75%Emulated

The secret game of secrets
Only Japan got the original version, and rumors spread to the rest of the world that this was the best Castlevania game ever. Well, it's held up pretty well. The main issue: the game is pretty bland on the surface. Richter's whip has no upgrades, and can only attack left or right. So why was this game considered the best at the time? The hidden paths connecting alternate stages were very cool, and you could rescue prisoners for an extra challenge. One of those prisoners is Maria, another playable character, and she's unlike any other character in the series. She's a lot of fun to use, but much easier than Richter. I think more people would like this game now if the hidden content wasn't as hidden as it is.

Precise Score: 7.6/10
Full Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo8OWf5SNdM

90%PlayStation 5

Probably one of the best Castlevania games, if not the best.

80%Emulated

HARD AS NAILS.
Emulated PSP version of Dracula X

100%PlayStation 4

In Rondo of Blood, the music and visuals is some of the best I've seen in a video game. On every stage, it stays infinitely replayable and the music never gets old. Rondo is straight to the point, all killer, no filler. The controls are tight and the level design is up their with the best of any action platformer. It even has a built in easy mode in Maria if you can't beat a stage with Richter. I'm not going to lie, I did stages 6-8 and the alternates with Maria. Her gameplay is so dynamic and quick. Makes Richter look like he's walking in sand. Honestly I prefer Maria story wise, all the dialogue with the maidens and Dracula are great and charming. She has a very bubbly personality in this dark game, the contrast is so good. I would strongly recommend playing Rondo even though I know most people bought the Requiem collection on PS4 just to play SotN. Trust me, just like SotN, Rondo has also aged like fine wine.

55%PlayStation 4

Importante ter jogado pelo valor histórico, não me arrependo e fui cativado em alguma medida. Entretanto, não posso dizer que foi uma experiência prazerosa, a dificuldade foi estressante demais.

100%TurboGrafx-CD

📺 Playlist (ou Longplay) da Jogatina 📺
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP3e3IZfGW0auMWv1E_sWS93JPpMV7nWs

55%TurboGrafx-CD

- cheap. CVIII is brutal, but it punishes you for things you should know about, while Rondo doesn’t hold back at absolutely wiping your progress with “surprises”

- visually boring. Doesn’t utilise the power of the CD for anything whatsoever

- tired of that fucking clocktower

+ memorable bosses

-/+ soundtrack full of highs and lows, but mostly highs. However, it has to compete with other CV soundtracks which makes it pale a little bit

Definitely the most overrated CV. Had a tough time making myself be done with it.

100%Emulated

Except for a bunch of ports and/or remakes, Rondo of Blood is the final classic Castlevania game and you will stop wondering why after only a few minutes. Not only it's final : it's also definitive. I don't think it was possible at the time to do more with the original formula. Everything here is pushed to the max : technic is incredible for 1993, each level is a masterclass in design, controls are tighter as ever, and boss fights are... wow, something.

Of course, the classicvania formula itself is not for everyone, and as the Apex of this, Rondo of Blood is not the most beginner-friendly. Gameplay can sometimes feels like a stepback from Super Castlevania IV, with a return to heavy controls and tough difficulty. Quite logic: SCIV was marked with the unofficial Nintendo policy during the early SNES era, which basically was 'let's re-make the NES best-sellers with beautiful graphics and lower difficulty to bring new players'. Rondo of Blood, on the other hand, was made on an elitist console NEC never bothered to sell worldwide***. In a way, it is an elitist game. It's different from most action games from its time, and can be quite tense and tough. But it provides a fair challenge, which wasn't exactly the case with any of the 80s Castlevanias, and aged so well that it would be sad to just pass. Many Japan-only games are widely overhyped, but Rondo of Blood's not.

*** I'm not overstating here. In France, PC-Engine was commercialized by a fan-made company with no relation to NEC (except their own profit) because they just didn't care.

50%PlayStation 4

Frustrating controls and inconsistent difficulty. Good production values but only decent game.

