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[lyre]

And I mean the original mode of Chronicles and not that sissified Remix.

Personally, I know two people in real life that has (a friend of mine and myself) and two gaffers (or at least they said they did though I trust their postings). Now who else?

And now for banter ...

Frankly, this is pretty much the best thing IGA has ever done with the Dracula/Castlevania series ever since he took over (his better Metroidvanias are fun but not really worth appreciating IMO). The game is as good as Castlevania 3, better than Chi no Rondo and kicks the snot out of SotN when all is said and done (though I'll more likely replay SotN due to it's not 'kick-you-in-the-nuts-with-your-own-legs'). The feeling of accomplishment I get from finishing levels in the game is similar to the feeling of getting perfect runs in random levels in Megaman Zero games.

Enough bantering, do you like punishment?

PS. Tower of Dolls is the best song in the entire game, IMO. And only the original version and not that sissified Remix.

 

[Johnas]

Just to make sure, do you mean Castlevania Chronicles for PS1? (I think I read you right.)

I finished that in a couple of days, I remember it being sort of hard. Was the original version a lot harder? I know I finished it on the first mode, whatever it's called (I remember the second mode being called Arranged, iirc).

I actually pre-ordered it, I remember it had a low print run. I know it's not rare though, I've seen Sonarrat mention it before.

I guess I need to replay this, I don't remember a lot about it, but I remember I liked it.

 

[Red Scarlet]

I've gone through it 2 times, but both times were on Normal in the Arranged..the clock tower sucks ass. So does the upward-scrolling part early on.

I prefer all the other old style ones to this, though (3, Rondo, then 4 at the top).

 

[Sapiens]

I've beat it on the remix mode - so, Im not sure if that's easier or not.

Still a challenge, but not as hard as the original NES castlevania, thats for sure.

Not as outright awesome as Drac X

The second level boss with the upwards water ride and the dragon was ace, and the battle at the clock tower with the werewolf was cool as hell as well.

Overall, a really great castlevania title.

 

[Mejilan]

Really hated this one. Took forever to find a few years ago. Remember I had to order it from a really obscure, shady looking site. Buyrite, maybe? Needed it for the collection though. :/

 

[lyre]

Ancestor: Yes I mean the port to the PSX and also the Arranged mode (been listening to the remix OSTs of Dracula lately and got some words mixed up).

And the Original mode is deifintely harder. Simon takes more damage (most stages he dies when shoved 4 times), he bounces backwards, and enemies are switched around. Arranged mode replaces the original Simon of old sprite for a red haired redesign of the sprite, he takes less damage from hits (the most damage you take from what I remember is 3 points) and when hit, his recoil bounces him upwards only.

And you need to, because it's fun and the game is very unforgiving. Good fun.

Red Scarlet: Both times in Original or Arranged? Brown hair or red hair Simon? It took me a long time to beat Original mode but when I started playing Arranged after I beat Dracula, I cleared the game in an hour without the use of the herb at all. Now that is gimped.

And yes, the Tower and Clocktower and their bosses, Medusa and Lycanthrope respectively are cheap whores. Though the geyser level isn't too bad but at least the dragon bone boss is easy to kill.

 

[drohne]

never got past death in the original version. it's not even that the design is too fiendish -- it's that the damage scales up to such absurd levels, as you mention. i did beat the sissified remix, though!

 

[MrDaravon]

I'd like to beat Chronicles if I could get the game at a reasonable price

 

[Red Scarlet]

Red Scarlet: Both times in Original or Arranged? Brown hair or red hair Simon? It took me a long time to beat Original mode but when I started playing Arranged after I beat Dracula, I cleared the game in an hour without the use of the herb at all. Now that is gimped.

Both times in Arranged. All I've really done in Original mode was record some of the music. I think I get the herb once a playthrough and drop it. Is the herb in the original mode?

 

[lordmrw]

I finished it about an hour or two after I got it. Hard as hell, but not as hard as the first one on the NES, as someone already said. F*cking clocktower really got on my nerves.

 

[Johnas]

I'd like to beat Chronicles if I could get the game at a reasonable price

I just looked it up on Ebay, I guess it has shot up in value. I could have sworn I read Sonarrat not too long ago saying it wasn't rare. I guess I misunderstood him.

