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Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles | 
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| From: Konami
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $18.69
You Save: $1.30 (7%)
New (28) Used (10) Collectible (1) from $16.74
Avg. Customer Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 1502
Platform: Sony Psp
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: Sony PSP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0 x 0
MPN: 26036
Model: 26036
UPC: 083717260363
EAN: 0083717260363
ASIN: B000R37S00
Release Date: October 23, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Brand New - Factory Sealed ORIGINAL (not Greatest Hits) - Free Upgrade to First Class Shipping with Delivery Confirmation! BEWARE OF SELLERS WITH POOR OR LOW FEEDBACK AND EXCESSIVE SHIPPING RATES - research before you buy!
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| Features:
| • | Retro side scrolling action through more than 10 gothic stages and additional hidden areas | | • | New song collection system adds additional depth to classic gameplay | | • | Return to previously completed levels to explore and uncover new secrets | | • | Includes the original classic Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night games, optimized for PSP system |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is an entirely new take at the best Castlevania game to never be released in the US, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. The Dracula X Chronicles brings the beloved action/adventure franchise to the PSP system for the first time, complete with 3D graphics, enhanced gameplay and new music. Completing the Dracula X storyline, this game also includes an unlockable version of Symphony of the Night and players will also be able to unlock the original Rondo of Blood from the NEC PC Engine.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 Bitten once more.. December 19, 2008
One of the most vintage videogame franchises gets re-dressed. Its not just a new coat of paint either we're talking about depth and a few bonuses :) Lets get right to the meat and potatoes; alot of people see the value of having Symphony of the Night within Dracula X Chronicles as worth the price of admission alone. I was one of those people! Not only did I vaguely remember playing the Orignial Dracula X( I was a young lad and this version is diff. from the american version) but it feels like a completely new game to me! Its classic Castlevania left untouched yet completely done in 2.5 Dimensional graphics to give it a current look on the PSP. I remember buying this last Halloween on the eve of the Manhunt 2 scandal and felt at that time was the peak of the PSP. Although this year I ate my own words as I played Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core (that review is coming soon!).
What I can say that stands out about the gameplay besides the technical platforming is the rampant difficulty. The bosses will tire you out so you must learn all enemy strategies. I can honestly admit that I haven't even beat it yet(stage before last). I'm still checking out alternate stage paths which are decorated through out the entire game. The D-pad on the PSP works wonders with calculating your jumps properly. I played this on the PSP-1000 so my last sentence is a testament to what you 3000 (and 2000s) PSPers must feel with the new and improved D-pads. As with any Castlevania game the music is spectacular and elegantly gothic! I left the UMD splash/load menu on just to hear the ghostly chants of the female choir earlier today. Now I will end this review with what I strated it with and a "bang"; Symphony of the Night is on the UMD but you have to unlock it. You can look up how to unlock SOTN on the internet. Wasn't that hard for me to unlock SOTN. Once I did I was disappointed.. If you are like me and you played the PSX version or even the Saturn version heed this: THE UMD VERSION ONCE UNLOCKED DOESN'T SUPPORT FULL SCREEN MODE. You can keep it to its normal reduced size or you can add distracting and goofy borders. Was the ONLY let down with this marvelous PSP release.
 NOT For the Casual Gamer October 16, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
First thing first, if this were a review for "Symphony of the Night," and "Symphony of the Night" only, there would be 5 shiny gold stars at the top. However, this is a review for "The Dracula X Chronicles," the largest part of which is the remake of "Rondo of Blood"--thus: 1 star for including "SotN" as BONUS CONTENT (you'll have to beat "Rondo" to play "Symphony"), and 2 stars for "Rondo of Blood."
Now I know that such a rating will border on blasphemy to the Castlevania faithful, but so be it. This isn't a review for them. This is for any but the most hardcore gamers who are Castlevania fans, for those who might be as turned off as I was by this game's most serious deficiency: playability.
I define "playability" as the X factor [meaning it may be many things in many different games] that causes the player to never want to put the game down; it's the thing that keeps you up into the early hours of the morning playing "just one more level." And, most importantly, it's the thing that puts a smile on your face. Playability leaves you anxious for more, and satisfied once you've finished that 100% completion; it's the thing that makes you just the tiniest bit unhappy when you're done because you don't know how long it will be before you have such a rich, rewarding gaming experience again.
