PSP - Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles

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of old-school gaming. If you have only played the recent castlevania titles i would recommend trying to track down some other older titles that are cheaper just to see if you dig the style. Overall this is a great package the satisfies my hunger for linear and non-linear gameplay.

PSP - Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles

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of old-school gaming. If you have only played the recent castlevania titles i would recommend trying to track down some other older titles that are cheaper just to see if you dig the style. Overall this is a great package the satisfies my hunger for linear and non-linear gameplay.

PSP - Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles

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a port of the game widely received as the best in the series, the thirty-two bit Symphony of the Night! And the issues are few and far between.

Let's start off with Rondo, which is only now making its North American debut. The enhanced port of this game looks great - the graphics are reminiscent of those from last year's PSP Mega Man X Maverick Hunter, and that's a good thing. 2D gameplay with 3D graphics, it looks awesome. The occasional cut scenes are of amazing quality, considering this is a handheld

The game plays true to the original. You'll start the game as Richter Belmont, the latest heir to the Belmont clan. He gets the traditional whip, as well as several secondary weapons - some familiar, some new. In addition to being able to collect small hearts to use secondary weapons, he can use a ton of hearts at once to perform an Item Crash - a huge, flashy attack that damages multiple foes. Why hasn't this feature been seen in more games?

As you play through the game there are tons of secrets and alternate pathways. You can rescue young girls as you progress, with each one usually granting you a new ability. For instance, one will unlock the new playable character, Maria. She seems more like a "joke" character than anything else, with her animal-based attacks, but she's still fun to play.

However, one issue people are going to have with Rondo is its insane difficulty. The level continue points are few and far between, and when you lose all your lives, you have to start the level over. Nearly every pre-Symphony Castlevania is like this, but this one is different in the fact that it's a LOT easier to lose life. It doesn't take a whole lot to die this time around. Rondo's not for those seeking a walk in the park.

Just the same, Rondo is an AWESOME game, quite possibly the finest pre-Symphony game in the series. As I had previously stated, the original sixteen-bit PC Engine version of the game is unlockable as well.

Also unlockable, as I previously stated, is the holy grail of the Castlevania series, Symphony of the Night. This game, long out of print and fetching massive prices on sites like eBay over the years, was the precursor of the Metroid-style titles in the series that have graced the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS systems. However, you must UNLOCK the game, which is an inconvenience. Honestly, this is not that big of a deal, however the game's packaging rambles on about the game's inclusion and fails to mention that you are required to unlock it. Once again, not a big deal, but it's sure to disappoint fans that just want to rush home and play Symphony. This could be taken as false advertising.

Sadly, this is more-or-less a straight port of the Playstation version of Symphony. We don't get the enhanced Saturn port with the extra areas added to that version of the game. Still, this isn't going to bother most fans, who are only familiar with the Playstation version anyway.

As you play through the enhanced version of Rondo, you'll also be able to find new pieces of music to unlock for the game's sound/music test mode. A pretty nifty little feature, especially considering this is a series that has always had great music on its side.

I do have to make one final complaint, but it's a big one that needs to be addressed - DRACULA XX IS NOT INCLUDED (this was the game called Dracula X in America.) The Super Nintendo remake of Rondo is the version of the game best known to North American gamers, and it too has long been out of print in the states. How can you make a game called Dracula X Chronicles and not include the game in the subseries that is the most well known for American players?

Ultimately, this package DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. Arguably the finest PSP title to date! Aside from the little flaws here and there and the gaping omission of XX, it's an awesome package that every PSP owner should pick up. Considering how rare some Castlevania games have become, I would advise every PSP owner who is a fan of action-adventure titles to rush to the game store right now, and pick this up. If you're a fan of this series you will not be disappointed.

One of the year's best. Thumbs way up.