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Castlevania: Bloodlines - 16-bit Supremacy - IMPLANTgames
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- Опубліковано 19 гру 2019
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In today’s video I dive in and analyze Castlevania: Bloodlines for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, enjoy!
Additional games shown in this video:
Super Castlevania IV
Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse
Castlevania
Super Metroid
Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest
©2019 Kris Genthe
#CastlevaniaBloodlines #SegaGenesis #Analysis
As the year comes to a close, I've gotta say that your channel is easily one of the best I've found this year. You put out such consistently great work. I always look forward to the next upload.
Thank you very much Dylan!
I simply agree!
I agree, really enjoy his honest unbiased reviews of games. I do home he continues with the Castlevania series to the N64 games and SOTN, I liked SOTN as did most people, but I also really enjoyed the 64 game(I only played the one titled just Castlevania, not the other) and would love to hear his breakdown
Bloodlines was one of my favourite Genesis games at the time, and still stands as my favourite classic Castlevania. This was the main reason I grabbed the Castlevania Anniversary collection
Likewise- on all counts.
While I will debate the limited continues thing on other games, I have to say that this game DOES have unlimited continues, theyre just behind a cumbersome password system.
Bump.
Also bump but i agree with implant because i put in the konami code so i wouldn't have to inevitably deal with it on expert mode
It’s not the same thing as unlimited continues. Using the password will put you at the start of the stage. Using a continue will put you back at a checkpoint.
The password also saves lives and continues, so if you finnish a stage with 0 lives and continues, you'll have to do the next stage without dying a single time.
Bloodlines definitely feels like a game released years after 4 (as it was). The way the visuals stood out felt much smarter, and it seemed like the devs had grown since 4. The welcome tweaks give it the edge.
Bloodlines feels like a game released even before Castlevania 3 and is definitely a generation behind Castlevania 4.
@@davidaitken8503ur clearly blinded and just want to degrade the game
@@altonb.1396 Unlike a TROLLBOT program such as yourself, I've actually played all of these games and know what I'm talking about.
@@davidaitken8503 I was gonna be mean but I can see this conversation wont go anywhere. Have a good day dude.
@@altonb.1396 The conversation was never going to go anywhere because, as a TROLLBOT program, you have nothing of substance to say. You accuse me of just being negative without actually explaining how you think I am being negative. Then you claim that my comments make it obvious to you that the conversation isn't going to go anywhere but never explain what about my comments would bendy you to such a conclusion. Sounds like a TROLLBOT to me.
Why don't you have more views, these analysis are fantastic
i think the review is too long, maybe is that
@@zoiuduu There are many popular videos that are 50 minutes analysis with as much content as in this one
@@atijohn8135 there is, but i cant fin another explanatin, his reviews are good, the editing is good, the sound is good, the writing is good too, maybe is the algo from youtube then
Because his reviews dont just always follow the “SNES, Zelda, Metroid is better than everything else all the time” stuff you see in 90% of all other youtube videos.
You aren't lying again, are you?
The greatness of this game cannot be overstated. It looks, sounds, and plays outstanding.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Good joke. Easily the ugliest and worst sounding game of the 16-bit Castlevania games and all of the delusional Sega fanboys are trying to top each other with increasingly outlandish pronouncements. Konami definitely didn't use their A-team on Bloodlines.
True it’s not as good as Rondo or IV, but still a damn good Castlevania.
@@andrewsteele604 It's also not as good as Castlevania 3 on NES or the X68000 Castlevania.
@Tom Ffrench Castlevania 64 was an excellent first attempt at a 3D Castlevania. I think you underestimate just how difficult it was for developers to try to translate their 2D game designs into 3D. Developers quickly discovered just how much extraordinary work Nintendo had put into Super Mario 64 to pull it off so successfully.
@@davidaitken8503 One smooth-brain take after another. About what I expect from a Nintentard.
Rondo is my favorite, but I didn't play it until the 2000's. Castlevania 1 is my second favorite, everything just comes together so well in it. Bloodlines though. Man Bloodlines is something else. It has this wild experimental side to it like 4, but it plays in a way that scratches that traditional Castlevania itch in a way 4 completely fails to, and I don't just mean the controls, the difficulty balancing and pacing feed into that too. Konami was on fire on the Genesis with this and Hard Corps, which I also prefer over the SNES counterpart Contra 3.
these are objectively good opinions
also i've yet to play hard corps but i'm looking forward to it
@@GeorgiaRidgerunner: i can read hiragana and katakana, actually, and while i'm somewhat accustomed to the series i'll heed your advice
I prefer Hard Corps(Japanese-three hit limit) over Contra 3 as well. Better story/ branching paths/ faster arcade like/ multiple characters and weapons/ multiple endings/ no overhead unfair dizzy levels. Its not perfect though(too hard/ the screen gets too busy-explosions). I guess Contra 3: The Alien Wars sounds more epic, its got a "three" in the title and came out with alot of anticipation coverage and fanfare. It has an awesome first level! I think Bloodlines and Hard Corps are sneaky good, because not enough people played them. Through the anniversary collections and Genesis mini (thanks M2!) people are coming around to them.
