Castlevania: Dracula X

Castlevania: Dracula X
Developer(s)	Konami Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s)	Konami (America), Inc.
Director(s)	Kouki Yamashita
Producer(s)	Kuniaki Kinoshita
Designer(s)	Akihiro Yamada
Composer(s)	Tomoya Tomita, Masanari Iwata, Harumi Ueko, Masahiko Kimura
Platform(s)	SFC/SNES, Wii U Virtual Console
Media(s)	16-megabit cartridge
Rating(s)	ESRB: K-A
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player

Castlevania: Dracula X is a an adaptation of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game is known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula XX (Double X) (悪魔城ドラキュラXX, Akumajō Dracula XX (Double X)^?), and in Europe under the title Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss. The original version of the game was previously released only in Japan for the PC Engine. Despite being commonly labeled as a port, the contents of the game were drastically altered from the original. Castlevania: Dracula X is considered to take place in a different universe than the official Castlevania timeline.

Story

The country of Transylvania in the Middle Ages...

In the land which gave rise to countless legends of Dracula, a pitch-black evil has once again come...

Hundreds of years have passed since the time of Simon Belmont, the legendary hero said to have sealed away Count Dracula, and the people have grown used to peace, and corrupted it.

Now, once more, the wickedness in the hearts of some men has resurrected the Dark Lord of evil, Count Dracula.

Count Dracula, now revived, plotted revenge against the descendant of the Belmont line that sealed him away, Richter Belmont.

To lure Richter to the Demon Castle, he lead his new servants in an attack on the town, abducting Richter’s lover, Annet, her younger sister, Maria, shutting them up in the Demon Castle.

To rescue Annet and Maria, and to seal away Count Dracula once again, Richter, mourning his fate, took up his ancestral holy whip and headed for the Demon Castle.

— Official Japanese instruction booklet description for Castlevania: Dracula X. Translation by Solar Boy

Characters

Characters
Protagonist
Image	Name	Information
	Richter Belmont (Richter Belmondo)	Age : 19 Descendant of Simon Belmont and renowned vampire exterminator. Has a strong sense of justice and unwavering will.
Supporting cast
	Annet	Age : 17 Richter's girlfriend. She was kidnapped by Dracula and is imprisoned somewhere within his evil castle.
	Maria	Younger sister of Annet. She was kidnapped along with Annet, and is imprisoned somewhere within Dracula's castle. In this version, she doesn't become a playable character when rescued.
Antagonist
	Dracula	Age : ??? (believed to be about 800 years old) Proprietor of the evil castle and origin of all wickedness in the world. Cruel and heartless, he at the same time possesses refinement and grace that would be expected only of nobility.

Comparison with Rondo of Blood

When the Super NES port of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood was first announced, fans were excited to see that the popular Japanese PC Engine game would make it to the console and be released internationally. However, gamers were disappointed to see that the final product, now titled Castlevania: Dracula X, was very different from the original game. The levels were completely different (yet still contained many sprites, enemies, bosses and elements from the PC Engine game), the non-linear gameplay was toned down drastically (instead of four alternate levels, as in Rondo of Blood, Dracula X features only two), and the difficulty was increased. While Maria can still be saved, she was unplayable and demoted to just another damsel in distress in the remake, thus making Richter the only playable character in this game. It is also said to be one of the toughest and most frustrating Castlevania action games.

There were a few things arguably thought to be better than the original Rondo of Blood. Often cited are changes to the music tracks, better graphics for the background flames in Stage 1, more defined and colorful sprites in general, and increased difficulty in the final Dracula battle, which was considered far too easy in the original version.

A few notable alterations to the plot of Rondo of Blood were also made. Maria and Annet were made sisters, although they weren't blood relatives in the original version. It also should be noted that neither of them is said to have the surname "Renard", Maria's family name in Rondo of Blood. Maria also doesn't display signs of any magical abilities, whereas they were awakened in Rondo of Blood, which she uses to fight enemies in the game. In Dracula X's instruction booklet and opening, it is said Simon Belmont defeated and sealed away Dracula "several hundred years before", while at least one source related to Rondo of Blood places it exactly one hundred years after Simon instead. The character Shaft was omitted from the story as well.  

For unknown reasons, the Super NES remake was made radically different. It has been speculated that this was due to differences between NEC and Konami. Also, the official artwork used for the original Japanese release and for the PAL region releases is in a completely different style. However, the North American release still uses the artwork from the original PC Engine version for unknown reasons.

Differences between Dracula X and Rondo of Blood

• Many levels were redone to make the game harder than Rondo of Blood.
• The Prologue stage was removed and the game starts off with the Burning Town instead in Dracula X.
• Maria was moved to Stage 4 instead of Stage 2.
• The Grand Cross has a completely different attack pattern by scattering several Crosses on the screen instead of summoning the giant crucifixes from Rondo of Blood.
• Most bosses were repositioned throughout the stages.
• The two captured maidens, Tera and Iris, do not appear in Dracula X.
• Two bosses that weren't in Rondo of Blood, Keruberosu and Ghost, were added to the game.
• Several bosses from Rondo of Blood, such as the Wyvern, Bone Golem, Dogether, Laura, Medusa, Mummy, The Creature and Shaft, do not appear in Dracula X.
• Richter does not have a single dialogue in Dracula X.
• Voice acting was not included in Dracula X, although grunts were still kept.
• Maria, Annet, Carmilla and Dracula had completely different designs in both their artworks and sprites in Dracula X.
• Carmilla can turn Annet into a vampire before reaching the end of the Clock Tower if she was not rescued in Stage 5'. This event does not take place in Rondo of Blood.
• Richter and Death had their blood recolored to follow Nintendo's restrictions at the time, although for some reason blood was still kept on the title screen.
• The game only has two cutscenes in Dracula X, which differ completely from those present in Rondo of Blood.
  • On a similar note, in the ending, Dracula and Richter's exchange after the battle is excised.
• Simon Belmont is mentioned in the intro for Dracula X. He was never alluded in Rondo of Blood.

Regional differences

• The original Japanese version displays blood, which was removed in the US version. When Richter dies, he disintegrates into a splash of blood. The red color was changed in the USA/PAL versions, where he instead turns into a ghostly white color.
• When Death is defeated, his scythe goes flying straight up and decapitates him on its way down, with blood gushing out from the injury. This was also removed from the export versions.

Related products

• Akumajō Dracula XX: Holy Bible — A Japanese guide to this game.
• Castlevania: Rondo of Blood — This game is considered a non-canon sequel to Rondo of Blood in Japan, and a remake in North America.
• Super Castlevania IV — Dracula X is sometimes called "Castlevania V" and considered a sequel to this game.
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night — To people unfamiliar with Rondo of Blood, Symphony of the Night was originally considered a sequel to this game.

See also

• Dracula X Bestiary
• category:Dracula X
• category:Dracula X Characters
• Dracula X Inventory
• Dracula X Locations

External links

• Castlevania: Dracula X at the Castlevania Fan Wiki
• English Castlevania: Dracula X instruction booklet at Mr. P's Castlevania Realm
• Japanese Castlevania: Dracula X instruction booklet at Mr. P's Castlevania Realm
• Title at MobyGames
• GameFAQs
• Castlevania: Dracula X Virtual Console Trailer
• Virtual Console Product Page