70%PlayStation 4

Castlevania Rondo of Blood
• First time playing
• Walking on Hallow Ground.
• Every new game I play I start with an open mind, but I’ll admit, I went into Rondo of Blood knowing its place among Castlevania games and in gaming as a whole.
• It was heavily mythologized for years because it wasn’t available anywhere outside Japan, outside it’s majorly downsized SNES port, Dracula X.
• The idea that there was this version of Dracula X with more content and ambition made Rondo of Blood appear larger than life and a dream come true.
• This position compelled me to view Rondo of Blood as somewhat overrated. I’m sure it’s good, probably great, but a perfect game better than Symphony of the Night? I’ll have to see for myself.
• Well, I’ve finished it now and can say that it’s quite good. Looks good, sounds good, very ambitious for its time and a great amount of replay ability.
• As much as I like it and how it moves the series forward, there are still some things I wish they had dropped by now, like the lives system. Yes, I know why it’s there, but I don’t have to like it. Really though, that’s the only real thing that I didn’t like.
• I like the anime cut scenes and overall aesthetic. Feels like a combination of Shonen and Clamp from the late 80’s and early 90’s.
• It’s hard as nails, hard enough that I don’t feel like it needed the lives system to make it artificially more difficult.
• The multiple ending was a nice idea, but there’s little difference between them so it doesn't matter much.
• The multiple paths were pulled off very well, an evolution upon Castlevania III and the next step to the true Metroidvania of Symphony of the Night, so if anything, it’s an important piece of Castlevania growing into its own.
• Overall, while I still believe Rondo of Blood is at least a little overrated, it’s found it to be a fun time. Still not as good Symphony of the Night.

100%TurboGrafx-CD

JOGO BÃO. Esse aqui é um dos melhores da franquia, e dá pra saber o porque. Gameplay desafiadora mas muito justa, gráficos lindo, TRILHA SONONORA com todas as letras maúsculas de tão boa e história muito boa, o jogo tem a audácia de meter uma bola curva na última cutscene, que brabo. Level design muito bem feito, justo, sem muito daquele design chato de ficar matando o jogador por qualquer coisa pra esticar o jogo, só algumas sessões são meio chatinhas, mas nada que não dê para aprender. Fiquei impressionado com a quantidade de buraco tem tem chão embaixo que dá pra sobreviver, tem até rota alternativa que se baseia nisso! Claro, algumas fases, principalemnte pro final, fica meio chato o esquema de continue, tomar game over pro chefe e voltar uma fase chatinha toda irrita um pouco, mas isso é coisa da época e é uma critica pessoal mesmo. Usei savestate na sala anterior de alguns chefes pois tinha cansado de refazer uma fase que não tinha curtido muito, mas fora isso, não tenho do que reclamar do sistema de checkpoint. Chefes muito bons, muito divertidos e com a dificuldade certa, alguns mais complicados que outros, mas isso é normal. Coisa boa esse hein, me diverti muito. Agora que zerei com o Richter, vou atrás dos 100% com a maria e vamos ver o que esse jogo tem a oferecer. Jogaria de novo FÁCIL. Atualização pós 100%: Joguei com a Maria e a gameplay dela é muito divertida, ela é muito carismática. Esse jogo merece um 10, um 11 até.

90%TurboGrafx-CD

O 2º melhor da série.

80%TurboGrafx-CD

Bit of a downgrade form 4, but still great.

90%TurboGrafx-CD

el castlevania mas hell yeah hasta ahora. La transicion de la segunda fase en la pelea contra la muerte fue muy hell yeah. La pelea con dracula fue bastante hell yeah. El hombre lobo al inicio fue un buen boss tambien. En general me parece que mejoraron las peleas de boss, pero me hicieron falta las mecanicas del salto y el latigo introducidas en super castlevania iv, el diseño de nivel también es mejor y mas bonito en este ultimo juego. Me gustó bastante, si

70%PlayStation 5

A nice Castlevania game!

90%PlayStation 4

9/10

100%PlayStation 5

Um jogo brilhante para à época, com certeza justifica a fama, jogando ele pude perceber inúmeras referências que são usadas até hoje.

80%TurboGrafx-CD

Great focus on exploration despite being level based, the game even gives you a level/character selector so you can go back to explore any level you want. A clever change makes a lot of pits not bottomless as falling most of the time will just take you to the room right beneath (even if it actually is located in a different level at times). Characters control great, the game can be very challenging, every hit you take or give counts and most death don't feel too cheap as you can figure a strategy and improve your playstyle to avoid it. Boss fights are great. Small animated cutscenes are a neat addition to the formula.

90%TurboGrafx-CD

I'm never a fan of Castlevania due to the nightmare it brought to me on Famicom, but Rondo of Blood is interesting enough to make an exception. Hidden boss, detailed achievement by RetroAchievements, Maria, Maria and Maria! No wonder why people still prefer PCE-CD version over PSP remake.

