What's this? Rondo of Blood, a remake, and Symphony? Someone at Konami likes us.
Well, someone at Konami decided to release a 3D remake of Rondo, with unlockable versions of the original PC Engine game, and my beloved Symphony of the Night. I salivated at the thought, and cursed my inability to get ahold of a PSP in time for its release. But now, I've got myself a shiny black PSP and this game, and I have to say, the wait was worth it. It's hard to try to review all the games at once, so I'll do it one at a time. Let's start with Rondo and its remake.
The plot in Rondo of Blood goes like this: an evil priest named Shaft (can you dig it?) decided he wanted to do something with his life, so he resurrected Count Dracula. Immediately, Drac goes on a rampage, with the town of Veros (Simon's Quest, anyone?) being his first target. You see, Veros is the hometown of the Belmonts, and old Dracula knows how to hold a grudge. He levels the city, and kidnaps four girls in order to use them in some nefarious way. Richter Belmont, being the current wielder of the Vampire Killer whip, sets out to kill the Count, save the girls, and put Shaft back in his place.
Gameplay-wise, it's classic Castlevania. You travel through 2D levels, killing monsters, whipping candles, and eating food you find in walls. It's solid, enjoyable fun. Some, however, may be put off the difficulty here. I've beaten more than my fair share of Castlevanias, and I was surprised at how quickly the game decides to take the gloves off. The remake tweaked it a bit, and is generally the easier game, but make no mistake; YOU WILL DIE. The rewarding part of these games has always been to beat a boss after a dozen tries, and this game is no different. Yes, it's hard, but the frustration you'll feel will eventually be smothered by your satisfaction after finally killing a boss or completing a grueling level. Richter has a few tools to help him on his way; the classic subweapons: Knife, Axe, Holy Water, Cross, and Stopwatch are joined by a Bible, which spews scripture in a circle around the screen. Also, Richter can use what's called "Item Crash". By tapping the triangle button, Richter will use his equipped subweapon in an awesome, super powerful attack. These use a lot of hearts, but are great to watch, and make you feel like the badass Richter is. You may even find yourself saying "HYDRO STORM!" everytime it rains.
Aside from the usual gameplay mechanics, Rondo has an interesting method of level progression. If, for example, you're knocked into a hole on a certain level, you may not die. Instead, you may find yourself on a different path through the level, which often has a different end boss and sometimes even leads to entirely different levels. These branching paths offer replay value sorely needed in the old Castlevania games, and are similar to the alternate paths in Dracula's Curse.
Another cool addition is the ability to play as another character, Maria Renard. If you find her, she's an awesome character to play as, with a whole different moveset, attacks, and subweapons. You may scoff at the notion of playing as a 12 year-old girl, but once you double-jump up to an Axe Armor and kill him with a fireball-spewing Phoenix, you won't care who's doing it. The other characters you can find are Richter's girlfriend, Annette, and two other girls; Tera and Iris. In the remake, finding these girls gives Richter the ability to destroy those damn Blood Skeletons and smash crystal walls, which will lead you to unlockable music tracks from the three games that you can listen to at your leisure. After doing so, you can use the Sound Arrange option to customize what music you'll hear on what level, which is a very nice treat, given Castlevania's track record with music. If that weren't enough, finding all the girls will even affect the ending of the game.
In summary, after having finally played it, Rondo of Blood was well worth the wait. It's classic Castlevania action given some much-needed tweaks and changes, and is a great addition to anyone's gaming repertoire. But the two Rondos aren't all that's here,and I'm sure many people bought this just for the next game I'll discuss.
Symphony of the Night. What can I say? It's considered by many fans to be the series' shining moment, and with good reason. It's an amazing blend of 2D action, and Metroid-style exploration. It's as epic as 2D can get, and stands to this day as a hugely entertaining and engrossing experience. And ignore the whiners on the reviews page; you DON'T need to beat Rondo to unlock this game. If you're clever, curious, or capable of using Google, you'll find a much quicker way to get it.
The plot is a sequel to Rondo of Blood, with Richter disappearing four years after his battle with Dracula. His old friend, Maria Renard, sets off to find him, and stumbles upon Castlevania in the process. Meanwhile, Alucard, Dracula's son, awakens from his supposed eternal sleep, sensing his father's presence. He too, sets off for the castle, and it's here that the game begins.
Symphony sets itself apart from the previous games by doing away with the linear level progression of the other games,and goes for a Metroid style of exploration and character development. As you travel through the castle, you'll level up, learn new abilities, and eventually get to transform between a bat, a wolf, or mist. These abilities will let you access new areas of the castle, and can be used in combat as well. Much of the exploration will affect the game's ending, too. If you beat the game pretty quickly, trust me, you didn't really beat the game.
Also scattered around the place are new items to equip, like armors, swords, maces, accessories, etc. All of these items affect Alucard's stats, which are handled in an RPG-esque fashion. You may find yourself bleary-eyed, scouring the castle for enough money to buy that sweet Firebrand or just wandering about looking for secret areas. This is a huge game, will take you several hours to fully uncover every secret it has to find.
I mentioned the series' tradition of great music before, and it really shines here. It's called "Symphony" of the Night for a reason. The compositions here, courtesy of Michiru Yamane, are among the most beautiful, haunting, and memorable tunes you'll ever hear from a game. I still get goosebumps when I hear some of these songs. I know it may not be the most important factor in this game, but this music is so goddamned good, it would be a crime not to mention it.
As far as remakes go, Rondo of Blood would stand on its own, but the addition of the original game, and the timeless SotN, make this one a no-brainer if you dig classic 2D action at its finest. The trilogy of games, and all the satisfaction that lie within, are well worth the asking price. If you see this around, give it a shot. It's the best deal I've seen in a LONG time.