Castlevania: Bloodlines
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Castlevania: Bloodlines (NA)
Vampire Killer (JP)
Castlevania: The New Generation (PAL)
Castlevania: Bloodlines
North American box art
Developer(s) Konami
Publisher(s) Konami
Producer(s) Tomikazu Kirita
Composer(s) Michiru Yamane
Series Castlevania
Platform(s) Mega Drive
Release date(s) NA March 17, 1994 JP March 18, 1994 PAL March 20, 1994 Genre(s) Platforming
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution 8-megabit cartridge Castlevania: Bloodlines is the only Castlevania video game released on the Mega Drive/Genesis. It was developed and published by Konami, and was first released in North America, on March 17, 1994. Its Japanese title is Vampire Killer (バンパイアキラー Banpaia Kirā?). This version featured a considerable amount of violence, with the American port containing a surprising amount of blood and gore for a game of its "GA" rating. The European and Australian titles were censored and both titled Castlevania: The New Generation. Contents 1 Gameplay
2 Plot
2.1 Setting
2.2 Characters
2.3 Story
3 Development
4 Audio
5 Reception
6 References Gameplay
Eric LeCarde fighting the first miniboss, a Hellhound. As with most early Castlevania games, players proceed through each level, defeating enemies and collecting gems (hearts in previous games) to power special weapons (in this game, the axe, boomerang, and holy water). Each stage is sectioned, and has a sub-boss battle in the middle, with a main boss battle at the end. Some items will increase the power of the characters' weapons. Some portions of the game split into different paths, depending on which character is chosen. John is able to swing past huge gaps with his whip, whereas Eric must use a different route by performing high jumps by using his spear. Bloodlines is also noteworthy for its abundance of special effects, such as the Atlantis Shrine's water reflections, the swaying tower of Pisa, and large multi-jointed bosses. The final stage even uses effects to add challenge, such as playing upside-down or playing while the screen divides up into sections. The "Item Crash" feature (from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood) makes its return in Bloodlines.
Plot
Setting Unlike most Castlevania games, Bloodlines is one of the first games in the series that does not take place exclusively in Dracula's castle or even Romania. In addition to the first level (Dracula's castle in Romania), there are another five levels set in other European countries — Athens, Greece; Pisa, Italy; a weapon factory in Germany; the Palace of Versailles, in France; and the fictional Castle Proserpina in England. Despite the change in setting, however, the game still features the now-archetypal designs of Castlevania games. The player starts in the ruins of Castlevania (the first half of which is taken from the first NES game), which is a recurring theme in later titles. This game attempts to bridge the Castlevania games with the Dracula novel written by Bram Stoker, which the series had only been loosely connected to previously; John Morris, the main player character, is said to be the son of Quincey Morris, one of the novel's heroic characters. Additionally, the Countess Bartley is loosely based on the actual historical figure Elizabeth Báthory. The witch who resurrects her in the game's backstory is Dorottya Szentes, who in reality had connections to Báthory. (Just as the name "Bartley" in the English versions of the game is a mistransliteration of Báthory, the name "Drolta Tzuentes" is a corruption of Dorottya's name.) The game's backstory also references the real-life death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, suggesting that the assassination had been ordered by the Countess. Bloodlines' story weighs heavily on Portrait of Ruin, which stars John Morris' son Jonathan as the main character. John Morris dies sometime between 1917 and 1944 as a result of his reliance on the Vampire Killer whip and the fact that it saps the energy of its non-full-blood Belmont users (John had been injured in the fight with Dracula in 1917 and his reliance on the whip never allowed him to fully recover from his wounds).
