The Best Way to Play Castlevania: Rondo of Blood & Symphony of the Night / MY LIFE IN GAMING

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night have most recently been re-released on PS4 in the form of Castlevania Requiem. But is this 4K version the best way to play? Let's take a look at every game and every version in the Dracula X sub-series, from PC Engine to SNES, PlayStation, Saturn, PSP, and beyond!
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My Life in Gaming makes documentaries, deep dives into retro console hardware, and more.

[@CarcinogenSDA]

With permission from Coury and Try, here's a link to my No Damage playthrough of SotN: kzbin.info/www/bejne/goK2mGpqocpjfLs kzbin.info/www/bejne/imTGXqF_f750jJI (No Commentary Version) I was also able to complete a No Damage playthrough of Rondo of Blood as well: kzbin.info/www/bejne/emamXoJtqrOGgJY kzbin.info/www/bejne/kInViIifbtWFf7c (No Commentary Version) Huge thanks for the shoutout!

[@zanychelly]

CarcinogenSDA i will certainly watch that.

[@rockdesu]

Will watch

[@ryanamberger]

Your runs never cease to amaze me. Lordy lordy.

[@Captain_Neckbeard]

Show off!

[@Mr.madmight266]

They really need to make a proper collection including the DS Castlevania games.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

I recognize the crazy amount of work it would take to make this video. Great job guys!!

[@zachary_attackery]

and somehow they managed to do it without asking for money at the end of the video

[@KAZUNARl]

true... nice that someone did it

[@lunarvania8073]

So cool seeing other KZbinrs liking other peoples stuff, we have a great community!

[@NoThanksnothanks]

Metal Jesus stamp of approval!!!

[@WolfeVon]

@@zachary_attackery LMFAO I love you.

[@msamiullah001]

this is TV documentary level production quality

[@josko50]

Maybe Coury should get a job working in video production OH WAIT

[@JuliusHahaha]

josko50 wait What?

[@3ambreakbeats977]

Always

[@Cobble_Stone]

What's a TV?

[@NitroRad]

OH MY GOD WHAT ARE THESE SMOOTH CAMERA MOVEMENTS OVER THE GAMES AND CONSOLES HOW DID YOU EVEN DO THOSE, THEY LOOK AMAZING

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] It's a motorized slider + panning head called Rhino Arc. :)

[@NitroRad]

@@mylifeingaming Thanks, I definitely need to get one of those!

[@theGVirtue]

Nitro Rad will be looking for those kinda shots in your future videos You guys are both awesome btw, keep it up!

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

Hi, Nitro! ^^

[@AlphaZeroX96]

Those shouldn't matter.

[@AcidGlow]

*It's like every version gets butchered in some way.. and no real perfect port exists..* ✅😲

[@KiteGr]

You forgot to mention Dracula X Chronicles's many other additions! * There are now lots of collectables in the form of artworks and soundtrack. * The game has 3 new bosses. * The other 2 virgins now give you special powers, allowing you to break red skeleton walls and blue crystals to get goodies. * Now to rescue Anete you'll have to rescue the all other 3 virgins. Even if you do, if you go to the same room that she was locked in the orginal, you'll only waste your key on a trap, and to find the real room, you'll have to use your brain. * Going to the semi last fight without rescuing Anete will cause you to fight her as a Vampire/Succubus thing in a new boss fight instead of shaft. * If you rescue all the virgins, Dracula has a 3rd even harder form! * The secret 5' stage that was super hard and available only after you've beaten Death is now almost completely remade! It's still super hard, but now has more variety on it's level design, has many paths, One that leads to the traditional Death boss fight, one that leads to a brand new Hydra boss fight, and a hidden one that leads to a Succubus fight, as the old one will become unavailable once you rescue Anete.

[@zachary_attackery]

is all that stuff only in the remake version or did they put it in the original too?

[@KiteGr]

@@zachary_attackery Remake on the PSP. It includes the original Rondo of Blood and that's how I played it and noticed the changes.

[@HappyConsoleGamer]

What an amazing job guys!! GREAT episode!

[@GameSack]

Holy crap never thought I'd see Pete Dorr in the comments section of MLiG video!

[@HappyConsoleGamer]

OMG It's Metal Jesus!

[@theSHELFables]

@@HappyConsoleGamer This thread is amazing

[@lunarvania8073]

Johnny!!

