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[VGEsoterica]

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is one of those games who's reputation proceeds it as its legendary in the history of both gaming and Castlevania, but it wasn't always that way. Long ago in the import days there were little hushed rumors getting out that this new Japanese exclusive Castlevania game was "really good" and people had to check it out. The legend just grew from there and I still remember playing Rondo on some VERY JANKY emulator in the early 2000s and just being blown away. Needless to say I bought a PC Engine Duo-R and a copy of the game and both are still sitting in my collection.

Is Rondo as good as people say? You are damn right it is! Sure Konami might be a joke in 2022 but back in the 16 bit Castlevania days they were one of the best developers around and Rondo of Blood showed that. It just takes everything good about Castlevania and dials it up to an 11 while discarding the bits that "didnt work". Throw in some amazing sprite work and art (especially impressive considering the PC Engine was designed to compete with the NES) and one of the best Castlevania soundtracks ever recorded...and you just have IMO the best non-Metroidvania game ever made.

Rondo of Blood really is just THAT good

But GAF...what is your fav Castlevania? I will admit to having a very big soft spot for Castlevania 64...I know...I know

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Castlevania 4. Music, pacing, atmosphere.

 

[amigastar]

Symphony of the Night is my fav. Never played Rondo of Blood, what's the best way to play RoB?

 

[VGEsoterica]

Symphony of the Night is my fav. Never played Rondo of Blood, what's the best way to play RoB?

Wow...you are in for a treat. You can use RetroArch or just buy it on basically any modern console. MiSTer FPGA is legit too if you have one. There is really no bad way

 

[sigmaZ]

That nice redbook audio. I remember back in the day scouring to get the mp3s and having my mind blown.

 

[tusharngf]

symphony of the knight is my fav so far.. GBA ones were great as well.

 

[tomato shrub]

Of that era, CV4, Rondo and Bloodlines are all 10/10 for different reasons.

 

[VGEsoterica]

symphony of the knight is my fav so far.. GBA ones were great as well.

the entire Metroidvania run is pretty legendary. Hit after hit

 

[ByWatterson]

Bloodlines.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Honestly its Lords Of Shadow 1.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Gotta have that character switch NES action…C3 all the way (rondo is awesome though).

 

[VGEsoterica]

Bloodlines.

a solid entry for sure. Talking about that next week

 

[I Master l]

Order of Ecclesia

 

[Kokoloko85]

SOTN easily

 

[ByWatterson]

Honestly its Lord's Of Shadow 1.

So, so underrated.

 

[Kurt]

Castlevania 4. Music, pacing, atmosphere.

This by a far mile.
I like almost each castlevania game, but castlevania 4 is the super metroid in terms of that.

 

[VGEsoterica]

IV is legendary for sure

 

[TheDreadLord]

The ones on the GBA and NDS are quite good. I’d say that the Genesis one is pretty ok as well.

 

[Saber]

My favorites are the ones from both DS and GBA series.

- Dawn of Sorrow
- Order of Ecclesia
- Aria of Sorrow
- Harmony of Dissonance

 

[intbal]

I've only played two of them.
The original Castlevania (NES 1987) and Mirror of Fate HD (Xbox 2013).
Out of the two, I preferred Mirror of Fate.

 

[kunonabi]

To be honest I don't care for Rondo that much.

Castlevania 64 is my favorite followed by 3 and 1.

 

[GymWolf]

SOTN and in my case is not even close.

 

[Hollowpoint5557]

The last Castlevania game that I actually enjoyed was Lament of Innocence on PS2 as it was basically Devil May Cry with a Castlevania skin.

The best Castlevania to come out in the last 10 years though wasn't even a Castlevania it was Bloodlines Ritual of the Night

 

[Shifty1897]

Favorite Castlevania is probably Dawn of Sorrow, but only because Symphony of the Night is too easy.

 

[FeralEcho]

Favorite Castlevania is Symphony of the Night for me but i also equally love Rondo of Blood and Super Castlevania IV.So that would be my top 3.I also have a soft spot for Simon's Quest...mainly cuz the music in that game is 10/10.I would say it's the best Castlevania OST.Bloody Tears is arguably THE Castlevania series theme.

