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Castlevania: Dracula X is an action game released by KONAMI for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1995. It is an adaptation of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. Though they share the same story setting, they have notable differences in level design, plot progression, and gameplay mechanics. The story is set hundreds of years after hero Simon Belmont defeated Dracula. As humans grew corrupt amid peace, the evil Dracula is reawakened. To get revenge on the Belmont clan, Dracula kidnaps Richter Belmont’s lover Annette Renard and her younger sister Maria Renard. Players take on the role of Richter, who wields the family’s sacred whip, to storm Dracula’s castle, rescue his kidnapped loved ones, and seal Dracula away once more. In the game, players face various enemies and complex level challenges. It uses multi-layered visuals and effects like transparency to enhance the visual experience. It also adds hidden paths and branching levels, boosting exploration fun and replay value. Castlevania: Dracula X also excels in music. It features rearranged tracks from the original game, making full use of the SNES’s audio capabilities to deliver an immersive auditory experience. Overall, with its well-crafted levels, engaging story, and excellent music, Castlevania: Dracula X is a beloved classic on the SNES platform.

Game Overview

Castlevania: Dracula X came from Konami for the Super Nintendo in September 1995, released in Japan as Akumajo Dracula XX and in Europe as Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss. Centuries after Simon Belmont sealed Dracula away, wicked men revive the count, and he kidnaps Richter Belmont's beloved Annet along with her younger sister Maria. Richter takes up the family's sacred whip and storms the castle.

Core Gameplay

This is old-school Castlevania: walk deliberately, judge the distance, then swing. Richter can only whip forward, he can backflip out of a jump, and his hurtbox is generous. Hearts act as sub-weapon ammunition across five tools, holy water, cross boomerang, dagger, axe and stopwatch, and a large stock of hearts can be spent on an Item Crash for a burst that changes a hard encounter. Passwords carry progress between stages.

Differences from the Original

Billed as a port of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, the levels were in fact rebuilt from scratch and the branching routes were cut from four to two: falling from the column in stage 3 opens the cavern branch, and the stage 5 branch only opens if Maria is rescued. Maria is not playable here, just a rescue target, and Tera, Iris and the mastermind Shaft are gone entirely. Whether you saved Annet decides if stage 6 ends against Carmilla or Death, giving three possible endings.

• Five sub-weapons, holy water, cross boomerang, dagger, axe and stopwatch, all spending hearts, with enough hearts banked for an Item Crash
• Two branching routes: drop from the column in stage 3 for the cavern branch, and rescue Maria to open the stage 5 branch
• Three endings depending on whether Annet and Maria are rescued
• The stage 6 boss changes with your progress: fail to save Annet and you fight her transformed as Carmilla, save her and you fight Death instead
• Boss roster runs Cerberus, the headless knight, Minotaur, Ghost, Salamander, Carmilla, Death and Dracula
• Levels were rebuilt and the difficulty raised, with a linear push closer to the NES era than to Rondo of Blood
• Music is rearranged from Rondo of Blood and sounds cleaner on Super Nintendo hardware, plus a new tango rendition of Bloodlines for the credits