@@3primedirectives: i still like contra 3 a lot but there's the odd design issue here and there and i'm not fond of the overhead sections though i wouldn't say i hate them
Rondo is so good!!! (I hope you mean PC-Engine/PSP remake). Rondo and its follow up SOTN just does the franchise so much justice. Yeah, bloodlines I can't say what this video hasn't said. 4 is fun but there's just something about Bloodlines.
If you thought reviewers were Nintendo-biased here, wait until Castlevania 64 vs. Symphony of the Night.
Oh man, really? I can't even imagine that.
@@CybeleVG yep, reviewers were all "3D >>> 2D" at the time of release of both titles. So ipso facto Castlevania 64 is superior to SotN.
@@DeepWeeb I remember reading Diehard Gamefan and SOTN got excellent reviews. It would be interesting to see these reviews.
@@DeepWeeb Castlevania 64 is superior and is truer to what a Castlevania game is with equal parts combat and platforming, varied level design, skill and technique with just a few weapons as opposed to SOTN's copious amount of shallow weapons, etc. Sure, the camera took some getting used to, like all of the non-Nintendo / Rare games of the time, but the game was great overall.
SotN is one of my least favourite of the Igavania lineup but its leaps and bounds better than that heap of a trash fire
Honestly man, I started watching you a few years ago, and your content is amazing. I even like watching your analysis on games I haven't even played, keep up the great work
Thank you MD!
The best of the 16-bit Castlevanias for me, just ahead of the X68000 remake. You know it's a great game when my biggest complaint is that the sound effects could be better.
I think Rondo of Blood may just edge it for me but I do love Bloodlines for how it's the fastest castlevania game, super castlevania iv seems so slow and clunky if you play it right after Bloodlines. And yeah it looks better than the SNES one too. Maybe I'd say rondo of blood and Bloodlines are joint first with super castlevania iv in 3rd
My favorite classicvania, love how fast-paced it feels compared to the rest
Limited continues seems to be a common thing of Genesis games in general, for whatever reason.
The Genesis is a dominatrix, putting us, lowly gamers, to our places.
And I loved it.
Oh yes, mistress Genesis! Make me restart from the beginning AGAIN! YES! THANK YOU MISTRESS!
Although the game only gives you twon continues it does have a password system (which keep of the amount of lives and continues remaining).
While it kinda fixes the issue, that also feels a bit like save scumming...
I completely agree with your review. Finally someone points out that the colors in Castlevania IV are boring and muted, with poor contrast in background. I like to call it a layer of mud over everything.
Oh no a dark horror fantasy game has dark graphics!
Sega fanboys are completely disconnected from reality. Bloodlines looks and sounds like garbage. Castlevania 3 on the NES looks better in some respects, with characters sporting properly proportioned bodies which is something Bloodlines goofy looking characters can't claim. The gameplay is inferior to not only Castlevania 4 but Castlevania 3 as well. The game magazine reviewers got it right.
@@davidaitken8503 Naw fam it looks and sounds top notch. I don't like the goofy proportions either but it doesnt ruin the game at all
@@TheT3rr0rMask Even by Genesis standards the sound effects are just awful and even with a few decent compositions the music simply can't compete with Castlevania 4's soundtrack that is second to none.
@@davidaitken8503 SCIV soundtrack Is second to none, except for rondo, and 3, and SOTN, and Aria, and half of the games in the franchise. The only remarkable songs in IV are Simon's theme and clockwork mansion.
Take this over CV IV all day long.
Finally, hearing somebody on YT talking about Bloodlines in a positive manner is refreshing. Not the same-old same-old "SNES Game is better because colours!" argument.
PS. Bring back the podcast!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, Bloodlines has a strange reputation. I (mostly) blame Konami for keeping the game unnecessarily obscure until 2019. Yes yes I hear you about the podcast :P
Fantastic Video! I would agree I enjoyed Bloodlines quite a bit more than Castlevania 4 (although still awesome). I really dug all the boss fights and the soundtrack in Bloodlines.
I love how they tied Bram Stoker's novel into the Castlevania universe even if it causes some plot holes
I for one find this game very enjoyable to play for a variety of reasons. Mostly because I feel like some things are at least a bit more subtle than most seem to see, such as Dracula himself.
