A long stretch of time passed since Konami last released a Castlevania game on a Nintendo console other than the GameBoy. The series was still able to draw an audience, as was shown by the 1994 release of Castlevania: Bloodlines for the Genesis, but for some reason, the Nintendo's console was largely neglected for four years. That would all change, because in 1995, Konami took the wraps off Dracula X for the Super Nintendo. And while Dracula X appears to be a remake of the highly praised Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood, both games actually differ in some substantial ways.

The first sign that Dracula X wasn't quite a port of the Rondo of Blood came during the introduction scene--or the lack thereof. The great introduction scene from Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood was missing from the Super Nintendo Dracula X, and instead, a series of still and poorly drawn images with scrolling text shows Dracula sending his minions to attack the town and lure Richter. As disappointing as it is, the Dracula X introduction sets up the story, which basically states that a group of townspeople possessed by evil successfully resurrected Dracula. Of course, the first thing Dracula wants to do is get revenge on the Belmont clan, so he attacks the town where a Belmont descendant named Richter is living. Dracula kidnaps Richter's girlfriend, Annet, and her sister, Maria, and places them in one of the castle's dungeons--this is where Richter's journey into Dracula's castle begins.

The second and most obvious sign that Dracula X for the Super Nintendo wasn't really a port of Rondo of Blood was that it completely ditched the idea of branching levels and instead used a linear approach for most of the levels--though there are two points in the game that let you explore two hidden levels. It was fairly clear at this point that Dracula X borrowed only some cosmetic and gameplay elements from The Rondo of Blood and that the major selling point for the original game was absent in the Super Nintendo version. Imagine the scene from The Rondo of Blood, in which the Orloz chases you--it's possible to fall down the first pit in that area and not die, but in the same scene for Dracula X, you perish. Since many fans didn't get a chance to play The Rondo of Blood, it probably wasn't such a huge problem, but those who played The Rondo of Blood tend to look at Dracula X as an inferior version of a great game.

On its own, Dracula X is a good game, but if you look at it as a remake of Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood, it's disappointing. The feeling of exploration and the freedom to go anywhere are basically lost in Dracula X, along with the great anime introduction. Still, the gameplay is classic Castlevania; the music is some of the best in the series, and the level designs--while obscenely colorful--are very well done. Most fans were probably expecting a Super Castlevania IV, and while Dracula X serves as a solid sequel, it doesn't quite match up well to Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood.