This Week in Defunct Games - March 23, 2010

What Is It? To some this is the Holy Grail of video games. This rare PC Engine CD-ROM went fifteen years before coming to the U.S., making it the most sought after Castlevania game ever made. Now everybody can enjoy Dracula X: Rondo of Blood on their Wii for a mere $9. Rondo of Blood is the prequel to Symphony of the Night, one of the most beloved games in the franchise. In many ways Rondo of Blood is the last of the traditional old school Castlevania. Instead of searching through a huge Metroid-style maze (a la Symphony of the Night and every Castlevania game made post 1995), this is a standard action game where you whip your way through regular levels. The good news is that each of the levels is masterfully crafted, thanks to Konami's many years of building solid Castlevania games. The level bosses are impressive, the backgrounds are diverse and the gameplay is top notch. Couple all that with exciting cinemas and you have one of the best games ever made.

Rondo of Blood is not as rare as it was just a couple of years ago, thanks to the release of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the PlayStation Portable. However, some purists complained that neither the remade 2.5D version of Rondo of Blood nor its straight port were as good as they could have been. The port especially suffered from a series of weird inconsistencies, making it a good, but not great experience. Thankfully the emulation in this Rondo is significantly better, improving on all of the issues Castlevania fans had with the PSP. Best of all, this spot-on port can be yours for $9, a steal when you consider what it's been going for on eBay.

Does It Still Hold Up? Don't expect fancy gameplay in Rondo of Blood, this is a game that takes us back to a simpler time when Castlevania wasn't about tricky techniques. You have a few moves, but most of the action involves you and your whip. The graphics still manage to hold up and the music is stunning. I'm also a big fan of the play control, which is quick and easily managed. Even if you've never played a pre-Symphony of the Night Castlevania game, Rondo of Blood will not disappoint.

Is It Worth The Money? For some odd reason "YES!!!!" doesn't feel like a strong enough response. The only good reason to not download this game is that you already spent hundreds of dollars importing the coveted PC Engine original. And even then I would still suggest downloading it, as this Virtual Console release is by far the most convenient version of the game available. It's not often you have a chance to have a completely brand new Castlevania experience. Even if the game is nearing its 20th anniversary, you are only hurting yourself if you don't download Rondo of Blood!