Reviews for Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

Jampacked with Castlevania Goodness

Strengths: 2 versions of Rondo of Blood and 1 version of Castlevania included

Weakness: None, because you don't have to pay an obscene amount for Rondo anymore

Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles is a action side-scrolling game for the Sony PSP. You play as Richter Belmont in Rondo and Alucard in Symphony of the Night. Rondo follows Richter's adventure in rescuing his girlfriend from Dracula. All the games included in this pack are sidescrolling beat'em up games where you bash all baddies with either a whip in Rondo or many various weapons ranging from swords to even shields in Symphony. The Rondo remake has improved 3d graphics, but the original is still the best version graphically. Symphony of the Night is a straight up port and with most ports there are glitches. The sound is terrific, especially since they redid the voices. I give the game 5 stars since you are technically getting 3 great games in one.

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This is what Castlevania is all about

Strengths: Gorgeous remake of a classic Castlevania that never saw a wide release. Original Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night games are unlockables.

Weakness: Gameplay may seem tired to some.

Rondo of Blood was one of those great Castlevania games that was never released outside of Japan. Instead we got a sub-par port called Dracula X for the SNES that lacked music quality, levels, and gameplay and story elements of the original. Twelve years of waiting and Konami has finally delivered. The Dracula X Chronicles is a beautiful remake of Rondo of Blood. The graphics are outstanding to say the least. The controls and gameplay are spot on. The music is top notch. Branching levels and hidden areas will keep you trying to get to that 100% completion mark. And Maria is a playable character once again. As if this wasn't enough, they've included the original Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night games as unlockables. Some may find the gameplay to be stale or the screen-size of the original games too small, but these are minor shortcomings compared to the overall value you get here. This is Castlevania at its best.

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Finally! The game that made Castlevania series...

Strengths: An excellent remake of original Rondo of Blood and two bonus!

Weakness: A very small graphical glitch at times and slow attack button response bug.

If you don't have an intention of dish out over 100 bux for Dracula X Rondo of Blood for PC Engine, this is very good alternative! It is remake of Rondo of Blood but if you'd rather play the original, unaltered version, it is also included. All you have to do is find this certain item while playing the remake. Each level is kind of too short compare to another excellent addition to Castlevania series, Symphony of the Night, which it will be unlocked once you have beaten Rondo of Blood, and you will know what I mean. Bottom line is when a remake is need to be done, this game a very good example!

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Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles

Strengths: Remake of classic Castlevania plus bonus games

Weakness: None

Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles is a remake of the classic Castlevania Rondo of Blood for the PSP platform. The remake still retains the side-scrolling game action but with improved graphics, cut scenes and Maria being playable now.

As if the remake of Rondo of Blood isn't appealing enough, 2 more games, the original Rondo of Blood and improved Sympathy of the Night, are included as unlockable.

Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles is a fantastic package for the PSP. With 3 quality classic games in the package, it's an easy decision to pick it up.

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Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles

Strengths: Classic Castlevania games!

Weakness: None

Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles is an amazing remake of the classic Castlevania games Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night. Extra unlockables are the original Rondo of Blood and the ability to play Maria. Both Japanese and English voice overs are available.

Dracula X Chronicles offer incredible value to the Castlevania fans. It practically includes 3 games in one $30 package. If you're not a fan yet, do pick it up!

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Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles (PSP)

Strengths: (1) Finally, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is release in the USA (2) Includes the original version of the game as well as the most famous Castlevania, Symphony of the Night

Weakness: (1) None

Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles is a great remake of Japan-only release in the series, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. Rondo of Blood is considered by many of the series's fans to be the best example of the classic jumping-and-whipping gameplay. This remake was masterfully done as the graphics have been improved and cutscenes have been added. The original Rondo of Blood (without improvements) is also included as an unlockable. The biggest unlockable, however, is the inclusion of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - the most famous entry in the Castlevania series which changed direction by adding RPG elements, exploration and upgrades/augmentation. Considering all the content on this UMD game, there is a lot of value in this package.

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Castlevania Old school

Strengths: great music, characters, animation

Weakness: n/a

This is a great game altogether. More like an old school Castlevania than the newer GBA and DS iterations (Metroidvania style). Animations are fluid and game runs great. Also, the addition of Castlevania: Symphony of the night is spectacular.

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New Packaging, Same Product

Strengths: Great value, great games.

Weakness: Challenging.