I think the reason Dracula is so easy in most Castlevania games is because he's old.
He is immortal yes, but yet because of the previous heroes efforts, he spends most of his time sealed up and relies more on old flashy moves instead of effective ones.
He may be immortal, and have superhuman strength and whatnot, but I feel as if his old mind and thought process is slowing him down considerably, making his movement sloppy, and his patterns easier to predict.
The music was very nice to listen to, I'm not a musical professional, so I can't judge a track by saying stuff like "7.4/10 Too many synthetic sounds."
But for what it was, it was nice to bob my head to the occasional drumbeat. Also, the final boss music gives me Earthbound vibes because of the 'crunchy' sounds.
And while I do miss laughing at Simon flailing his whip around, I feel as if these changes were intentional since they made Super Castlevania IV much easier than the original.
But only adding two continues is just unacceptable even if you can raise it to five, and I do agree that it is a big blemish when it sends you all the way back to the beginning, so I feel your frustration at that.
The game wasn't the absolute best Castlevania game, but it was certainly better than the biased reviews claimed.
It was fun and enjoyable, but if they could have given you the ability to alter the amount of continues from the start, and let you challenge yourself later down the line, than that would've been infinitely better than adopting the old Arcade Quarter Stealing tactic.
"I think the reason Dracula is so easy in most Castlevania games is because he's old." This made my day :D
@@implantgames Glad to know.
Great video as usual. I just wanted to let you know that your channel is one of the best (retro) gaming channels on youtube (and trust me, I know a lot of these channels). Criminally underrated but I hope more and more people will realize how good your content is. I like your thorough analytical approach and the fact that you are very critical. I do not agree with you on all points when it comes to Bloodline vs Super Castlevania but I can totally understand your arguments because they make sense and are fully explained.
Looking forward to seeing more quality content from you.
Excellent. I couldn't agree more with your appraisal of Bloodlines. Iron-blue Intention is exactly as you described. Perseverance music. "goosebumps*
Bloodlines is overwhelmingly prefered over Castlevania IV by people who have no nostalgic tie's to either game. Bloodlines does have the advantage of being an earlly 94' release while Castlevania IV was a late 91' release. They were both the same 8-mb cartridges though.
Castlevania 4 was a true step forward for the series with more emphasis on technique and skill over having the right sub-weapon and the level design is second to none. The visuals, music, and sound effects are still the high watermark for the 2D games in the series.
@@davidaitken8503 so having a whip that reaches even the next room Is having a gameplay based on skill?
@@atbtrendy9932 No. Having a whip that gives you more flexibility and control and can be used as a tool offers up gameplay based on skill. You can literally combo whip movements together for extra damage, defense, movement. The difference between a casual gamer playing Castlevania 4 and a hardcore gamer is more significant than with Bloodlines despite its overall lower difficulty. In addition may I add that if any of you aren't playing Castlevania 4 on the second playthrough difficulty, your opinions are even less valid then they already are. The games sends way more enemies at you and many require extra damage to defeat. Sure, you can breeze through most bosses with a triple shot boomerang cross if you really want to but try showing a little restraint and use some actual technique. It makes the game far more enjoyable.
@@davidaitken8503 a more technical game isn't necessary a better game. I shouldn't make the game harder, if the game gives me a tool it's legit to use it. The whip gives you to much offense and defense, you can kill a lot of enemies without them even notice you and you can Just whip a projectile without even have to dogde it, it's op.
@@atbtrendy9932 Whipping a projectile without even dodging,... like literally every Castlevania game from the era. In many situations it is smarter for a skilled player to dodge and strike rather than just stand there. Without knowing specifically what situations your referring to I can't say much more. There are plenty of ways to cheese a few of the bosses in Bloodlines with the right sub-weapons as well. That doesn't mean it is the funner way to fight them.
I always thought Castlevania Bloodlines was a good game on the Genesis? I know alot people hate on Dracula X for SNES as well but I've always enjoyed the artstyle and music of the game.
I think Dracula X is better than 4 in every way honestly. Especially sound and boss fights
@@blarg917 I agree 🙂
@@CAPCOM784 glad somebody does
@@blarg917 Dracula X is the worst 16-bit Castlevania, hands-down. It is a lazy pseudo port of Rondo of Blood on the PC Engine in Japan and lacks everything that made that game good. Play Rondo of Blood!
I didn't have a chance to play it in 90s and rediscovered this game much later during emulator era on my quest to play ALL Castlevania games. It instantly became one of my favorites.