 

[lyre]

Both times in Arranged. All I've really done in Original mode was record some of the music. I think I get the herb once a playthrough and drop it. Is the herb in the original mode?

That's how my friend and I beat Medusa in the first place. Too bad it never shows up again in other platforming Castlevanias (its very precense nearly breaks the game actually).
Also, give Original a try. It's the reason to play it. It really tests your abilities to maneuver a gimped character.

And you guys really think the NES Castlevanias are harder? I can almost sleep through C1 NES, C2 I need to beat it again sometime soon but it wasn't anything to write home about difficulty-wise (even without laurels) and I've beaten C3 with just Trevor before (took an ally but didn't use them). But different folks I guess.

drohne: And it's not even the damage that kills you, it's Simon's old lady walking speed that really kills you in the end. You have to be very creative and not waste any steps to even beat some of the faster moving bosses (or in Medusa's case, a nearly screen wide tail whip).

SailorDonovan: I'm sure Capcom ... erm buy it at a high price. It's worth it .. how can gaf be wrong?

 

[BocoDragon]

loved this release.... I remember hunting it down when it came out.

Give us Dracula X.

 

[mosaic]

I bought this for like 20 bucks when it came out. Beat both modes. Didn't enjoy Original one bit. Oh, it was solid design, just totally cruel. I definitely enjoyed the "sissified" Arranged mode more. It was still challenging in spots, but you could actually enjoy everything instead of fearing some piddly bat was going to knock you into a fatal pit or something.

 

[Tyrone Slothrop]

i have it; got it for 20 bucks ... i didnt know it was such a rare find. maybe i should put it on ebay? i never cared enough to beat it though my friend got to dracula on the 'new' mode

yeah ... i never cared much for this. but then again i never was crazy about the pre-snes CVs to begin with - despite being a HUGE CV fan (i didnt even really care for CV3. blasphemy, i know)

 

[lyre]

I bought this for like 20 bucks when it came out. Beat both modes. Didn't enjoy Original one bit. Oh, it was solid design, just totally cruel. I definitely enjoyed the "sissified" Arranged mode more. It was still challenging in spots, but you could actually enjoy everything instead of fearing some piddly bat was going to knock you into a fatal pit or something.

But ... but ... that's the very reason to play the game!! Get jabbed 4 times and you're dead. That's the very soul of Dracula/Castlevania.

Man, I am so setting myself up for disappointment when Portrait Ruined is released.

 

[MrDaravon]

SailorDonovan: I'm sure Capcom ... erm buy it at a high price. It's worth it .. how can gaf be wrong?

My interest in the older Castlevania games is minimal at best. I've almost beaten 1, and I've beaten 2 and 3, and didn't care a whole lot for them. I've love SotN and onward, but the older games are meh to me, so thus I have no desire to pay anywhere from $30-50 for it. It could be the best game ever, but I personally am not too interested. I'd pick it up for maybe $15-20, but definetely no more.

But ... but ... that's the very reason to play the game!! Get jabbed 4 times and you're dead. That's the very soul of Dracula/Castlevania.

Man, I am so setting myself up for disappointment when Portrait Ruined is released.

Uh, have you played ANY Castlevania games in like the past 10 years?

 

[KurowaSan]

i got the game the day it was released. I love it, it's one of the old school Castlevanias i like most.
Konami should...no, must realease Dracula X: Rondo of Blood as Castlevania Chronicles 2.

 

[Johnas]

So I dug this up and played for a little bit, it's still fun. I had forgotten about Level 2, the cavern, with the waterfall and the eroding rafts.

I got to level 3 (stage 9), said my mem card was full. I might clear some room and go for the full replay. I just don't remember the game being all that hard, I want to see what else is in there I forgot about.

How does saving progress work anyway? Can you start your file wherever, or does it just keep your score? My memory is awful.

 

[Angelcurio]

I finished it a couple of years ago. It was good, but then this boss that had a big clock in the background and used parts of the clock was a real PITA, took me a while to beat him.