80%Wii

Rondo of blood is a competent Castlevania game that retains the traditional difficulty of the series, while also including branching paths and unlockable characters to try out. In essence, it is an evolution of Castelvania 3 in every way, but being on the turbografix CD, it was a good looking 16 bit game, but unlike SNES cartridges, the cd format had enough storage to include one of the best Castlevania soundtracks. The game was certainly ahead of its time at time of release, no question.

I enjoyed my playthrough of Rondo of blood quite a bit. It was a good old fashioned challenge. I had plenty of deaths and continues as I replayed each stage until I learned how to deal with the game's enemies. The game isn't necessarily based on memorization, but rather adaptation. Only, I'm not skilled enough to do it all on the fly, and so mistakes were expected. By the end of the game, I had 20 continues.

The branching paths of Rondo of Blood and the multiple unlockable characters add to the replay value, but finding these extra bits is quite tricky. The branching paths are well hidden, and usually lead to a difficulty spike. Unlocking the characters requires finding a hidden key in a level, then carrying it to a door and using it. This sacrifices your sub-weapon, and thus is another optional challenge. Each of the characters plays differently, and play at different difficulties. It's good to include these options for experimentation, since the game is so short without this extra stuff.

By 1993, castlevania as a series had many hits, but knowing what came next with Symphony of the night, this game was the end of traditional linear action platformers prior to being replaced by the metroid-style exploration that led to the whole genre being named Metroidvania. As such, it absolutely pales in comparison to the later games and what made the series truly stellar in the future. Thus the lower score. Is it still a good game? Certainly! but it cannot hold a candle to what came after within the same series.

Amazing music, though. 78/100

80%PlayStation 4

Just finished this with my best mate, was a bit of an unbalanced challenge in the mid-section of the game. Enjoyed it a lot, ready to start Symphony of the Night soon. Good soundtrack too.

80%PlayStation 5

It took me YEARS to finish this. Great game but way too hard.

100%TurboGrafx-CD

Easily the best Castlevania I’ve ever played. I’ve discovered I’m a much bigger fan of the classic Castlevania than the metroidvania ones. I prefer Metroid style metroidvania, I think. But this had awesome music, tight controls, and a good challenging difficulty that I appreciate. It’s a masterpiece.

100%PlayStation 4

beautiful soundtrack, beautiful artstyle, fun game.

90%Emulated

El mejor side-scroller de la saga pre PSX.

80%PlayStation 5

Recently purchased the double pack on PS4/5 containing both Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. When I initially started Rondo of Blood I thought it was gonna be for the most part similar to the GBA Castlevania games, but no… it takes a more arcade-like approach. When first engaging the game you are immediately introduced to the more old style of castlevania in terms of jumping, and the whip; but the game’s controls have a certain amount of polish that make it feel way better than any other castlevania game retaining that style of movement. The game feels good to play, and when you make your way through each level you find quite a few abilities to expand your moves. Whether it be axes, or knives, they are quite helpful. And some of them are better for particular bosses or enemies, so learning is an inherent part of playing this game. The enemies themselves are manageable, but as you get closer and closer to the end they can become devastating in some cases. But like I said earlier, learning is a core element of this game, just like how a Souls game would function; but definitely not as hard as a Souls game would be. But don’t get me wrong at all, it's still a challenging game that will take more than one try for a first timer. The game houses 9 levels, which each get noticeably harder until the final level where it literally is just the final boss, which I greatly appreciate. Sometimes when a game gives me the final level, all I want is the final boss. All of these places are also particularly well crafted in terms of design and visuals. I will admit sometimes it is hard to find some staircases because they blend almost completely into the background, but a little seeking will go a long way. The visuals themselves compliment the game extremely well, everything is vibrant and contrasting in a way only a game like this could uniquely have. Richter looks awesome with that royal blue, enemies pop right out, and bosses look awesome. Sometimes you’ll even get little cutscenes before bosses which are awesome. (especially the werewolf one) I greatly enjoy the visuals in this game, gorgeous to say the least; but something that complements this and may be even better is the soundtrack. My god, it is so energetic and alive. I was planning on listening to a podcast like I did with the GBA castlevania games during my playthrough, but as soon as that music hit in the first level I was completely enamored with the sound and even the sounds coming out of the controller. Not only this but the game has haptic feedback in the controller, and it feels amazing. It’s so weird how something like haptics can make me feel far more connected to a 2D castlevania than none at all. But the music just drives all of these elements home, making me disregard my podcasts and listen to the awesome soundtrack. Bosses are interesting, maybe a little bullshitty at times but manageable after learning. Same goes for some dumb enemies that can make you somewhat frustrated. Especially getting knocked off a ledge, I hate that. But overall this game was a complete surprise of quality that I did not expect. Would recommend it to most people who play video games for fun.