Characters
Artwork used for Japanese, European and Australian game cover versions of Castlevania: Bloodlines John Morris (ジョニー・モリス Jonī Morisu?) Born on December 12, 1895, in Texas, USA, is the current wielder of the Vampire Killer whip. "John Morris has been summoned by fate to slay the Countess Bartley before her diabolic plan can be fulfilled. Like all of his forefathers, he is wise in the ways of vampire slaying and is skilled with the legendary whip."[1] Eric Lecarde (エリック・リカード Erikku Rikādo?): Born on May 3, 1892 in Segovia, Spain, he uses the Alcarde Spear (アルカード・スピア Arukādo Supia?). "Eric Lecarde, master lanceman, has volunteered to take his friend's place in the hunt. However, he hasn't told John the real reason behind his appetite for vengeance: the Countess turned the love of his life, Gwendolyn, into a vampire." [2]
Story In 1897, the long war between humanity and Dracula came to an end, as Dracula was laid to eternal rest by Quincey Morris, a descendant of the Belmont family. Peace was restored to Europe, until the outbreak of the First World War, which transformed the continent into a dark world filled with massacre and violence. At the beginning of the war, on June 1914 at Sarajevo, the Crown Prince of Austria was assassinated. It was said that a strange beautiful woman was involved, within the shadows. It was Elizabeth Bartley (エリザベート・バートリー Erizabēto Bātorī?). In order to revive her uncle, Count Dracula, she conducted an unholy ceremony which caused the war, giving her possession of human souls from Europe. The game itself takes place in 1917. The characters are John Morris, a descendant of the famed Belmont and Morris families who obeyed his fate to fight vampires day and night, and Eric Lecarde, whose girlfriend was transformed into a vampire when Elizabeth was revived. After Drolta Tzuentes (ドロテア・ツェンテス Dorotea Tsentesu?) resurrected Elizabeth Bartley, they traveled across Europe to conduct the resurrection of Count Dracula. John Morris and Eric Lecarde followed them. Even though the resurrection of Dracula was a success, the vampire hunters defeated him, and his allies.
Development Castlevania: Bloodlines underwent censorship during localization to PAL regions in Europe and Australia. The word blood was kept out of the title at the time. Therefore, the title was altered to Castlevania: The New Generation. When the game starts, the blood from the bottom of the title screen was changed to water. Another thing that was changed for the title screen is that the North American and Japanese versions had blood dripping effects from the title to the blood pool, but in the European version, the title screen just faded in through pixelated text and had no blue water dripping effect. The zombies were changed from pink to green to make them less gruesome. In the European version, Eric's spear does not impale him after he dies. There was a rearrangement of enemy placement as well, making the difficulty either easier or harder depending on where in the game the player is. Also, only some sub-bosses use the life bar meter to show damage, whereas others don't. Eric's facial features were more feminine (i.e., bishōnen) in the Japanese version. When brought to North America, his facial design was changed in the intro to seem more masculine. Oddly, although also changed for the European and Australian versions intro, his feminine face was kept for the cover of those releases. The game was originally released as a side story of Castlevania series.[1]
Audio The music of Bloodlines was composed by Michiru Yamane, who later garnered acclaim for her score for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and subsequent handheld Castlevania adventures. Though she once admitted to have worked under extreme pressure and deadlines,[2] this soundtrack met the standards of the previous entries and is highly regarded on its own for its gloomy atmosphere.[citation needed] The music for the second level, titled "The Sinking Old Sanctuary," was reused in later Castlevania games, Circle of the Moon, for the Game Boy Advance, and Legacy of Darkness, for the Nintendo 64. The main themes for each of the first levels of the three NES Castlevania games (Vampire Killer, Bloody Tears, Beginning) are accessible in-game with a code and can be played in the sound test as well. Also, Nothing to Lose (the Castle Keep theme for the NES Castlevania) was played in the final part of the first stage. Theme of Simon (from Super Castlevania IV) plays after defeating Elizabeth and before the battle with Dracula.
Reception
[hide]Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 81.88%[3] GamesRadar named Castlevania: Bloodlines the 8th best Genesis game of all time out of a list of 25.[4]
References Jump up ^ Page 33, Rondo of Blood Strategy guide book
Jump up ^ "It was my first title for the series ever, and I was under a lot a pressure." – Michiru Yamane, from the Castlevania: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Art Collection
Jump up ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/genesis/563315...