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a fantastic addition to the PSP's library. Not only is the highly-regarded Symphony of the Night included as a bonus, but a remake of another top-notch Castlevania game, Rondo of Blood, is the main course. Both games hold up well despite their age, as Symphony represents the new Metroidvania style of Castlevania games, while Rondo/Dracula X represents the best of the old style. My only nitpicks: Dracula X can be hard for players not used to old-school challenges, and all of the bonus content must be unlocked.

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Finally crossing the pacific

Strengths: Previously unavaliable (in english) Castlevania game, new and improved Symphony of the Night.

Weakness: Old school.

Rondo of Blood was a japanese-only version of castlevania that has finally now been ported to the PSP in english. The upside is clear. No longer do you have to pay a fortune and buy an old import copy of the game. The downside is that it's obvious a bit dated. There are actually two versions avaliable on the PSP, an updated version of it where there are updated graphics and voice acting, or the traditional 2D version with english translation. The game also includes an updated version of Symphony of the Night, which includes some minor bug fixes and a new playable character.

If you're a castlevania fan, this one is a no-brainer. It's like finding a previously unreleased version sequel to Zelda or Metroid. It's a must-buy just for the historical and completionist value of it all. If you're not a huge castlevania fan, this game is likely to drive you a bit insane at first. It's obviously dated and contains a lot of bottomless pits and other traps that were common in the old castlevania games. The difficulty level is quite high you will likely suffer many ignominious deaths in trying to complete the game.

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PSP games

Strengths: great

Weakness: none

helped me pick out the gift for family member. I don't have a PSP.. and hardly play the games.. so this helped me figure out where and how inexpensive I could get the game for.

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A good classic for the psp

Strengths: Two games in one

Weakness: none

Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles is a must have to every castlevania fan that has a psp. Even gamers that are not familiar with the game can enjoy this title. It contains the never before released: Rondo of Blood(both classic and a remake). A different version of this game came to the Super Nintendo in 1995 and was called Dracula X. However, this version was completely different from the original which appeared on the Turbo Grafx-16 in Japan. For more than a decade, American gamers have been wondering when they'll get the chance to play Rondo of Blood. Now is the time.
This title also contains an unlockable bonus which is one of the best in the series, the bonus is the complete full game of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night realeased for the PSX back in 1997. I consider this game as the best in the whole castlevania series since it was realised for the NES.
To sum up, this is a definite must have title. If you are fan of catlevania you will enjoy this title like no other game. If you are just a regular gamer, I can ensure that you will have a good time playing this game

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Can 2D and 3D peacefully co-exist in Castlevania?

Strengths: Updated 3D Rondo of Blood, old 2D Rondo too, Symphony of the Night also included, inspired level design, memorable boss battles, branching paths, high replay value, online support

Weakness: High difficulty level, cheap enemy hits, slow controls in Rondo 2D

Rondo of Blood was the last new level-based Castlevania title from Konami before they moved to the Metroid style of connected rooms game play in the late 1990s. I'm surprised people are so excited to play Rondo given its difficult old school game play mechanics.

If you missed Rondo of Blood in its Japanese PC Engine or subpar SNES Dracula X release, Dracula X Chronicles for PSP now offers a port of the original 2D Rondo, a 3D remake of Rondo and yet another Symphony of the Night port here in one convenient package.

Be aware that Rondo of Blood is level-based. While you may occasionally choose a path to take, you must continue on that path until the next fork in the road. The controls are slow to respond, and enemies can frequently get in cheap hits as a result.

Symphony of the Night is Rondo's sequel and has received a new English voice-over translation and a playable Maria character. Players can compare the change in game play from level-based to Metroid-style back to back. Unfortunately, both Symphony and Rondo 2D have to be unlocked in Rondo 3D before they can be accessed.

Dracula X offers tremendous value to Castlevania series fans, and since the retail price has dropped to $20, anyone even remotely interested should definitely put their money down now. You'll have to play through Rondo 3D (or cheat) to access all of the content, but the effort is more than worth it here.

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2 Castlevania games in 1

Strengths: 2 games in 1, graphics, music

Weakness: none

This is one of the best package out there. Two of the greatest Castlevania games in one package. A remake of Rondo of Blood and the original Symphony of the Night which is without the bad dialogue in there. There are also extras to unlock. There is the original Rondo of Blood and play as Maria in the new game. You can play the game in Japanese or in English voice overs. For $30 for two games, you have to pick this up for the PSP.

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Worth the wait/money

Strengths: The best of both Castlevania in one pack!

