Castlevania: Rondo of Blood Review

It is the classical formula perfected before the series abandoned it. Stages are demanding but fair, the item crash system gives sub weapons a spectacular escape option, and the branching is the real design achievement: most levels hide an alternative exit, so a full run of the game requires you to explore rather than progress, and the routes are genuinely different rather than reskinned. Rescuing Maria unlocks a second character who plays nothing like Richter, faster and stranger, and effectively doubles the game.

The CD hardware bought red book audio, and Bloody Tears and Vampire Killer in that arrangement remain the definitive versions, plus animated cutscenes with voice acting that were extravagant for 1993. The barriers were commercial rather than creative. It stayed in Japan for well over a decade, so most people met it through the follow up it directly sets up. Difficulty is high and unforgiving of sloppy jumps, and the story is a single sentence. The finest game in the series before the map appeared.