Tag Archives: Castlevania

Castlevania Dominus Collection Review

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It’s time to look at the next Castlevania title. This collection brings 3 more main games as well as a revisited version of one of the classics. So you’ve got quite a lot of content in here, especially considering that the main games all allow you to play through them a second time with another character. Effectively a whole second story mode so that’s pretty crazy. It’s definitely one of the fun things about collections because you really get your money’s worth with them.

First up lets talk about the Order of Ecclesia. In this game you don’t play as one of the Belmonts and instead you are a spellcaster who is charged with absorbing 3 legendary spells inside her. If she can do this then she will prevent Dracula from coming back to murder everyone but she is betrayed by her good friend and gets amnesia. Now she has to regain all of her skills and get the spells but can she really stand a chance? It’s a very different kind of Castlevania game when it comes to the gameplay. You have to use a ton of spells and continually switch between them.

It’s a pretty interesting idea but one immediate drawback here is that because of how you actively need to switch abilities to use the new ones, you probably won’t even touch about half of them. Once you get the good abilities that you want then there is really no need to try out any of the others. They can be fun to switch around with but for the most part you just don’t need them. Still it does mean everyone’s playthrough will probably be a little different as you pick the play style that suits your needs the best.

The layout of the map is pretty smooth as you would expect and I also like the fact that they have little sub quests in the hub world. The missions are never anything that really puts you out of your way so it’s easy to complete a lot of them while exploring. It gives you extra incentive to look around thoroughly and the quests give you little rewards. I ended up completing a whole lot of them on my way to beating the game. As always I got the bad ending first but that also helps you appreciate the level of detail they put into the game. Putting in more than one ending definitely has to be difficult considering most titles don’t do that.

This is a very fun game and the story is engaging. Castlevania has really come a long way from the 2D platformer titles into the very iconic vania styled ones. As always I can also give the games a whole lot of credit for making this part fun as well. You really feel stronger as you absorb more abilities and level up. There are a few rooms that don’t appear on the map which feels like cheating to me but most of it makes a lot of sense as you just play through the game normally. The layouts are food and there are enough quick travel rooms to keep anything from being tedious.

Then we have Portrait of Ruin which is a little more traditional. You play as a guy who is distantly related to the Belmonts but has never been able to use the iconic whip. He’s still been able to defeat every vampire that he needed to though. Now he faces one of the most powerful vampires alive and may need some help. Will he be able to face up to his destiny and use the whip or will he fall? I also hadn’t been using the whip very often so this game definitely encourages you to do so. By the end of the game it ends up being one of the most powerful weapons even if you will probably be using the sword for most of the early game.

The game’s main difference from the last one is that there are a lot of little worlds instead of one big one. You jump into paintings which become their own worlds like Super Mario 64. It’s a fun idea and if anything it probably makes the game easier since all of the individual worlds are a lot smaller. The game also becomes a lot more linear this way since you very rarely have to go back to an old world. It is technically still a vania as there are optional power ups and such but don’t expect to get lost or anything.

It definitely makes things really calm the whole time. The bosses are all fun and getting good enough to beat them all is a real feat. This time you actually fight Dracula and Death as a combined tag team which made for a cool boss fight. I thought that was a really nice way to spice things up since that had never happened before. It’s a really smooth experience and it can hold its own as one of the stronger titles in the franchise. At this point it’s safe to say that the modern games all hold their own on a high level.

After that is Dawn of Sorrow which is a direct sequel to one of the prior games. Dracula is surprisingly still gone but a lady named Cecil has decided to work on destroying Soma so one of her proteges can become the new Dracula. Soma decides to stop her before she can hurt anyone but will he be able to resist the powers of darkness? The Belmont of this generation thinks this is definitely a bad idea and Alucard agrees but nobody is going to stop Soma. He figures this threat is too big to be ignored and must be dealt with effective immediately.