 

[Dragona Akehi]

never got past death in the original version. it's not even that the design is too fiendish -- it's that the damage scales up to such absurd levels, as you mention. i did beat the sissified remix, though!

Dude even I beat Original mode.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?

 

[lyre]

I'd pick it up for maybe $15-20, but definetely no more.

It was budget priced in the US (20 bux but it still bombed!).

Uh, have you played ANY Castlevania games in like the past 10 years?

Castlevania Chronicles (according to gamefaqs) was released in 2001, so yes I have; Castlevania Chronicles. But other than that, the remotely closest thing to a Castlevania game that killed you in 4 hits or less released in the last 5 years was Dawn of Sorrow: low level Julius Mode. And this saddens me.

Spoiler

Though I do have Megaman Zero games to fill that hardass action game fix ... full points only of course)

Azuma Avatar: Supposedly, IGA wanted to port Dracula X: Chi no Rondo to PSX as well but when Chronicles bombed, it got shot down faster than ... something that shoots rather quickly. All hope is lost for that except for Wii VC.

Ancestor: The game autosaves for you after you beat a level (all their blocks and beat the boss). Though it doesn't keep your score. Also, you get 3 save files ... I need to boot it up again.

Angelcurio: Lycanthrope is female!! The lycanthropes, and their recycled sprites, from SotN on are male.

 

[Chemo]

I have beaten the living hell out of this in original and arrange modes multiple times. One of my favorite Castlevania releases AI (After Igarashi).

And now I'm going to play it again after reading this. Thanks for giving my weekend gaming some direction!

 

[Angelcurio]

Is there any chance of seeing Rondo of Blood (pc engine) on Ds or PSP?

 

[aku:jiki]

Rondo of Blood on Ds

Man, just no. I love the DS but the awesomeness of Rondo must not be shrunk to fit on a small screen. Wait for VC!

 

[Angelcurio]

Then they should release a compilation or something for VC, ps2 or psp. I had to play that game the hard way, with an emulator that freezed up every 5 minutes. That plain sucked.

 

[Buffy4ever]

bought the game for 20$ and sold it for 54$ on e bay. It was an ok Castlevania but not the best.

 

[Mejilan]

Man, just no. I love the DS but the awesomeness of Rondo must not be shrunk to fit on a small screen. Wait for VC!

It wasn't even that pretty. The SNES version far outclassed it, graphically.

 

[Buffy4ever]

can anyone give a web site of pic or movies of Rondo of Blood? ro show some pic in this thread of Rondo of Blood (pc engine) Did the game have line scrolling like the other 16 bit Castlevania? I konw some pc engine games did have scrolling like the Genesis and the SNES.

 

[CO_Andy]

Castlevania x68? I conquered this beast back durng my freshman year in high school on a emulator with no save state, and keyboard control cause the Gravis pad rots.

Tried playing it again last year but i found it too difficult. Tip: DON'T LOSE THE HERB!

 

[brandonh83]

Just barely made it through, as someone noted the clock tower, that was my problem spot.

 

[Ranger X]

I've beaten the original mode on the PS1.

The boss of the clock was hard at first but after some swearing i killed it.
Another spot that was hard is near the end in the castle where there's fire moving up and down the whole ****ing screen.

All in all, great fun.

 

[Red Scarlet]

can anyone give a web site of pic or movies of Rondo of Blood? ro show some pic in this thread of Rondo of Blood (pc engine) Did the game have line scrolling like the other 16 bit Castlevania? I konw some pc engine games did have scrolling like the Genesis and the SNES.

I was linked to a Richter playthrough of it by HDLoony awhile back. It's not in my history anymore, but maybe he still has the link.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

*Raises hand* I did. Tough but not impossible. Really good old school Castlevania, about on par with the first game for difficulty.

Story:

Friend of mine borrowed it. Then he moved, and it got stuffed in a box somewhere, so every time I saw him he'd be like "yeah, don't know where it is, I'll dig it out later." This went on for like 2 years. So, I'm at his wedding, part of the wedding party, and I have to make a speech. I get up in front of everybody, his parents, her hyper-conservative Catholic parents, all our old high school friends, I'm talking about all the good times we had together, and then at the end I bust out with "but he still owes me my Castlevania back."

