "Beginning", "Cemetery", and "Divine Bloodlines" were rearranged; it also included a bonus track of an English-language version of "Nocturne" from Symphony of the Night. Within The Dracula X Chronicles is an option which enables players to choose songs from Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night to play in the background. These songs are found in the form of records hidden within the game.
Castlevania: Dracula X
Castlevania: Dracula X, known as in Japan and Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss in Europe, was developed for the Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemSuper Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
. While the plot is similar to Rondo of Blood, it featured a different art style, redesigned levels, and altered gameplay elements such as having only two alternate levels and Maria as a nonplayable character. It was released on July 21, 1995 in Japan, on September 1995 in North America, on February 22, 1996 in Europe. and on June 22, 1996 in Australia as an uncensored release.
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, known in Japan as is a 2.5D2.5D
2.5D , 3/4 perspective and pseudo-3D are terms used to describe either:* 2D graphical projections and techniques which cause a series of images or scenes to fake or appear to be three-dimensional when in fact they are not, or* gameplay in an otherwise three-dimensional video game that is...
remake of Rondo of Blood for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. It includes the original game and a port of its sequel, Symphony of the Night, as unlockable content. Symphony of the Night included the option to play as Maria, and redone scripts and voice acting. Gameplay in The Dracula X Chronicles remains largely unchanged from Rondo of Blood. However, a Boss Rush mode was added and completion of it three times unlocks the mini-game Peke.
It was released in North America on October 23, 2007, in Japan on November 8, 2007, in Europe on February 15, 2008 and in Australia & New Zealand on April 9, 2008. In 2008, the North American edition was re-released as part of the "Greatest Hits" label while the Japanese edition was re-released on July 15, 2010 under the "Best Selection" label.
Reception
Critical reaction to Rondo of Blood was positive. 1UP1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
described Rondo of Blood as "a beautifully crafted action game in the classic Castlevania style" and a "long-coveted classic". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded the Wii port its "Editors' Choice" and described it as enjoyable and "worth the wait". Nintendo Life rated it 9/10, praising the level design, soundtrack, graphics, and level difficulty. Rondo of Blood was awarded Best Japanese Action Game of 1994 by Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
.
Dracula X received a ranking of 73.75% from Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
, based on four reviews. Dracula X received mixed reviews from critics. Some reviewers labeled it as "an incredibly inferior port" and "an inferior attempt at a conversion." IGN's retrospective on the series referred to it as "still one of the best traditional Castlevania games", and that it "holds its own" in terms of graphics, including a brighter color palette and Mode 7
Mode 7
Mode 7 is a graphics mode on the Super NES video game console that allows a background layer to be rotated and scaled on a scanline-by-scanline basis to create many different effects. The most famous of these effects this can create is the application of a perspective effect on a background layer...
graphics, but suffered from weak A.I. and bad level layout.
Critical reaction to the remake, The Dracula X Chronicles, was generally favorable. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
listed The Dracula X Chronicles as 80/100 while Game Rankings gave it an 81.40%. Reviewers praised the updated visuals, enjoyable soundtrack, inclusion of Symphony of the Night and other bonus content. The high level of difficulty was noted by reviewers as potentially frustrating for players unused to it, and the voice acting drew criticism as "soap opera fare". Conversely, GameSpy called The Dracula X Chronicles "a solid remake", but considered it unnecessary and "worse than the original".