History VideoGame / CastlevaniaRondoofBlood

* AscendedMeme: Because the dialogue was re-made for the Dracula X Chronicles port of Symphony of the Night, Dracula's crowning moment of [[Large Ham]] was replaced with "Tremble before my true form!" However, defeating Shaft's ghost in the main game unlocks [[spoiler: Dracula's third form]], which can be preceeded by various one-liners, including - you guessed it - [[spoiler: "Behold my true form, and despair!"]]
** Richter gets his turn in [[VideoGameCastlevaniaHarmonyofDespair Castlevania: Harmony of Despair]], with his two lines for killing a boss being [[spoiler:"Die, monster!" and "You don't belong in this world!"]] which were removed from the DXC Symphony of the Night.

** But in the good ending of Dracula X Chronicles, the castle does fall whether you are Richter or Maria.

* AboveTheRuins: Subverted in Richter's ending. He watches the castle from an isolated cliff like most Castlevania endings, but the castle will not crumble. Played straight in Maria's game, though.

* AscendedMeme: Because the dialogue was re-made for the Dracula X Chronicles port of Symphony of the Night, Dracula's crowning moment of [[LargeHam]] was replaced with "Tremble before my true form!" However, defeating Shaft's ghost in the main game unlocks [[spoiler: Dracula's third form]], which can be preceeded by various one-liners, including - you guessed it - [[spoiler: "Behold my true form, and despair!"]]
** Richter gets his turn in [[CastlevaniaHarmonyofDespair]], with his two lines for killing a boss being [[spoiler:"Die, monster!" and "You don't belong in this world!"]] which were removed from the DXC Symphony of the Night.

* JokeItem: The Key is the strongest subweapon in the game, but it is very hard to hit anything with it. Also, see SugarWiki/FunnyMoments in the YMMV tab and CherryTapping above.

** If you started playing Richter in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'', he's going to seem a LOT slower and clumsier here.

*** [[DidNotDoTheResearch Come again?]] Ricther actually becomes faster when you unlock him in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'' because he gains a dash which can be sustained, a slide which can propel you to a distance when you hit the jump button twice and a super jump. These abilities help out quite a lot if you aim for a SpeedRun.

''{{Castlevania}}: Rondo of Blood'' (originally released in Japan as ''Akumajō Dracula X: Chi no Rondo'') was released for the [[TurboGrafxSixteen PC-Engine]] Super [=CD-ROM-ROM=] in 1993. Initially, [[NoExportForYou it was only released in Japan]] but was finally ported to the PlayStationPortable with ''[[VideoGameRemake Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles]]'', and subsequently to the Wii VirtualConsole.

The PC-Engine used a CD-ROM, so ''Rondo of Blood'' had red book audio and the cut scenes had voice acting. This bump in production value led to Konami upping the values for their subsequent games.

A [[ReformulatedGame loose port]] was released for the Super Famicom titled ''Akumajō Dracula XX'' (as in "Double X") in 1995, which was released for the American Super NES as ''Castlevania: Dracula X'' and in Europe as ''Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss''. While the basic plot and game system remained identical to the PC Engine, the stages were all-new and a lot more linear (with only two hidden stages) due to the lower memory capacity of the cartridge format, and unlike the PC-Engine version, only Richter was playable.

* AnticlimaxBoss: Some consider Dracula's OneWingedAngel from the first game to be this, since all it does is jump around and breathe fire at you (in other Castlevania games, it would at least fire projectiles while jumping!) [[spoiler:Averted in the PSP VideoGameRemake, where Dracula then goes into a [[BishonenLine third form]] [[TrueFinalBoss if you rescued Annette]]]]. The ''Vampire's Kiss'' version is completely averted, as he fights you over several BottomlessPits that he tries to knock you into.

** If you started playing Richter in SymphonyOfTheNight, he's going to seem a LOT slower and clumsier here.

* JokeItem: The Key is the strongest subweapon in the game, but it is very hard to hit anything with it. Also, see CrowningMomentOfFunny and CherryTapping above.

* MagnumOpus: This is often a candidate for defining game of the series, and Toru Hagihara as well.