Finally got a chance to watch. Great work, as always, and yeah, I feel like that "it's a step back from Super CV4" vibe had been the mainstream feeling until the last couple years. I'm glad to see that take getting re-evaluated these days, because I love Bloodlines.
This was masterful. I really appreciated your time and detail that you dedicated to the music and also the emotions the game offered you. Great job. Your content is fantastic!
Thank you Kiva!
I really love Bloodlines. It's graphics, music, play speed and game mechanics are much more memorable to me than Super Castlevania IV.
Hey man great your reviews are great, I really like how you think critically and look deeply into what makes a certain mechanic good or bad, like, I 100% agree on you on Bloodlines' controls, them being limited shouldn't mean a bad thing, it's how they're used and built upon that decides their quality.
Anyways It's been awesome watching all your Castlevania reviews, I wish I found your channel sooner. Keep up the great work!
I know you’re taking a break, but this playlist just feels incomplete without Rondo of Bloood. It is my favorite Castlevania game, and one of the best 2D action games of all time.
"Medieval skirt" made me laugh. It reminded me of the scene in Night at the Museum 2 where Al Capone, Napoleon, and Ivan the Terrible kept referring to Kahmunrah's tunic a dress. To paraphrase: "This is not a [skirt]. This is a tunic. It was the height of fashion 3,000 years ago, I assure you."
19:42
The gear steamer looks freaking awesome by Genesis standards. He looks like a boss from a PS1 game
It was all nice and respectful until this man roasted SC4 in the end, damn
Castlevania IV is super.
Intro to Simon’s Theme in Bloodlines is the tops. That Castlevania techno from Contra Hard Corps is great as well
Bloodlines is usually the one I play when getting that 16-bit itch. But I own both. Had one of my boys sit down with me and compare them, as he is young and un biased about the 16-bit wars. Bloodlines looked, played, and sounded better to him. Although the first stage music on both games will get his head a bobbin while he's on the computer behind me lol.
I'd be curious what the bit-depth and sample rate of the SNES audio chip is. I just don't hear CD quality ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
How come we never got a co up team more when we got two characters in this game of in Curse Of Dracula, huh??
I love this game, definitely my favourite non-metroidvania Castlevania game. The soundtrack is amazing, the graphics were great for the time and the hardware and the stage design and gameplay is tight and perfect for what ir wanted to be, even the lack of infinite continues doesn't bother me at all, like most games of that time some trial and error was expected and once you learn and master the game you have more than enough lives to beat it. I became good enough that I can beat the game on the hardest dificulty without losing any continues.
Damn great video, man! Bloodlines (along with Sonic3&K, MMX, Super Metroid, and Hard Corps) was one of my favorite and most played games of that year.
I agree with you. I think Bloodlines has much more appealing graphics than Super Castlevania IV. Everything looks so much cleaner and more distinct in Bloodlines. Plus I much prefer a smaller player sprite so I have a better field of vision. Simon is WAY too big in Super Castlevania IV for my taste.
@shadowshinobi06 I see your point. When I said cleaner though, I didn't mean hygiene wise. I meant the graphics where aesthetically cleaner, like, cleaner lines and distinctions between sprites, objects, and backgrounds.
@shadowshinobi06 Yeah, I guess we just have different taste, bro. My favourite Castlevania game is still 'Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse' for the NES. I thought Super Castlevania IV and Bloodlines were both pretty good too though, but I'd still put the original NES Castlevania and of course Dracula's Curse above them.
To an extent I understand the NES comparisons. Main issue is the color use looks like it's highly compartmentalized with each element of the stage artwork using using a small set of exclusive colors. This method ends up being reminiscent of the NES palette limitations where each sprite/tile can only use a pre-defined group of 4 colors each. There are some areas that flat out do look very NES-like such as 2:13 in the video.
The best looking Genesis games tend to use colors in more clever ways by sharing and re-appropriating the same highlight/mid/shadow shades in different contexts, with a good grasp of color theory which yields a very concise and artistic tone to the overall visual expression. Bloodlines is not one of those games and instead its use of colors is more a case of jack of all trades, master of none.
Bloodlines absolutely looks very 8-bit. These Sega fanboys are beyond delusional. Super Castlevania 4 is visually a hardware generation beyond it. The Genesis also had by far the worst audio of the 16-bit era. They're basically comparing nails on a blackboard to a professional orchestra and claiming the blackboard comes out on top.
@Tom Ffrench It just depends on the game. A game like Turok 2, for example, looked quite impressive on N64. Many games, however, looked like a step back from the beautiful pixel art of the 16-bit systems. It was sort of like starting back over with 3D. The N64, Playstation, and Saturn were the 3D versions of the NES and Sega Master System and the Dreamcast, Playstation 2, and Gamecube were like the 3D versions of the SNES, Genesis, and Turbo Grafx 16 in terms of visuals.