In this game you absorb the souls of enemies when you defeat them although it is part RNG. You have to defeat some enemies numerous times in order to absorb their soul while other ones will drop it on the first try. I didn’t really care about the souls initially but for the rue ending you have to absorb a specific three and this led to me having to enter and exit a room over and over and over as I farmed the same enemy until he dropped the soul. It actually took quite a bit longer than I expected so that surprised me. The actual final boss for the true ending is also quite difficult. I believe I went in rather under leveed which did not help. Still, those attacks were completely crazy. Dodging them is hard.

See, the final boss spams an infinite amount of minions at you while walking around the place. You have to destroy him in two different areas to win while not getting hit by anything else. Your best bet is to beat the minions as they come while also landing his on the weak points. Of course that’s way easier said than done. I recommend using Death’s scythe as your ongoing support attack since all of the weapons that it summons are enough to keep all of the foes busy at times. It doesn’t always work though, it’s a bit of give and take.

Finally you also have the arcade style remake. It’s a fairly short game with only 5-6 levels but this time you can’t rewind or use access points. The game does save what level you are on at least until you exit the game. So basically you gotta make sure you have a lot of time to invest and then do everything at once. If you can’t do that then it’s basically about time for you to throw in the towel. This is the one game I could not conquer.

The Castlevania games are really no walk in the park and beating it all without true save points would just be asking for a tad too much. With no way to grind EXP or anything, it forces you to try and just get really good. An admirable goal to be sure but one that would probably take too much time without much reward. For example there are no PS5 trophies for beating this one. I do aim to get the Platinum though as there are only 3 trophies left and apparently none of them are particularly long.

Of course the soundtrack is really good across the whole collection. All of the games sound really good and the graphics are also solid for all of the titles. These are all clearly well made games with solid fundamentals, stories, and gameplay. Now all we need is a big budget modern day PS5 title for the series and we would really be off to the races. There is just a lot of potential here and you have to assume that all of these collections are to build up hype for a new game. Hopefully that is the case at least.

Overall, This is a collection that was really fun to play through. I think that’s probably even the best word I would use for the collection. You really have a blast going through each title and exploring the maze. If every vania styled game was like this then I would be a huge fan of the genre. The level up system was handled very well and there is a whole lot of replay value to be found here. Whether you are a fan of the franchise or not you will definitely enjoy your stay here.

Overall 8/10

Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood Review

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It’s time for the return of Castlevania with two more big titles. These titles definitely feel fairly polished and are more on the level of the GBA games than the previous SNES ones. One of them is more like a classic platformer like the originals and then another one has the more GBA vibe to it of going through all the rooms and locating power ups. In the end this makes for a good double pack and are definitely some of the stronger games in the Castlevania franchise.

First up we have Rondo of Blood with the best of the Belmonts leading the way. Richter need to stop Dracula once and for all so he rolls up to the castle to take him down. You have to travel through 9 stages as the hero and destroy all of the enemies and bosses that make the mistake of getting in your way. They’re strong, but make no mistake, you’re stronger! The gameplay is fairly self explanatory here. Focus on using your whip strategically so you land the hits without getting nailed by any of their counters. Taking any big hit here will always work in the opponent’s favor since there are so many of them. You also have a sub weapon available at all times based on the last one that you picked up. You can use it in the standard way or charge up hearts and use the super attack instead. Either way can be really useful.

The graphics are pretty solid and there’s even some voice acting which is pretty cool. That’s all you need to make me consider you to be a modern title after all. It goes a long way to making the game more cinematic the whole time which I definitely appreciate. The soundtrack is also really solid. Definitely some fun tunes to have a good time with here and all of the level designs are on point. It’s really a complete game on all sides. There are still some parts of it where you can see the age a bit like with not having too much of a story and the length of the game being fairly short but it’s still good overall. I also think the difficulty is not nearly as intense as some of the previous games so you can really enjoy going bar for bar with the opponent instead of running and hoping for a lucky shot the whole time.

Of course Symphony of the Night is the big one here. This time you are playing as Alucard and you have to stop Dracula once and for all. The problem is that Richter appears to have been taken control of by the mad king of evil or someone beneath him. There is also a mysterious lady running around the castle. Alucard needs to stay on task and not worry about all of these extra elements but does he have the abilities needed to destroy them all? He’s strong but the odds that he is up against are definitely fierce.