* NoExportForYou: The original PC Engine version, thanks to the failure of the console's American counterpart, {{TurboGrafx 16}}. The game's inclusion in ''Dracula X Chronicles'' for the PSP and later its stand-alone re-release for the {{Wii}} Virtual Console would remedy this.

* [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros Shaft Debuted in Symphony Of The Night]]: Since Shaft was cut from the only port of this game to appear outside Japan [[hottip:*:Before Dracula X Chronicles]]. Pity he was an important character in ''SymphonyOfTheNight''.
** Some fans of ''Symphony'' are known to ask why Maria keeps showing up as [[TokenMiniMoe a young girl]] in games like ''PortraitOfRuin'' and ''HarmonyOfDespair''. ''Symphony'' was the only game to portray her as anything close to an adult.

* TitleDrop: While the [[AlternateCharacterReading furigana]] in the game's subtitle reads ''Chi no Rondo'' for "Rondo of Blood," the literal reading is ''Chi no Rinne'', meaning "Metempsychosis of Blood." The latter is the title of the game's final stage (although the English version of the [[PlaystationPortable PSP]] port simply renders it "Bloodlines" to tie in with ''Symphony of the Night'' doing the same, dropping a [[CastlevaniaBloodlines different title]] entirely).

* UpdatedRerelease: ''Dracula X Chronicles'', which doubles as a CompilationRerelease, because it also includes the original version of the game, a slightly improved version of ''Symphony of the Night'', and even the joke mini-game ''Akumajo Dracula Peke''.

* VirginSacrifice: The introduction to the game, where a group of cultists, led by Shaft, sacrifices a woman to revive Dracula.

* ReformulatedGame: The SNES version, ''Castlevania: Dracula X''. Since the SNES only used cartridges, while the PC Engine version was a CD-ROM game, a straight port was pretty much impossible, so the stages were replaced completely to fit into the smaller ROM size. The plot is pretty much the same, except that Maria and Annette were now sisters, the other two girls are missing, and Shaft is nowhere to be seen. [[DemotedToExtra Maria is no longer a playable character]]; when she is rescued, she simply wishes Richter luck.

A [[PragmaticAdaptation loose port]] was released for the Super Famicom titled ''Akumajō Dracula XX'' (as in "Double X") in 1995, which was released for the American Super NES as ''Castlevania: Dracula X'' and in Europe as ''Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss''. While the basic plot and game system remained identical to the PC Engine, the stages were all-new and a lot more linear (with only two hidden stages) due to the lower memory capacity of the cartridge format, and unlike the PC-Engine version, only Richter was playable.

* PragmaticAdaptation: The SNES version, ''Castlevania: Dracula X''. Since the SNES never had a CD-ROM drive, ''Dracula X'' could only be ported in cartridge format, and thus, the stages were replaced completely to fit into the smaller ROM size. The plot is pretty much the same, except that Maria and Annette were turned into sisters (a relation that was carried over to the English version of ''[[CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]''), the other two girls are missing, and Shaft is nowhere to be seen. [[DemotedToExtra Maria is no longer a playable character]]; when she is rescued, she simply wishes Richter luck.

* AboveTheRuins: Subverted in Richter's ending. He watches the castle from an isolated cliff like most Castlevania endings, but the castle will not crumble. Played straight in Maria's game though.

* AnticlimaxBoss : Some consider Dracula's OneWingedAngel from the first game to be this, since all it does is jump around and breathe fire at you (in other Castlevania games it would at least fire projectiles while jumping!) [[spoiler: Averted in the PSP VideoGameRemake where Dracula then goes into a [[BishonenLine third form]]]]. The ''Vampire's Kiss'' version is completely averted, as he fights you over several BottomlessPits that tries to knock you into.

** Richter's DoubleJump is instead a very finicky (yet sexy) backflip. [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman It's amazing how many attacks can be backflipped, or how many ledges can be backflipped onto.]]

