Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is the only Castlevania to be released for the PC Engine CD. It was also a Japanese only release until the compilation the Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP and the official release on the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console.
It was worth the wait, because what a game Rondo of Blood is. Konami took full advantage of the system’s sound capabilities and managed to show off some stylish cutscenes as well. Rondo of Blood may not have the graphical tricks and whip controls of Super Castlevania IV, but the overall package is a fantastic one.
A new Belmont takes on Dracula in Rondo of Blood Players will take control of Richter Belmont, the latest member of the Belmont clan to wield the Vampire Killer whip. One aspect of Rondo of Blood players will take note are the graphics. Not just with the creepy intro and anime-styled cutscenes, but with the game itself. It’s a well-animated game, as backgrounds will also have a life to them.
Enemies won’t have just one walk cycle, but will sometimes disintegrate or break down after being attacked. Richter himself is also animated in his confident idle pose. There is just as much color as seen in the SNES games, but the graphics are not quite as crisp. Regardless, Rondo of Blood is a nice game to look at.
Richter is not the only playable character, as the little girl Maria Renard joins him. Maria uses cutesy animals as weapons and is actually pretty fun to play as. Their initial meeting is actually pretty humorous.
Controls are back to the usual two-button format and the awkward jumps are back. Not to mention, Richter doesn’t know how to whip in all different directions. However, he does know a backflip which helps dodge enemies. He also has the Item Crash attack in which, at the cost of a few hearts, he will create a super attack based on a particular item.
Level design is not just linear, as each stage has more than a few exploration options. Richter is not only looking to defeat Dracula, but also rescue is girlfriend and other maidens. Rondo of Blood’s levels are huge and has a similar branching path system seen in Dracula’s Curse, except done in a more organic manner.
Every stage is well designed too. The opening stage in the burning village, the clock tower, and rest of the castle are actually fun to play in. There is a lack of adventure feeling, but it’s still a great experience.
To complete this phenomenal game, the soundtrack is superb. The addictive sounds of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood are a unique mix of original music and classic Castlevania tunes. Combined with some crisp voice work from the characters, and this is easily one of the best sounding games.
Challenge is a bit high but does not bring down Rondo of Blood Castlevania: Rondo of Blood brings the controls brought back to basics, which actually creates a lot of challenge in the game. Enemy’s attacks will send Richter flying back and precision jumping is a lot more difficult. His backflip may not help too much in certain situations as well.
Enemies and bosses are also in complete defense mode and are borderline merciless in some stages. For example, the knights in the clock tower and dragon heads take a lot of hits, regardless if the player is using Maria or Richter. It’s nowhere near as brutal as its SNES counterpart Dracula X, but it will cause a few broken controllers. Especially in the later stages.
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood succeeds in being a fantastic Castlevania game because of its impressive levels and gameplay. It also manages to capture the horror atmosphere well with the soundtrack and graphics, despite being on a unique system. Its bizarre spikes in difficulty may turn players off and the true lack of any major gameplay changes may turn fans off. However, sticking through it, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood stands head and shoulders above many entries in the series and can be considered one of the best.
Castlevania always appeared to be a franchise only for Nintendo consoles and handhelds. In 1993, Genesis/Mega Drive owners finally got to experience this classic series. Castlevania: Bloodlines features one of the best presentations of the entire series. Aside from a generally engaging story and gameplay as fun as ever, Castlevania: Bloodlines is a very good entry in the series. Not as great as other entries, but absolutely worth owning for the Genesis.
Sega’s only Castlevania game is a one bloody adventure Bloodlines is, strangely enough, connected to a famous literary source; Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula actually plays a part in this game. The main character, John Morris, is the son of Quincey Morris from the novel.
Taking place in the early 1900s, Countess Elizabeth Bartley, based off of the infamous historical figures Elizabeth Bathory, is resurrecting her uncle. And his name is Count Dracula. John and his friend Eric Lecarde, a French knight wielding a lance, travel all over Europe to put a stop to the evil Countess.
Bloodlines is an adventure, as the player is no longer just confined to a castle. Instead, John and Eric’s excellent adventure has them traveling all over Europe. The two will be fighting all kinds of monsters in Atlantis, a munitions factory in Germany and in the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
It’s easily one of the more creative setups in the whole series, as each level has its own unique flavor. There is also some unique graphical tricks that rival Super Castlevania IV.
Bloody does describe the game quite well. This is one of the few 2D Castlevanias which features blood on enemies. It’s a little gimmicky, but it fits the atmosphere of certain stages.
