Castlevania: Dracula X
GALLERY
RELEASE INFORMATION
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Released date(s)	July 21, 1995 September, 1995 February 22, 1996 June 22, 1996
Platform(s)	SFC/SNES
Media(s)	16-megabit cartridge
Rating(s)	ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults)
CREDITS
Director(s)	Kouki Yamashita, Kuniaki Kinoshita (Producer)
Designer(s)
Composer(s)	Tomoya Tomita, Masanari Iwata, Harumi Ueko, Masahiko Kimura
GAMEPLAY INFORMATION
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player

Castlevania: Dracula X is the Super NES semi-remake/semi-sequel of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, which was previously released on the PC Engine (a version never released outside of Japan). Instead of being a straight remake, this title should instead be considered both a remake and a sequel, though most people consider it a straight port. It shares the same gameplay and storyline of Rondo of Blood, but the levels had been completely redesigned, the quality of some graphics was considerably lowered, and many other elements were completely taken out of the game, such as not being able to play as Maria at all when you rescue her on Stage 4.

In Japan, this title is known as Demon Castle Dracula Double X (悪魔城ドラキュラXX Akumajō Dracula XX) as the original release title, to be presented as like a sequel to the PC-Engine game. On the other hand, Europe and Australia has a completely different title known as, Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss to make it more of a regular standard sequel to Super Castlevania IV in it's presentation.

In 2007, The Rondo of Blood 3D remake (as well as the original game) was finally made in the Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles on the Sony PSP handheld game console, which Dracula X was absent from.

Castlevania: Dracula X is considered to take place in a different universe than the official Castlevania timeline. ^[1]

StorylineEdit

It is the year 1792 (but, "Several hundred years have passed since legendary hero Simon Belmont defeated the evil Count Dracula" in the manual) and the evil Count Dracula has been resurrected. This time he has kidnapped the girlfriend of Richter Belmont, Annette, and her little sister, Maria. Enraged by this, Richter sets out to save both his girlfriend and his girlfriend's little sister, as well as to put an end to Dracula.

While you can save Annette's little sister, Maria, on Stage 4, she is not a playable character as she was in the original Rondo of Blood game for the PC-Engine. Also worth noting is the fact that both Tera and Iris are completely absent from this version, as well as the dark priest Shaft.

Character GalleryEdit

Main article: Castlevania: Dracula X/Gallery

Characters
Heroes
Image	Name	Information
	Richter Belmont (Richter Belmondo)	The main hero and the only playable character in this game.
	Annette	Richter's fiancee who has been taken to the castle. She'll turn into a demon skull if Richter does not rescue her.
	Maria	Annette's little sister who has also been captured. In this version, she's not a playable character when rescued.
Villain
	Dracula	The Lord of Castlevania, main antagonist and final boss.

CriticismEdit

When the Super NES Dracula X was first announced, Castlevania fans were excited to see that the popular Japanese PC Engine game make it to Super NES and be released internationally. However, gamers were disappointed to see that the game was very different from Rondo of Blood. This turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments in the entire series. Rather then a direct port, it was meant to be more of a semi-remake and a semi-sequel. The levels were completely different (yet still contained many sprites, enemies, bosses and elements from the PC Engine game), The non-linear gameplay was toned down dramatically (instead of four alternate levels, as in Rondo of Blood, Dracula X features only two) and even the difficulty was increased. While Maria can be still be saved on Stage 4, she was unplayable and demoted to just another damsel in distress, in the remake, thus making Richter the only playable character in this game. It is also said to be one of the toughest and most frustrating Castlevania action games.

There were a few things thought by many fans to be better than the original Rondo of Blood. Often cited are changes to the music tracks, better graphics for the background flames in Stage 1, and increased difficulty in the final Dracula battle, which was far too easy in the original version.

Most likely due to the issues between NEC and Konami, the Super NES remake had to be different. Also, many gamers are aware that this game officially had a completely different art style which was used for the original Japanese release and for the PAL reigon releases in advertisements. But yet for the North American boxart, the manual and even the cartidge itself, it has used the official artwork directly taken from the Japanese-exclusive PC-Engine game, to make North American consumers believe that it was a real direct-port of the original PC-Engine game, even though it was still very different altogether.

NotesEdit

See AlsoEdit

• Castlevania: Dracula X Bestiary
• Category:Dracula X
• Category:Dracula X Characters
• Dracula X Inventory
• Dracula X Locations

Related ProductsEdit

• Holy Bible Guide - A Japanese guide to this game
• Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - This game is considered a non-canon sequel to Rondo of Blood in Japan, and a remake in North America
• Super Castlevania IV - Dracula X is sometimes called "Castlevania V" and considered a sequel to this game
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - To Americans unfamiliar with Rondo of Blood, Symphony of the Night was originally considered a sequel to this game.

External LinksEdit

• Castlevania: Dracula X at Castlevania Fan Wiki
• English Castlevania: Dracula X Manual at Mr. P's Castlevania Realm
• Japanese Castlevania: Dracula X Manual at Mr. P's Castlevania Realm
• GameFAQs