So this in the true Castlevania style now as Alucard has to slowly recover different artifacts to gain new abilities. There are quite a lot of collectibles in this game and a good deal of them aren’t even mandatory for completing the story. Now this is the balance that I like to see. Yeah you will still run into some real sneaky puzzles and obstacles that may not be the most intuitive but the game never feels impossible. A big thing that helps with this is how accurate and detailed the map is. While there are some rooms that don’t appear on the map, they tend to be the optional ones. If you aren’t sure where to proceed then you just have to go to each room and check again. It’ll take time but it’s not undoable.

You will find relics that boost your abilities, stats, summon new familiars, etc. There is also a classic level up system here so if you are too weak, just gain a few levels and try again. If you continue to do that then you will be all set. I got lost so many times on the way to the final boss that I was extremely overpowered. A few good attacks were enough to take the bosses down. I had also found lots of food and potions along the way so I had a good cushion if needed.

These are all things that added up to really make this a much smoother set of fights than it would be for someone who was trying to cruise their way through the game. Definitely don’t underestimate Castlevania, you’ll always have some tricky fights in there but this one sort of lets you set the difficulty since you can continue to accumulate power as much as you want to. I really enjoyed the freedom there.

Meanwhile the soundtrack and graphics are solid as well. This feels like a very complete game and the artstyle ages well. It will still look and play well 10 years from now. The fact that the game has two castles which pretty much doubles the play time is also really cool. I won’t say it fully doubles things though since you have all of your powers by this point. It’s another really satisfying thing as you get to barrel past everyone this time around. It lets you actually get to enjoy your new abilities rather than just ending the way a lot of other games would have. It’s something Shantae has always ben the best at historically but now this is another good example I can use. You should always feel more powerful and be able to run past obstacles by the end of a game. If the area takes you about as much time to go through the second time as the first, then I feel like something went wrong during development. Once you can fly in this game, it’s really a whole new ballgame.

Overall, Castlevania returns with a pretty good double pack here. I enjoyed both games and the sheer amount of story in Symphony was great. Throw in the full voice acting and it really took things to the next level. It definitely helps to set the standard for the series. My favorite game was from the GBA but even that didn’t have full voice acting like this one. You’ll get lost a lot and the game will take some time but you will have a good experience the whole time. It’s why I love having a level up system because at least when you get lost, you have the satisfying consolation of getting stronger. This is a pretty good jumping on point for fans who want to check out the franchise.

Overall 7/10

Castlevania Advance Collection Review

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Time for the next Castlevania collection! This time we’re entering a more modern era with a bunch of GBA titles and I gotta say this works out pretty well. You can feel the quality of life updates oozing out of each title and all in all they do feel a lot more fun. I would also say generally speaking they do improve as they go on. Sometimes not unanimously in every regard but generally speaking they feel stronger. The games also increasingly have more story which always works out well.

So we kick things off with Circle of the Moon. Dracula is returning once again and he must be stopped but how do you beat a foe so powerful that he has the whole world on its knees? Well, Nathan will have to figure that out. This game has the classic Metroidvania type style here as you wander around a labyrinth gaining new powers and abilities in the rooms. With each new ability comes new opportunities and so you work to find out which areas have opened up for you to crack. It makes for some good fun in exploring but this is the critical make or break point for any game in the genre.

Here’s the balancing act. Naturally you want a lot of dead ends and such to encourage players to return later once they are stronger. However, the rooms can be quite large so what you don’t want to do is make the journey feel like a chore. The way to prevent this is by having fast travel in a lot of different areas so you can hop on that right away. It removes all of the excess running. Now, there is a level up system so beating the enemies gets easier with time. That is a good idea since proper progression is always a plus. It means that if you’re stuck at any point, you are given clear direction on how to get past that point which is really cool. Not just any game will do that.

