The Dracula X Chronicles can range from decent to frustrating depending on which of the three games are being played.
1. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (2007)
2. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (1993)
3. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)
RONDO OF BLOOD (2007)
The game that can be played right from the get go is the re-release of Rondo of Blood, a Castlevania installment that apparently was not released in the US in its original form. The story follows Richter Belmont, a vampire hunter that tries to save a young woman from the newly revived Dracula in 1792. The rest, I feel, is self-explanatory.
Rondo of Blood is very different from the other Castlevania game I've played in the sense that it doesn't include a leveling system or an inventory. The only resources the player can use are a whip and whatever sub-weapon they happen to pick up along the way.
Okay, there are some very big issues with stripping down the contents. First off, while it might just mean I'm terrible at these kinds of games, the inability to grow stronger and carry items makes getting through normal enemies extremely difficult. What's worse is the implication of the lives system that teleports the player to the beginning of the entire stage if they lose all three. I can't count the number of times I cursed at the screen for being transported back to the beginning of a stage when I had the end boss' health down to a tiny sliver!
Controlling the character also adds a bit of very unwelcome difficulty to the already handheld-throwing frustration. The character can't do much other than attack in a straight line with his whip or throw some kind of sub-weapon overhead (although most of them either hit the ground or go in a straight line) to take out aerial enemies. The timing needed to get enough hits on any enemy without turning into a pile of finely ground hamburger takes so much concentration and attempts that I simply waited for each enemy to approach me and try to get a quick jab at them before running to the other side of the room and repeating the process for an average of two minutes per enemy.
Overall, the Rondo of Blood remake is awful, punishing, and loses its luster after the first few screens. Why the developers felt the need to subject the player to such a game to unlock the much better games is beyond me.
SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT
Through one of the strangest methods of unlocking ever devised, Symphony of the Night can be played by playing through the first few levels in a strangely specific manner. I won't go into the details since you can click over by the Hints & Cheats section on how to do it.
Anyway, Symphony of the Night is presented in all its 1997 glory and follows the story of Alucard. The plot takes place a few years after Rondo of Blood and even lets you do the final boss battle to work your way into the storyline (although I'm not sure why). Alucard navigates through the resurrected Castlevania and meets a few important characters along the way to his ultimate goal of destroying his own father, Dracula.
What's great about Symphony of the Night is that it has everything from the Portrait of Ruin game I played: a leveling system, an inventory, and a modest (but still hard) difficulty. The controls are excellent, fluid, and never cause frustration due to the competence that was put into integrating the original PS1 controls into the PSP. Clearly, Symphony of the Night should've been the first playable game due to its very clear superiority to the Rondo of Blood remake.
The only complaint I have is that training on weaker enemies to get stronger is impossible. Once Alucard levels up, the weaker enemies who used to give hundreds of experience points now only give up a single point per enemy. Sure, this forces the player to not goof off but it gets annoying when you have to search the entire castle for an enemy that deals out sufficient experience.
Overall, Symphony of the Night is a good game and its a shame that it had to be locked away in a small corner for the player to discover. However, once this gem is discovered its doubtful that you'll ever go back to the Rondo of Blood remake ever again.
RONDO OF BLOOD (1993)
Well...Uh...Actually, I haven't had the motivation to unlock this. You see, once I unlocked Symphony of the Night I completely forgot about the Rondo of Blood remake and how to unlock the original version. I'll be honest and say that I can't offer a truly informed opinion due to my reluctance to play through the Rondo of Blood remake to unlock it, but why torture myself by playing through the remake?
All and all, The Dracula X Chronicles only provides one bad game, one good game, and (assumingly) the equally-bad original version of the bad game. I got this used for $19 and I felt slightly ripped-off. If you're a die-hard fan or someone who wants a portable version of Symphony of the Night, try to pick this one up for about $10-12. As for everyone else: there are many better PSP games to spend your precious time and money on.