Month: March 2021

One of the quirkier traits of being a gamer back in the late 1980s/early 1990s was a propensity for allegiance. Oh, I know even today people get weirdly territorial about which system they will go to war over, but back then it wasn’t just centered around the consoles, or even just the mascots/characters from the first party developers like Nintendo and Sega, but also toward the mascots of third party developers.

I think some of the reason for this was the Wild West newness of the medium, wherein assurances of quality were sparse and hurdles toward playing were significant. Most of us didn’t have $50 just lying around to blow on any old game. We had to find characters and series that worked and then would stick with them, almost as a defense mechanism. Devotion to a particular game series wasn’t just a personal choice; it was a practical way of living.

Back in those days, I fancied myself a pretty big Mega Man fan, and that fandom was rewarded with several quality games and many hours of enjoyment. I loved the rock-paper-scissors aspects to strategy, the cutesy robot designs, and the freedom to explore levels in whatever order I wanted.

My brother, on the other hand, was more of a Castlevania fan, embracing the slightly more mature themes and the options available in terms of switching characters, weapons and routes.

But whereas my appreciation for my entry point into Mega Man (Mega Man 2) has never waned or diminished, my willingness to extol the virtues of the rest of the series has fallen off some.

If you’ve played one Mega Man game, you’ve kinda played them all.

In sharp contrast, Castlevania games meander off of the established path. They experiment. They evolve. They take risks. And as a result, they make themselves more lastingly relevant.

Ask me today which series is the one I’d go to bat for, and without question it’s now Castlevania instead of Mega Man.

Why am I telling you all of this? I promise I’m coming around to the point of that intro, and it’s this:

1. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood represents a crossroads for the series, wherein the previously stated evolution of the property hit its stride. This was arguably the last truly great “traditional” version of Castlevania (and in my opinion, the best of the entire bunch) before the series would fully embrace its exploratory dynamics. It’s the bridge, so to speak, between the old and the new, and it’s the best possible representation of the evolving nature of the series.
2. You can probably expect to see a bunch of Castlevania games on this website as this series progresses because of that growth and diversity.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

Genre: Side-scrolling platformer
Released: 1993
Platform: PC Engine Super CD
391/400 on GameFan

Continue reading Castlevania: Rondo of Blood — Retro Gaming Essentials (No. 10)