Jump up ^ GamesRadar staff (April 17, 2012). "Best Sega Genesis games of all time". GamesRadar. Retrieved February 2, 2013. [show] v
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Castlevania: Bloodlines (NA)
Vampire Killer (JP)
Castlevania: The New Generation (PAL)
Castlevania: Bloodlines
North American box art
Developer(s) Konami
Publisher(s) Konami
Producer(s) Tomikazu Kirita
Composer(s) Michiru Yamane
Series Castlevania
Platform(s) Mega Drive
Release date(s)
NA March 17, 1994
JP March 18, 1994
PAL March 20, 1994
Genre(s) Platforming
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution 8-megabit cartridge
Castlevania: Bloodlines is the only Castlevania video game released on the Mega Drive/Genesis. It was developed and published by Konami, and was first released in North America, on March 17, 1994. Its Japanese title is Vampire Killer (バンパイアキラー Banpaia Kirā?). This version featured a considerable amount of violence, with the American port containing a surprising amount of blood and gore for a game of its "GA" rating. The European and Australian titles were censored and both titled Castlevania: The New Generation.
Contents
1 Gameplay
2 Plot
2.1 Setting
2.2 Characters
2.3 Story
3 Development
4 Audio
5 Reception
6 References
Gameplay
Eric LeCarde fighting the first miniboss, a Hellhound.
As with most early Castlevania games, players proceed through each level, defeating enemies and collecting gems (hearts in previous games) to power special weapons (in this game, the axe, boomerang, and holy water). Each stage is sectioned, and has a sub-boss battle in the middle, with a main boss battle at the end. Some items will increase the power of the characters' weapons. Some portions of the game split into different paths, depending on which character is chosen. John is able to swing past huge gaps with his whip, whereas Eric must use a different route by performing high jumps by using his spear.
Bloodlines is also noteworthy for its abundance of special effects, such as the Atlantis Shrine's water reflections, the swaying tower of Pisa, and large multi-jointed bosses. The final stage even uses effects to add challenge, such as playing upside-down or playing while the screen divides up into sections. The "Item Crash" feature (from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood) makes its return in Bloodlines.
Plot
Setting
Unlike most Castlevania games, Bloodlines is one of the first games in the series that does not take place exclusively in Dracula's castle or even Romania. In addition to the first level (Dracula's castle in Romania), there are another five levels set in other European countries — Athens, Greece; Pisa, Italy; a weapon factory in Germany; the Palace of Versailles, in France; and the fictional Castle Proserpina in England. Despite the change in setting, however, the game still features the now-archetypal designs of Castlevania games. The player starts in the ruins of Castlevania (the first half of which is taken from the first NES game), which is a recurring theme in later titles.
This game attempts to bridge the Castlevania games with the Dracula novel written by Bram Stoker, which the series had only been loosely connected to previously; John Morris, the main player character, is said to be the son of Quincey Morris, one of the novel's heroic characters.
Additionally, the Countess Bartley is loosely based on the actual historical figure Elizabeth Báthory. The witch who resurrects her in the game's backstory is Dorottya Szentes, who in reality had connections to Báthory. (Just as the name "Bartley" in the English versions of the game is a mistransliteration of Báthory, the name "Drolta Tzuentes" is a corruption of Dorottya's name.)
The game's backstory also references the real-life death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, suggesting that the assassination had been ordered by the Countess.
Bloodlines' story weighs heavily on Portrait of Ruin, which stars John Morris' son Jonathan as the main character. John Morris dies sometime between 1917 and 1944 as a result of his reliance on the Vampire Killer whip and the fact that it saps the energy of its non-full-blood Belmont users (John had been injured in the fight with Dracula in 1917 and his reliance on the whip never allowed him to fully recover from his wounds).
