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Dracula X first seems like any linear Castlevania in that you simply progress through each level, one after another, but there's a startling indication early in the game that this is a Castlevania like no other. After you mistime your first jump and fall into one of the chasms, you don't die--instead, you are transported to an entirely new room. Most people, or at least those who can't read Japanese, probably stumble onto the fact that you can go anywhere during the scene in which the massive Orlox (a huge horned rat) is chasing you--it's so easy to mistime the jump, fall into one of the chasms, and stumble into an entirely new room.
The Rondo of Blood is more like Vampire Killer in that respect because you can essentially go where you want to and explore the surrounding areas in much greater detail. There's even some substantial motivation for doing some extra searching since you have to find Richter's girlfriend, Annet, and her sister, Maria, who were kidnapped by Dracula and hidden somewhere in the castle. If you find Maria, she becomes a playable character, though she uses attacks that are quite different from Richter's.
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It's unfortunate that Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood never made it outside of Japan. Most fans consider Dracula X for the Super Nintendo to be a port of The Rondo of Blood, but it really isn't because it lacks branching levels, the art style is vastly different, and the levels that are re-created from The Rondo of Blood actually play much differently than the original versions. There is still a chance that Dracula X may make it to the US because of Konami's renewed interest in rereleasing some of the lesser-known Castlevania games.
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