[@robertbarker5802]

Yet another game that could have really used a physical copy released.

[@JD-xz1mx]

Would have been an instant purchase.

[@JBird401]

I wish they would've used the original ps1 version

[@joshman196]

@@JBird401 Why not both? I personally like the ps1 version better like most people but I have seen those comments that like the voice acting better on the psp. So why couldn't we have an option for either voice acting? Fucking why Konami?

[@_zoinks2554]

I'd buy Requiem physical

[@Yoshideking]

You sure got money, lucky you :* @Starscream91

[@GinraiPrime666]

Fun fact: The Saturn version of Symphony of the Night allows you to play as Richter Belmont with a completely new sprite based off his artwork from Symphony. While I do prefer his Rondo sprite and look its still cool that they went the extra mile to not only give us playable adult Maria but also have a new sprite for Richter. I would love it if this sprite was available in other releases of Symphony but as far as I'm aware they're not.

[@jonathanbetenbender307]

Can't forget the three godsend that is the godspeed boots. You're right btw that alternative suit is exclusive to the Saturn

[@AlucardsQuest]

I don't know about an extra mile, maybe about 19 feet tops. Sure they raised his collar and shortened his boots among other things to match Ayami Kojima's art, but his coat still buttons at an angle across the chest instead of being open showing off his white ruffled shirt. Plus the extra pixels lack detail, leaving his hair blue. Compare it to how they practically remade Maria's sprite from the ground up on the PSP/Requiem release, making her hair and petticoat blow in the wind (even a pixelated boob job if you're looking for it lol). I imagine the same guy who redid that also worked on Charlotte Aulin and Shanoa for the DS Castlevanias.

[@The_Mister_E]

I wonder if Saturn emulation would mitigate the slowdown? Or perhaps a fancy ISO patch could optimize it properly?🤔

[@jonathanbetenbender307]

@@AlucardsQuest I'm pretty sure that Maria is just the sprites from rondo with perhaps slight alteration

[@jonathanbetenbender307]

@@The_Mister_E a it definately does with the correct setup... It's been so long and I lost my Emu farm so the setup eludes me atm

[@NecromancerAdr]

Now all you have to do is compare it to the PS Classic version. Oh wait...

[@EmilXOM]

OOF

[@gabrieleriva651]

Oh, snap!

[@Jose-se9pu]

BURN!

[@Metalora]

I don't get it

[@lunarvania8073]

Yea.....which is why im passing on it.

[@videogameobsession]

Also, in case some viewers don't know, the official Sony PlayStation 24" 3D LED TV will automatically scale a PSP video output to fill the entire screen without any black borders. I always thought that was a nice touch.

[@tankmchavocproductions6907]

Many LCDs had thought put into them before the smart tv era. This is a nice touch which probably would never had happened today.

[@eclectic_echoes]

"For Castlevania fans, the only wrong way to play Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night is to no play them at all" what a great ending for the video.

[@TechnoSyndro]

Something you didn't mention is that because of file size limits on XBLA titles they had to remove all of the FMV sequences from SotN on the 360. Granted there were only a few short FMV scenes showing the outside of the castle, but I think it's still worth noting for people looking to play the game for the first time. They also patched the game after a certain point to remove the credits song I Am The Wind and replace it with the credits song from Lament of Innocence, but personally I'd call this one an improvement.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] I did forget to bring that up. Though to be honest I feel the FMVs are pretty garbage, they can be skipped with no context lost.

[@Reluctant_Hero]

You take that back! “I Am The Wind” is a classic!

[@TechnoSyndro]

@@mylifeingaming On a replay they're absolutely unnecessary, but I think if you didn't know about it ahead of time the castle flip moment wouldn't register without the FMV.

[@AirshBornely]

Good to know that I wasn't missing much. I was bothered I was missing out on the FMVs that I heard about.

[@gabrieleriva651]

Nah, it's always been just a Celine Dion ripoff.

[@MellowGaming]

Symphony of the Night is one of my all time favourites. I remember it getting really lacklustre reviews here in the UK with a lot of magazines complaining about having an outdated looking 2D game on their Playstation, which is the dumbest complaint ever. As a result the game barely sold here. I picked it up for £12 a few weeks after release with the art book and soundtrack cd. Gotta be the best investment I ever made with a game. One thing worth noting not mentioned in the video is that the Xbox 360 version lacks the CGI scenes in SotN. They don't appear often but it is an omission all the same. they're back in the PS4 version though. Gotta love that PS1 era castle they didn't finish texturing.

