Castlevania: Dracula X

Dracula X for the Super Nintendo brought to the West the story that Japan already knew from the CD game Rondo of Blood on the PC Engine – for the vast majority of players outside Japan, this was their very first contact with this chapter of the series. Richter Belmont once again sets out into Dracula's castle to rescue his fiancée Annette and her friend Maria, facing along the way the classic mix of jumping sections, crawling monsters, and boss fights that Castlevania was built on before Symphony of the Night opened the series up to free exploration. Besides the whip, Richter also has a set of sub-weapons at his disposal, such as holy water, throwing daggers, or a cross, which he switches between depending on the situation and his supply of hearts – a mechanic the series has carried since its very first installment – and here the game additionally lets him temporarily power up his attack with collected crystals.

Compared to the CD original, this was a substantial reworking, not a simple port. The SNES cartridge couldn't hold as much data as a CD, so the animated cutscenes with voiced dialogue disappeared, the elaborate level branching based on hidden switches and destructible walls was simplified into an almost linear progression, and the playable Maria, who in the original offered a completely different, more acrobatic playstyle with her own magical attacks, was removed from the roster entirely – leaving only Richter. Konami also reworked the graphics and music for the SNES sound chip, tightened the time limits on individual stages, noticeably increased enemy difficulty, and removed the ability to save progress other than by password, making this version feel harsher and less generous than the Japanese original that would later be appreciated. Yet for a long time, this version was the only way to play the story of Rondo of Blood in the West at all, until decades later more faithful ports with the original content and Maria reached players.

Why play: Dracula X is for players who enjoy tough old-school 2D action and want to see what Castlevania looked like right before Symphony of the Night turned the genre upside down – ideally with the awareness that this is a harsher, leaner take on the Japanese original rather than a faithful copy, and that it lacks both playable Maria and the branching paths through the castle.