Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, originally released in Japan as Akumajō Dracula X: Chi no Rondo, is a 1993 platform game developed by Konami and released for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² System directed by Toru Hagihara. Part of the Castlevania series, protagonist Richter Belmont goes to save his lover Annette, who was abducted by Dracula. It was first released exclusively in Japan on October 29, 1993. A direct sequel, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, was released worldwide in 1997.

The game was remade for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Castlevania: Dracula X in 1995, and the PlayStation Portable as Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles in 2007. In 2008, the original game was released for the Wii's Virtual Console service in Japan and for the North American and PAL regions in 2010. In 2018, the game was included along with Symphony of the Night within the Castlevania Requiem collection for the PlayStation 4. The title is also playable on the TurboGrafx-16 Mini. In 2021, Limited Run Games announced an English release for the TurboDuo, but it has not yet been released. The game later served as the basis for the animated series Castlevania: Nocturne (2023-25) on Netflix, a sequel to Castlevania (2017-21).

The goal is to guide the player character Richter Belmont through nine stages, with four alternate routes, as he searches for his kidnapped beloved Annette and ultimately confronts Dracula in his castle. Richter makes use of a whip as his main weapon and one of six sub-weapons: an axe, a dagger, a bible, a pocket watch, a cross, and holy water. While exploring the castle, Richter can rescue four maidens, including his distant relative Maria Renard who then becomes a playable character. She attacks using her doves and one of six sub-weapons: a white tiger kitten, dragon whelp, baby phoenix, turtle, egg or musical notes. The first four of these sub-weapons are based upon the four symbols of Chinese mythology. She is additionally more agile, can perform a double jump, and can deal twice the amount of damage that Richter does in each normal attack. However, she takes much more damage each time she is hit. Maria is also capable of doing a special attack called a “Guardian Knuckle”, resulting in a ghostly projection that causes heavy damage to enemies.

Rondo of Blood incorporates elements from the earlier Castlevania games that typically featured linear gameplay and a member of the Belmont clan as the protagonist, and the later entries which emphasized untimed exploration of the environment. Rondo of Blood makes use of untimed stages with a clear beginning, but more than one ending to some levels. This will have an effect on the subsequent environment, monsters, and boss monster that the player character encounters at the end of the level. Items such as money, hearts, and food can be found scattered throughout the areas. Rondo of Blood also has the Item Crash ability reused in subsequent Castlevania titles, which allows a sub-weapon to be used in a super attack. Its direct sequel, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, reuses many of the monsters. A secret minigame, Akumajyo Dracula Peke, can be played if the system is missing the required Super System Card; it appears as a hidden unlockable in all re-releases of the game.

Taking place in 1792, Rondo of Blood is set in the fictional universe of the Castlevania series. The story centers around the eternal conflict between the vampire hunters of the Belmont Clan and the immortal vampire Dracula, who has once again been resurrected. The protagonist is 19-year-old Richter Belmont (Jin Horikawa / David Vincent), heir to the whip "Vampire Killer" and Simon Belmont's direct descendant. He comes to the castle after his beloved Annette (Atsuko Honda / Jessica Straus) is kidnapped by Dracula's servant, Shaft (Jin Horikawa / Tony Oliver), as bait for a trap. Richter makes his way through Dracula's castle, defeating his minions, including the spirit of Death, a headless knight, and a minotaur, all of whom attempt to stop Richter. Along the way, Richter can free various women kidnapped by Dracula's servants to feed him, including his distant relative Maria Renard (Yōko Teppōzuka / Michelle Ruff), an orphaned 12-year-old who insists on joining him; Terra (Hiromi Murata / Karen Strassman), a nun that mistakes him for a manifestation of God; Iris (Akie Yasuda / Karen Strassman), the daughter of the village doctor; and finally Annette. After vanquishing Shaft, Richter confronts Dracula (Hiroya Ishimaru / Patrick Seitz) and defeats him before exposing him to sunlight, causing him to vanish. Dracula's castle then collapses into the sea as Richter escapes on horseback.

Rondo of Blood is the tenth installment of the Castlevania video game series (hence the Japanese title). Produced by Konami, Rondo of Blood originally saw only a Japanese release on the PC Engine on October 29, 1993. A port was later released on the Wii for the Japanese Virtual Console on April 22, 2008. As an import, it became available in North America on March 15, 2010, and in the PAL region (Europe and Australia) on March 19, 2010.

Rondo of Blood makes use of Red Book Audio along with the onboard soundchip, allowing for better musical quality. Keizo Nakamura, Akira Souji, Tomoko Sano, and Mikio Saito composed the soundtrack of Rondo of Blood. The songs from Rondo of Blood, "Overture", "Beginning" and "Opus 13", appeared on a pre-order bonus CD for the 2006 Nintendo DS game Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

Konami Style published the two-disc soundtrack of the remake of the game, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, on November 8, 2007. The songs "Vampire Killer", "Beginning", "Cemetery", and "Divine Bloodlines" were rearranged. It also included a bonus track of an English-language version of "Nocturne" from Symphony of the Night. The Dracula X Chronicles includes an option which allows players to choose songs from Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night to play in the background. These songs are found in the form of records hidden within the game.