Characters
Artwork used for Japanese, European and Australian game cover versions of Castlevania: Bloodlines
John Morris (ジョニー・モリス Jonī Morisu?) Born on December 12, 1895, in Texas, USA, is the current wielder of the Vampire Killer whip. "John Morris has been summoned by fate to slay the Countess Bartley before her diabolic plan can be fulfilled. Like all of his forefathers, he is wise in the ways of vampire slaying and is skilled with the legendary whip."[1]
Eric Lecarde (エリック・リカード Erikku Rikādo?): Born on May 3, 1892 in Segovia, Spain, he uses the Alcarde Spear (アルカード・スピア Arukādo Supia?). "Eric Lecarde, master lanceman, has volunteered to take his friend's place in the hunt. However, he hasn't told John the real reason behind his appetite for vengeance: the Countess turned the love of his life, Gwendolyn, into a vampire." [2]
Story
In 1897, the long war between humanity and Dracula came to an end, as Dracula was laid to eternal rest by Quincey Morris, a descendant of the Belmont family. Peace was restored to Europe, until the outbreak of the First World War, which transformed the continent into a dark world filled with massacre and violence. At the beginning of the war, on June 1914 at Sarajevo, the Crown Prince of Austria was assassinated. It was said that a strange beautiful woman was involved, within the shadows. It was Elizabeth Bartley (エリザベート・バートリー Erizabēto Bātorī?). In order to revive her uncle, Count Dracula, she conducted an unholy ceremony which caused the war, giving her possession of human souls from Europe.
The game itself takes place in 1917. The characters are John Morris, a descendant of the famed Belmont and Morris families who obeyed his fate to fight vampires day and night, and Eric Lecarde, whose girlfriend was transformed into a vampire when Elizabeth was revived. After Drolta Tzuentes (ドロテア・ツェンテス Dorotea Tsentesu?) resurrected Elizabeth Bartley, they traveled across Europe to conduct the resurrection of Count Dracula. John Morris and Eric Lecarde followed them. Even though the resurrection of Dracula was a success, the vampire hunters defeated him, and his allies.
Development
Castlevania: Bloodlines underwent censorship during localization to PAL regions in Europe and Australia. The word blood was kept out of the title at the time. Therefore, the title was altered to Castlevania: The New Generation. When the game starts, the blood from the bottom of the title screen was changed to water. Another thing that was changed for the title screen is that the North American and Japanese versions had blood dripping effects from the title to the blood pool, but in the European version, the title screen just faded in through pixelated text and had no blue water dripping effect. The zombies were changed from pink to green to make them less gruesome. In the European version, Eric's spear does not impale him after he dies. There was a rearrangement of enemy placement as well, making the difficulty either easier or harder depending on where in the game the player is. Also, only some sub-bosses use the life bar meter to show damage, whereas others don't.
Eric's facial features were more feminine (i.e., bishōnen) in the Japanese version. When brought to North America, his facial design was changed in the intro to seem more masculine. Oddly, although also changed for the European and Australian versions intro, his feminine face was kept for the cover of those releases.
The game was originally released as a side story of Castlevania series.[1]
Audio
The music of Bloodlines was composed by Michiru Yamane, who later garnered acclaim for her score for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and subsequent handheld Castlevania adventures. Though she once admitted to have worked under extreme pressure and deadlines,[2] this soundtrack met the standards of the previous entries and is highly regarded on its own for its gloomy atmosphere.[citation needed] The music for the second level, titled "The Sinking Old Sanctuary," was reused in later Castlevania games, Circle of the Moon, for the Game Boy Advance, and Legacy of Darkness, for the Nintendo 64.
The main themes for each of the first levels of the three NES Castlevania games (Vampire Killer, Bloody Tears, Beginning) are accessible in-game with a code and can be played in the sound test as well. Also, Nothing to Lose (the Castle Keep theme for the NES Castlevania) was played in the final part of the first stage. Theme of Simon (from Super Castlevania IV) plays after defeating Elizabeth and before the battle with Dracula.
Reception
[hide]Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 81.88%[3]
GamesRadar named Castlevania: Bloodlines the 8th best Genesis game of all time out of a list of 25.[4]
References
Jump up ^ Page 33, Rondo of Blood Strategy guide book
Jump up ^ "It was my first title for the series ever, and I was under a lot a pressure." – Michiru Yamane, from the Castlevania: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Art Collection
Jump up ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/genesis/563315...
Jump up ^ GamesRadar staff (April 17, 2012). "Best Sega Genesis games of all time". GamesRadar. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
[show]
v
t
e
Castlevania series
Categories:
1994 video games
Castlevania games
Sega Genesis games
Sega Genesis-only games
Video games developed in Japan
Video games set in the 1910s
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