** In Dracula X Chronicles, you need to save both Iris and Terra in order to save Annette! If you do not save all of them, sorry, ShootTheShaggyDog. If you do, EveryoneLives HappilyEverAfter before the SymphonyOfTheNight comes - at least those who survived the events. Maria is not required get a good ending. If you don't save her, she won't appear in the ending shot.

** Stage 6 is a BossRush against four of the bosses from the original NES game. In the PC Engine version, stage's background music is a remixed version of the NES game's boss theme titled "Poison Mind."

* [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros Shaft Debuted in Symphony Of The Night]]: Since Shaft was cut from the only port of this game to appear outside Japan [[hottip:* :Before Dracula X Chronicles]]. Pity he was an important character in ''SymphonyOfTheNight''.

* JapaneseSiblingTerminology: Maria calls Annette "onee-chan" (big sis) and Richter "oni-chan" (big bro), despite not being directly related to either one. But since the SFC/SNES adaptation made Annette and Maria into sisters, it's easy to think otherwise.

* PragmaticAdaptation: The SNES version, ''Castlevania: Dracula X''. Since the SNES never had a CD-ROM drive, ''Dracula X'' could only be ported in cartridge format, and thus, the stages were replaced completely to fit into the smaller memory size. The plot is pretty much the same, except Maria and Annette are made into sisters (a relation that was carried over to the English version of ''[[CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]''), the other two girls are missing, and Shaft is nowhere to be seen. [[DemotedToExtra Maria is no longer a playable character]]; when she is rescued, she simply wishes Richter luck.

* NoExportForYou: The original PC Engine version was unreleased outside Japan due to the discontinued sales and support for the console's western counterpart (the TurboGrafx16) and the SNES adaptation (''Castlevania: Dracula X'') is practically a completely different game. The PCE version eventually got an international release when it was included in ''The Dracula X Chronicles'' for the PSP and saw a Virtual Console release for the Wii.

* LighterAndSofter when you play as Maria.

* PragmaticAdaptation: ''Castlevania: Dracula X''. Since the SNES lacked a CD-ROM add-on, the music and stages had to be scaled back, though it still sounds crisp. The plot is pretty much the same, except Maria and Annette are made into sisters (a relation that was carried over to the English version of ''[[CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'') and Shaft is nowhere to be seen. [[DemotedToExtra Maria is no longer a playable character]]; when you rescue her, she simply wishes Richter luck.

** Stage 6 is a BossRush against four of the bosses from the NES Castlevania. In the original version, it even had a remix of the NES Castlevania boss theme, Poison Mind.
** The secret area in Dracula's keep, accessed by jumping onto an invisible staircase, is a reference to a bug in the Famicom Disk System version of the original Castlevania, where the player could keep walking up the stairs to the keep, into the open air after the stairs themselves had stopped, through the ceiling, and into a mire of glitched graphics.
** The Clock Tower and Castle Keep stages of this game become nostalgia levels in ''SymphonyOfTheNight'', with a few new rooms added.

* NostalgiaLevel: Stage 1 is one of the towns from Simon's Quest, and also the Stage 1 from Dracula's Curse. Stage 2, as usual, is the Castle Entrance Corridor from the first game.

* LethalJokeItem: They Key's item crash costs no hearts to use, but it's still an InvulnerableAttack.

* WastedSong: Arguably ''Dracula X Chronicles''' remix of Poison Mind, since unlike the original it is only used for the final stage (and not Stage 6 bosses before Shaft), which is just a hop, skip, and jump to Dracula.

** StopHavingFunGuys: Some fans will mock you if you clear the game with Maria.

In 1792, the evil priest Shaft resurrects Dracula. In a [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy rare flash of brilliance,]] Dracula immediately attacks the current Belmont's hometown and tries to kill him right off the bat. Richter Belmont was luckily out of town training. So, Dracula goes for plan B: [[IHaveYourWife kidnap Richter's fianceé Annette]], a distant relative of the Belmont Clan named Maria, and two other villagers.

** In Dracula X Chronicles, it is either save ALL of them or not! If you do not save all of them, sorry, ShootTheShaggyDog. If you do, EveryoneLives HappilyEverAfter before the SymphonyOfTheNight comes - at least those who survived the events.