Weakness: Control is a bit wonky with the old PSP

PSP has been neglected by Castlevania franchise for quite awhile. It's a bit unfair, for PSP's bright and superior display screams for 2D greatness such as Castlevania series. Now Konami quietly decided to release this package of Castlevania games, and believe me. This one delivers.

Classic castlevania formula and new metroid-castlevania formular can be found in here. I was a bit worried about the translation and everything, but I have to tell you that this has the by far the best version of Symphony of the Night. There are some people who complain that this is not the conversion of the Saturn version of SotN. I'm wondering whether they ever played that dreadful saturn version. Loading time was horrible, and pixel, bad texture was just... everywhere. It was just not very good to look at. Even producer of castlevania agreed that he's not very happy with the Saturn version.

For those who own PSP, get this game. The classic formula takes a bit of time to get used to, but it's well worth it.

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A Classic Reborn....

Strengths: +Finally a return to the old-school actionvania gameplay +Brutally difficult +Great value for the content (3 games for 29.99!) +2d gameplay

Weakness: -New, updated graphics aren't so hot (especially Richter's walking movement) -Lots of glitchs in the symphony of the night port -PSP d-pad still sucks

A long lost Castlevania classic is reborn on the PSP. This is the first time many Americans have the opportunity to play the previously Japan-only classic: Rondo of Blood. Along for the ride are a somewhat updated port of Symphony of the Night and a complete, full-blown remake of Rondo. While the classic games still hold up remarkably well, the 2.5d remake has some problems. Mainly the graphics are very mediocre. Just compare this to Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins and it fares even worse. Still, the value is great and at only 29.99 bucks, it is a worthwhile purchase. Recommended.

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A Lost Classic

Strengths: Fun Action/Platform play, many interesting enemies, challenge, Remake + Original + SOTN.

Weakness: ???

Dracula X: Rondo of Blood finally arrives in this installment of Castlevania Chronicles. This game contains a graphical remake of Rondo of Blood along with the original version along with Symphony of the Night with new voice actors and rewritten dialogue.

Rondo of Blood is not like the recent Castlevania titles. It is a 2D Action/Platformers like all it's brethren from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras. That means that it has lots of jumping to and falling from mid-air platforms. Of course, it retains the classic jumps that players cannot modify in mid jump, but this game alleviates it somewhat by allowing players to perform a backflip if they are near trouble.

RoB brings some other new ideas to the series. Most of the levels have two bosses, which lead players to alternate stages and another path to the Demon Castle. This is the first game that lets players perform an Item Crush, which allows them to unleash a more powerful attack with their subweapons in exchange for consuming more hearts.

Speaking of subweapons, this game adds one more for the main hero Richter: the Bible. This weapons flies all around him in a spiral and hits all enemies that come in contact with it or its trail. Of course, players can find another playable character who uses birds to attack and that has her own set of subweapons that mostly consist of other animals.

Along the way, players will encounter interesting enemies like animated tombstones, large armored sword knights, blade carrying skeletons, golems that only take damage in their bodies, a large bone creature that morphs into three different forms, a giant behemoth with its rear legs cut off, a werewolf that throws fire and charges at players totally engulfed in it, and many more. RoB is like all the other older Castlevania games in terms of challenge, for I have died numerous times while playing it.

The stages also have many interesting features to keep players on their toes. The more interesting ones include a small wall of spikes that shoots out from a small confined space, crushing devices with spikes on the ends of them, crumbling bridges, spiked balls that hang off of chains, mud pits that can suck players down and kill them, and, of course, many bottomless pits.

Overall, RoB is among the best of the series (I'd say it and SotN are second best only to the Japanese version of Castlevania III.) All Castlevania fans should experience this game, for it is probably the last game we'll get that contains the classic Castlevania play.

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Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

Testseek.com has collected 20 expert reviews for Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles and the average expert rating is 79 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use Testseek.com to see all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS rating of 3.42 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #799 game of all time, #3 game of 2007 for the PlayStation Portable and #17 PlayStation Portable game of all time. The rating and ranking is based on an average of 29 critic scores, awards and other criteria. To see a breakdown of the game ranking, read individual critic reviews,...

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Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

Anyone who has owned a Nintendo Entertainment System will remember the first Castlevania game and the whip-wielding hero who fought against the famed vampire in his own home turf. It was not only an amazing side-scrolling 2D action game with a supernatural twist but it also inspired sequels that managed to rise above Konami’s original classic. Among those games is Castlevania: Rondo of Blood...

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