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Lost in Japan: Rondo of Blood
added to the total, the numbers
on the score spin round like a
slot machine. All of these things
are in the game for no reason
other than the fact that not
having them would make the
game marginally less awesome.
Every level is filled with crazy
scrolling
backgrounds
and
settings, as well as these
incredible sprites that a ridiculous
amount of work and love went
into. After an anime style intro
and a “storming into the castle”
opening level the following
three stages have great remixes
of music from the first three
Castlevania games. The message
is clear; this is Konami’s heavy

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Edition

metal remix of Castlevania itself.
It’s the first Castlevania all over
again but wearing sunglasses
and jumping the Grand Canyon
on a motorcycle.

everything that’s awesome
about traditional Castlevania
mechanics, and there is one hell
of a strong argument for it being
the best Castlevania game ever.
If you’ve never played it, there’s
a remake of it on the PSP which
also allows you to unlock the
original Rondo of Blood once
you’ve beaten it, and there’s also
a perfectly emulated version
available on the Virtual Console
for the Nintendo Wii.

For the sake of some balance
here are a couple of nitpicks.
Rondo of Blood really enjoys
throwing a ton of enemies out
at once and there are occasions
where this causes the framerate
to chug a little. Also the recovery
time after getting hit is a little
too brief and it’s possible to get Rondo of Blood is packed with
utterly destroyed by one enemy memorable bosses and cinematic
if you panic.
elements, it’s incredibly difficult,
soundly designed and completely
Alright, now that’s out of the engaging. In other words, it’s
way, Rondo of Blood sums up 100% Castlevania.

20 • GameOn Magazine