I have to chuckle to myself that this Castlevania title has such a low rating. My guess is people penalize it for being a downgraded version of a game designed for a PC system never released in the United States. Instead, we get a really cool Castlevania game with a couple of unique wrinkles added to make it a very good Castlevania game in its own right. They gave us another Castlevania game, and we complained why exactly? Because Richter doesn't whip in all directions like in Super Castlevania IV? Big deal, none of the Castlevania games released on the NES did either. So this one is a downgraded version? Is that your gripe? Well, they could not exactly port a PC game made for a system more powerful than the SNES in its entirety and in perfect form. No, they instead design a game for the SNES based off Rondo of Blood, but still its own game. So it is not that game, it is its own game and if people could get over this they would find one of the more enjoyable titles in the series.
The story has Richter's fiancé and her sister being kidnapped by the fiend Dracula as this time he is making a preemptive strike against the Belmont clan. He wants to take out Richter before he makes his way to the castle. Unfortunately, Richter is a rather tough member of the Belmont family and he will face the terrors that lie within Dracula's castle and underground corridors.
The fighting is your basic Castlevania game. It has taken away the whip going in all directions which I did like, but it gave Richter a cool back flip which when utilized correctly can greatly help you fight off some of Dracula's fiendish ghouls. He also has the ability to make the subweapon do a little thing called an item crash that will really do some damage and get Richter out of a lot of dangers. The game is difficult, but I say it is easier than the original Castlevania for the NES, part III and a couple of others. It is way harder than IV and Symphony of the Night, though.
So, to me this game was one of the better games in the Castlevania series. I hear Rondo of Blood is better and I would love to play it, but if I ever do...I'm going to treat it as a different reality than this one and thus its own game. This one though still is not as good as part IV or Symphony, it comes close, but it is a bit on the short side, the ending is not all that great either. However, it has a great soundtrack like most Castlevania games and it feels a whole heck of a lot more like a Castlevania game than did the ones for the Nintendo 64.
