-Eric!

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A BoP Premier !
BoP SlogRaptor's CD Review

Akumajo Densetu Dracula X
"Vampire Killer Dracula X"
Authors: Konami, makers of the awesome CastleVania series.
Distribution: (for Chinese) SM Records
"Catalog" Number: GAME-065~066
Price: $15 in Chinatown. But don't bother. I caught the last one!

BoP SlogRaptor sezzz...

As far as I'm concerned, I never left the BoP when they disbanded! Check my (Slogra Man) entrance routine for Andy's Saturday Night Anime! See? In embossed lettering on my Megaman X4 boss intro-type screen, it says "CONFIRMED TO BE THE LAST REMAINING BIRD OF PREY." Course, that was before the end of May. Oh... I'm on now? GAK!---

Vampire Killer Dracula X Blood's Rondo (Akumajo Densetu Dracula X Chi no Rondo), Dracula X hereafter, was a game created by Konami in 1993 for the PC Engine in Japan. For those of us who are not aware, "PC Engine" is the maiden name of the short lived "Turbo Grafix 16". In that time, it is my guess that CD ROMs were being experimented with for game making purposes, and an elsewhere review confirms this, as does the quality of the music I will evaluate for you.

Dracula X is actually the only "CastleVania" game we never saw in the states, and it was probably due to the folly of the Turbo Grafix. Not saying it was a trashy system, we all know the obscenely priced Neo Geo earns that title, but hey, the truth is that TG16 was well on its way out by the time the Super NES exploded onto the scene. In the CastleVania games, you are (almost) always a vampire hunter of the Belmont clan of vampire killers, and the final target is the Prince of Darkness, Count Dracula. In the fourth CastleVania, for the Super NES, your TRUE goal is the insidious trident-wielding dinosaur knight, Slogra, but the game'll only show you the ending after beating 3 guys after him (a blue gargoyle, the Grim Reaper, and Count Dracula).

In Dracula X, you can either choose to play as the new addition to the Belmont family, Richter, or Maria Larned, 14 year old sister of Rich's captive-by-Dracula significant other, Annette. Playing as Rich, you must defeat bad things and rescue Maria, Annette, and three quite attractive nuns who look like they're in the wrong racket. You face Dracula in the end. Playing as Maria, you will use your deadly animal friends, a birdy, kitty, dragon, and turtle, as weapons to annihilate your opponents. She too, will face Dracula. This non-linear game also contains alternate paths of fright, and different background music (BGM) for each.

That said, I should let you know that I've never really played this game, but have read much material regarding Dracula X and have seen loads of AWESOME screenshots. This game is good. Another thing which makes Dracula X stand out is the different artistic style Konami adopts for this game; anime! From the Ryu (Street Fighter 1, 2, 3, 4, @, B, *&q) looking Richter, to the super "kawaii!" Maria, and from the gray haired but young-looking and mega stylin' Count Dracula, to the AWESOME blade swinging hand to hand combat with the Grim Reaper, the look of Dracula X is unbelievable. (Grim Reaper ref. from lesser SNES version of Dracula X, titled simply, "CastleVania Dracula X". Reapers are both same in sprite appearance, and if the excellent display I saw in SNES was derived from the pure version of the PC Engine...hoo man... all bets are off!)

Too bad they had to rape Dracula X when formatting it for the Super Nintendo. The music of CastleVania Dracula X only rivals its Sega Genesis predecessor, CastleVania Bloodlines, but does not stand to Bloodlines' predecessor, Super CastleVania 4.

The PC Engine Vampire Killer Dracula X Blood's Rondo and Super Nintendo CastleVania 4 are equals as soundtracks go.

To summarize, the Dracula X soundtrack is the BEST stuff I've heard since maybe the Evangelion soundtrack or CastleVania Symphony of the Night (PlayStation)! You've got a slew of orchestrated and simulated music here, folks; a barrage of instruments was used, and Konami went all out on exploiting the storage capabilities of the Compact Disc format. You've also got a vocal working in, too! ...which...gets rather disappointing when I expect some violently extravagant stuff next on my CD player's randomizer...

Now, to talk about the 16 Dracula X tracks in better detail, you can go get a cheese sandwich while I fetch my gear.

You're back.

DATA
Akumajo Densetu Dracula X
SM Records GAME-065~66
CDx2
CD-65:
1-16 Akumajo Densetu Dracula X Chi no Rondo PC Engine (review spotlight)
17 "Haunted Castle" remix
CD-66
1-23 Vampire Killer Mega Drive
24-27 Akumajo Densetu Dracula X68000
Some titles in English text from CD notes