Castlevania Bloodlinesreaches for greatness, but falls short in one way Castlevania: Bloodlines has a few flaws that set it back from greatness. The controls are a little awkward at first, but once a player gets used to them, it’s no trouble.
Oddly enough, the game’s biggest flaw is the gameplay. It’s as fun and challenging as ever, but there are no real additions to it. It plays fine, but for a game which is pushing the boundaries in terms of level design and graphical aesthetics, it would have been nice to see a little more improvement or additions to the gameplay.
As a standalone Genesis action game, Castlevania: Bloodlines is great. As an entry to the legendary Castlevania franchise, it’s one of the better entries. Not one of the best, but still a solid game in its own right.
By the time the 16-bit era rolled around, Castlevania was one of the many franchises making the jump. The first game to take the plunge was Super Castlevania IV.
While it is essentially a big budget remake of the first game, Super Castlevania IV is a game that showcases the best of the best of the SNES. Super Castlevania IV contains graphics and music that utilize the hardware of the new system.
Those features are just the icing on the cake, though.
A cinematic-like intro sets the mood for Super Castlevania IV Super Castlevania IV marks the first time in the series a full length animated introduction. A lightning strike destroys a gravestone, followed by creeping fog and evil sounding organ music. This is accompanied by a text crawl similar to the one in Dracula’s Curse, but far more sinister and atmospheric. It plays more like a Hammer/Universal studios intro that fits the aesthetics of the Castlevania series.
Players will be taking control of Simon Belmont once more. This time, he is prepared to fight the forces of darkness and end Dracula’s reign once and for all.
Super Castlevania IV plays like a Greatest Hits…plus more! Once Super Castlevania IV kicks off, it hits the ground running and does not stop going. It very much keeps what made the last three games so incredible. The platforming and combat are completely on point in this game. Controls have been refined, so players won’t have to make any awkward jumps. The whip can now be used to attack enemies below, above and even diagonally, adding more moves to combat. The weapons are still helpful as well, as sometimes the whip may not be enough to beat a boss.
Longtime Castlevania fans can breathe a sigh of relief at the decrease in the challenge, as the game is not unfair. Players will still have to use skills, but it’s no longer a steep curve.
Simon will be traveling to Dracula’s castle through villages, underground caverns, and ruined temples. When he finally steps foot into the castle, our hero will have to fight off all kinds of monsters in the library, the catacombs and the rooftops themselves. Every stage in this game contains an ingenious level design full of creativity and tests for the player.
Boss fights reflect the originality of the levels, in the sense that each of them is a unique fight that requires a different skill from the player. Konami crammed in a few bosses based on Greek mythology as well to add to the innovative enemy types.
Finally, there is the beautifully composed soundtrack. It very much fits the ambiance of the game and feels very much like a horror/adventure film.
Super Castlevania IV’s minor flaw does not come close to ruining the game Super Castlevania IV has a lot going for it and very little negatives. The cons of the game are almost nitpicky, but there is one that could be a turn-off. For starters, Super Castlevania IV is a very long game. There is over 10 stages, each split up into three sections of varying length and challenge. Even the speed runs of this game are significantly longer than Dracula’s Curse. Which is saying a lot, considering Dracula’s Curse’s overly unfair difficulty.
All in all, Super Castlevania IV is seen by many fans as one of the best “old school” Castlevanias. It’s a damn near perfect experience no Castlevania, or even gamer should pass up. The flawless design of the levels, the sound controls, the faultless graphics that use all the tricks in the SNES and it’s even a blast to play. Super Castlevania IV stands the test of time when compared to many platformers of the day, and is worth every second.
The second Game Boy outing of the franchise, Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge is a massively improved sequel. Taking one look at the monochrome screenshots, and it only looks like a cosmetic upgrade. However, Belmont’s Revenge improves on nearly every issue the first Game Boy game had and holds its own against the original trilogy on the NES.
Belmont’s Revenge tells a story and takes cues from other games
Replaying as Christopher Belmont from Castlevania: The Adventure, Chris is on a quest to save his son Solieyu (Author’s Note: Yeah, I can’t pronounce it either…) who has been kidnapped by Count Dracula and transformed into a demon. And now we have our title…Belmont’s Revenge. To be fair, it is nice to see a lack of damsel-in-distress.
Anyways, Belmont’s Revenge uses the stage select feature popularized by Mega Man. This is also one of the only times the series has ever tried this feature. Christopher can travel to a castle, a forest, a crystal castle (Author’s Note: That would be an interesting crossover) among others. The stages are more detailed than the previous game and look great.
How’s the rest of the game? Good!