To this day I look back and wonder what the hell I was thinking. Not the worst moment, but certainly cringe-worthy. They got divorced 18 months later, I think it must have been an omen.

After that speech I did get my Castlevania Chronicles back, though.

 

[Angelcurio]

It wasn't even that pretty. The SNES version far outclassed it, graphically.

Completely Wrong. In fact, the snes versions was a crappy port of Rondo Blood,, they sacrificed a lot of the levels and graphical quality just to accurately port the music. The game was so good that a lot of the monsters desings were recycled in Symphony of the Night. In all reality, Symphony of the Night was originally desined as the sequel of Rondo of Blood, you can confirm that in the Sysmphony of the Night Prelude where you see Ritcher battling Dracula. That was the same graphical quality that Rondo of Blood had and that was the final battle of said game.

In the 1up feature called Castlevania 20th anniversary you can see where Koshi Igarashi admits that Symphony of the Night was going to be like Rondo of Blood 2.

can anyone give a web site of pic or movies of Rondo of Blood? ro show some pic in this thread of Rondo of Blood (pc engine) Did the game have line scrolling like the other 16 bit Castlevania? I konw some pc engine games did have scrolling like the Genesis and the SNES.

The game was like Castlevania Dracula X for snes, but much larger, CD quality Soundtrack, you could save instead of using passwords. Each level had multiple paths, Ritcher is controlled in the same way as Symphony of Night (once you select it) and he could use the the special abbilities of the weapons like Holy Cross, etc.

In the game you had to search for missing characters, Maria was one of them (a very young one), and once you found her she was available as a playable character.

You can learn more about it here:
http://castlevania.classicgaming.gamespy.com/Games/rondo.html

 

[Red Scarlet]

Completely Wrong. In fact, the snes versions was a crappy port of Rondo Blood,, they sacrificed a lot of the levels and graphical quality just to accurately port the music. The game was so good that a lot of the monsters desings were recycled in Symphony of the Night. In all reality, Symphony of the Night was originally desined as the sequel of Rondo of Blood, you can confirm that in the Sysmphony of the Night Prelude where you see Ritcher battling Dracula. That was the same graphical quality that Rondo of Blood had and that was the final battle of said game.

Plus in the Japanese version of SotN, the thing says 'Final Stage: Chi no Rinne' like it does in Rondo.

In the game you had to search for missing characters, Maria was one of them (a very young one), and once you found her she was available as a playable character.

Maria ftw!

Loony is going to look for the video playthrough of the PCE version tomorrow. It was pretty good (he died twice).

 

[Johnas]

You can learn more about it here:
http://castlevania.classicgaming.gamespy.com/Games/rondo.html

Man, that game looks hot. Really hope it shows up on the VC. I have a feeling it will.

 

[Mejilan]

Completely Wrong. In fact, the snes versions was a crappy port of Rondo Blood,, they sacrificed a lot of the levels and graphical quality just to accurately port the music.

Not true. The music was completely rearranged and redone using some of the best synth the SNES ever outputted. Hell, in many ways, I prefer the music in SNES Dracula X over Rondo of Blood. Oh, don't get me wrong, the music quality was definitely inferior to Rondo's redbook audio, but on the whole, the arrangements in the SNES version were better.

Truly, Dracula X SNES was a bastardized and inferior version of Rondo of Blood, but it handily beat Rondo in the graphics department. Better sprites. Better colors. Better special effects. And without Rondo's nasty flickering problems and whatnot. Better game? No way. Better presentation? Absolutely. Hell, as another bonus, it also lacked Rondo's ugly anime cutscenes. ;p

 

[Red Scarlet]

No Maria. Automatic loss.

 

[Mejilan]

Dracula X SNES sucked compared to Rondo of Blood. No argument there. Compared to both Rondo of Blood and Super Castlevania IV, Dracula X was heaps of uninspired. It's only relevancy, to me, was in its soundtrack, IMHO.