@Tom Ffrench You seriously need to play more games, and on a proper CRT if that is the extent of your 16-bit game knowledge kid.
Bloodlines is on the SEGA Genesis; Super Castlevania IV is on the Super Nintendo; therefore Bloodlines is inferior to Super Castlevania IV by default.
P.S. I'm glad you showcased my favorite part of any Castlevania--cheesing Death, a lot.
Troll lololo
@shadowshinobi06 Actraiser 2 is one of the few games that may be even better than Castlevania 4. It is often dismissed as a bad game because it lacks the simulation segments of the original but if you just accept it as an action game it is amazing. Casual gamers don't like it either because it takes time and patience to really gain the knowledge to truly appreciate all of the depth to the game mechanics.
@shadowshinobi06 Hagane is totally awesome and one of my favorite SNES action games. I don't know if any such UA-cam video exists, but you really should watch an expert play Actraiser 2 and see just how much hidden depth it really has. It could be quite eye opening.
Great work. I like hearing why people prefer Bloodlines to SCIV. I look forward to your Rondo analysis. Rondo is most likely the best game in the series.
This game is fantastic but the "Death boss" is really hard.
It would be nice if you review the Contra series,especially Contra Hard Corps.
Terrific video as always! I hope you review Castlevania Chronicles, which is essentially the "Zero Mission" take on Castlevania.
not familiar with that, what system was it for?
Back in the day, having real Konami-Castlevania in Genesis was a hit. The gameplay focused in arcade experience with the characteristic music and graphics, they even managed to snesize some effects and pixel-art was awesome. Genesis soundchip was great for music, but sound effects needed crafty work to not sound thumpy... try Contra: Hard corps, they nailed sound and, man, the soundtrack...
This is by the best review I've seen on Castlevania Bloodlines. I just finished yesterday for the first time and it's a fantastic game. Having played now all 16-bits Castlevania games this one is my second favorite, after Rondo of Blood. Thank you for your deep review on every aspect of this game and the edition also. You nailed it!
The japanese version has a password system.
Awesome video BTW.
@Nighthawk Gotcha, I haven't played any version in ages but last time I played the game it was the japanese version.
I found the limited continues complain in this video a bit weird so I thought maybe the US version had no password system.
I actually think the continue system is fun, and suits Bloodlines perfectly. It allows the player to gain more practice in a level, and lets them see the end prematurely , giving them a boost if they are struggling. A player can also brute force their way past a level which they feel annoyed or frustrated by. It adds a level of meta resource management. The final level is also shorter and a bit easier than the prior ones (barring the final boss), so if the player manages to reach that level with 2 lives and no continues its perfectly doable.
Those reviews are absurd... it's pretty obvious they came out at a time where most people didn't have the luxury of finding an unbiased, honest review online, and feel like someone might've been puttin money in their pockets to favor the snes?... Probably not, because people seemed to only be all in on one system or the other back in those days, but these are supposed to be professional reviews, so the conspiracy theorist in me makes me wonder haha.
Not sure why they lambasted this game, it's a very good game, the only issue I had with this game was the sound effects. But the music, graphics, replayability of having 2 characters, the challenge.. I agree with you, I'm not sure what game they were playing, because this is a great Genesis title, and also a great, 'old school' style Castlevania game. Great review, and fantastic channel! Love your content!
Also (sorry for so many comments) this game is pretty damn gory.. certainly a departure from the snes. Not that super castlevania iv steers clear from the horror aesthetic entirely, but Konami ramps up the horror because Sega, and the Genesis, allowed for more mature themes and images.. something that only adds to a Castlevania game in my opinion.
My go-to Castlevania. The original reviews were ridiculous.
imagine if bloodlines was on the snes
IMPOSSIBLE
Why would that be impossible? It's technologically inferior to the SNES. That is just a fact. I know a lot of Sega fanboys want to believe that the Genesis has some secret power that the SNES lacks but that just isn't true. Castlevania 4 could not be done on the Genesis. Learn how the tech works before you embarrass yourself.
@Tom Ffrench Do you even read the comment I'm replying to? The guy claimed that Castlevania Bloodlines couldn't be done on the SNES and I don't see any reason why it couldn't. The graphics could actually be improved too, though it would still look poor compared to Castlevania IV because of its' absolutely abysmal art direction.
Castlevania IV on the other hand, could not be made on the Genesis. It makes far too much use of graphical and audio features that the SNES has that the Genesis lacks.
