Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

I mentioned before when talking about Chakan: The Forever Man that excessive difficulty can actually hurt a game. It almost doesn't matter how much care and effort went into a game; if it's too hard, no one will see all the work that went into it, anyway. Be clear that I am not a pansy when it comes to difficulty. I've logged plenty of miles in Ninja Gaiden and Final Doom, and those games are certainly no cakewalks. To be fair, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a remake that's a little easier than the original release, but that's like saying fighting a Bengal tiger is easier with a butter knife than with a toothpick.

The Dracula X Chronicles is a remake of Rondo of Blood which, at the time, was only available on the Japanese PC Engine-CD. Unlike most of the straight platforming games that came before, the story here is more significant. The latest member of the Belmont clan, Richter, heads to Dracula's castle as his beloved Annette was kidnapped by the dark priest Shaft to be used as a sacrifice. Cinematics are sprinkled throughout the game, and the stronger plot does make this one more interesting than most of the games that came before.


Of course, the biggest thing about this remake is that the whole game shifted from 2D sprites to 3D polygons. Even now, the visuals are quite impressive. They wouldn't outshine stuff on the PlayStation 4 or PS Vita, but the level of detail still shines even now. The animation is also smooth as silk. Even the remixes of the music from Rondo of Blood are catchy as hell, and that says a lot coming from me since I generally don't care for remixes.

Despite the shift to polygons, the game still plays in 2D with the most of the same level designs from the original release. That said, Rondo of Blood was one of the most frustrating games in the whole series, and Dracula X Chronicles only slightly toned the aggravation down. This one does make use of all four face buttons to make using special items easier. However, Richter can still only take about five hits before dying. He still can only whip horizontally. He still moves too slowly, and the enemy numbers still overwhelm him. Even unlocking the original version of Rondo of Blood and the direct sequel, the amazing Symphony of the Night, requires jumping through a bunch of secret and frustrating hoops to get them. Well, at least this game got rid of the annoying time limit from the earlier games.

The Dracula X Chronicles didn't piss me off with its difficulty like Chakan did, and the artistry in the remake did make dying time after time a bit more bearable. That said, this is a game for masochists only. It is a very good game to check out, but only if you can handle the pain of playing it. Most people would probably find getting whipped by Richter in real life less painful.