- For the SNES game, see Castlevania: Dracula X.
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, known in Japan as Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo (Japanese: 悪魔城ドラキュラＸ 血の輪廻, translated as Dracula's Vampire Castle X: Reincarnation of Blood, is the one of the few Japan-only installments of the Castlevania series. It was later remade for the Super Nintendo as Castlevania: Dracula X, ported to the PSP as part of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, and given a sequel in the form of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night., for the TurboGrafx-CD. It was directed by Toru Hagihara. It is set in the fictional universe of the Castlevania series, where the protagonist Richter Belmont goes to save his lover Annette, who was abducted by Dracula. It was only released in Japan on October 29, 1993. A direct sequel to it, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, was released in 1997. The game was later ported to the Super Nintendo as Castlevania: Dracula X, and the PlayStation Portable as Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. It features an enhanced "2.5D" version of Dracula X alongside the original version, as well as an enhanced port of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. In 2008, the unaltered original game was released for the Wii's Virtual Console service in Japan and for the North American and PAL regions in 2010.
Plot
Taking place in 1792, Rondo of Blood is set in the fictional universe of the Castlevania series. The premise of the series is the eternal conflict between the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan and the immortal vampire Dracula. The protagonist is 19-year-old Richter Belmont (Jin Horikawa), heir to the whip Vampire Killer and Simon Belmont's direct descendant. He comes to the castle after his beloved Annette (Atsuko Honda) is kidnapped by Dracula's servant Shaft. Two times throughout the game, Dracula's trusty lieutenant, Death, attempts to stop Richter before he reaches Dracula. Along the way, Richter may attempt to rescue some other prisoners hidden away in the castle.