So this one did it better than some of the other titles. Not perfectly mind you, but it’s a fairly good showing of the genre. I never quite understood the card gimmick though. You could use cards in different combinations to unleash powerful elemental attacks and such but I could never get any of them to work. You can still win without this but I imagine that the game might have been a whole lot easier otherwise. So I definitely did not make things easy on myself here. The graphics are solid and I liked all of the boss battles. There are quite a lot of them here so you really get to go all out.

Then in the second game Juste shows up to put an end to Dracula’s reign of terror. Defeating the king of the vampires won’t be easy but this guy is ready. It picks up a lot of the gameplay details and abilities from the previous game while also throwing in some new wrinkles. Gone are the cards (Which I’m 100% down with) and replacing them are magical super attacks. You are invincible while using these abilities which is extremely handy and the techniques themselves vary based on what sub weapon you have equipped. I chose one that let me shoot energy waves and I made sure to never pick any other sub weapons after that. This one was just way too useful but I can’t remember which one it was. I think the sub weapon looked like a book of sorts but I’m not sure of the name.

Either way there are a ton of sub weapons everywhere so it should not be hard to find these. Just keep searching and you will get them fairly quick. Meanwhile you still have the level up system so make sure you get those right away. If you beat all of the enemies you will get the level ups normally but especially securing some of them early on is an incredible help for you later on. You want to be able to easily dispatch all of the zombies and creatures that head your way to save health for the bosses. The bosses definitely do not hold back and really dish a whole lot of damage out.

The game loses some steam near the very end though as it does fall into the trap of the journey being a little too monotonous. As you approach the end game, there will only be a few passages left to check but they are in completely different sides of the map. So even though you have quick travel, it takes forever to get anywhere which is really the issue. This only really applies to the end game as it’s possible to miss power ups and then this cascades quite a bit as they are all linked. So just watch out here because missing things is really high stakes.

Then we have the third game, Aria of Sorrow. This one felt like it had a pretty good technological jump right off the bat. The graphics are extra clear, we have a whole new setting, and all of the gameplay mechanics are very sharp. You still have the level ups but now you have a soul system. Instead of finding the power ups for the most part, you gain the abilities through souls. It’s a fun way to go although there is a mild issue of having to pause and cycle through your abilities to keep on switching powers. That part’s a little dicey you know. Still, it’s a mild annoyance at worst, not something that will really be giving you a hard time here.

I liked the plot of several people being suspicious and you have to try and figure out who will be Dracula’s new vessel. It’s almost like a mystery game of sorts there so that was a fun angle. I think another way to put it is that the game had a whole lot of personality. It felt like the devs could have fun taking things in a new direction and it worked really well. It even felt like there was some true replay value here as you could clear the game while still leaving a lot left to be done. It’s the right balance of being a completionist vs just wanting to finish the game. Additionally, you gain powers like flight that make each room a breeze so that addresses my issue of moving through the map too slowly from the last game. This was definitely super solid.

Finally we have Dracula X. Well, Dracula is back and we have to take him down. Lesss goooooooo. The plot is super basic/nonexistent and the game feels like a super simplified version of the old ones. The fact that you can no longer jiggle your whip around or use magic attacks feels like a massive step back. It just went too far into being super retro. It’s not bad, the whole game is super short but very linear. It just doesn’t hold up compared to the big full fledged game titles. It was kind of funny to go back to this one.

The graphics for all of the games are pretty solid. Dracula X looks rather dated but all of the GBA ones hold their own. The soundtracks definitely vary from game to game but as a whole there are a ton of good tunes to listen to so you definitely won’t be getting bored at all. The variety is definitely here to stay and you might even recognize one or two from Super Smash Bros. There is a good amount of replay in trying to get all trophies and really ace each of the games as well. You will definitely need to tap into your inner Castlevania fan to pull that off but it will add some extra hours without a doubt.