I would never suggest for a moment that Game A automatically looks better than Game B because it runs on more advanced hardware. I agree that Final Fantasy VI is a gorgeous game with fantastic artwork and Superman 64, well, lets just say is a little less pretty.;) There are some NES games that look better than some Genesis and SNES games. Don't believe me? Check out Batman: Return of the Joker on the NES developed in-house by Sunsoft. Now compare it to the absolutely laughable ports that they farmed out to some no-talent western developers. Batman looks like he was drawn and animated by an 8 year old, especially when you see how Batman fires upward on the SNES version. Face-crotch Dracula looks like a work of art compared to that amateur-hour abomination.
I'm probably the odd one out when I say this, but this is actually my favorite Castlevania game for these reasons. Yes I love it more than Rondo, I just love how unconventional Bloodlines is.
Totally agree at about 5 minutes in. I feel like the snes tried to hard and ended up looking washed out while sega went with the less is more approach that ened up aging way better. It is still a shame of the lack of whipping directions though.
I never liked how washed out Super Castlevania looked myself.I did enjoy playing the game but the graphics couldve been done alot better in my opinion.
Yeah the graphics of SC4 are just a mess of brown most of the time
I much prefer the classic style of whipping to 8 directional whipping, it's part of the DNA of castlevania, it adds to the tactics of it, working out how to tackle each enemy, like the 2 directional mega blaster in mega man, when you c a only shoot/whip either left or right you have to think about every move you make. Plus it keeps the special weapons actually useful and interesting, whereas they can be a bit redundant in SC4.
@@duffman18 castlevania 4 looking washed out man you must have your tv's brightness set to high that game has never looked washed out to me
your comment is also the first time ive ever heard anyone say the colors looked washed out
i guess at the end of the day washed out or not washed out really comes down to player preference as for me i prefer sc4 to bloodlines as i didnt even know bloodlines existed untill about 2014 (i didnt have sega growing up the few friends that had them didnt have bloodlines )
interestingly enough it was about the same i discovered bloodlines that i discovered contra hard corps (my first exposure to hard corps was the Japanese version which is easier than the american version because its 3 hits before death as the american version is one hit kills
Is Symphony of the Night next? These videos are fantastic and I've looked forward to each one every time you upload.
I'm really hoping he does Rondo of Blood. I think he'll like it a lot, if he loved Bloodlines
@@duffman18 I don't know how I forgot Rondo was next.
Hopefully Rondo and Dracula X. Then I'll be all Vania'd out.
Gaming journos: *not having a clue of what the heck they're talking about* Pikachu: *Surprised*. What a great, in-depth review. The attention regarding the Bloodlines score made me sub. Congrats! 🤤
really hoping to see one of these about Rondo Of Blood! It's my personal favorite Castlevania title and I would love to hear a more in-depth analysis of it, especially from you
Super Castlevania IV is a great game, but Bloodlines is Better. I love this game!
Great video as always! Love your in depth look at these classic games. While I still prefer Super Castlevania IV for it's atmosphere and approachability I agree that Bloodlines surpasses it in some of the game design choices. Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays :)
I finally bought this game and played through it last year, and I didn't mind the limited continues so much. Took me a two or three tries to get though it, but that seemed acceptable.
Yeah, the bosses felt a bit more clever and engaging than SCIV. A lot more movement and you need to actually figure them out to pass more often than not.
Just watched this on an actual TV, instead of my phone for once , and I gotta say it looks and sounds great!
Happy Holidays!
Happy Holidays J :) The Mega SG is amazing and I am glad to finally use it on a video!
Thank you! Finally someone points out things I have been saying for years. The graphics in Super Castlevania IV has a lot to be desired. Both Bloodlines and Rondo of Blood have much more colorful and defined backgrounds and sprites. Though I like the controls of Simon in Super Castlevania IV, I still think the game is way overrated. Great review by the way.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
Great in depth analysis of both the positives and negatives of this gem. Underrated in its day, I do feel like it is more appreciated now. I do love the music, and ROM hacks exist to tweak the colors if you are so inclined
Thanks Bryan!
Well, you've convinced me to give this game a shot. Besides the lack of continues, this seems like it might be up my alley.
But regardless good video dude. Probably my favorite of the Castlevania marathon thus far.
Thanks man :) I am working through your Metroid Fusion video, somehow it was released without me noticing. Bloodlines has a password system, so you can find passwords with 7 continues and 9 lives which makes things a lot smoother.
@@implantgames Didn't know that. Sweet, makes it even better.
Also don't worry dude, feel free to watch them whenever you feel like it. =D
I played this game for the 1st time on Genesis Online via Switch. And I'm thinking "where have you been all my life!?"
I always thought Bloodlines was one of the better installments of Castlevania. Its quite apparent after hearing all the negative reviews that Nintendo must have had a few magazine editors on payroll to push the "genesis is inferior" agenda.