Belmont’s Revenge moves at a much quicker pace than the previous games making action and platforming an overall better experience. The game drops the focus on long-range combat and excessive platforming. The stages are perfectly designed to suit this new development as well. It also helps the controls are tight as well.
There is also an inclusion of sub-weapons, granted it’s only the holy water and the axe (or cross-boomerang in the European version), but it helps change up the gameplay. Instead of relying on the fire whip in The Castlevania Adventure, players are given a chance to play around with more stuff.
Finally, like many games in the series, Belmont’s Revenge features a solid soundtrack.
Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge is a great sequel and a worthy addition to the series. Sadly, despite being a huge step forward, Belmont’s Revenge is not available on any of Nintendo’s Virtual Console. Whereas they questionably added The Adventure. That being said, Belmont’s Revenge is worth picking up.
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse is the series’ triumphant return to form. Instead of the adventure/RPG format, it’s back to platforming. Konami added a few twists and features to make this particular vampire-slaying adventure feel fresh. The majority of Dracula’s Curse is fantastic, carrying on the series’ trademark style and difficulty.
Although, the difficulty gets way too carried away in Dracula’s Curse. It gets to the point where the game comes off as an arduous, mind-numbing chore rather than a challenging video game. If you’re willing to accept the difficulty, then Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse is easily one of the best in the series and one of the NES’ best action platformers.
Castlevania III pulls a George Lucas and is a prequel to the series Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse stars Simon’s predecessor Trevor Belmont and his quest to stop the evil Count Dracula. The intro to the game starts out with scrolling text, detailing the evil Dracula brings to Transylvania. It’s a great way to start, and there’s even a brief cutscene of Trevor getting ready to fight evil.
The presentation of Dracula’s Curse is first-rate. Konami pushed the limits of the NES hardware, making the third game the most diverse, in terms of graphics. The colors really stand out, but keeping in line with the spooky atmosphere.
For most of the game, Trevor must travel to the castle where Dracula is living, by going through graveyards, clock towers, forests and pirate ships. Besides the variety of interesting settings, Dracula’s Curse introduces a branching path system. Players are given a choice to go a certain way in the game.
Players are also given the option of recruiting secondary characters. Grant is a pirate who can walk on walls. Sypha, a mage who can wield magic and is also the first female playable Castlevania character. Finally, there is Alucard, Dracula’s own son. Alucard can turn into a bat and fly over enemies.
These elements, combined with tight and masterful gameplay, top notch level design, boss fights with classic monsters and a near-perfect soundtrack, it’s not hard to see why many gamers consider Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse to be the best of the NES trilogy. However, it has one major flaw.
The difficulty spike is a stake right to the heart of the player Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse has a difficulty curve resembling a 90-degree angle. The regular levels are difficult but still fair.
Once Trevor and the Isle of Misfit Vampire Hunters reach Dracula’s castle, it feels like the player just ran into a brick wall. Head first. Repeatedly. Floors will crumble beneath you and enemies are out in full force. If the player has not recruited Alucard than the game is just about over at this point. The boss fight against Dracula is borderline impossible, cheap and unfair. Not to mention, he has three grotesque forms this time around. The player has to not be touched once by his two previous forms to even stand the slightest chance against him. It’s common to cheat and use the infamous HELPME code.
It’s an enormously unnecessary quick bend in difficulty that brings Dracula’s Curse down from legitimate greatness. It’s still a solid game, almost a total package. However, any gamer should be prepared for one of the most frustrating final thirds of any game in the NES library.
Castlevania: The Adventure holds the honor of being the first-ever handheld Castlevania game. It also holds a dubious honor; The Adventure is easily one of the weakest, entries in the series.
Is there anything decent about the game? For starters, it’s another attempt at expanding the canon and universe of Castlevania. And as far as Game Boy launch titles go, players could do much, much, MUCH worse. Still, even playing the game today, something about Castlevania: The Adventure seems…off.
Castlevania: The Adventure doesn’t feel like one
Starring Simon Belmont’s predecessor, Christopher Belmont, Castlevania: The Adventure has this particular vampire hunter fighting off…Dracula! (Strange for this series to take such a huge risk, I know?)
The Game Boy, despite all of its technical limitations, can produce some decent-looking games. Castlevania: The Adventure is actually a well-detailed Game Boy title. Backgrounds are actually one of the game’s most striking graphical features, creating mountains, graveyards, and haunted forests.
With a simplified control set up, Castlevania The Adventure has responsive controls, which is perfect for the game’s platforming sections, which dominate the majority of the game.
There is a lack of weapons to play around with, so no Holy Water or knives to toss at zombies. However, Christopher has managed to wield a Vampire Killer whip that, when upgraded, shoots fire. Sweet
One of the weakest in the series? How so?
With all that summed up, The Adventure sounds good, right? When going on your quest to defeat Dracula, players will notice how unbelievably choppy and slow. In typical old-school Nintendo console fashion, flicker and slow down are all too commonplace. This goes against the game’s focus on platforming and long range combat.
Also, the lack of weapons makes the gameplay very repetitive.
Finally, Castlevania: The Adventure’s soundtrack does not translate well onto a Game Boy. It’s shrill, ear-piercing and just not pleasant to listen to.
It’s not a horrible game, (no game is as bad as Haunted Castle) Castlevania: The Adventure isn’t one worth seeking out. The game was actually remade for the Wii and could be considered to be the better game of the two. (Author’s note: that will be covered…)
The first of two Castlevania games released for the arcades, Haunted Castle is a kind of awkward game. On one hand, it’s technically not part of the canon (Haunted Castle is one of the many, many re-imaginings of the first game) and it appears to be a cheap knock-off. But on the other hand, it’s a decent arcade game to look at. Playing it on the other hand, not so much.
Haunted Castle was only released in the arcades and has become one of the more obscure entries in the franchise. If you’re a diehard Castlevania fan, Haunted Castle might be worth checking out, even with its awful design choices.
Haunted Castle has great aesthetics and a…story?
Wedding bells are ringing for Simon Belmont and his lady love dressed in all white (it actually looks kind of hilarious), but then, in a scene totally not ripped off from Ghosts N’ Goblins, Dracula abducts her!
Problematic storytelling tropes aside, this marks the first time a Castlevania game gave a Belmont a personal reason to go after the Count. Not a great story, but it’s a pretty cool trivia thing for Castlevania nerds.
Anyways, Haunted Castle looks fantastic for a late-80s arcade game. Backgrounds are well-detailed and every stage has a unique little feature to them. For example, the fire that rises up in the first stage is actually pretty cool. Simon looks Conan the Barbarian-like and it’s a welcome change in his usual design. He’s still missing pants though…
Shockingly enough, it’s the music that will actually stick with you. “Bloody Tears” makes an appearance and a few of the original tracks are pretty great.
Short and difficult, Haunted Castleis perfect for the arcades
Ask any old school, hardened retro gamer what they think is the most difficult game and they will probably give you a different answer. The aforementioned Ghosts N’ Goblins, Ninja Gaiden, Robotron, etc. are all typical answers.
Haunted Castle is that kind of difficult. The kind that ruins your day and never makes you want to play it again. And one that brings it down from “decent” to “terrible.”
The controls are sluggish and exceptionally awkward. Having a constant barrage of enemies coming at you does not help at all, as Simon appears to wind up his whip. This makes the game cheap, as the control response is beyond atrocious. This also makes the platforming segments beyond frustrating and it always feels like pure luck whenever Mr. Belmont makes a jump.
Also, the enemies are incredibly uninspired. Bats? Zombies? Yay. Although, Dracula has an interesting final form…
Had the game just been a linear, single plane beat ‘em up, and a couple extra months of debugging, Haunted Castle may have been a better game. It would have been repetitive, but at least it wouldn’t be seen as one of the worst games in the franchise.
Released not too far off from the first game, Vampire Killer is not just a port of Castlevania to the Japanese MSX2 computer. Instead, Vampire Killer is a different interpretation by taking on a non-linear approach. Vampire Killer is also a great game to look at, as the MSX2 had more powerful graphics capabilities.
Starring Simon Belmont on his one of many quests to defeat Dracula, Vampire Killer is an “okay” to the long-running series. There are more than a few major shortcomings that make Vampire Killer mostly known by Castlevania purists.
And it was only released in Japan and Europe.
But first… the good stuff about Vampire Killer Booting up Vampire Killer (Author’s note: or emulating it in my case…) the first thing players will notice are the graphics. There is a great mix of colors and textures. For example, the trees look like trees and the castle’s architecture is well-detailed. It’s a nice lookin’ Castlevania game.
There is also a focus on exploration and, shockingly enough, melee combat. There are seven stages in the game, and each of them are non-linear. Simon can wield swords, shields, and maces to help combat zombies and other monsters. Since there are several weapons that need to be found, it gives the player a chance to see the game from a different point of view. In a strange way, Vampire Killer has more in common with Metroid than the first game.
Now…the bad stuff of Vampire Killer Exploring seems pretty cool, right? Unfortunately, Vampire Killer’s exploration schtick is that: a gimmick. Once the player knows where everything is, it’s no longer fun. Plus, the levels aren’t that big to really be explorable. Also, since the MSX does not have the scrolling features of the NES, Vampire Killer moves at a sluggish pace.
This has the game varying in difficulty, as Simon does not have any real momentum to combat his enemies. Also, Dracula is almost a joke of a final boss fight with how painstakingly slow he moves.
Dracula does look pretty cool though… Image courtesy of the Castlevania Dungeon.
Also, the music is downright awful. The chintzy rendition of “Vampire Killer” is not terrible, but it is skin-crawling. And considering how the MSX produced classic tunes from the early Metal Gear games, it’s not like the computer couldn’t not create some decent music.
By all means, Vampire Killer is not a bad game. It does, however, suffer from incredibly awkward controls and a difficulty curve that resembles a person’s nervous system. Also, it’s biggest difference is only skin-deep. However, much like Simon’s Quest,Vampire Killer is almost like a precursor to the Metroidvania phase of Castlevania.
Castlevania for the NES is a bonafide classic. There is no question about that.
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, on the other hand, is often regarded to be the red headed step child of the NES trilogy. Not without good reason either, as it is an immensely flawed sequel. It was also the first game to feel the Angry Video Game Nerd’s wrath.
However, that does not mean it’s a terrible game. Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest took the series when it was just starting out, and experimented a little. In this aspect, Konami should be applauded. Simon’s Quest is a solid entry in the Castlevania series, despite some glaring problems.
What a horrible night to have a curse!
Taking place a few years after the first game, Simon’s Quest has Simon Belmont traversing over Transylvania. After Dracula’s defeat in the first game, Simon has a curse placed on him. In order to rid the curse, he must find Dracula’s body parts, resurrect the vampire and defeat him once and for all.
The adventure format was a big departure from the first game’s linear platforming. This aspect is both Simon’s Quest’s best strength and worst weakness. It allows for more freedom and variety in the scenery. Although, the overly cryptic nature of the map and what little help the townspeople have in the shop sections make this quest a bit of a slog.
One of the best features of any Castlevania game is the amount of horror film/mythologic iconography Konami stuffs in. Unfortunately, Simon’s Quest has a lack of great boss fights and creative enemies. The Grim Reaper makes an underwhelming appearance and Dracula looks like a generic Halloween costume found at any dollar store. They aren’t even challenging boss fights too, which is exceptionally disappointing.
The morning light has vanquished the evil! What’s good in Simon’s Quest? Quite a bit actually. The graphics and controls are as good as they were in the first game. This is almost required for a relatively long game like this one. The player won’t feel bored, as the day and night cycles keep the challenge coming on.
The music is fantastic too as this was the first Castlevania game to introduce the fan favorite music track “Bloody Tears.” If a player has also managed to fight with the game and stick to it, they will find a decent amount of challenge, and even fun, within Simon’s Quest.
The RPG elements, in a strange way, were a precursor to the Metroidvania-style Castlevania became synonymous with. The items and power-ups found in the game are actually some of the coolest in the series. When’s the flaming whip going to make a comeback?
It’s not perfect, but Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest is a worthy entry in the series. Newcomers will just have to push through the adventure parts. Longtime fans should forgive the cryptic nature of the game, give Simon’s Quest a second chance.
The night has just fallen onto Transylvania, as a familiar evil fills the air. A broken down and terrifying castle looks ominous in front of the full moon. It appears Count Dracula has risen again and whoever wields the Vampire Killer whip will have to destroy him. Using their skills and weapons, can they survive the night?
Image courtesy of VG Museum
Their adventure will be filled with perilous traps and horrifying monsters the likes mere mortals are too terrified to see.
This is Castlevania.
Castlevania is a video game franchise which celebrates horror and manages to cram in some of the best gameplay of any action/action-RPG game. The spooky atmosphere, references to classic horror films and mythology and overall quality between games has made Castlevania a series many gamers are fond of.
Everyone has a Halloween tradition…
As the Lifecast’s resident Castlevania fanatic, I always try to play as many of the games as possible during the Halloween season. Whether it’s running through the castle in Symphony of the Night or fighting Dracula for the first time in the original game, I am not picky. I enjoy the series that much.
Image courtesy of VG Museum
I decided to change it up this year for my yearly binge. I decided to share my love for the franchise with the Lifecast.
Welcome to the 31 Nights of Castlevania!
From October 1st to the 31st, there will be a new Castlevania review on the Lifecast’s homepage. It will end with a big 30th anniversary retrospective on the first game in the series, as it is celebrating the big 3-0 here in the ‘states.
Giving Castlevania a proper series retrospective
The entries themselves will be varied enough from the series’ eras. The classic platformers on the NES and SNES, the awkward but decent 3D period and the birth of the Metroidvania genre. There will even be some coverage of spin-offs, rip-offs, and the (surprisingly) critically acclaimed Netflix show.
It will end with a big 30th anniversary retrospective on the first entry, as it is celebrating the big 3-0.
The year is 2007: A certain impressionable adolescent (read: me) who would regularly visit Border’s Books to peer through the anime magazines would see a beautifully drawn ad for a game about…well, who cares? The art was some of the best art I’d seen in a game. It was called GrimGrimoire, the main character was a witch, and it was being made by some new team called Vanillaware; that was pretty much all anyone could tell from the ad, but it was enough for me to know that I wanted to play it. I ended up getting a copy as a birthday gift and it didn’t dawn on me until I put the game in for the first time that I had no idea what kind of game I was in for. It was in an anime magazine, so it could be just about anything: A turn-based JRPG, an action JRPG, a visual novel, it could even be an action game.
To my surprise, it ended up being a real-time strategy game. What you should know is that it happens to be the first one I ever tried, and it didn’t take me long to get my ass kicked but I didn’t let that stop me–after all, have you seen that art? My efforts were ultimately rewarded: I went on a blind date with GrimGrimoire and fell in love with it.
Although GrimGrimoire was their first title (fun fact!), Vanillaware would go on to make a number of beloved, much more well-known games like Odin Sphere, Dragon’s Crown, and Muramasa: The Demon Blade that would largely overshadow GrimGrimoire. Especially with the release of Odin Sphere Leifthrasir last year and the upcoming release of Dragon’s Crown on PS4, I’ve been thinking an awful lot about Vanillaware lately–mostly about how now that my second favorite game by them is coming out on the PS4, will we see a port of my favorite as well? My favorite, of course, being GrimGrimoire.
When asked about hidden gems on the PS2, GrimGrimoire is usually among the first few games I mention–quite incredible, if you ask me, considering that I’m usually not a fan of RTS games. What’s more incredible, though, is that I run into so few people who’ve so much as heard of GrimGrimoire. I know it’s by no means a mainstream game nor is it considered one of the finest RTS gaming has to offer, but the fact that it’s a usually-liked game by Vanillaware–their first game, for that matter–makes me wonder how it’s flown under the radar for so many people? And I thought, well, in honor of its tenth anniversary this year and the fact that Vanillaware’s been on my mind lately, why not talk about this hidden gem, and maybe get more potential players interested?
The first thing I’ll usually tell people wondering what GrimGrimoire is that it’s basically Groundhog Day meets Harry Potter meets Starcraft. The second thing I’ll do is assure whoever I’m talking to that unlike Odin Sphere–which, mind you, came out only a few months after GrimGrimoire–it’s surprisingly not laggy. For those unaware (possibly a lot of you, seeing as how this issue was mostly fixed in the PS3 port and totally fixed in Leifthrasir) perhaps the most common complaint for the PS2 version of Odin Sphere is how badly it lagged when there was a lot going on on-screen (which is very often). Knowing that GrimGrimoire is an RTS game would probably make anyone a little paranoid then–after all, if it had come out first and likely had more going on on-screen, the lag is probably just as bad, maybe worse, right? Surprisingly, wrong. I don’t know how or why, but somehow, GrimGrimoire runs significantly smoother than the PS2 version of Odin Sphere. This is nothing short of incredible considering that the screen is often crammed to max capacity with magic circles, dragons, zombies, fairies, homunculi, etc.
Now seems as good a time as ever to tell you what you’re actually doing in GrimGrimoire: You play as aspiring witch Harry Potter Lillet Blan during her first few days at the prestigious magic school Hogwarts Town of Silver Star. After 5 days, however, she goes back to Day 1 a la Groundhog Day. Quickly catching on to the situation, she uses her magical abilities to discover what’s going on in the dark underbelly of her beloved new school. Playing as Lillet, you’ll use different kinds of magic (glamor, necromancy, alchemy, etc.) to summon different kinds of creatures (fairies, ghosts, dragons, etc.) to achieve your goals.
As you’d expect from a Vanillaware game, the painted art is impeccable and extremely distinct. Environments are fluid and awe-inspiring, character designs ooze with the fantasy GrimGrimoire wants to bring you into, and even the smallest animations are mesmerizing. Art, of course, isn’t the only hallmark Vanillaware secured in the creation of GrimGrimoire. Many of your ally units have cameos in many of their later games, as well. The elves and fairies, for instance, appear in Odin Sphere, as well. For better of for worse, Vanillaware also laid the foundations of its status as a team that makes difficult games with GrimGrimoire which is generally considered to be at least somewhat challenging. Personally, I found Odin Sphere to be much more difficult since GrimGrimoire gave you the means to be much more in control of the battles you fought (not to mention that you didn’t have to drastically change your style of gameplay ever few hours) but I still wouldn’t recommend it to someone looking for something they can breeze through. That said, I also wouldn’t totally deter people who don’t play many (or any) RTS games from it either. The game gives you a staggering degree of control, so much that it even helps the most uncomfortable of RTS players (even like me when I first played it!) warm up to it. If my 13-year-old self who had never played an RTS before this one can figure it out, I’m confident anyone else can, too.
via lparchive.org
Although Vanillaware has expressed interest in making a sequel for GrimGrimoire, for whatever reason (many fans speculate it was them getting too busy keeping up with the overwhelming success from Odin Sphere which, again, came out only months after GrimGrimoire) it simply hasn’t happened. Jouji Kamitani, the founder of Vanillaware and creator of GrimGrimoire, has stated that if GrimGrimoire were to ever get a sequel, it would likely be some kind of online versus game with the same or similar gameplay from the original intact. A lack of a multiplayer mode and the difficulty of the game, in my experience, tend to be the most common complaints GrimGrimoire gets, so I think that by making this online versus version of it (which would effectively kill 2 birds with one stone) could be exactly what GrimGrimoire needs if it ends up being next on Vanillaware’s to-do list.
If you needed one last incentive to give GrimGrimoire a try, it’s one of the very few games I’ve played with a canonically queer protagonist. To give more details than that would be to spoil a large part of the game, but what I can tell you is that yes–Lillet Blan, although never explicitly defining her sexuality, is queer. It’s already been discussed here on The Lifecast why diversity and representation–especially when it comes to having LGBTQ+ characters–matters so I won’t delve into this too much, but what I will say is that I’m almost positive that this was the first game I ever played with a canonically queer protagonist in my life.
As a matter of fact, GrimGrimoire was a game of many firsts for me: It was the first time I blindly wanted a game just because of its art (luckily it worked out for me with GrimGrimoire–that’s a trend that definitely didn’t keep up, much to my dismay), it was the first game I played with a canonically queer protagonist, my first RTS, and in fact I’m pretty sure it was also the first time I played a game with a dual audio option because I distinctly remember playing the game in Japanese with English subs because my 13-year-old self couldn’t believe how cool and almost futuristic that was (and because frankly, the Japanese voice acting was much better for the most part anyways). I find it very fitting that GrimGrimoire was a game of so many firsts for me seeing as how it was also Vanillaware’s first game. Whereas I don’t consider myself to be an especially huge fan of Vanillaware’s game, I do think that they’re among the most artistic triple-A games that get released, and for that I give them a lot of credit.
Although GrimGrimoire may not be the best game on the PS2, it’s a game I’ve never really understood why so seemingly few people have played. It seems to have nothing but positive features lined up for it, yet perhaps because of how soon Odin Sphere came out and overshadowed it, it seems to generally go unnoticed by a lot of gamers who I think would love it if they gave it a chance. If GrimGrimoire were to be re-released on PS4 with a multiplayer option–ideally one that could handle online and local multiplayer–I think that would be the breath of life this underrated gem needs to remind people what set the bar for quality in Vanillaware’s games. A bar which, in my opinion, has still yet to be reached by any of Vanillaware’s other titles even 10 years later.
It’s no secret that I’m the resident fighting game guy here at The Lifecast. I’ve been playing fighting games for as long as I can remember. There are a lot of well-loved fighting games that simply haven’t gotten their time to shine the past few console generations, and they really deserve to get a new game. So many fighters have become almost entirely forgotten by developers. And in a time right now, in the wake of beloved games such as Street Fighter and Marvel Vs. Capcom being hated by fans and competitors alike for not retaining the spirit of its predecessors, I think it’s time a new game get its time in the spotlight.
5. Bushido Blade
I like to refer to Bushido Blade as a fighting game that everyone loves but nobody has played. Everyone praises the game for its body damage system and innovations made for the genre, but most seem to have not played it despite talking it up. Kind of like Citizen Kane in that regard (did I actually just find a similarity between Bushido Blade and Citizen Kane?). As someone who has played it, I can vouch: It’s a pretty great game, and deserves to come back. It is the only fighting game I’ve ever seen to be founded almost entirely in realism. Most hits will instantly kill an opponent, and as a result, pretty much the entirety of Bushido Blade is neutral game, with huge reward if you win it. You can also sever or disable your opponent’s various body parts to help you gain an advantage in combat. Each weapon has its own set weight and size made to realistically resemble the proportions of the weapons in real life, and the only combos in the game are follow-up strikes that would naturally flow out of the first strike of the weapon. In a time where fighting games are really trying to become as accessible to as wide an audience as possible, a game like Bushido Blade which focuses almost entirely on strong neutral game would be able to not only bring a lot more people over to the FGC, but provide a fun and unique fighting game experience for everyone who plays it.
4. Rival Schools
Rival Schools is a 3D team-based fighter on the PS1, released in 1997, and is definitely a black horse among Capcom fighting games. Many would compare it to Marvel Vs. Capcom, but to say it’s similar is quite the stretch. Your team is composed of two characters, but only one of them does the fighting. The other only comes in for a team-up attack once you’ve built up enough meter, and at the end of the round, you’re allowed to either stay as your character, or switch to your partner. Any form of team synergy is based entirely on your team-up attack, and what weaknesses your main has that your teammate can cover in round 2. It allows for a lot of really awesome mind games between matches. Take this unique system into mind, and then take a look at the fact that this game also has some of the coolest character designs in any Capcom game accompanied by a slammin’ soundtrack, and you’ve got one of the best fighting games on the PS1. Luckily for us, there is a sliver of hope for the return of Rival Schools, as Hideaki Itsuno has been wanting to continue the series. Hopefully we’ll get to see a long-needed Rival Schools 3 in its full glory some time soon.
3. Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE BEST GAME ON THE WII
Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom released on the Wii in 2010, just before I started getting into fighting games competitively. I had initially bought it because I loved Gatchaman and Tekkaman Blade (and still do), but a lot of what I loved about it happened after I returned to it a few years after I got into more fighting games, and noticed just how elegant and well-made this game was. The combos are hype, the music is incredible, it’s one of the best looking games on the Wii — even standing up to some of the HD games at the time in terms of looks — not to mention a great roster with a healthy balance of both fan-favorite and lesser-known characters. The game feels like a sort of middle ground between Marvel Vs. Capcom and Capcom Vs. SNK in terms of physics. You’re not so heavy you stay stuck to the ground, but you have enough weight to you to not feel like you’re flying. And not to mention Baroque mode, which is probably the best “X-Factor” style mechanic in fighting games. By pressing the partner button and an attack button to sacrifice the red health in your gauge, this enables higher damage and longer combos for as long as you keep the combo going.
Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom is an amazingly made fighting game. And while I’d be all for a TvC2, I’d be just as much for this game instead being looked at as a template for all Vs. games to come.
2. Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness
Cyberbots: Fullmetal Madness is better known as “The game Jin Saotome is from”. As one would expect, one of the most hype characters in Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is also from an incredibly hype fighting game on the PS1. For the time, it played like a standard 2D Capcom fighter, but with a ton of potential customization to your own distinct playstyle. Each individual mech you can pick has multiple variants which change its arms, legs, etc. to give it different attacks, movement options, etc. Each of these options act as changes to an archetypal robot, of which there are many. The general idea for finding a characher is finding a mech whose style you enjoy, and then seeing which of the variants fit you the best. Or you could be like me and instead of matching your style you just picked the one you think looks the coolest. This kind of setup created a roster of characters that could more or less be tweaked to your own playstyle. If you find a character you like, you can also use the other variants to cover for your weaknesses while still feeling familiar with them, since they’re all variants of the same core robot. You can buy Cyberbots as a PS1 classic on PS3, but just imagine what the possibilities could be for a new Cyberbots today. With how far mecha games have come with customization, it would be awesome to see this core idea taken to the next level.
1. Every SNK Fighting Game
SNK is no stranger to making amazing fighting games. Samurai Shodown, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Fatal Fury, and The Last Blade are only a few of the well-beloved series that SNK has made over the years. Back in their prime, SNK was pumping out these games like they were nothing, and all of them felt incredibly good to play. Each game brought something different to the table while all still having that distinct SNK feel to them, ultimately connecting all of them into this huge family of fighting games. The reason these games need to come back is quite simple: They absolutely OOZE personality. Along with being well-designed games — Samurai Shodown being my personal favorite — they have some of the coolest and most lovable characters in all of fighting games. Mai Shiranui, Terry Bogard, Haohmaru, Butt, Blue Mary, Moriya Minakata, the list goes on and on. We’ve gotten rereleases of most of these games on various systems, but that’s not enough. We need brand new games in these franchises. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants to see SNK return back to its glory days.
