 Warning! This article is about a game or project that either was officially canceled or is rumored to be canceled due to the lack of information for an extended period of time.
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"Castlevania: The Bloodletting" is the commonly used name among the gaming community for a canceled Castlevania game that was intended to be released for the 32X add-on for the Sega Genesis.
History[]
Series producer, Koji Igarashi, when questioned about the game, mentioned he worked on it before the project was abandoned and its team disbanded. He and other team members would later proceed to work on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the Sony PlayStation.[1][2]
Production of the game began after the success of Tokimeki Memorial, which was released in 1994, and for which IGA was the scenario writer for. After it became clear the game had sold well, he was asked on which project he would like to work on, choosing Castlevania.[1]
In the December 1994 issue of Game Players magazine, a Castlevania game for the Sega 32X was first announced.[3] IGA mentioned in the notes for Symphony of the Night's official soundtrack that he was already working on the game's scenario while also writing the scenario for the PS remake of Tokimeki Memorial, which was released in October 1995.[4] From this it can be concluded that "The Bloodletting" was canceled sometime between December 1994 and October 1995.
Contrary to many reports about the game, the name "The Bloodletting" was not purely a fan invention, as a Konami brochure from the Chicago Consumer Electronic Show from 1995 advertised a game under this title. A trademark for "The Bloodletting" requested by Konami in 1995 also exists in the database of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.[5] IGA mentioned the 32X game got canceled before it got an official name, therefore the name "The Bloodletting" is incorrectly associated with that game.[1]
A single sprite for three characters is all that remains of "The Bloodletting". Through later interviews with IGA, it has been revealed that the game was intended to feature Richter Belmont, Maria Renard, and a rival to Richter.[6]
The sprite for the rival was reworked from Richter's original sprite in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, while the new Richter sprite later became Fake Trevor's.
Characters[]
| Sprite | Character | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Richter Belmont | The main protagonist of the game. |
|
Maria Renard | The co-star of the game, possibly playable. |
|
The Rival | A rival character, playable. |
Interviews[]
| Electronic Gaming Monthly, Issue 206 (August, 2006), Page 102 |
|---|
  EGM:
IGA:
|
Gallery[]
Related products[]
- Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - "The Bloodletting" was intended to be a sequel to Rondo of Blood.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Unfinished symphony: Castlevania's keeper speaks
- ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 206 (August, 2006), page 102.
- ↑ Unreleased 32X games at Sega Retro.
- ↑ SotN OST Liner Note Translation
- ↑ CASTLEVANIA THE BLOODLETTING - Trademark Details at JUSTIA Trademarks.
- ↑ Message from the Producer, Part 5.
External links[]
- Castlevania: The Bloodletting at the Castlevania Fan Wiki - A fan game reimagining what "The Bloodletting" could have been like.
- Castlevania Realm
- Inverted Castlevania Dungeon (Internet Archive: December 17, 2011)