I will speak about the other game BGMs featured on the CDs later. Now, let's get busy.
1.Overture- All is quiet, and suddenly a musical raucous breaks out which instantaneously restores itself. It seems to form into the Dracula X theme we all recognize, on the Super Nintendo, of course. My guess is that this is the...um...not the title screen, I've seen a quicktime video of that... the character select screen? This theme was adopted for the opening of CastleVania for the 64, only it was done with a violin and is more haunting as opposed to the CastleVaniapalooza here.
2. I think this is the character select screen. Boring... about a minute or so of some solo choirist saying "kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisooooooooooooooooooo......."
3. Similar to Overture, but this one's is on the roll. Theme for the conflagration in the background of Stage 1. I liked the SNES version though, but that and the "snob" song are the only two SNES BGM's that will get my respect.
4.Vampire Killer- Stage 2 BGM. To quote the other guy who said this... BLAST THIS ONE!!!!!!!! This one is awesome; it's a medley of a couple of CastleV---Vampire Killer tunes! You get the original Stage 1 BGM along with Stage 2 from Konami's first game, and it's all done with greatness using a plethora of instruments. Scope the hot bass solo for CastleVania 1's second stage! Just great. Then the whole thing blasts to a deserved finish! I can picture the CastleVania fans screaming and stage diving over this one. All 12 of them.
5. Cross a Fear- Alternate Stage 2 BGM. This one I just adore. You get the steady beats and what sounds like some vocals. After 2 cycles, it all builds to some electronically conjured music, then repeats. When all is done, you get the cool screaming guitar as it fades out.
6. Chi no Rondo "BLOOD'S RONDO"- 3rd Stage BGM. I guessed the translation myself! Starts out with the Simon's Quest forest theme and booms. Organs scream in their own time, and the subtle elec guitars are well placed and make way to the organs.
7. Cemetery- Alternate 3rd Stage BGM. Can't say I much like this one...probably because of all the bad experiences I've had with the stage of this music on the SNES. Since we're dealing with the unbridled PC Engine version here, I'll give it a thumbs up. Nice spookiness added to the end.
8. Beginning- Stage 4 BGM. Ditto to this one, as this was used for the hard-as-heck Clock Tower stage in CastleVania Dracula X'. Quality of the PC Engine's version makes this one good. That's all.
9. Slash- Alternate Stage 4. My tick-tock snobbish theme! This one's so cool! You get neato tick-tock beats throughout, and you can just see the giant sword slinging green knights swinging their heads to this song, telling Richter and Maria how cool their armor looks. SLASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I must hear that one again!
10. This is the sound of chilled peace. My guess is that this is for the underground Sunken Temples level, as it was in the SNES version. Stage 5's BGM, according to the numeral among the kanji on my notes here.
11. Opus 13- Alternate Stage 5 BGM. This one rocks with the heavy ripping of electric guitars. You don't hear them often, but when they do show up, they make a splash. You get some harmonic beep type noise, too. Another one of my recommended tracks.
12. Stage 7(?!) BGM ... man... this is... I have something against this one too...this being the original version of the tune for the last stage, my cousin Frankie and I had to endure music similar to this as we ceaselessly attempted to beat Dracula X on the SNES that Thanksgiving '95 night... That aside, this version is nicer, especially at the crest before repeating! You DON'T get that electric guitar squeal on the SNES! SKKWWWOOOOOOOOOWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a nice medley of CV music...you've got CV1 stage 1, what else...oh! And the 5 stage of CV1, plus a few others I cannot discern at the moment. The last few seconds are absolutely the BOMB, where the music, you can feel it, LITERALLY DIES!!!!
13. Music for all "Big Bad Monster At The End Of The Stage" fights. It's really good, as it appears to have been entirely orchestrated, and really builds the pressure.
14. This one is also on CastleVania Symphony of the Night (PlayStation), which starts you off with a reenactment of the Richter side of the last area in Vampire Killer Dracula X Blood's Rondo! This can EASILY replace Evangelion's "THE BEAST II" ballad (used each time something extremely violent and scary happens involving the giant purple robot). Believe me, that says a lot.
15. Richter's ending theme. Nice one, with a hero anthem going on, and the point of respite allows you to take a breather and reflect on your tough fought victory. I tell you...I'd love to have heard this unadulterated version after finally beating CastleVania Dracula X the morning after Thanksgiving...
16.Mary Samba- According to screen shots, Maria and all her animal pals get the heck out of the defeated Drac's falling castle with the quickness. A fun and peachy theme for Maria's light and humorous ending! Wee!

Track 17 here, is the PHAT remix for "Haunted Castle", the Vampire Killer game for Arcades (AC)! At two points you are beckoned to clap with the others for those brief seconds. Touchable instruments and intangible electrics work together and make this an explosively peaceful event. Explosively peaceful? ...um...hmm... This track can't really be explained that well, you need to live it.

In the first 23 tracks of disc 2, you get almost all of the Vampire Killer Mega Drive (CastleVania Bloodlines for Genesis) music, excluding the ever feared "Your Man Just Got Killed And You Have To Start Again" tune. All these downfalls of Genesis 16 bit-ness are vomit inducing when set beside the luscious Dracula X soundtrack. Okay, maybe not literally, but the music isn't that great for its time. Super CastleVania 4's music was even better. I only favor a couple of the tunes in Bloodlines since those tunes are those...I favor...which I just said.

The last four are inspired and from Akumajo Densetu Dracula for the X68000 system, which is shrouded in much mystery as far as I'm concerned. Hey, these are a real relief after Bloodlines. Moon Fight, the Block 6 BGM, and first of the four, appears to be a remix, which fades in with, my guess here, an actual sound clip from the game. Then we rock and jive and swing the remix. Mother Earth sounds like it's directly from the game, as does the next, and the final of the four is a remix of the X68k's Block 8 BGM, which sounds like the Block 1 BGM of Super CastleVania 4.

SlogRaptor gives the Akumajo Densetu Dracula X Chi no Rondo soundtrack a 19.92 out of 20.00, losing points only because of that monotonous second track. I give the whole CD pack a 20.00!!!!

This is definitely a must have for any hard core CV fan! GET THIS ONE AT ANY COST! Especially if the cost is 15 dollars! Hah! Over and out!

-BoP SlogRaptor!
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