It is this type of playability that "Rondo" lacks. It's a beautiful game to look at, and it certainly delivers a solid 3D/2D side-scrolling Castlevania experience. BUT that experience is hampered by the masochistic difficulty of the game. I'm all for challenging gameplay, and I wholeheartedly believe that a game should reward the gamer's developing skills by increasing in difficulty as levels get higher, but "Rondo of Blood" is punishingly, frustratingly difficult from the beginning--and extremely unforgiving of small mistakes: time and again you will find yourself taking damage due to the most miniscule misplacement of your character, and even small enemies deal out damage that drains large amounts from your health meter. Again, I love a good challenge, but I also like to be rewarded for gaining the skills to overcome that challenge. I want that feeling of satisfaction that comes when you know you've finally figured out the key to passing a certain level or beating a certain enemy--that you've risen to the challenge. Unfortunately, that feeling is rare with "Rondo." Rather, the feeling I most often had at the end of a level was relief that I'd finally broken through, and the suspicion that it was luck more than anything else that finally got me there. And I was usually ready to turn the game off, which in my opinion is the one emotion that a game should never, ever evoke in a player: you should always shut down your system with regret, not relief! And, more than anything, the gamer should NEVER want to throw his controller (or entire system in this case) out of frustration. I'm looking for positive emotions from my gaming experiences, and that type of deep frustration is as negative as it gets--but it's one that I felt all too often playing "Rondo of Blood."
I am a very casual gamer (2 or 3 titles per year), and there are just too many good games out there for me to spend time on anything that delivers so much frustration and so little satisfaction.
I love Castlevania, and "Symphony of the Night" is my favorite game of all time, but I just can't recommend "The Dracula X Chronicles" to anyone but the most hardcore Castlevania fans.
One of the best games on the PSP! October 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm a huge fan of the Castlevania games, but like many fans, I never got a chance to play the Japan-only "Rondo of Blood," a nearly legendary title that is considered by many critics to be the best of the old-school Castlevania games. Oddly, the game's sequel, "Symphony of the Night," was released in the US, but it took the series in a brand new direction that fused Castlevania with Metroid-style exploration and RPG elements. And even that one is hard to find today, often fetching prices of $50 or more online.
Fortunately, Konami decided it was time to give US gamers the whole "Dracula X" experience by releasing Rondo and Symphony in the same package. To prevent the game from being a sloppy port of some old titles, Konami's Castlevania team redid Rondo in full 3D, preserving the side-scrolling gameplay, but adding a lot of depth and dimension to the backgrounds and infusing several exciting cutscenes. They also made the fight with Dracula at the end much, much harder, giving the player a sense of accomplishment in winning.
The classic Rondo and a perfect port of Symphony are easily unlocked as well, making this pack incredibly worthwhile. And while the stiff controls take some getting used to, they're well worth mastering -- this collection is one of the best the PSP has to offer.
 Stateside at last October 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Even though I had the original console the original version of this game appeared one, I never could find it. When I first saw "Dracula X" for the SNES I thought THAT was it, it wasn't. Finally we have the real thing, and re-mastered. The "2.5 Dimension" thing isn't bad at all, the choice between English and Jap audio should make everybody happy, the difficulty has probably been upped a bit, especially the final battle with Dracula, but it isn't impossible. Even the average guy with not a lot of time to play or get to an "expert" level like myself can beat the game. The inclusion of a re-dubbed Castlevania Symphony of the Night is good, it also features some of the bonus scenes, weapons, items, and area's that were in the Sega Saturn Japanese version of "Symphony of the Night" There's lots of hidden bonuses in the game to keep the perfectionist happy; while the rest of us who just want a fun challenging Castlevania game have just that.
Near Perfect..... September 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This compilation smokes! You can't go wrong if you have even the slightest interest in Castlevania!
SOTN alone makes this worth it. For the price you'd be crazy not to buy this!!
A must have!
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