The question of whether or not we should be grateful for Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a difficult one to answer. On one hand, the game on which it’s based, Rondo Of Blood, was never actually released in this country. Adding a contemporary aesthetic while still appealing to die-hard retro fans was, therefore, a smart move. Wipe away that veneer, however, and Dracula X is still as ancient as they come. Forget for one moment that it looks as good as any recent PSP title brandishing a 2.5D flair, seen in such titles as Ultimate Ghosts ’N Goblins, the Sonic Rivals games and both Klonoa titles, because this feels like the dated game it essentially is. And that’s where its inherent problems arise.

Not that we don’t appreciate the change of design for the series’ first foray onto PSP. But we’ve reached a strange position for the Castlevania series. Where fans once feared the franchise was becoming stale back in those halcyon days, inspiring series head Koji Igarashi and publisher Konami to turn the whole series upside down for the seminal Symphony Of The Night, that same feeling has returned several games later, and another serious change is needed. The result? Take Castlevania back to its roots for, but not without, shaking things up again. So, where Igarashi has tried several times to emulate the success of the Devil May Cry and Onimusha games by translating archetypal Castlevania gameplay into 3D adventures, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles blends old-school design with contemporary aesthetic.

And it really is old-school design. You no longer have a giant castle to explore in the Metroid-vania style of the last several games. Rondo Of Blood appeared well before the creators decided to revise the series with Symphony Of The Night. Now, the game is set over a number of stages. These are in the classical sense, meaning you can’t travel back to stages you’ve completed while playing. Moving through the castle as Richter Belmont, you’re slow as hell and pass through wooden doors that separate each section. While you can freely move back and forth through individual rooms within the stages themselves, once you pass through a wooden door and it closes, so too does your chance to go back through. That’s one thing that fans who jumped onto Castlevania post-Symphony are going to have to get used to.

Richter’s lack of skill with a whip is another. He can only whip in the direction he faces – lacking the mobility of protagonists in the previous games. While you can obtain a number of special abilities, raining down pain or launching multiple knives at your enemies, Richter’s complete lack of speed (he only walks, there is no run) and basic whip skills suck. It’s especially annoying when you consider the number of enemies who can move much faster than you, let alone attack more varyingly. Those spear-wielding walking armours are back and have four points of attack: forward, backward, up and down. So it is annoying how Richter, with his lame straight whip attack, has fewer ways of defending himself than them. It’s worth mentioning that all the enemies you’ve fought over the years are back, prettier than ever – such is the power of PSP. But, for some reason, Konami saw fit to make them more nimble than Richter is.

Boss fights, however, emerge as some of the standout moments in Dracula X Chronicles. Either we’ve become hard as nails in the intervening months since we played the preview build, or Konami has dropped the difficulty level for Western gamers. It makes Dracula X a far more accessible endeavour – but one that inadvertently undermines the kind of game this is. As an aesthetic update to the original, one aimed squarely at those who felt they missed what is an essential entry in Castlevania lore, it’s imperative that you play. For those who jumped onto the series post-Symphony, it’s well worth a look. But on the one hand, die-hard fans will get a title that is a little on the easy side (though nonetheless annoying in its design at times), while newcomers have a game that certainly looks contemporary, but plays anciently. It’s a weird compromise for both parties – and one that is unfortunately unavoidable.

Unfortunate because, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a good game. It has the same campy, B-movie story and voice acting we all love, and the boss fights lean towards being excellent, each and every one. Despite its rigid structure, the locations are varied and all look gorgeous while the enemies have received the best facelift yet. More than anything, it’s a good argument for why Konami should stop with the Devil May Cry wannabes and adopt 2.5D in the future. But then, the future is unclear for Castlevania right now, so it’s anyone’s guess what Igarashi will do. So, to answer the question posed earlier, should we be grateful for The Dracula X Chronicles? Yes… but not necessarily for all the right reasons.

Craig Gilmore