Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo

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Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo
Official game box art
Developer(s) Konami
Publisher(s) Konami
Designer(s) Toru Hagihara (Director / Programmer)
Series Castlevania
Platform(s) PC Engine CD, PlayStation Portable (as part of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles), Wii Virtual Console
Release date Flag of Japan October 29, 1993
Genre(s) Platform game
Mode(s) Single player
Media 1 CD-ROM (PC Engine)/1 UMD (PSP)
System requirements Super System Card 3.0 (PC Engine CD)
Dracula X redirects here. For the American SNES game, see Castlevania: Dracula X, and for the Playstation and Sega Saturn sequel, see Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo (悪魔城ドラキュラX 血の輪廻 Akumajō Dorakyura Ekkusu Chi no Rondo?, lit. "Demon Castle Dracula X Rondo of Blood") is a Japanese PC Engine Super CD video game in the popular Castlevania series, released on October 29, 1993. The "X" of the title refers to the Roman numeral for ten, since it is the tenth chronologically released game in the Akumajō Dracula series in Japan (not counting the Famicom and Game Boy game Kid Dracula).[1] It was never released outside of Japan, despite positive reviews from both fans and critics.

The kanji "輪廻" are generally pronounced "rinne", referring to the Buddhist concept of the endless cycle of death and rebirth. The idea of cycle could correspond to the musical form of the rondo, in which the first section of the music is repeated, usually in the tonic, or first note of the musical scale. For this particular game, because of the furigana ロンド in the title, "Rondo" is the official pronunciation, or forced reading, of the kanji. On the front cover of the Official Strategy Guide, the English title is written as "Dracula-X Reincarnation of Blood" [1].

A game based on Chi no Rondo called Castlevania: Dracula X (Akumajō Dracula XX in Japan and Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss in Europe) was released for the Super NES two years later.

In 2007, Chi no Rondo saw a North American release and remake as part of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for PlayStation Portable. This game, for the first time, officially re-titles the original Chi no Rondo as Castlevania: Rondo of Blood for English localization.

Contents

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[edit] Plot

It is the year 1792, and Dracula is revived by the Dark Priest Shaft. After building up his dark forces, he sets out for the village inhabited by 19-year-old Richter Belmont, heir to the Vampire Killer whip, and razes the village. Moreover, Dracula's minions kidnap Richter's girlfriend Annette, a young vampire huntress Maria Renard, and several other local villagers. Thus, burdened by both duty and destiny, Richter, wielding the whip of his ancestors, sets out for Castlevania.

Once there, Richter manages to free the people of his village (including Annette and Maria). Maria, although quite young, is able to assist him with her animal helpers. Richter and Maria prove victorious in the battle against Shaft, Death, and the lord of Darkness.

Dracula explains to them that it is the evil will of humans that brings him back, not his own dark nature. Thus, he says his return is inevitable. Richter responds, in a scene almost directly paralleled by his ancestor, saying that a member of the Belmont clan will always be there to fight Dracula. [2]

[edit] Innovations

Chi no Rondo features a number of innovative and memorable twists, many of which are regarded by dedicated fan sites like http://castlevania.classicgaming.gamespy.com/ as some of the best points of the game. Several other features, such as the choices of paths and characters, derived from similar features in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.

