Castlevania: Bloodlines

Castlevania: Bloodlines is the only Castlevania game to be released on the Sega Genesis. It was developed and published by Konami, and was first released in North America, on March 17 1994. Its Japanese title is Vampire Killer (バンパイアキラー), and its European title is Castlevania: The New Generation.

Storyline
As stated in its introduction, the game takes place in 1917. However, due to the mentioning of the year 1914 in the manual's backstory, it has become a common misconception – even in official timelines – that the game takes place during that year. This is a mistake that has only recently been rectified in the latest official timelines.

The following is translated from the original Castlevania Bloodlines Japanese manual (Credit to Help Me! for the translation). The purpose of this translation is to help enrich the understanding of Castlevania's story:


 * ''In 1897, the long war between humanity and Dracula came to an end, as Dracula was laid to eternal rest by Quincy Morris, a descendant of the Belmont family.


 * ''Peace was restored to Europe, until the outbreak of the World War I, which transformed the continent into a dark world filled with massacre and violence.


 * ''At the beginning of the war, on June 1914 at Sarajevo, the Crown Prince of Austria was assassinated. It was said that a strange beautiful woman was involved, within the shadows.


 * ''It was Elizabeth Bartley. In order to revive her uncle, Count Dracula, she conducted an unholy ceremony which caused the war, giving her possession of human souls from Europe.


 * ''And now, two silhouettes can be seen near Castle Dracula. John Morris, a descendant of the famed Belmont and Morris families. He obeyed his fate to fight vampires day and night. And Eric Lecarde. His girlfriend was transformed into a vampire when Elizabeth was revived.

After Drolta Tzuentes resurected Elizabeth Bartley, they travelled across Europe to conduct the resurrection of Count Dracula. John Morris and Eric Lecarde followed them. Even though the resurrection of Dracula was a success, the vampire hunters defeated him, and his allies.

Textual references
This game attempts to bridge the Castlevania games with the Dracula novel written by Bram Stoker, which the series had only been loosely connected to previously, having arguable more in common the Legosi protrayal than the actual novel. The game even refers to one of the stars of the novel, Quincey Morris. In doing this, some plot points invented by the American localization staff of the game are openly contradicted.


 * According to the North American manual, John Morris was supposed to witness his father's death. Quincey did not survive the gash inflicted by gypsies under the influence of the Count's hyponotism. But at the time, John Morris was only two years of age, since he was born in 1895. Also, John wasn't mentioned in the novel. The original Japanese and European instruction manuals makes no mention of John being witness to his father's death.


 * Quincey attempts to court Lucy early in the novel, but it is not mentioned that John has a two year old child (meaning, he either is in a relationship, or just got done with one).

Additionally, the Countess Bartley is loosely based on the actual historical figure Erzsébet Báthory. The witch who resurrects her in the game's backstory is Dorottya Szentes, who in reality had connections to Báthory. (Just as the name "Bartley" in the English versions of the game is a mistransliteration of Báthory, the name "Drolta Tzuentes" is a corruption of Dorottya's name.)

The game's backstory also references the real-life death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, suggesting that the assassination had been ordered by the Countess.

The character of Eric Lecarde may also possess an oblique reference to Alucard, a recurring character in the Castlevania franchise. In the Sega Saturn version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the "Alucard Spear" is found at the Hell Garden. In Bloodlines, Eric wields the "Alcarde Spear." In a game with its fair share of mistransliterations (in addition to the above examples, "Lecarde" is a corruption of Ricardo), 'Alcarde' is a definite mistransliteration of 'Alucard', meaning Eric and Alucard wield the same spear in their respective games. Some fans have speculated that Eric is the bastard child (or more accurately grand child or great grand child) of Alucard and Maria Renard, although this is the only evidence that they have any connection whatsoever.

Gameplay
As with most early Castlevania games, players proceed through each level, defeating enemies and collecting gems (hearts in previous games) to power special weapons. Some portions of the game split into different paths, depending on which character is chosen. Eric can perform high jumps using his spear, while John can swing from the ceiling using his whip. Some items will increase the power of the characters' weapons.

Stages
Unlike most Castlevania games, Bloodlines is not in only Dracula's castle or even Romania. In addition to the first level – Dracula's castle – there are levels set in Athens, Pisa, Germany, Versailles, and Castle Proserpina in England. Despite the change in setting, however, the game still features the now-archetypal designs of Castlevania games.

Enemies

 * Hellhound
 * Mecha Knight
 * Water Magician
 * Armor Lord
 * Golem
 * Bone Dragon King
 * Gargoyle
 * Frankenstein
 * Gear Steamer
 * Blue Armor Knight
 * Evil Tower Guardians
 * Princess of Moss
 * Death
 * Medusa
 * Elizabeth Bartley
 * Dracula
 * Drolta Tzuentes
 * Dracula (Last form)

According to others, Dracula has a second form in Bloodlines. But apparently, this is not true. Recently, it has been confirmed that his second form is actually Drolta Tzuentes (this is the official name used in Japan, and the official name used in the Konami guide). Not only that, the sprite even resembles Drolta's official artwork.

Music
The music of Bloodlines was composed by Michiru Yamane, who is most renowned for her score of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Even though she once admitted to have worked under extreme pressure and deadlines, the soundtrack meets and exceeds the standards set by previous entries in the series. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the game is the actual sound design. The Genesis sound chip is pushed to its limits through synthesized organ, strings, screams, and distorted explosions. The music for the second level, titled "The Sinking Old Sanctuary," was reused in later Castlevania games, Circle of the Moon, for the Game Boy Advance, and Legacy of Darkness, for the Nintendo 64, making it one of the handful of other recurring music tracks in the series.

The main themes for each of the first levels of the three NES Castlevania games are accessible in-game with a code and can be played in the sound test as well.

Version differences
Castlevania: Bloodlines underwent censorship during localization to PAL regions. The word blood was kept out of the titles at the time. Therefore, the title was altered to Castlevania: The New Generation. The bottom of the title screen was changed from red to blue, because red liquid depicts blood, and blue liquid depicts sea water. The zombies were changed from pink to green to make them less gruesome. In the European version, Eric's spear does not impale him after he dies.