 

[Tarin02543]

Favorite Castlevania is Symphony of the Night for me but i also equally love Rondo of Blood and Super Castlevania IV.So that would be my top 3.I also have a soft spot for Simon's Quest...mainly cuz the music in that game is 10/10.I would say it's the best Castlevania OST.Bloody Tears is arguably THE Castlevania series theme.

Beat SOTN today and started RoB. RoB is more difficult!

 

[SCB3]

Dark Souls

 

[existensmaximum]

Super Castlevania IV. To me it's just perfect - the music, level design, atmosphere, graphics, presentation, bosses, difficulty level.. holy shit, this was a revolution after the NES games. Last but not least, the whip mechanics - just unbelievably satisfying! I can't believe more games haven't copied it.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Dark Souls

lol...feels similar

 

[Little Mac]

SotN followed by pretty much any of the handheld IGAvanias.

 

[MrA]

Id day rebirth on wii is the best classic Vania, shame its trapped on the dead wiishop

 

[Georome]

Not saying it's "the best," but it's my favorite, despite what Angry Video Game Nerd says. The exploration was really fun for me as a kid, and the night/day cycle was innovative at the time. I still remember the feeling of dread when this message appeared:

I loved the addition of RPG elements. To me it felt like a sequel that tried something different, but still had that classic Castlevania feel.

 

[FeralEcho]

Beat SOTN today and started RoB. RoB is more difficult!

Oh yeah,Rondo of Blood ia probably the hardest Castlevania I've played but it's worth it,keep at it,It's an amazing experience!

 

[SumJester]

Frankly i can't pick between Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood.
Both are my number one in the list.

 

[MacReady13]

Symphony of the Night is my fav (also 1 of my fav games of all time) but Super Castlevania 4 is a fantastic entry into the franchise. It is an unusually strong franchise though, with most of the 2D games being great entries. I do prefer the metroidvania games though in the series...

 

[danklord]

SOTN is definitely the highpoint. I really liked Lords of Shadow and wish they'd try a new direction like that again.

 

[IDKFA]

Honestly its Lord's Of Shadow 1.

This.

Lords of Shadows is the GOAT of Castlevania games. At least IMO anyway.

 

[VGEsoterica]

SOTN is definitely the highpoint. I really liked Lords of Shadow and wish they'd try a new direction like that again.

I had that as a kid. Left it outside in the sun and the screen basically melted. Sun did me a favor

 

[Hoddi]

I've yet to play the later games but I played Rondo for the first time this summer and it was absolutely fantastic. I want to play the series in order so SotN is next on my list.

 

[NT80]

Never played Rondo of Blood fully only the PSP remake. The remake had maybe the best boss in the series in Dracula's secret final form. Apparently that isn't in the original Rondo of Blood which would be a let down.
CV Rebirth on Wii was one of my favourites of the old action platformer style and doesn't get enough credit. CV1 and 4 especially were amazing for their time. SOTN is great in some respects (level design, art, music, secrets) but really lacking in others (challenge, bosses, abilities etc.)

I replayed Dawn of Sorrow and played the Julius mode for the first time. This was also fantastic. Really good challenge and the boss fights were better played this way. I need to play this mode in the other DS games.

 

[bender]

SOTN for me. It would also be included in the list of games that are my all time favorites.

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

Although its really tough by my standards I like the first Castlevania

 

[n0razi]

SotN is the obvious choice but OoE is my personal favorite.

 

[Spukc]

The playstation and the 3 gba’s
Bloodstained and uuuh that one ds one

 

[Punished Miku]

Honestly its Lord's Of Shadow 1.

Exactly. Not even close.

 

[VGEsoterica]

SotN is the obvious choice but OoE is my personal favorite.

This is the ONE I didn’t click with. The opening with the smaller areas and the overworld map just didn’t get me into the game like I wanted it to. Fun but at the bottom of my Metroidvania list to be honest

 

[Saber]

SotN is the obvious choice but OoE is my personal favorite.

The day they make a collection out of the DS Castlevanias I will be pretty damn happy. Would be day one for me.

 

[Ogbert]

Standard answer, but IV.

Just a perfect game.

 

[JohnSpartanLee]

1. Castlevania III - Dracula's Curse
2. Rondo of Blood
3. Castlevania Bloodlines

 

[The Pleasure]

You know, I'm somewhat a Simon's Quest fan myself.