Overall, Castlevania Advance Collection is definitely pretty fun. All 3 of the game boy advance titles are pretty solid and generally speaking are a step up from the retro styled ones. They all feel like complete games and I do think adding a full fledged level up system to the vania games is a real good way of keeping things from being too repetitive. Even if you get lost, at least you know you are making progress. I may still not be a huge fan of the sub genre but I can say this is on the higher levels in terms of quality. It’s certainly miles away from certain other titles that just feel like a grind. The final game may not hold up as much but I consider that to be more of a bonus title so either way there was no real pressure there.

Overall 7/10

Castlevania Anniversary Collection Review

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Castlevania is one of those franchises where I actually hadn’t gotten too involved with yet. There are tons and tons of games but I’ve only played a handful up to now. Well, with this collection I get to jump into 8 games right off the bat which is a huge increase. They’re definitely fun titles and only one of them actually deals with a lot of puzzles and mysteries so I appreciate that. The rest are all direct platformers which is of course the best way to go about things. The games are rather difficult so the access points really come in clutch.

First we have the original Castlevania which is of course very dated in terms of graphics. This is how the saga all started of course so it definitely did well for itself. It’s a very direct game about having to stop Dracula so you fight bosses on each level and then make it to the end. You really have to be perfect in your jumps and attacks in order to really stand a chance though. A single slip up and you are really going to be absolutely doomed here. It’s one of the harder games in the collection to be sure but I had a good time with it. Sometimes you don’t need all the extra frills and such. Just give me some good core gameplay and I am set!

The second game is the worst one so at least we get it over with quickly. This one decides to go the full Metroidvania experience as you have to find items scattered throughout the world. Different items will unlock new pathways so you will continue to travel across each level multiple times. It’s definitely not easy to put it mildly and the game doesn’t do a great job of directing you. The NPCs are definitely not helpful and some of the objectives are so vague that I can’t imagine how you would have ever figured the hint out on your own. Seems to be like it would have been an absolutely futile effort. Mix in the day and night system where you just have to wait the nights out in order to proceed and that’s a mechanic that didn’t work so well. Why should I have to wait? I want to just get in there and progress. I’ve yet to see a game where a day/night system really enhanced it.

The third game goes back to its roots. We have a clean platformer here where you have to destroy all of the monsters. It’s very similar to the first game but you do notice the improvements. They have improved the graphics and the gameplay. You have a bit more freedom here and the game isn’t quite as punishing as the last one where you were absolutely doomed the whole time. So I can definitely appreciate that and of course it’s always fun to take on Dracula again. He really never stands a chance against the power of the Belmonts!

Continuing on, we have the 4th game which has really gotten the style down to an art by this point. You have to go through all of the levels and beat every boss until you get over to Dracula. It may be a story that you’ve seen before but the games all have their little changes. I really like how you get to read the long plot synopsis before entering the game. That way even if you don’t see much of a plot within the story itself, you still know it’s there. That’s a really good design decision if you ask me.

After that we do have one of the weaker ones though. It’s not the game’s fault by any means but we go to the Game Boy so the graphics take a rather large dip. The gameplay speed is also exceptionally slow so you really have a hard time landing hits on the enemies. It just doesn’t feel as lively or energetic and of course it makes the levels feel longer than they actually are. Even with that it ends up being the shortest game though as there are only 4 real levels here. Certainly not enough to keep you here for the long haul or anything like that.

Then we actually have the second game boy game. I’ll give the title credit for fixing some of my biggest issues like the slow speed. In the sequel you can actually move at a reasonable speed which is really good. You also regain some of the more standard abilities from the mainline games like sub weapons. So it’s definitely improving but doesn’t really get up to the level of the main core games.

After that is easily the most impressive game in the collection, Bloodlines. This one looks really modern and has a dramatic improvement in graphics and gameplay. It’s clearly on a completely different level. You have two different characters to choose from so I went with the guy who has a lance to try out this new gameplay style. It’s definitely a lot of fun. His weapon has such a good reach too so you really have the advantage here. I’m not sure what, if any downsides this weapon has vs the whip but the fact that it’s a different/unique option makes the whole thing worth it. I like to shake things up and this character gave me a way to do it. This is definitely going to be the turning point for the series.