[edit] Item Crash

This is the first game in the series to feature the Item Crash ability that has cropped up in other Castlevania titles. The ability allows a sub-weapon to be used in a super attack, which attacks either all enemies on-screen or delivers concentrated damage to one area depending on the sub-weapon used, at the expense of a large amount of hearts.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Gameplay screenshot of Demon Castle Dracula X: Rondo of Blood
Gameplay screenshot of Demon Castle Dracula X: Rondo of Blood
  • This was the first title in the series to incorporate musical terminology into its title. Subsequent games to use musical terms were Symphony of the Night, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow and Lament of Innocence.
  • This was the first Castlevania title in which the characters were designed completely in an "anime" style. While this style had existed and influenced the series prior to Chi no Rondo, it is more prominent here than ever before. The PSP remake does not contain the anime-inspired art; its artwork was redone in a more traditional style by Symphony of the Night artist Ayami Kojima.
  • This is the first game in the series to feature voice actors and recorded dialogue. Interestingly, the intro features German voice acting with Japanese subtitles.
  • A number of enemies which would recur in later Castlevania games, such as the skeleton apes, are introduced for the first time in Chi no Rondo. Many of the sprite designs for this game were very influential in further 2D Castlevania design, particularly in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. In fact, more than half of the sprites used in Symphony of the Night are taken from Rondo of Blood, and some of these sprites were also reused in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.
  • Nearly every enemy in Chi no Rondo (with the exception of the ubiquitous bats) has at least two different modes of attack. For example, the spearmen have separate thrust, lunge, and blocking moves, and the spiders can attack using a proboscis or by laying eggs. This would be continued in later games in the series.
  • Even though the player's route through the game is mostly linear (as was the case with previous games in the series), there are hostages to find and rescue in certain areas to get a better ending once Dracula is defeated. Some stages have multiple paths to take, a few even allowing the player to skip a boss battle.
  • It is the first Castlevania to display completion percentage, which indicates the secret bosses that have been defeated, hostages rescued, and alternate routes discovered. The completion percentages would be used in future games such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to indicate how much of the castle has been explored.
  • Along with Castlevania: Bloodlines, this was one of the first games in the series to remove the "Time Limit" that most of the platform Castlevania games used.
  • By accumulating credits during gameplay, the player is able to purchase tactics videos which display a proven method of fighting the game's bosses. This feature was only seen again in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

[edit] Music

With access to CD-quality music, the game's soundtrack incorporates a combination of pop style and the "progressive rock" theme evident in previous games, with some of the tracks using live guitars for the melody or backup. Familiar tunes "Vampire Killer" (which is amalgamated with Stalker, the second level tune from the original Castlevania), "Bloody Tears" and "Beginning" were all rearranged for this game. These three songs are also used in a medley called "The Den". This was also the first game to use the "Illusionary Dance" theme during the final battle with Dracula, and it frequently returns as Dracula's boss theme since. "Opposing Bloodlines" would also make appearances in later games such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and the Nintendo 64's Castlevania.

Several other pieces from the original NES game were also included: "Poison Mind" (the boss theme, played on the sixth stage and at the final stage), the death dirge, the "Dracula Defeated" jingle (also from CV1), the "Stage Clear" jingle, and the "Game Over" theme. These are all played through the PC Engine's sound hardware as opposed to being CD Audio.

The soundtrack was released in a two disc set (the second disc containing the soundtrack to Castlevania: Bloodlines) in 1994 and has since been taken out of production.

[edit] Legacy

Chi no Rondo has had remarkable impact and is something of a turning point in the series. The following games would be influenced by it graphics wise, with many sprites directly taken from the game. It is also one of the last "old-school" Castlevania games, featuring more linear, stage based gameplay, as opposed to this game's direct sequel, Castlevania: Symphony of The Night.

The game was highly sought after by many fans. Before its North American release, copies often sold for well over $100 on eBay even though copies of the game are easy to find in Japan. The price brought by the high demand often led people to believe the game is rare, which it is not.[citation needed]

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin features a "Richter" mode, featuring the chance to play through the whole game with Maria and Richter from Rondo of Blood. This marked the first ever instance of being able to play as Maria in a Castlevania game released outside Japan. Symphony of the Night also allowed play as Maria in its Saturn and PSP versions.

[edit] Other games

A game based on Chi no Rondo entitled Castlevania: Dracula X (Akumajō Dracula XX (悪魔城ドラキュラXX Akumajō Dorakyura Daburu Ekkusu?, Demon Castle Dracula Double X) in Japan and Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss in Europe) was released for the SNES in 1995. This game shares the gameplay, storyline and most of the music from Chi no Rondo (though this music was of a different quality due to the cartridge's lack of redbook audio), but the levels had been completely redesigned and many other elements were completely removed. Maria, one of the only two hostages in the game, is no longer a playable character. There are fewer levels than in Rondo of Blood, and two alternate routes. Although both games share the same basic storyline, the priest Shaft (who resurrects Dracula) is not present nor even identified in the SNES game.

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP, released in North America in October 2007, is a redone version of Chi no Rondo in 2.5D format with remixed music and new voice acting. The original PC Engine version is an unlockable bonus, featuring both English and Japanese voice acting to choose from.

The game was released on the Wii for the Japanese Virtual Console on April 22, 2008 [3].

[edit] References

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