80%Emulated

Divine Bloodline

Rondo Of Blood kickstarts with an amazing cutscene before the title screen even appears. It depicts a summoning ritual for Dracula narrated and fully voiced in German (I believe this is the audio of the PSP remake) which puts an ominous tone before starting to play. Then, another cutscene starts, but this time more action-focused just to seamlessly transition to gameplay, this transition is a work of art by the way, not only makes you feel like a bad-ass vampire hunter but also excels at showing you that the road will be rocky.

If you have played a Castlevania game before you kind of know what to expect in terms of story. The premise is simple, Dracula resurrects for some reason or another, and a Vampire Hunter probably from the Belmont clan will seek to put him to rest once again and liberate the land from his claws for another 100 years or so.

Nothing has changed that much from that formula although, this game features some narrative perks that I believe weren’t a thing in former entries. For instance, the game has roughly animated cutscenes that are completely optional and fully voiced (the translation patch from Burnt Lasagna had them in English), which adds to the personality of Richter as well to enrich the lore of this world. My favorite one, however, is the final one where Dracula and Richter have a pretty cool dialogue about human nature. Rondo Of Blood paved the road in terms of narrative to the very least for Symphony of the Night.

Vampire Killer

The gameplay remains true to its roots, you have your main attack which consists of a large and heavy whiplash and a secondary item that needs to refill from the likes of, holy water, throwing axes, daggers, etc. There is also an evasive maneuver of doing a backflip, which I only find useful in a few instances but that would be me not knowing how and when to use it.

Before playing this game, every other Castlevania that I played felt sluggish to me, the character moves blocky and enemies came from every direction and are faster than you. However, something in my head made a click this time, Castlevania is not a game of reflexes and quick timing (which in part are but not really) it is more a game of taking your time and being precise, every single enemy can hit hard as it should be, as you’re only a simple human trying to protect the land from supernatural beings, so every single encounter should be treated with care as your life depends on it. Dealing with enemies one by one and being prepared for the consequences if by any chance you get near a new enemy without dealing with the first one from the start. Playing with this set of mind, made me have better enjoyment of the game.

I don’t think this is the hardest Castlevania that I have played but there were some intense battles here, I almost ran from one that is basically an arena fight to the death with several enemies. So if you’re planning to play this without save-states, prepare your mind and your skills since you’ll probably be going to repeat a stage many times.

One cool feature that I loved was the alternate paths and unlocking damsels in distress from their cells, this will lead you to one of the cutscenes that served as a nice reward as well. So in terms of replayability Rondo Of Blood offers you quite a lot.

Bloody Tears

The art direction is superb, from the art in the cutscenes to the sprite work and enemies animation is fantastic. In many cases, the game used some kind of entrance for the main bosses and all of them were great, although I think my favorite ‘artsy’ part would be the very beginning from stage 0, where Richter is riding a horse cart while a storm is hitting the area and suddenly death appears flying out of nowhere, describing this scene with words will never make it justice to the brilliance of it so I suggest to check it out first hand. Some other parts were also great, like having a giant statue in the foreground just to reveal that it wasn’t what you think it was.

The music has that energic flavor that the series is renowned for, every track is really good, with some new mixes of classic songs, and some unexpected sounds you might find a little out of place but change your mind the next minute.

Also, don’t forget to apply a scanlines filter, the game truly shines when those are applied and everything looks like a pixelated moving piece of art.

Beginning

As a Castlevania game, this entry might feel a little safe in many regards but it pioneered some aspects that the franchise will champion in future games. Rondo Of Blood poses a great challenge and at the same time feels somewhat fair with it, although when it punishes, it surely will break your heart.

100%TurboGrafx-CD

Fantastic experience, the best classic Castlevania

100%TurboGrafx-CD

It took a few tries to get into this game. I originally played it on my Turbo Duo before it died. I decided to get a MiSTer instead of fixing my Duo. The guy who sold me his RGB modded system was really cool about it and gave me my money back. I did pick up a Core Graphics II and my intention prior to getting a MiSTer was to get the SSDS3. I am not sure I am going to do that anymore.

That said, Rondo might be my favorite of the traditional Castlevania games. I think i still prefer SotN to Rondo but now I want to try the Saturn Dracula X because of a the additional content. I might continue playing this to get the other paths but perhaps I will wait for another time to have a different route to take instead.

