Why is it people say Dracula X is so much worse than Rondo? What was changed?

Changed/removed/completely different levels, No maria, More-Linear, increased difficulty (I don't get this one, Castlevania is supposed to be hard).

I don't hate Dracula X as many others seem to. I think people were just expecting a straight port of Rondo but they ended up with a remake.

That basically sums it up. Rondo of Blood was just overall better.

Much worse level design, no branching paths, no Maria, control isn't quite as tight.

Dracula X on SNES isn't a terrible game on its own. But it doesn't compare to Rondo of Blood.

I've never played Dracula X, but my understanding is that the "badness" comes from it just being a stripped down version of a good game. It probably wouldn't be so hated if Rondo of Blood never existed, but when Rondo of Blood DOES exist, it's hard to justify playing the "bad" version.

I've owned both, still own the SNES one. Dracula X had the Maria option, the hidden path stages on Levels 2-5 I think it was, and of course it has that animated opening, talking, and the CD music tracks. The SNES game visually is nicer to me, music is on a few tracks nearly on par sound quality aside, and I think it controlled equally as well. The thing is people irrationally dump on the game because of how it got named in the states, but really it's called Dracula XX(double X) but due to the kind of porn looking title they did that. It's a side story, not a sequel and not a unique game, but a different time line of the same events with different stages and a little bit of a different objective since you're not saving maidens, maria, and your girly, you just save your girlfriend and that's all.

Yeah I'm in the minority, but playing both I honestly prefer the SNES game for some reason, not really sure why, but I do.

The Snes version does like better visually ,but in my mind the Turbo Duo game is better in other departments.You can save Maria in the Snes game but she's not a playable character in the game.You can also save Annet Richter's girlfriend ,in the alternate fifth stage.The third girl from Rondo of Blood has been omitted from the game completely.The final stage the battle with Dracula is totally different from Rondo of Blood.Your right the game is a side story .I think it was intended to be a totally different game from the very start ,people were just hopeful about it being a direct port of the Turbo game,and they got disappointed when it wasn't .It then it got labled a bad game ,but it's a good game in it's own right.

There is a review of it on the 16-bit gems series by clan of the gray wolf. He details several of the differences in the video.

Here's a link: http://clanofthegraywolf.com/17/...

I may have to watch that clip, hope he is informed and mature enough not to dump on the SNES game under the false belief it was a shitty broken port of a CD game which it isn't. Years of people dumping on the SNES game I went and looked it up some time in the past and found out about Dracula X vs Dracula XX being a distinctly different side story game. They shouldn't really be compared or fought over as it's not a broken port but actually is a fantastic game and a really solid release for a late SNES title too.

I haven't watched the clip or review, but it's worth noting that as a standalone game removed from Rondo of Blood I actually think SNES Dracula XX is a decent game, though a bit worse than Super CV IV and Bloodlines. I personally rate the 16-bit CV games in this order 1. Rondo 2. Bloodlines, 3. Super CV IV 4. Dracula XX.

But that doesn't mean Dracula XX isn't a good game itself, it's just the worst of the 16-bit era CVs.

Which is Dracula XX? The SNES game? How come it's called Dracula X in the US then? I thought the PCE game was called Rondo of Blood, not Dracula X.

Nintendo censors seeing XX being too close to XXX(porno reference.)

Dracula X = PCE Engine CD
Dracula XX = Super Famicom (renamed to Dracula X in the US, and Vampire's Kiss in PAL regions.)

Dan I'd put bloodlines at 4th, but that's just me.

Bloodlines fourth, bah. You probably like the "A woman named Fujiko" series more than the old TMS Green, Red and pink jacket Lupin series too

I think the reason that some talk bad about Dracula X(SNES) is because they compare it directly to Rondo of Blood. Dracula X isn't suppose to be a direct port of Rondo of Blood.

I personally prefer Dracula X a little more. I think it's a great game.

Can't say I've bothered with that piece of Lupin stuff, I'm more into the movies and the older TV series and the manga that got put into english many years ago by Tokyopop.

I'm a huge fan of the 2nd series from the late 70s, and the movies from that era.

"Die monster, you don't belong in this world".

I agree .That's exactly my point,like I said in an above post I don't think it was ever intended to be a port of Rondo of Blood.It's a completly different game with only hints of. Rondo of Blood in the game.

Y'all are making me want to pull my old game out and play it. I remember the manual has some nice anime looking art to it as well that annoyingly didn't make it into the game which is here too.

I tried to enjoy Rondo again a few years ago on PSP and I just couldn't, not sure why, it's not like I was taking a total pasting on it either.

Bad emulation, uncomfortable control scheme (I'm not a big fan of the ergonomics of the PSP), and usually playing on a tiny screen. Have you played it on actual NEC hardware, or even virtual console?

Also, Dracula X is censored in North America and Europe (where's it's known as Dracula's Kiss). However, the Aussie version of Dracula's Kiss is reportedly uncensored.

I owned a Duo for roughly about 7 years, got it when the N64 was being abused in the mid later 90s. One of the first games I got was Dracula X as it was 'the' lost castlevania for me and I beat it a few times, enjoyed the structure and the rest. Something about it which just seems odd to me, perhaps it was the PSP, but it didn't feel right or it just aged badly somehow that I can't explain. When I did play it on the PSP, I used the link cable and popped it up on my TV so it wasn't some mini screen squint fest or whatever. I never did pick it up on Wii but yeah I know it is there. The only TG CD game I grabbed for the Wii before I gave up buying their stuff was Ys Book1+2. NOA's policy conversion away from transferable stuff to locking stuff to a system when it went into Nintendo Points with the DSi stopped my purchases cold.

Cool man! I've been looking for a Turbo Duo for some time ,but can't seem to find one for a good price.I've had Rondo of Blood twice before ,I sold to a friend of mine when I couldn't locate a console to play it on.