The recent Nintendo Direct came with a big surprise forCastlevaniafans: a surprise release of theCastlevania Advance Collection. This multi-platform collection follows up on twoCastlevaniacollections released in the past few years, this time focusing on titles from Game Boy Advance.TheAdvance Collection’s offerings consist ofCastlevania: Circle of the Moon,Harmony of Dissonance, andAria of Sorrow. All three are classics, and worth trying for those who have already beatenCastlevania: Symphony of the NightandBloodstained: Ritual of the Night. However,Castlevania: Dracula Xdoesn’t fit with the rest.
As a counterpart to the PlayStation 4-exclusiveCastlevania Requiem, this collection includes the SNES titleCastlevania: Dracula X. This is notably not a GBA game, but appears to have been included in this collection to ensure all ofCastlevania’s major 2D games have been re-released.Dracula Xreleased in 1995, two years afterRondo of Bloodcame out inJapan only on the PC Engine Super CD-ROM(an upgraded TurboGrafx 16). BecauseRondo of Bloodwas already calledDracula Xin Japan, the SNES game was dubbedDracula XX. WhileDracula Xhas been rendered non-canon and is considered a worse version ofRondo, its story is still interesting enough to discuss.
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What is Castlevania: Dracula X?
Castlevania: Dracula Xis an SNES remake ofRondo of Blood, and was also the first version ofRondoto reach North America. The game remixed enough to be almost completely different, only sharing some enemies, bosses, and mechanics with the original game. Due to the smaller storage capacity of SNES cartridges, voice acting was removed, the game became more linear due to overhauled level design, the difficulty was ramped up, and Maria was no longer playable. The story was also altered enough that it becameincompatible with theCastlevaniatimeline, which did the game no favors in fans’ eyes.
The story differences seem minor, but conflict withRondo of Blood’s immediate sequelSymphony of the Night.The dark priest Shaft, a climactic encounter inRondoand the main villain for most ofSymphony, was removed entirely. Annette, the heroic Richter’s kidnapped girlfriend, can transform into Carmilla if not saved, and will share Shaft’s attacks. Between that andDracula Xsaying it takes place in the Middle Ages with Simon Belmont’s adventures having been several hundred years prior, it’s safe to say this game is not an essential part of aCastlevaniahistorian’s library.
The Issues With Castlevania: Dracula X
Canon incongruity is far from the only issueCastlevania:Dracula Xis guilty of. The game is considered one of the most difficultCastlevaniatitles for all the wrong reasons. Richter is slightly slower than he is inRondo of Blood, later enemies are placed in earlier levels, and the redesigned stages are riddled with bottomless pits. The game also has only two alternate routes instead of four, one of which will doom players to a bad ending and is accessible via a regular-looking bottomless pit. Even thefinal fight with Draculais suspended over a pit. Anyone familiar withCastlevania’s penchant for knockback, stiff jumps, and flying enemies can probably tell howDracula Xgained its reputation.
Things aren’t all bad, however. The spritework and soundtrack are great, and its extra difficulty may be appealing to some. The core of the game is stillRondo of Blood, but with so many beloved parts stripped out, this version can’t be recommended whenRondo of Blooditself is available elsewhere. TheCastlevania Advance Collectionis still worth owning, and it is nice to have even this lesser title preserved, but there are plenty of better ways to slay Dracula thanDracula X.
