Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PlayStation Portable, 2007)

If one considers thyself any kind of Castlevania fan at all, one *must* own this title!

Not only are the 2D Castlevania games the best style for the series, but the two games contained on this disc are the best in the series.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night takes side scrolling to a whole new level by utilizing free range mode and vertical scrolling. Using these methods as introduced in Castlevania 2, Konami was able to create a more realistic Castlevania experience by using height ratios to castle areas.

The animation in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is also some of the best 2D animation ever conceived. The monsters are complex, the stage areas are lush, and the equipment effects are very unique.

The music is also the best I have heard. It seems as if most of the score was written in the Renaissance era of Europe. The styles are even quite varied with some heavy metal and electronica mixed in as well.

Not only is Symphony of the Night hands-down the best Castlevania ever produced, but it is of the highest quality 2D games ever produced.

* * *
Also included in Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is Rondo of Blood. Originally released for the Japanese PC Engine's SuperCD add-on, this version is remastered and remade.

Starring Richter Belmont, this game is as beautiful as Symphony of the Night, but more on a linear 2D experience. Rondo of Blood is much more difficult, and requires more practice at beating the faster enemies and traps.

If you are a fan of side-scrolling games and own a PSP, you owe it to yourself to buy this as your next PSP title. Believe me as an 20-year veteran gamer, you won't regret it. :D

Alright.
First off, let me say that this game does NOT come with Symphony of the Night of the orginal Rhondo of Blood. You MUST UNLOCK them on a certain stage.
ok, now that is out of the way.
Castlevania: the Dracula X Chronicles is a fun game if u liked the originals. The actual game itself is an entire remake of Rhondo of Blood that released for the Famicom in Japan only.
So, its finally come to american shores :D
and its remade with 3d-ish graphics and more detail than 8 or 16 pixels.
The gameplay is just like the original too.
If u are more used to the newer games, u may not like this as its basic controls, like the original Castlevanias.
And, let me say.
It may be short, but it is HARD.
Well, at least it was for me and im a hardcore gamer o.O
I personally think that Symphony of the Night (known to be the best castlevania EVER) is worth the retail of 30 bucks itself, as soon as u unlock it in stage 2, which isnt hard (go to any game cheat site and it will tell u)
but i think the actual game, is worth beating which i still havent done yet xD
but only once or twice. however, Symphony of the Night is FUN!
Like, the only complaint i have for SotN is that there arent as many save points as i was hoping for. And i have died a few times which meant i had to retrack all of the spots that i havent covered which is rather frusterating, but at the same time, it makes it more challenging.
but the remade RoB is just too hard xD
but im sure with enough trying, anybody could beat it :3
So, im gonna pretty much lay it out here:
If you like Castlevania or challenging games, its a buy.
if u are just a casual gamer or only like the newer castlevanias, maybe u should get it around 20 here on ebay :D
and let me finish with a few tips:
if u get frusterated, PUT IT DOWN. dont take ur anger out on an expensive piece of equipment.
Also, no matter how old you are or young, treat your PSP and UMDs with great care, becuase they are both easily damaged if not taken care of.
:D <----- smiley face. shop victoriously!!! ;)

This game disc includes the Holy grail of Castlevania games for any long time castlevania fan or collector "Castlevania Rondo of Blood" which was only released for the turbo graphics 16 PC engine which pretty much nobody owned. What is great is that it contains both an excellent completely 3D makeover complete with a new voiceover (both english and Japanese) and excellent remixes of the game's already excellent music. Also hidden within this remake are secret items that unlock the ability to play the original Castlevania: Rondo of Blood in it's original form with no changes, as well as what I consider the deffinitive version of everyone's favorite Castlevania game: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night with the new ability to play as Maria Renard which previously was only within certain story sequences in the original PS1 release.

The real Dracula X compilation is here!!
This collection starts off with a "nice reworked version" of the turbo graphics Rondo of Blood (the prequel of Symphony of the night by the story line)
This version of the game is great it runs smooth, looks nice & plays close to perfect. This is the game many refer to as the best castlevania.
(I know you probably like symphony & i also know most of you haven't played rondo) 8)
Rondo is packed with more than just "classic" castlevania style game play.
There are more than a couple of secrets hiding up its sleeve & not just "hit the wall to find a special weapon either", but complete stages, alternate bosses, a secret ending, and a secret playable character "maria".
And for those of you who loved symphony there is a "slightly" remade version of symphony is included with a re-written script & not so much of the "sounds like it was recorded in a can" sound quality voice acting & once again Maria is a playable character. This version doesnt run quite as good as the PS version but its a worthy trek for symphony lovers(its a bit better than the import saturn version or so ive heard) I haven't played symphony on this collection yet.
Ok theres two GOOD reasons to get this collection.. now for 1 more the price the retail price is around 30. gotta love that!!
There is a "classic" version of rondo included as well, its a weak emulated japanese turbo duo /Pc Engine version. This im only mentioning because its on the disc, this is a choppy & poor sounding mess of what is a great game.

Well there you have it 3 good reasons to get this collection & a psp if you dont already have one.

Note Rondo is a hard game so be sure to go easy on that psp! lol

This game is an action/fighting game similar to Symphony of the Night, but lacking RPG elements that so many of us Castlevania fans like. Still it's an enjoyable game whether you're familiar with the series or not. The evil Count Dracula is reborn, and you gotta take him down along with all is evil demons and other servants; you can use an assortment of secondary weaponry but you primary weapon is a whip. Those familiar with the series will recognize these weapons. Like I said the game plays similar to Symphony of the Night, but doesn't quit hold up to it's lofty standards. None-the-less, you should give this game a try, it's one of the best you'll find on the PSP.... and it's castlevania, so you know you'll enjoy it.
Rating: 8.5/10
Difficulty: 7/10