Topic: RONDO OF BLOOD

[vudu]

Who else picked up Castlevania X:  Rondo of Blood?  It's Rad, with a capital R.  Don't believe me?  Just ask Jeremy Parish!

First impressions are the game's harder than Castlevania III and IV.  I made it to the second boss before losing all my lives and quitting for the night.  But since there's a save system I don't think it's going to be frustrating like some of the other early Castlevania games.

Even though I knew going into the game that lots of the enemy sprites from later games were taken directly from this game (and not Symphony of the Night as widely believed) it still amazes me when I see some of these enemies.  I smiled when Old Ax Armor showed up outside of the castle gates and I nearly peed when the first golem appeared.

The sub-weapons feel good.  This might be the first instance where the knife doesn't feel completely worthless.  The sub-weapon system is also very forgiving in that when you get a new one your current weapon drops to the ground for a few seconds, so you can switch back if you want to.  No more living in fear of jumping and whipping random candles will result in losing your boomerang for holy water!

I've read that the game features alternate routes and bosses in each level but I haven't found any yet.  The keys from Castlevania ReBirth are back (well, not "back") so my guess is they're used to open locked doors to secret paths.  I found one in the second level, but it instead of an alternate route it lead to a secret room where I found a priest and Maria.  I whipped the priest and he/she disappeared and then saw a short cut scene with Maria but as far as I could tell nothing in the game was affected.  I was hoping this would be the way to switch playable characters but alas, I must keep looking.

[Stratos]

RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD

I think Capcom said they were spreading them out by about a month each.  The last one came out mid-February, so I would expect the next one sometime in the next couple weeks.

RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD RONDO OF BLOOD

BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD BONDO FO RLOOD

I'm gonna get this game soon. Haven't actually played a Castlevania game in a while.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

[ShyGuy]

I learned that a Rondo is the final music piece of a Sonata.

FINAL SONG OF BLOOD

[SixthAngel]

bRondo - Mutilate your thirst for blood!!

[ejamer]

I can understand if some people are underwhelmed with the game after hearing about Rondo of Blood for years and years as a "grail game"... but I'm enjoying every second of play right now.


To me, it feels like the perfect upgrade to the original Castlevania.  Everything is bigger and better, but the actual gameplay remains very simple with only a few new additions (like powerful item crash effects) and slightly improved controls.  So it's taking a classic title that was deeply appreciated and clearly improving on it.


What really excites me though are the many hidden secrets, branching paths, and unlockable second character.  All of these features add replay value, which is good because the game feels quite easy otherwise due to a convenient save system and (generally speaking) fewer "cheap" hits that must be absorbed than the original Castlevania.


Finally, boss encounters are awesome.  I've only managed to beat 4 so far (including a hidden boss in level 1) but each has been enjoyable.  The patterns have mostly been simple enough that I expect to win on the second or third attempt, but bosses are usually strong enough that you need to keep on your toes right up until the end... especially since some bosses like the Werewolf or Sea Dragon will make final strikes after being defeated, hoping to take you out with their final dying breath!


My one complaint?  I wish we could have had English subtitles to understand the cutscenes.


@Vudu:
After you find and free Maria, you can switch to her... but need to die or exit the game and then use the Switch Character entry from the main menu - you can't change characters mid-game as far as I know.  It's pretty cool when you do unlock her!  She has different controls, attacks, and special items.  Makes the game feel very different, although I agree it seems to have been balanced more for Richter than Maria.

[Jonnyboy117]

As you may have heard on RFN, I was initially underwhelmed with Rondo of Blood. And I recently started replaying Symphony of the Night for the dozenth time, leading to some unflattering comparisons. But I felt like this game deserved a better chance, so I went back to it in the past couple of days. I finally beat Death after several tries, which was quite satisfying (especially his defeat animation). I had to look at a FAQ on how to unlock Maria, but it was so worth it. She plays much more like Alucard from SotN, with vastly improved mobility and a seemingly endless variety of sub-weapons. I have also been impressed with the array of secret rooms, secret exits, and secret levels, even though I haven't tried any of the latter yet. There is definitely a ton of replay value in this game, which you couldn't say for any other classic Castlevania games.

I'm starting to think that if you were already a big fan of Castlevania from the earlier games, it's clear that Rondo of Blood would be an amazing revelation. If you got into the series with Symphony or later, it's harder to go back to this style and appreciate the little refinements that Konami put into Rondo. But my personal experience is improving greatly as I spend more time with it, peeling back the layers to discover all the great content hidden away.

[ThePerm]

Rambo: First Blood Part II

[Pandareus]

Amazing game. I've longed for years now for a return to classic Castlevania gameplay, i.e. a Castlevania without grinding in which platforming prowess matters. And this game definitely delivers that, and much more: the branching paths, the secrets... it's awesome.
 
One thing, though, is that I unlocked Maria really early on. The first time I played the game, in fact, and Maria has so much more mobility, she breaks the game. She really does. And it was hard not choosing her over slow-ass Belmont any time I could. And as a result I've beaten the game with her, but I've yet to finish it with Richter.

[Halbred]

Richter is a built-in hard mode.

I daresay that Death is almost impossible without Maria.

[vudu]

I daresay that Death is almost impossible without Maria.

I beat Death with Richter.  It took me like ten tries, but I did it. 

However, I had to use Maria for the boss rush in level 6.  I tried and tried and tried to beat it using Richter but couldn't get past the mummy.  Then I switched to Maria and beat the entire thing on my second try.  She really does break the game.

I'm up to Dracula now and I have no intention of even attempting to beat him with Richter.  It just seems too damn hard.