The final game shakes things up a bit by bringing in Kid Dracula. You get the feeling that they wanted to end off on a fun note. It’s a chibi style game that plays more like Mega Man as you blast away at every enemy in your way. It’s actually rather fun and the game is not afraid to get really crazy as you go through it. You fight enemies like the Statue of Liberty before you’re all done. That was a pretty fun boss battle. If I had a complaint it’s that you don’t see the boss health meters anymore and there isn’t always a visual indicator to show that they’re taking damage. So for the final boss for example, you’re just not sure if you’re playing the fight in the right way for a while there.

The games all generally have pretty solid soundtracks to go along with the gameplay. The older ones are a bit more limited but the tune that they choose isn’t bad. The gameplay is generally smooth and of course the graphics get better as you go through the title. In general you could tell that they put a good amount of budget behind these games and were really trying for them to be successful. Clearly it worked out since the franchise is a household name right now.

Overall, It was fun to really start getting used to the Castlevania titles. For now I would even say it is better than I expected since I was dreading the more labyrinth style games where you have to run around and find things. This one managed to avoid all of that for the most part. Perhaps that’s just something the latter games have or maybe it’s actually not that frequent and the series just became known for it somehow. I can’t say I really know how this is going to play out but regardless I can definitely recommend this collection. In general collections always give you such great bang for your buck.

Overall 7/10

Castlevania Legends Review

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It’s time for a really old school Castlevania game. I haven’t really gotten very deep into the series just yet so this was a pretty fun preview. This isn’t going to really reflect the average Castlevania experience but it was pretty fun. It plays out like a classic sidescroller just with some vampires thrown into the mix. I’m always up for that in this context because you don’t have to worry about much of the ole bloodsucking in a Game Boy game. The title definitely ends rather quickly though.

You play as Sonia who is working to stop Dracula once and for all. To do this she will have to find him and destroy a bunch of vampires along the way. Fortunately she is ready for this. With her trusty whip she has slain many opponents over the years so this will really be no different. She can also shoot energy blasts out of the whip when she has enough power ups. So this is definitely not a fighter to be taken lightly. Underestimate her at your own peril!

Each level is fairly long but to make up for that there are only 5 real levels here. Each one has a boss at the end that you have to conquer. Once per level you can use your bomb energy to become completely invincible for about 10 seconds which is super handy. Obviously you should save that for the boss each time or you may be in for a bit of trouble. You can also use hearts to mess with the timer but I couldn’t quite figure out how that works. So I guess it’s not very important. I only lost via a time out once so you should be fine. The game just has some passages that lead to dead ends in an attempt to trick you. It’s a bit slippery and dare I say underhanded…but you’ll get used to it. Trust me, getting used to these things is what we do best.

The final boss really spams different attacks at you that are difficult to dodge though. He throws out so many shadow heads at once that your head will be positively spinning. It’s extremely difficult to dodge these attacks. You basically have to create a lot of room between you and the boss right away because if you’re anywhere close then you are doomed. There’s even one minion that’s really difficult to deal with. It’s a flying bat that is always around, plotting its next move. If it gets close to you then you don’t have any easy way to hit it before you are also attacked. Yeah the game definitely gives you a whole lot to think about at all times but that’s one of its charms I suppose.

The soundtrack is extremely limited though. Be prepared to hear the same tunes over and over and over again. It would have been nice if they could have squeezed some more variety in. As for the graphics, they’re really not bad. I don’t like all of the green everywhere but that’s more of a console thing than the game itself so I can’t say much there. Since the gameplay is good, the 2 hours go by quickly. I just would have liked if there was some more content. I’ll take what I can get of course and this game is quite old but they probably could have added a few more bosses or something.

I give the game credit for actually having some cutscenes near the end though. For a little while there it seemed like the game was not going to have any cutscenes which would have been a bit much. I need something to show off the story and hype up the characters right? So that did the trick and did boost the game further. It definitely made a good difference while also making the final boss feel more personal. I’d definitely be up for Sonia returning some day and of course checking out more Castlevania games will be fun. There are definitely a lot that have come out over the years.

