Grab your Nintendo DSi, snap a shot of yourself and a friend and bust some of your best fighting moves as the eagerly anticipated Photo Dojo arrives on DSiWare. Once your muscles have been flexed on DSiWare get onto the Wii Shop Channel and download Muscle March which sees Tony and his muscle-bound crew hot on the heels of some lightning-quick protein powder thieves. Frantic macho posing in front of your TV required!
If that doesn't whet your appetite, two epic struggles join Virtual Console. The first of this Hanabi festival duo let's you fight an evil warlord to rescue the queen and her magical crystal balls in Milon's Secret Castle. And finally, one of the import games most eagerly awaited by European Virtual Console fans makes it onto Wii Shop Channel. Download Castlevania: Rondo of Blood now to enjoy some of the best vampire slaying fun ever in a videogame.
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood strikes a balance between adhering to Castlevania’s traditional linearity and introducing quiet innovations.
This game is certainly one of my favourites and highly recommended to those who have the means to play it.
As far as classic Castlevania goes, Rondo of Blood is the apex of what can be done with the franchise. Every facet of its design contributes to crafting one of the tightest action-platformers in the genre. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood serves as a natural evolution of the series’ core concepts. In emphasizing Castlevania’s overarching narrative, adding branching paths to stages, and opting for a more dynamic color palette when compared to its contemporaries, Rondo of Blood not only fine-tuned the Castlevania experience, it laid the groundwork for the direction the series would take following Symphony of the Night’s release.
I will always cherish Super Castlevania 4 as the series pinnacle. The audiovisual experience is not surpassed of yet.
By the early ’90s, the Castlevania series had established itself as one of the big-name platformer franchises like Mega Man, Mario, or Alex Kidd. Despite starting on Nintendo’s Famicom Disk System, the franchise made its way onto the Game Boy, arcades, and Sega Genesis as well.
If there’s one Castlevania title that’s become a bit of a cult hit, it is Rondo of Blood, mostly due to the fact it wasn’t available outside of Japan till well over a decade later. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is the last of the classic Castlevania titles before the series found its new niche in the action RPG genre ala Symphony of the Night, and it’s also one of the best classic Castlevania games.
