Pros, masochists, or Castlevania fans...just choose your class!
Castlevania, since that first installment in 1987, has always been an exceptional game series, known especially for its top quality gaming value, and its unique Gothic visual style. "The Dracula X Chronicles" is no exception. By getting the "Dracula X Chronicles", you have three superb games in one package: The enhanced version of "Rondo of Blood", plus as unlockable bonuses, the original version of "RoB", plus the legendary PS1 game "Symphony of the Night". So far so good.
It would all be perfect, but...the cruel reality is that very few gamers in the world will meet the conditions to unlock, and actually play these two bonus games. In fact very few people too will ever see how the 4th level of the standard game looks!
The game is really hard. Its difficulty lies mainly to the purposely antiquated saving system. For each level, and the level boss battle included, the player has initially 3 lives, which their number can be increased, depending on how many points you can score in the stage. Supposedly you do achieve the perfect play-through until the boss battle, and you have kept intact for that last battle those 3 lives of yours, or 4, or 5, or even 47 ( it doesn't really make any difference). Each time you loose a life, you will start over the battle, with all your magic points lost, and the bosses' health meter full again. So it's not that you have an X number of "health bars" in stock for the boss battle, but rather an X number of opportunities to achieve the perfect play style, beat the boss, and finally save!
So to give you the picture, it's like a Tekken duel really, but with no continues. Once you loose your last life, guess what...You start the level from the beginning!!!
Ah, and not to forget: the game gives you the opportunity to make a "quick save" in the middle of a stage. But once you load this saved file, it is deleted! (What????) What short of restriction is this? Or rather, what kind of punishment is this? Why not keep that progress for as long as I want? For ever maybe?(for as long as I struggle to beat that god damned boss) Why do I have to get through from the beginning, in order to give one or two shots to the boss , and then again go back at the start. Again, and again...
I would gladly give only "1" little star to that sadistic piece of "s..."., but I can't ignore that "Dracula X" is just magnificent, even to look at! It's a shame really. So, "3" is a compromise, between its high quality as a game, and the fact that it's practically unplayable. It's your choice really, and above all, it's up to your skills.