@Tom Ffrench What did you think of Metroid's move to 3D with Metroid Prime on the GameCube?
You need more subs amazing video as always. 👍
Alright, last video I said this is the one I was waiting for, but I honestly can’t wait for your take on the 64 titles. My unsolicited opinion is that they are severely underrated. They’re not great by today’s standard, but compared to its contemporaries, the game was advanced. It’s no Super Mario 64, but not many games of that era were.
I believe both on n64 get alot of hate because the games were not easy to beat so most gamers give it a pass?
CAPCOM784 I’m not sure. I’ll admit I’m a bit of an apologist, and some of the platforming was wonky, overall it was pretty solid and had weird/interesting time mechanics for the time. The characters all had unique attributes and levels adding replay value. I think they’re very good games for that generation of platformers.
i only played castlevania 64 and was a big fan! i also think the lords of shadow series is severely under rated, probably my favorite castlevania games to date, lords of shadow 2 was admittedly awkward for me but i enjoyed it none the less. The first and mirror of fate were great titles though with an incredibly rich story
Jannie Peralta well stated argument, glad you commented.
@TheFrozenNature You are correct and once you get into the later levels it's really interesting! I also enjoyed listening to the soundtrack in this game.🙂
Best reviews on UA-cam period. So detailed and on point. I remember the Gamespot reviews as well. I was a SNES kid coming up so I believed the BS. So I missed out on this great game. Everything you said was on point esp. the music. Gamespot had alot of questionable reviews like symphony of the night. And doom from jaguar being rated lower than 32x. I rate this game a hair below super castlevania 4, but it could be b/c of nostalgia. This is a great game
Thank you for the kind words!
Good video. On top of what you said : I really like the LIGHT/HEAVY attack mechanism. This is a game that's fun for powerplay : just demolishing everything in a very satisfying manner. And I gotta highlight Michiru Yamane's masterpiece of a soundtrack here
"Light/Heavy attack mechanism" I like that :)
@@implantgames Cool ^_^b that's how I prefer to call the "double-strike" you can inflict on enemies when holding down the attack button! and getting in 2 hits with one attack
Amazing, your reviews are very accurate and entertaining. You should have much more subs.
I wouldn't go so far to call this game 16-Bit supremacy. That title goes to Rondo of Blood and Rondo of Blood alone, which is the best game in the classic Castlevania series (Metroidvania is something different altogether imo).
Try that game. You'll love it.
I find it ironic that Super Castlevania 4 has been seen as a somewhat lesser title in recent years in spite of the rave reviews it got at the time, whereas Bloodlines is considered an underrated classic nowadays even though it wasn't as well received back in the day.
Bloodlines is superior to IV, by a lot. And I love IV.
Excellent review as always Kris. A couple of things I’d hope you mention which didn’t come up we’re the length of the game compared to Super IV and why the need for two playable characters with very little change to the game (were so used to “true endings” these days). Anyways keep up the great work!
Excellent review, easily my fav of the 16 bits. Love that you're reviewing series but wish you'd break it up with a different game here & there in between but do what you do, its a win win for me. Have a good Christmas.
Haha, I would love to skip around and play whatever tickles my fancy, but the people seem to enjoy marathons. Thanks for the kind words!
There's also no time limit in Bloodlines, just like in Rondo Of Blood. :)
I've beeen waiting for this for months great video thank you
The greatness of CV4 are mostly because of nostalgia
This game is just my second favorite Classicvania of all time behind Rondo and leagues superior to SCIV. Yeah they've always hinted Eric as the easy mode of the game and John the Hard mode cause of the points you said there. The OST yeah is just AMAZING ♥️ except the final battle yeah that's a bit ugh. Iron Blue Intention was so good that it got a remix in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. BTW thanks for showing the extra life in level 4 i've never thought there would be an extra life there and i've played this game relaxed cause it has no time limit :D
The continues thing yeah was stupid but at least the game is not that hard compared to Dracula X (oh god) but yeah is annoying and unfair for new players and yeah i got 3 Game overs on my first playthrough and the fact that the passwords keep your continues is a double edge sword, in one hand is useful but on the other hand it can screw you if you got to let's say level 5 with 0 continues oh boy. The Gear boss was always my personal favorite because of his animations he's so stupidly funny. Yeah the critics were playing another Game really cause this game rocks really hard. Great review as always Kris. Keep up the good work and happy holidays dude
Great comment as always! Happy Holidays :)
Well done as always dude.
Honestly I didn't really like Bloodlines too much but I still think I prefer it to Super.
