#118: Castlevania: Bloodlines

Castlevania: Bloodlines

Konami
Initial release: March 18, 1994 (Japan)
Platform: Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Alternate title: Vampire Killer (Japan), Castlevania: The New Generation (Europe)

images c/o Mobygames

Every major video game franchise has its unsung classic: Mega Man 5, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, Dark Souls 2, the list goes on. Castlevania Bloodlines is not just an unsung classic, it's spent years almost totally forgotten by Konami, despite being one of the iconic greats of the Sega Genesis library. It looks good, it sounds good, it plays good, it's everything you could ever ask from classic Castlevania.

After the double whammy of Super Castlevania IV on the Super Nintendo and Rondo of Blood on the PC Engine playing around a bit with the classic formula, Bloodlines goes back to basics. That's not to say it's entirely unoriginal: at the time, this was the most modern (setting-wise) Castlevania yet, set in 1917 during the Great War. Elizabeth Bartley (heh), Dracula's niece (heh) has been using the carnage of the war as a ritual to resurrect her dear old uncle. The funny thing is that the plot, such as it is, tries to tie Castlevania to the original Dracula novel (or perhaps more specifically Bram Stoker's Dracula, that completely, gloriously bonkers adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola) which sounds interesting on its surface but of course is insane once you think about it. And ultimately its bearing on the game itself is non-existent. (There's a big debate as to whether the Stoker novel is canon to Castlevania. The short version: it's not. The long version: it's mostly not.) And of course, given that this game was released not long after the Coppola film, the influence of that film on the franchise is blatantly obvious in this game. And yes, in case you were wondering: it's Sega, so there's plenty of blood!

Another new thing is that you actually can choose between two characters who play somewhat differently. The first is John Morris, the apparent child of Quincy Morris from the Dracula novel (yeah, I know) who as a child witnessed his father murdered by Dracula's men (yeah, I know.) Who is this mysterious bastard son of a poorly-written Texan? None other than a distant relative of the Belmonts, of course! (Yeah, I know.) Which means that he, too, can wield the magical Vampire Killer whip. And he plays exactly like a Belmont would: high on damage, low on maneuverability. He can swing from his whip Indiana Jones style, though, and he also has the rare ability to swing his whip downwards in mid-air. So there's that. But he doesn't hold a candle to the other character, Eric Lecarde, a spear-slinging Spaniard. While Eric's spear is as powerful as the whip, he can do more with it, including using it to vault up to higher ground. It also has slightly better range, and can be twirled around to help protect against smaller enemies and projectiles in front and back. The subweapon arsenal is pretty truncated here — a boomerang, holy water and an axe, and that's it. However, they do have slightly more powerful item crashes (nothing like Rondo of Blood's “I Win” buttons tho) and if you get two of the same item they turn into a powerful character-specific subweapon.

Each of the six levels is in some new place around Europe, starting in the ruins of Dracula's castle. A German munitions factory reminds you there's a war on, staffed by skeletons in stahlhelms, and the ostentatious Palace of Versailles paints a grotesque image of high society. This makes for a nice international vibe as you kick ass across Europe.

The soundtrack is one of my favorites in the franchise. Michiru Yamane demonstrates some of her early work in this game, giving us memorable themes such as “The Sinking Old Sanctuary” and “Iron Blue Intention.” The Yamaha YM2612 soundchip is put to very good use in this game.

While Bloodlines isn't as teethgrindingly difficult as some of its predecessors, it's not a cakewalk, giving it a relatively good balance. If you're looking for a classic Castlevania game that won't make you scream yourself hoarse, this is probably it — and a password system helps too.

It's a shame that Konami has long seemed to neglect this particular title. Granted, Konami has historically been happy to ignore Castlevania in general except for cashing in on nostalgia, but where most of the other games have gotten re-releases over the years, Bloodlines had to wait for the Anniversary Collection. I suppose we should be glad that it got a re-release at all — because this is one of the best games in the franchise, and certainly one of the best of the classic Castlevania era. If you like Castlevania at all, you owe it to yourself to give this game a shot. It's bloody good fun.

-june❤