Castlevania: Bloodlines - Thoughts
Castlevania: Bloodlines was released in 1994 on the Sega Genesis console. Bloodlines was the only Castlevania game released on the Genesis, but it wouldn’t be the only time a Castlevania game was released on a Sega platform (see Symphony of the Night).
The game was praised at the time for its level of gore, graphics and sound. Out of 25 selected games, it was ranked number 8 by GamesRadar as one of the best Genesis games of all time.
Castlevania: Bloodlines has also been considered by some to be a hidden gem in the Castlevania franchise, presumably due to the fact that it was a standalone title on a non-Nintendo console.
What I liked
John Morris or Eric Lecarde
For the first time in a Castlevania game, players can choose the main character they wish to play as, John Morris or Eric Lecarde. Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse allowed the player to swap between characters throughout the game, but the main starting character is always Trevor Belmont.
John Morris is your traditional whip slinger and is kind of the choice to go with if you are looking for a familiar play style as other Castlevania games. It’s unclear if the Morris clan is biologically related to the Belmonts, but the Morris clan did inherit the Vampire Killer whip.
Eric Lecarde wields a large spear and has a very colorful outfit. Eric hails from Spain and the Lecarde clan are related to the Belmonts by blood, so it seems to lend credence that the Morris’s were also of the Belmont bloodline. Eric’s spear is actually called the Alucard Spear, crafted by and named after Dracula’s son Alucard.
I like the option to choose between John or Eric. It gives the player choice and there’s also some replayability in there, as the play styles of each character are different.
Background Trickery
Castlevania: Bloodlines does some really neat things with the background environments. There are levels that have you fighting upward against a rising tide of water. The entire background sometimes shakes when an enemy stomps the ground.
Some of the stages in the game are located at an actual place in the world such as Versailles Palace. There’s a level where you are traversing upward on the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and it is rocking and swaying back and forth. There’s even a really trippy level where you are upside down at times.
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I think these kinds of touches are really neat to see and make the game stand out more. No Castlevania game before Bloodlines really did anything like this with possibly the exception of Super Castlevania IV and its conservative use of Mode-7 graphics. Bloodlines uses every trick in the Genesis bag, and I think the game is better for it.
The Bosses
Each Boss in the game is larger than life and each one has their own gimmick that make them interesting. There’s a mini boss that you fight in the aforementioned water level, and you have to take him down while he’s teleporting around the area but also the water is slowly filling the screen. If you don’t defeat him fast enough you will drown.
Another Boss, the Gargoyle is at the end of the Leaning Tower of Pisa level. It flies around the screen and throws rocks at you and the only platform available is the small top area of the tower.
I appreciated that it seemed like a lot of creativity was put into the Bosses. I don’t think there was a single one that I didn’t enjoy fighting. Also, the fight with Death had a really neat and organic way to introduce a Boss Rush mode without it feeling forced. Death pulls out a set of cards that spin around in a roulette wheel. The player tries to hit one as they are spinning very fast. Almost all of the cards will teleport the player to a Boss they’ve found before. Boss Rush modes typically feel tacked on in order to lengthen a game’s playtime, but this one felt like some sadistic game Death would try to come up with to antagonize the players.
What I didn’t like
Sound Effects
Yeesh the sound effects in this game. Almost everything sounds so computerized to the point that it’s all just cacophony in the end. Bosses dying is the worst. The Gargoyle boss, when he dies, sounds like someone got the munchies and decided to pop some popcorn. There’s a Gear Steamer enemy, when he dies, it sounds like someone dropped a crate of cymbals down a flight of stairs.
Nothing sounds organic and I guess that’s both a deliberate choice they made combined with the Genesis sound card. It’s weird because the music in the background sounds just fine, which further makes me think it was a choice that was made instead of literally not being able to do any better.
John Morris, you Brute
John Morris in this game looks like a guy who is overdosing on performance enhancing drugs but also skips leg day. His character sprite is such a brute-like figure, and it never has made sense to me. This is even more apparent when you compare it against Eric Lecarde’s sprite, who is evenly proportioned. I really find it humorous more than anything.
Overall Thoughts
Castlevania: Bloodlines is an interesting entry in the series. It has solid graphics and uses the power of the Genesis to full effect. Combat is fun and the bosses are larger than life. The ability to choose between main characters gives the game kind of an arcade feel but does a really good job of making John and Eric different. The music is weird and some of the character sprites are funny looking. But my feeling is that this is an overlooked game in the series, and it really shouldn’t be. Go seek this one out.
Where Can I Play This?
Castlevania: Bloodlines can be played today via the Castlevania: Anniversary Collection or if you can get your hands on a Sega Genesis Mini, it’s on there also. It is also available on Nintendo Switch Online with the Expansion Pack.