Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

The Good
Simply, the music and the gameplay. The music is totally awesome, each stage has a soundtrack of it's own. Gameplay: Timing is really important, just like in other Castlevania series. Nearly all of the levels have an alternate exit with an alternate Boss, providing much to unlock.

The Bad
Said things are that the levels can be nearly too hard, especially some of the bosses (death is a good example). Also the boss battle music is always the same (good) tune, but if you die often.

The Bottom Line
If you like challenging games, or good music, or you are simply a Castlevania fan, this one is a very good choice. But be warned, it's hard, real hard.

The Good
First thing that will blow a gamer way is the music. It really sounds like a concert. No kidding. Konami went balls-to-the-walls on the music and sound, and it's so good, it's worth listening to in the car on the drive to work. WOW! Then the graphics rival anything that the sequel on PlayStation has done. The SNES version of Dracula X looks like crap compared to the graphics on this version. The control is dead-on for a Castlevania game (though why the same controls don't work on the SNES version is a mystery to me). And the ability to play as Maria is a plus. Also, an anime intro! Yes, and true anime intro! Lastly, a big postive is the CD is SCRATCH RESISTANT!! Yes, I just played the game again after "losing" it at the bottom of a tub that was full of other CDs and many sharp things, and not one scratch is on the disc! AMAZINZG!! Fingerprints galore, though.

The Bad
What is up with the cheap hits? And Dracula is easier than a cheerleader in high school! What is up with that? I don't understand it at all. To reverse the situation, why is Dracula on the SNES version harder than the Great Wall of China? It doesn't strike too well of a counterbalance with me by that regards.

Surprisingly, there really isn't too many negatives and practice makes perfect.

The Bottom Line
Some useless trivia from rumors I've heard about this game:

If Snatcher had sold well on Sega CD, this game was going to be ported over almost intact, and maybe even contain a 32X version on the same disc with special levels and such.

If played backwards (how?), Latin prayers are supposed to be heard on the disc. I doubt that this can be, because I've never been able to play a CD backwards like a record or tape, which is true backwards.

Anyways, back to seriousness (with me?), I ORDER anybody who owns a Turbo Duo, PC Engine, or TG-16 to OBTAIN this game and play it. THAT'S AN ORDER!

As far as Castlevania goes . . . this puts Super Castlevania IV to shame, and is a good complement to Bloodlines on Genesis. If I had to name the best Castlevania games, it's this one, the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night, Genesis' Bloodlines, Castlevania III, the original Castlevania, and one of the GBA games. I haven't been impressed with the others in the bunch. This one is impressive.

As for a case study of how to make a game . . . this is it!!