Producer: Konami
System: SNES
Year: 1995
Overview: Castlevania: Dracula X (aka Castlevania: Vampire’s Kiss) doesn’t seem to have gotten as much press as its older brother, Castlevania 4. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that while it took the series a few steps forward in some areas, it was a step back in others.
Story: Dracula has imprisoned the girlfriend of Richter Belmont, Annette, and her sister, Maria, in his castle. He must be pretty sure of himself this time if he’s going to blatantly bait Richter like that. Anyway, Richter sets out to Drac’s stronghold to put an end to him once again.
Graphics: The graphics are absolutely fabulous. Incredible detail on characters and backgrounds alike make this a site to behold on 16-bits. There is one major flaw, however, that I must mention that exists in the US and European versions. In the Japanese version (Demon Castle Dracula XX), when Richter dies, he pretty much explodes in a shower of gore (if you’ve played SotN, Alucard dies in the same manner). Well, that was censored outside of Japan, so instead, Richter explodes in a shower… of… some white stuff… I’m not touching the context of THAT with a 10-foot pole. Anyway, it’s odd that they censored that, but not the blood on the title screen.
Sound: As is with typical Castlevania fashion, the music is amazing. Several great-sounding remixes of old tunes.
Gameplay: The game plays much like the classic Castlevanias, such as CV1 and CV3. Actually, Richter is controlled much more like those two than in CV4. Seeing as you’re unable to control him in mid-jump, and he can’t whip multi-directional. The play control is where I think the game suffered a bit in comparison to CV4. I like how special weapons work in this game however. You don’t have to worry about building double/triple shots, plus if you pick up a new weapon, you merely drop your old one on the ground – you don’t lose it permanently. In addition, you can do an “Item Crash” that does a sort of desperation move with your special. Also, the game goes back to branching off, like in CV3. There are multiple paths available to take throughout the game; which path you take will most likely influence one of three endings you will see at the end.
Challenge: This game is pretty hard. The bosses are tough, and those spear knights in some levels are strategically placed so they’re a nightmare. Oh, and the final Dracula battle is just hell; you have to not only contend with Drac, but also jump between the numerous pits in his room. One misstep, and you’re done.
Final Rating: 8.5/10 As I said, this game surpasses CV 4 in some fields, but falls flat on its face in others, primarily in the cheapness in difficulty levels. Then again, CV1 had plenty of that too, but at least this game still retains the password save.