 

[drohne]

hm -- snes dracula x obviously had richer colors than pce dracula x, but just as obviously it had less variety and animation. and while some of its songs are remarkable facsimiles of their pce originals, the soundtrack definitely isn't as good. no way the snes soundchip could replicate those awesome versions of bloody tears and vampire killer.

i really like the snes version of dracula x, though -- i think it's a much better game than cvIV or bloodlines, and its level design differs entirely from the pce version's. its final boss is a memorably sadistic version of the classic dracula fight.

 

[Mejilan]

The columns were a very evil touch.

 

[Red Scarlet]

Stupid camtasia being stupid.
Why can't Magic Engine's record function actually..not be greyed out.

 

[Fatghost]

I fully and completely admit that Castlevania X68K totally rocks my boxers and I am a total pussy and suck and can't beat the game.

 

[lyre]

Wow, almost went to 50 replies while I was gone. Anyways, I uploaded the song 'Tower of Dolls' for download. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Man, just no. I love the DS but the awesomeness of Rondo must not be shrunk to fit on a small screen. Wait for VC!

There are a few points to be made here.

1: The resolution of the PC Engine is no more than 320x240 and the DS is 256x192 (or something). This has been argued incessantly before with Dawn of Sorrow and Dragona proved everyone wrong here. Graphics wise, DS can even improve the look of the game.

2: You should be more worried about the game's soundtrack when being moved from cd redbook to DS cart. However, due to recently large sizes of DS carts lately, that shouldn't be a problem (and DS is more than able to compress the audio and soundtracks and not compromise the quality). And the actual game data of the game is really small (voice acting is no problem as well since there is very little of it).

3: And there's no point in this part of the post anyway since there's really little chance of a Chi no Rondo port, so yeah ... VC.

I've beaten the original mode on the PS1.

The boss of the clock was hard at first but after some swearing i killed it.

Good. And when you find out you can

Spoiler

whip the clock arms and stuff that are thrown at you

the boss is much MUCH easier.

LiveFromKyoto: That's awful.

The game was so good that a lot of the monsters desings were recycled in Symphony of the Night.

No, that's called 'sprites-are-expensive-to-draw-so-they-cheaped-out-and-recycled-everything' or in short "they got lazy". Not Capcom's Morrigan sprite lazy but lazy nonetheless.

Maria ftw!
Loony is going to look for the video playthrough of the PCE version tomorrow. It was pretty good (he died twice).

No Maria. Automatic loss.

Kid Maria >> Older Maria.
Regardless, Maria FTW!!

... video playthrough of the PCE version tomorrow. It was pretty good (he died twice).

I was sent this. This one?

Fatghost: Try again. Everyone gets their asses kicked in the game and you can gloat about it. The game is so awesome.

 

[Piper Az]

Man, just no. I love the DS but the awesomeness of Rondo must not be shrunk to fit on a small screen. Wait for VC!

QFT. Like Symphony, Dracula X had a fantastic redbook soundtrack. It must be retained if the game gets published again.

 

[aku:jiki]

1: The resolution of the PC Engine is no more than 320x240 and the DS is 256x192 (or something). This has been argued incessantly before with Dawn of Sorrow and Dragona proved everyone wrong here. Graphics wise, DS can even improve the look of the game.

I did notice DoS improved upon some of the SOTN-sprites actually, yeah, but that wasn't what I was talking about. I just mean it should be experienced on a TV rather than a tiny screen.

Like Symphony

SOTN isn't redbook actually...

 

[lyre]

I did notice DoS improved upon some of the SOTN-sprites actually, yeah, but that wasn't what I was talking about. I just mean it should be experienced on a TV rather than a tiny screen.

I played the game on a tiny screen just fine and it was awesome. Toilet Dracula slaying >> *.

SOTN isn't redbook actually...

Techinically no, but like most PSX games it used ATRAC encoding. But it sure as hell wasn't chip music that's for sure (except two songs which were, Old Librarian and one unused song).

 

[Red Scarlet]

I was sent this. This one?

Yes! That is exactly it.

 

[Angelcurio]

I made an ISO of the PC engine game a long time ago, but i think i still have it. It was a PITA to make cuz of the whole isos donwloading and the mp3-wav conversion, making cues and all.

Anyway, is there a fully working emulator out there? cuz last time i played it, the stupid demo freezed up every 5 minutes.