Castlevania: Dracula X

Released in North American in September of 1995 for the Super Nintendo by Konami, Castlevania: Dracula X features classic, 2D side-scrolling, monster-killing action in Dracula's castle.

$200. That's how much an original Castlevania: Dracula X cartridge will cost you in today's retrogaming market. Want the box and booklet?  Got $500? For a long time, I didn't even know Dracula X existed. I loved and played the heck out of the 1991 Super Nintendo entry in the Castlevania series, Castlevania IV. That's an all-time favorite of mine. When I found out there was an even newer Castlevania game for the Super Nintendo, I freaked out. With four years of technological advances, would this game be even better than its predecessor? Then I started hearing some strange information: Dracula X was actually only a subpar port of a Japanese only CD game called Rondo of Blood. Konami barely produced any copies of the game. No stores had it. Years later, when online shopping was an option, I found the game, but it was ridiculously overpriced. It has has only gone up in value since. Over time, various versions came out for reasonable prices on various Nintendo consoles' eShops. Still, I wanted to play the game on my Super Nintendo, not on a 3DS. Thankfully, there's another option, and it rhymes with spreeproduction, a legit word I just made up. Time to suit up and grab the Vampire Killer.

Time for some Clinton administration-era gaming

Dracula X furthers the saga of the Belmont clan, a family that has to battle Dracula and his fiends every hundred years, when he rises from his grave. This time its Richter Belmont, who must rescue his girlfriend, Annette, from Dracula's clutches.
Previous reviews have negatively compared Dracula X to Rondo of Blood. Considering Rondo of Blood is an obscure game from a completely different system that never even made it to America, and that Dracula X only takes a few graphical assets and some music from it, that's not exactly fair. What they should be comparing Dracula X to is the four years older Super Nintendo classic, Castlevania IV. Or I guess they, in this case, me, should try judging Dracula X by its own merits. So here's an experiential review, as in, here is a review of the game as I am playing it.
Okay, so the title screen is not as atmospheric as Castlevania IV...wait, crap, I'm not supposed to compare them. Okay, let's start this thing. The first level is stunning. It takes place in a burning town, and it looks great! Flames dancing into the sky, heat warping the sight of the impressive background architecture.

 

We didn't start the fire, but I really hope this is Billy Joel's re-animated skeleton, so that I can finally punish him for writing  that terrible song.

The music is uh...an early 90's take on Castlevania's gothic trademarked music. The opening level's music begins with a wah-wah disco guitar sound before settling into a more traditional symphonic mold. The sound quality is great, really pushing the already famously good Super Nintendo sound chip. However, after a few minutes of gameplay, something becomes painfully clear: from a control standpoint, Dracula X is a throwback to the original NES games in the series...which is not a good thing. The first Castlevania game treated jumping like a thing Super Mario Bros. didn't already perfect--once you jump forward, there's no changing your momentum. Castlevania IV remedied this...but Dracula X brings this issue back like it's 1986.

Er...time for some Reagan administration-era gaming?

This is highly exacerbated by the fact that Dracula X loves throwing unseen bats and flying medusa heads at the player. Jump forward across a chasm, and chances are high a bat might fly onto the screen while you are in midair, and knock you backward. Knock you backward? Yes, that's another element Dracula X has inexplicably retrieved from 1986. When something hits Richter, he is knocked backward a couple of feet. If you are standing on, or about to land on a platform, and a stupid, previously unseen bat flies into you, get ready to go toppling over into a bottomless chasm. This is the most common form of death in Dracula X, and it is maddening. IT IS INFURIATING.

Uh oh, better gaze into this soothing cave photo to calm down

Okay, I'm better, but now I'm too flustered to keep writing this review as if I'm first playing the game. Let's cut the illusion.
The jump and "knock-back" mechanics in Dracula X are unforgivable. Castlevania IV progressed this series into the 90's, and for the most part, X throws it right back into the soft, gauzy perm of the 80's, replete with gameplay that feels more like trial-and-error memorization than pure skill. Admittedly, those 80's games are fun, but those particular mechanics are absolutely frustrating. Dracula X is fun in the same way, really feeling more than anything like a big dumb, late 80's arcade version of Castlevania, with large character sprites, and extremely simple gameplay. Castlevania IV let its Belmont hero swing from hooks with his whip, and lash out in any direction, while giving the player ultimate control over his jumps. That 1991 game has an air of sophistication that Dracula X never even sniffs. However, my previous statement rings true. Dracula X can only be judged on its own merits: as that of a big, dumb, arcade style Castlevania.

Look, it's big, dumb Dracula.

Like an arcade game, it's only got a limited amount of levels...in this case nine, though two of those are only accessed by taking an alternate path through the game...meaning that in any given playthrough there are only seven levels. Like an arcade game, the difficulty is heightened to lengthen the game (and get more of your quarters!), in this case with the lousy jump mechanics and cheap enemy locations. Even the one element of sophistication the game has, giving the player access to two pretty cool alternate levels in the middle of the game, only makes those levels accessible by crossing a chasm filled with tiny platforms and swarming flying enemies that knock Richter into a pit holding the path to the main stretch of levels.

 

You don't even want to know what I did to get to this water dragon boss

The soundtrack mostly foregoes Castelvania IV's complex, gothic atmosphere for a bouncy, more superficial interpretation, just like you would have heard in a late 80's arcade. The game's one step forward for the series, the item crash, feels like an arcade super button as well--it allows the player to take their secondary weapon, a throwing axe, holy water, etc., and use a large chunk of its ammo to perform a massive, screen-filling attack. The graphics are also bold and in-your-face, with the large sprites I previously mentioned, and a simple, attractive design. Even the game's big, generally awesome-looking bosses feel a bit arcade-y.

All that's missing is that annoying stranger kid standing too close to you, trying to give you gameplay tips

Thankfully, unlike the arcade, you don't have to put quarters in to keep playing when you die. Like Castlevania IV, Castlevania: Dracula X includes a password system. However, even with the heightened difficultly, and branching level paths, which lead to slightly different game endings, experiencing everything Dracula X has to offer isn't going to take even the most average player long. Maybe ten hours total if you take a lot of breaks to put the controller down to make some sandwiches. My overwhelming feeling is that while Castlevania IV is the definitive Castlevania game for the SNES, and a series standout, I'm not sad that Dracula X exists. For all its flaws, it's a unique foray into the Castelvania universe, and I can't say it's one I won't want to take again. I'm just glad that for players like me who want to experience the game on their original Super Nintendo, there are...um*cough*alternative means*cough*...to paying a fang and a leg.

Besides, climbing these steps is good for my calves

Graphics: 8.5/10.0
Sound: 7.0/10.0
Gameplay: 6.5/10.0
Lasting Value: 5.0/10.0


Overall: 7.0/10.0