Vampire Killer in Japan
Castlevania: The New Generation in Europe and the UK
Released: 1994
Systems: Genesis
By 1994, the Sega Genesis had established itself as a viable competitor to the industry juggernaut Nintendo, so third-party developers brought their major franchises to Sega's console--Konami would port two of its major properties, Contra and Castlevania. The Genesis version of Castlevania, appropriately titled Castlevania: Bloodlines, was actually a solid game that surpassed some older Castlevania games in a number of areas, but there were some aspects of the game that were disappointing.
In terms of a story, Bloodlines ranks high among the Castlevania games that even had a story. You take on the role of John Morris, the son of Quincy Morris, who went off to Transylvania in 1897 to accompany the "Kill Dracula" troupe. Both John Quincy and his friend Eric Lecarde sit in the shadows as they watch Quincy battle it out with Dracula; however, after the dust settles and Dracula is beaten, Quincy collapses--so John Morris has to watch his father die before his very eyes. From that point on, John and Eric vow to rid the world of evil and prevent anyone from attempting to resurrect Dracula.
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 | Even though it appeared that this would be the first Castlevania without Belmonts, it was revealed that members of the Morris family were actually descendants of the Belmont line. |
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As in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse--to some degree--you can select between two different characters, John Morris and Eric Lecarde. Both characters have different attributes that make them stronger in certain situations and weaker in others. John Morris is the traditional Belmont character with a trusty whip--and the ability to use it for swinging from walls and ceilings. Eric Lecarde has a much more interesting weapon, called the Alcarde spear, which lets you perform superjumps by holding down the crouching button and pressing the attack button. There is also a defensive stance that Eric can use--he twirls the spear, preventing any projectiles or enemies from touching him. The special abilities for both characters are pretty useful, but most people feel a little more comfortable with John Morris since he has similar abilities to that of Simon Belmont in Castlevania IV (though he can't swing the whip in every direction like Simon, he can throw it diagonally while jumping). A version of the item crash feature from Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood is also a part of Bloodlines' gameplay.
Castlevania: Bloodlines doesn't look quite as good as Super Castlevania IV, but it looks much more vibrant than The Rondo of Blood. The Bloodlines development team was able to push the Genesis hardware farther than any other game at the time, as shown by the main character sprites as well as many of the enemy sprites, which were actually quite detailed and animated very well. Unfortunately, many of Bloodlines' backgrounds are fairly disappointing, with a few notable exceptions, like the reflective water effect in the Atlantis stage. Much of the music is the same way--there are a few good tracks in the game, ones that fit well within each environment, but the limited abilities of the Genesis sound chip prevents the overall soundtrack from reaching anywhere near the quality of Super Castlevania IV's.
Castlevania: Bloodlines has its weaknesses, but it holds its own as a solid game within the Castlevania library. Though the game itself is linear--you start out in Transylvania and then move across the European countryside until you make it to the Castle Prosperina in England--being able to select from two different characters at the beginning of the game helps add some replay value, and their individual special abilities make the game more fun. Both the graphics and the music are good in terms of what the Genesis was able to do, and overall, most fans were actually pleased to see the franchise finally move to another platform and reach a larger audience.