I highly recommend the PCE-CD version of this game. I was never able to get into the Wii eshop port (although it was nice that it was 240p and was in english, I just couldn't get used to playing with the Wii Mote or the plug in controller. I also tried the PS4 port but the scaling was a little funky on that but the Dual Shock was a lot more comfortable to use.

100%TurboGrafx-CD

A subjective 10/10, for the style and music... and probably because it's on an obscure console that I'd never even heard of until recently!

Objectively, probably a shade below - as the difficulty is painfully cheap at times (bridge section that falls apart with bats... giving me nightmares)...

80%TurboGrafx-CD

soundtrack is great, level design is great, you can play as a little girl that messes shit up, what more can you ask for

90%PlayStation 4

A great Classic-vania.

100%Emulated

Great gameplay, soundtrack, and a great artstyle. Awesome game.

100%TurboGrafx-CD

osom

100%Emulated

Best 2D platformer of all time, gets better every playthrough

100%PlayStation 4

Action platforming at it's finest. Tight controls, high challenge factor and great music.

80%PlayStation 4

I really love the presentation and music of Rondo of Blood. Most of the game is creepy with an excellent sense of theming and fun enemies. Unfortunately, some highlights of the game are held back by archaic game design (getting thrown off a ledge after getting hit, effectively making most attacks a one-hit kill) and awful voice acting/cutscenes. Ended up 100% on this game, but I think most should probably take this game through at whatever pace they feel most necessary.

90%Emulated

This is really two games in one. With Richter Belmont, it can be a brutally difficult game at times. Still really fun, but you will be challenged. Once you rescue Maria, the game is actually a breeze. One thing I can say about Richter is that he's really good against Dracula in the final stage. Getting to him was difficult, but as a final boss he was a complete pushover. Great game to play right before Symphony of the Night. If you aren't on a Sony console, it's kind of hard to get. I bought it before Nintendo shut down the Wii Shop channel. Give it a shot if you like the older style Castlevania games.

100%TurboGrafx-CD

This game blew me away. In fact, after playing it for the first time just now, it's up there with some of my favourites of all time. Amazing in every way, play it by any means!

70%PlayStation 4

One of the best traditional castlevania

70%PlayStation 4

Fun one. Felt a bit clunky at times. Having alternate stages and characters made for some fun variety. Cut scenes were weird

100%Emulated

The best clasicvania of all Castlevania games

90%TurboGrafx-CD

This is the first Castlevania I have beat without save states, and I'm quite glad. I might even buy the Dracula X/Rondo of Blood re-releases on PS4 now

100%Wii

Castlevania Rondo of Blood is a wonderful classic-style castlevania game. The controls are nice and Richter is able to do like 7 different jumps. This lets you dodge incoming enemies way more easily than the older games. No more getting hit trying walk up stairs. Whipping and using items to blast dudes is always satisfying.. Each item has its own special move and they all have completely different trajectories when thrown making them all useful. The game is designed so that you can make use of all of Richter's commands making even the special moves less gimmicky.

The level design has elements of non-linearity which add to the sense of adventure. Each level offers interesting enemy patterns and tough encounters to keep you whipping and jumping like a crazy person. Richter also has to find anime girls throughout his adventure by unlocking doors with a key hidden in the level. You never have to go too far to find the door once you have the key, but the keys are sometimes hidden in clever locations which add to each level’s feeling of exploration. Bosses are also another highlight in this game. They are all wild, difficult, and unexpected. Depending on the route you take through the level you may end up fighting a different boss! Super fun, enjoyable, and thrilling encounters abound.

I can’t say much about the story since its communicated through German and Japanese, but the cutscenes are dreadfully hideous.Easily some of the worst I've ever seen, but the voice acting is hilarious so I'd leave it at 50% good and 50% evil.The music in the game gets you amped while you play, but none have stayed with me afterwards. They're just highly energetic and remixed classic tunes which add to this adrenaline rush of a game.

Due to the non-linear nature of the levels, alternate bosses, and unlockable characters, the game has quite a bit of replay value. Its a fun romp you can blast in less than 4 hours that has rewarding gameplay without many of the frustration found in the older castlevania games.

I’d easily recommend this game for anyone who is looking for thrills, spills, and Dracula’s frills.

50%PlayStation Portable

I played the 2.5D ver. on PSP - its choppy, combat is pretty icky and graphics are gross. I didn't bother trying to unlock the original PC Engine ver. but I did enjoy the amount of secrets like unlocking the entire Symphony of the Night game by chance.

90%TurboGrafx-CD

The best castlevania using the old format, it still makes me want to break my controller sometimes.