Are you going to be covering both Dracula X and Rondo of Blood or just one of them?
The lane is actually more powerful when you lunge forward to connect your attack. The game forces you to enter you into a more risky situation but rewards you with a more powerful hit. Pretty smart of konami actually.
The lance
This games ages better over time. It was misunderstood back in the day
Can't wait for *Sympathy of the Night* review love it! 👍
Autocorrect strikes again :D
Nice to see Bloodlines get the respect it deserves. Castlevania The Adventure Rebirth is also worth playing. It has the choice of jumping styles.
Castlevania The Adventure Rebirth is an absolutely awesome game and the best post 16 bit era game in the series.
Both great games, but I enjoy playing Bloodlines more.
0:40 - The SNES will want to have quality close to CD. The composition of a theme is as or more important than the quality with which it sounds ... You just have to know how to listen!
Calling From Heaven
ua-cam.com/video/n0fS4fsUILA/v-deo.html
The Prayer of a Tragic Queen
ua-cam.com/video/LXj3TB_tP2w/v-deo.html
0:55 - That is compensated with the special movements of the characters!
Thank you for making this game justice
Fantastic review as always, man! Hope you'll do Dracula X as well. ^^ Truly an underrated game, that one.
15:32 That's not a twirl! That's a sweet rave party!
Not quite a midday or midnight release, something in between.
Like Bloodlines.
Also FIRST.
I've been enjoying these videos in the last few weeks and I liked this one too. Just one thing about the format: you'll talk about music for much longer than we're allowed to actually listen to the songs you're commenting on. It's not that I mind the commentary, it's just that the ratio between telling and showing is off. By contrast, when you talk about graphics, I get to see the thing you're commenting on at the same time as I listen to the commentary. The exact same solution can't work for audio of course, but maybe having the confidence to simply let a song play for 10-15 seconds without you talking over it would be good enough.
Keep up the good work!
I just finished it. What an amazing game. Tough as nails at times, but very fair in my opinion, it has great movement, and clear rules of gameplay. I think visuals are great here and the music is just perfect. Great title and my first Castlevania ever (and first 16bit game that i've completed).
I think the reviews were just braindead. How it is worse looking than SC IV? How anyone can say it's music is a downgrade?
I would say so far it's the best Genesis game i've played, and i love genesis as much as SNES.
These effects used in Bloodlines were amazing, tower level is probably my favourite.
Not to shit on SC IV but artstyle of Bloodlines if far far superior, and SC IV looks kinda grainy.
Also i love it's difficulty - it's a true challenge, but in a good way. First time encountering the boss you feel like it's impossible to even finish the fight, but then you realize it's more than possible to beat every single one without even taking a hit if you learn it's movenents, attack patterns and you stop yourself from pointless moves.
Reincarnated Souls is one of the best tunes i've ever heard in any game.
I don't see the point in the recent trend of "Bloodlines and Rondo are better than 4". Didn't know it was still a competition almost 30 years after the console wars.
But think about it: 4 was a launch windows game on new hardware. Genesis was 5 years old when Bloodlines came out. Of course it's gonna look better graphically. And coming 3 years after 4 of course they recognized the 8way was broken. It's like shaming COD4 for looking worse than MW2.
I'm not fanboying the game I just think it's become the cool thing to hate on 4, kinda like how hating on Sonic was cool for a while. We have to remember- we have all these great Castlevania games that each do their own things well, no reason to hate on one thing just cus it was popular for so long and it's flaws are starting to show. Let's enjoy the games we have :)
Bloodlines is 100 percent better than super castlevania 4 and I grew up with a snes and sc4 as soon as it came out. Got a genesis about 15 years ago and have realized what I missed out on
Love CastleVania Bloodlines and great video 👍👍👍👍
This game is very underappreciated
Awesome review man, I think Bloodlines is awesome and wish I had known about it back in its day. 👍🏻
Thank you Keith!
Between CV 4 and bloodlines I liked bloodlines best. It's my favorite next to symphony of the night
Good review. Getting a triple shot in the first few castlevania games is not easy. The work to get and keep it is to stay alive. If the player dies in say the grim reaper level of the original game, getting the triple shot again isn't easy when starting at a checkpoint
i agree, bro. bloodlines is my favorite castlevania game
Another great video! I was never into Castlevania, but this series has got me interested.
On a side note, your overall feelings on this game versus it's SNES counterpart almost mirror my opinion on 16 bit Contra. The Genesis game is far superior, but NEEDED infinite continues (which is probably why they were added to the overly expensive Japanese release). I think all of the Nintendo-based Contra games are easy enough to beat with the life limit. But Contra Hard Corps is definitely not.
Also you should do a Contra series 😉