Castlevania: Bloodlines
Sega Genesis
Nostalgia Factor:
Well, here it is. The day has finally come in. I’ve made it through every single game on the Castlevania Anniversary Collection for the PS4. Last game in the collection: Castlevania Bloodlines for the Sega Genesis.
Being a proud Genesis owner as a kid, I have no idea why I never played this game growing up. You’d think it would have been right in my wheelhouse. I was a big Castlevania fan for the NES. I rented virtually every game in Blockbuster’s inventory for the Sega Genesis. But yet I never managed to play Bloodlines. I’m going to guess that by some bizarre coincidence, none of the two Blockbusters (and the Hollywood Video) by my house carried this game. Seems a little strange for a popular title like this, but if I had seen this game on the shelves I know for a fact I would have given it a chance. Oh well.
Now here I am in the year 2022, playing Bloodlines for the first time – 28 years after the game’s initial release date. I’ve enjoyed pretty much every Castlevania game on the Anniversary Collection so far. Would Bloodlines continue that trend? Why yes, yes it would. Read on for the full details.
Story:
This game takes place in more “modern” times than the previous games in the series. It’s 1917, right in the middle of World War I. An evil witch has taken it upon herself to resurrect (you guessed it) Count Dracula, for the ten billionth time. John Morris, a distant relative of the vampire-slaying Belmont clan, along with pal Eric Lecarde set off to stop this woman from completing her quest. Spoiler alert: they fail. But it’s okay. You beat Dracula at the end of the game and all becomes well with the world once again.
So far, after playing through the first eight games in the Castlevania series, I can’t say I’ve really cared about the storyline for any of these games. They simply give players a reason as to why all of this stuff is going on and why you’re fighting through these stages. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s become clear to me now that if you’re looking for deep or impactful video game storylines, you should probably look someplace else.
Gameplay:
If you enjoyed Castlevanias I and III for the NES, you’re in for a real treat here. Now before I get too far, let me continue by saying that, despite all the rave reviews I have read, I actually wasn’t that big of a fan of Super Castlevania IV for the SNES. Of all eight games on this collection, I’d probably rank it the fifth or sixth best. So if you are expecting me to compare the gameplay of Bloodlines to Super Castlevania IV’s, (because of the 16-bit connection) you’ve come to the wrong place. Bloodlines is the far superior game, and I’d put it and its gameplay more on the same level as the classic NES titles than anything else. Capiche?
The game begins with a choice of two different characters to select from – John Morris and Eric Lecarde. John is more of a traditional Simon Belmont-like Castlevania character. He’s got the trademark whip, which he can swing in multiple directions. He can also use this whip to grapple across long distances when the need arises. Eric uses a long spear as his main weapon, and offers players a little something different outside the norm of your typical Castlevania protagonist. It took me a while to get used to him at first, as his spear isn’t as versatile and seems a bit stiffer than John’s whip. But it has its advantages. A longer reach – for one. Eric also has a special move that John doesn’t. If you hold down the crouch button on your controller and hit the jump button, he launches himself into the air, allowing you to reach platforms that would have been completely inaccessible if you were playing as John. As a result, this game offers you multiple paths you can take. Can’t swing across this big gap because you don’t have a whip? Use your high jump and discover an alternate route instead.
This is a “traditional” Castlevania game in nearly every sense of the word. You start at the beginning of each stage, fighting your way through to the end of it, where you face off against a boss character. You jump over pits, you climb stairs, you attack candles to get items and special weapons – such as holy water and the throwing axe. You’ve got familiar enemies like flying medusa heads and bone-throwing skeletons. Action is fun, fast paced, and per tradition – quite difficult.
Although this game does offer quite a stiff challenge, it’s not impossible. Trial and error is your friend. You also have a password system so you don’t have to start from the beginning each time you play. If I had to offer any complaints, my main one would be that there are some traditional Castlevania “rules” that seem to have been ignored for this game. Medusa heads behave differently, the flight patterns of birds and bats seems to have changed a bit. It threw me for a loop my first time through this game. I was like: “they’re not supposed to do that!!!”
I got over it and adapted quickly, however.
Graphics:
I just really love the way this game looks. It doesn’t go a dark or serious route like Super Castlevania IV. Although it may not look quite as good as that game, I actually prefer the way that this game doesn’t take itself too seriously and instead focuses more on the fun and ridiculous side of Castlevania. Your characters look great. The story sequences are fun to look at. The worlds feel alive and bursting with energy, colors, and small details.
There is some fun, gimmicky shit to see here too – such as the stage with the mirror-like reflection in the water, a stage where you jump on rotating platforms suspended in mid-air, and a trippy stage where your viewpoint is fragmented into three different perspectives, almost like you are playing the game through the reflection of a cracked mirror. Every single level I always looked forward to seeing the art of the new stages and what fun and unique visual tricks the game was show me next.
Sound:
This game has such a fun soundtrack. Again, it ignores what Super Castlevania IV does and instead emulates the more fun and fast-paced audio style of the NES games. And it does it seamlessly, too. The combination of the music and the graphics: it just works.
I may get hate for this, but I hated Castlevania IV’s soundtrack. I jokingly said in my review for that game that a lot of its stage music sounded like elevator music. Bloodlines does not have that issue… although there is a borrowed tune from Castlevania IV that shows up at the end of this game – and I nearly busted out laughing when I heard it.
Overall:
I don’t know why, but I didn’t expect much from Bloodlines coming in. Maybe it was because I had often heard people say that this game wasn’t as good as Super Castlevania IV for the SNES – and I wasn’t a giant fan of that game. So if this game wasn’t as good as that one, chances are I wouldn’t like it.
But those people are completely wrong. This is easiy, EASILY the far superior game. You’ve got multiple characters, each with different skill sets. Graphics and music that capture the spirit of Castlevania in (to me) a far better way. Levels that are more creative and fun. It’s a stiffer challenge. It’s got better bosses. It’s faster paced. It’s just great. I loved every second of this game. My one complaint? It’s too short.
I’m kind of kicking myself for not playing this as a kid. I’m sure if I did, I would have played the bejesus out of this and it would have easily grown into one of my favorite Genesis games of all time. Now it may miss that opportunity. I have so much other stuff to play and not enough time.
Will I ever come back to play Castlevania Bloodlines in the future? Yeah, I’d like to think I will. Of all the games on this Castlevania Anniversary Collection, I can see myself returning to I, III, and this game the most. I hesitate to call games that I didn’t grow up with “classics”, but this game comes just about as close to that as you can possibly get.
Final Score:
A-
Check out my other reviews from the Castlevania Anniversary Collection:
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