The original Castlevania trilogy on the original Nintendo was pretty good although the mechanics tended to get in the way more often than preferable. The fourth game on Super Nintendo resolved the mechanical issues to become one of the best games in the series. Sega fans didn't get to enjoy the series at all until 1994 due to Nintendo's monopolistic policies regarding third-parties; the closest Sega got was the pretty good blatant rip-off Vampire: Master of Darkness. However, in 1994, a true blue Castlevania game made it to the Genesis. Castlevania: Bloodlines (or Castlevania: The New Generation if you're in Europe) is the only taste of the series Sega fans would get (except for those Japanese Saturn owners who could enjoy Symphony of the Night). Fortunately, it was a very tasty morsel.
Like most of the prior games in the series, the plot is very basic, just another trek to put down a recently resurrected Dracula. However, Bloodlines does put a couple of new elements in to freshen things up. First, the Belmont clan is officially MIA. Instead, players get a choice of two characters. John Morris, son of Qunicy Morris from the original Bram Stoker novel, uses a whip; it almost makes you wonder why the developers didn't just make him a Belmont. Eric Lecarde was more interesting with his spear. Both characters do have distinct abilities to separate them. John can swing with his whip, and Eric can spin his spear. Also, the quest goes all over Europe instead of staying in Transylvania. It doesn't mean much for the plot, but it allows each of the six stages to have its own look and feel.
The gameplay is largely the refined platforming style of Super Castlevania 4 which is excellent. The jumping is easy to control, and the combat lost all the stiffness of the earlier games in the series. Having an extra button for the special items (one of which is an awesome boomerang) and being able to attack in all directions makes the combat easier to handle than in the 8-bit games. Even the aesthetics are outstanding. Sure, the Genesis couldn't do the scaling, rotation, and Mode 7 effects that the Super Nintendo could, but each stage is still a sight complete with some grisly imagery that Nintendo tended to avoid using at the time. Even though the Genesis couldn't do the orchestrated soundtrack the Super Nintendo could, the soundtrack here still evokes a creepy atmosphere.
Really, the only thing holding back Bloodlines is the level design. While the levels are mostly great, there are small annoyances that do start to add up. First, the gimmicks can get a little out of hand. The second stage is all about water, and the gimmicks are showered all over the place. You go from racing a rising water level to fighting a boss whose showers form a time limit to riding rafts in a sort of autoscrolling segment. The novelty wears off as the deaths pile up. Second, the levels are WAY too long. That second level I mentioned has five bosses in it, including three that are back-to-back-to-back. Finally, the three continue limit was a stupid idea. The other games had unlimited continues; why not this one? Sure, there's a password feature, but that still doesn't make a continue limit make any sense.
Castlevania: Bloodlines isn't the best of the pure Castlevania games; Super Castlevania 4 has that title. However, it's still a very good game in the series. It adds a few fresh ideas to the format, and it shows some of the best aesthetics the Genesis could pull off. The issues with the levels can get annoying but not enough to really damage the game. For the only Castlevania game American Sega acolytes got to play on their systems of choice, they got one of the best.