Overall, Castlevania Legends is a good game. It’s a bit of a basic platformer but I still had a good time with it. There aren’t a lot of frills and excitement here in particular but you won’t be bored which is the most important thing here. Just keep on going through the levels and you will have it completed in no time. You want to be patient when approaching the enemies because of how easily you can be hit. Additionally they reappear when you get them out of view so be careful about that. Otherwise you’ll keep fighting the same enemies. Without the rewinds I dare say that this could have actually been quite the challenge too. They really don’t make games the way that they used to. To think that this was considered an easy title back in the day.

Overall 6/10

Castlevania: Bloodlines Review

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Time for a stroll back into the world of Castlevania! I played the mobile game not too long ago which was pretty fun. It did have some of the usual Gatcha type issues though. In terms of pure gameplay I would say this one definitely wins although of course the story isn’t quite as involved this time around. It’s aged very well with how smooth everything is though so I would definitely say that this is on the higher end for Genesis titles.

The basic plot starts with Dracula rising again and the heroes have to stop him. For some reason Dracula keeps on resurrecting but the Belmont clan is always ready. You have a choice between two characters to fight him with. One has the traditional whip and the other one has a lance type weapon. I went with the latter because I like using long range weapons. Gives you more options in combat after all. You can pick up sub weapons as you go through the levels including axes, holy water, and a cool energy bomb attack. The latter is the bet one by far so it is the rarest but they’re all actually helpful.

One thing I like about the game is that it’s difficult, but it’s not crazy. The enemies don’t have much durability, the danger is that there are just so many of them. No matter where you go, there is an enemy ready to take you down. Some of the zombies will keep on respawning endlessly so you want to knock them out and just start running. The toughest enemies to deal with are easily the flying ones. If you mistime your attack then you will take serious damage. The damage thing is tricky because as far as I could see there are absolutely no health items in the game. Additionally, each level is broken up into 11 areas which typically has around 2-3 bosses in them. That means you have to play it carefully and try to stay with a lot of health because otherwise you are going to be in some real trouble.

There are 6 levels but with the areas that comes out to almost 70 total which isn’t bad. The actual game is still fairly short at a little over an hour, but that’s not bad for the Genesis. There may not be much in the way of replay value but you will have had a fun time which is the important part. The gameplay is smooth like I said and I definitely liked the graphics quite a lot. It’s very colorful and expressive which is something you don’t always see here. I can tell that a lot of budget went into this one. Additionally the soundtrack is pretty solid as well. There are a good variety of themes in here and they sound good.

The game also goes all out with the final bosses. It feels more like an RPG with how many different forms and phases they have. You basically go through a boss rush of all the old bosses in the game and then have to fight a lady with super speed. That boss is tricky because you don’t do any damage unless you land a lot of hits within a certain amount of time. Miss one hit and your entire combo is nullified so she keeps her full health. That was definitely interesting.

Also one thing to note is that your sub weapon actually runs out of ammo after a while. So even though it’s an axe that you are throwing, you just can’t throw them after a while. It’s hard to tell when it runs out because I couldn’t see any ammo meter so just keep that in mind. It can be really tempting to spam the sub weapon but you want to make sure you still have it for the boss fights. They tend to appear throughout the stage though so still have fun using it, just don’t waste it when you don’t need to.

Overall, Castlevania: Bloodlines is a very balanced game. There’s a lot to enjoy in every aspect of it. I can see why the series ended up getting so big with titles like this one. As long as you have the Nintendo Switch Online you should definitely check it out. This is a game that you just don’t want to miss out on. I’m slowly starting to get to the end of the Genesis games so they will be missed but no worries there are definitely still more on the way!

Overall 7/10

Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls Stats and Records

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Stats time!

Play Time 22h
Game Completion: 53%
Account Level: Max
Weapons Obtained: 51%
Sub Weapons Obtained: 60%
Armor Obtained: 64%
Enemies Fought: 94%
Memories Obtained: 81%

Character Levels

Alucard: Max
Simon: 71
Charlotte: 50
Maria: 62
Shanoa: 55