[@maxmatson1578]

It's Christmas Eve in Ogden, Utah and I just picked up Castlevania Symphony of the Night for the PS1 for $58 so.... Merry Christmas to me!👍

[@Mr.madmight266]

I think the best way to play Rondo of Blood is with the translated PSP re-release(the PCE-CD game on the PSP disc, not The Dracula X Chronicles game)cause it is fully translated, which for some reason is something that was missing in the Wii VC version. though oviously the PCE has a lot more to offer than just Rondo of Blood, too bad they never made a Hu-Card version of RoD, the only closest thing to that was a Castlevania engine someone made for the PCE that i showed on my channel for halloween.

[@minionman123]

YESSS! This episode couldnt be any more perfectly timed. Some of the best in the series and with Smash around the corner. Its great for people to have a way to play these games. Ive been curious about which is the best way myself as I only own Rondo on the Wii, and SOTN on the Xbox 360.

[@UltimateSonic99999]

Sotn on xbox 360 is the fastest version of the game, meaning best performance and no load times. The only thing off with the port is that there are no fmv cutscenes for the castle, but it's my fav version

[@minionman123]

@@UltimateSonic99999 No fmv's isnt THAT much of a sticking point for me cuz there were only like what? 3 or 4? But the only thing holding me back from enjoying that version fully is the 360 D-Pad. I dont have one of those transforming D-Pad controllers and I wont be getting an Xbox One for a little while so the D-Pad issue is kinda holding me back a bit. I still love the game but i would love to buy it on PS3/PS4 (or get a disc eventually) when the money is right. Saving up to build a PC at the moment.

[@UltimateSonic99999]

@@minionman123 i agree with you there, tbh i wish they actually ported the saturn areas into a proper english version

[@minionman123]

@@UltimateSonic99999 I was hoping that was what Requiem would be. But the PSP version isnt bad to have either. As for the Saturn bonuses, at this point I would rather attempt to emulate it and hoping it runs well enough. Even tho owning a Saturn is on my eventual bucket list, I dont see myself importing SOTN with its increasing prices unless I REALLY have the money to burn.

[@UltimateSonic99999]

@@minionman123 i know some emulators can eliminate some transparency effects and the slowdown, but you would probably want a fan english translation to enjoy it

[@TheAlderFalder]

For those who are deciding on which platform to play Symphony on: Just play the damn game!

[@Balthazar2242]

Yeah but on which platform tho

[@sadham2668]

@@Balthazar2242 the one you can play on

[@fishactivation5087]

@Steven Bowser Whatever you've got. I played the mobile port.

[@thrillhouse_vanhouten]

I bought Requiem for SoTN. I never expected I'd end up spending 5x more playtime on Rondo, instead. I loved it so much, (in spite of its difficulty relative to SoTN) that 100%'d it over a weekend, and then 100%'d it AGAIN over a laggy Shareplay Connection for a guy in Germany who wanted the platinum trophy. AND I'D DO IT AGAIN.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] Glad you enjoyed it! The "Classicvania" gameplay is sometimes hard for newcomers to get into, but boy is it satisfying when you get it.

[@WH250398]

Man the ps4 version should have been on a disc!

[@pendragnx]

completely agree - I would have bought it!

[@VampireSkeleton91]

Maybe if we're lucky, Limited Run Games could release a limited physical copy. We can only hope.

[@minionman123]

@@VampireSkeleton91 Man if Limited Run Gets their hands on this. I may have missed out on Dust and Yooka-Laylee for the Switch (i decided to save that money so i could build my PC faster). But there would be NO excuses from me to miss their run of Requiem!

[@CAPCOM784]

Maybe Playasia will strike a deal with Konami to do a physical release on disc.

[@Jouzujoe]

Right? With a booklet and artwork from Ayami Kojima. Konami will never do it, but a guy/gal can dream lmao

[@kuma1388]

You said “Konami” and “putting their hearts into a project” in the same sentence.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] Hey, there was a time when Konami was basically the best action game developer out there. That couldn't have happened without some people feeling passionate about their projects.

[@golbex]

90's Konami, anyway.

[@ArkRiley]

It was the 90's. Things are different now.

[@KonaKonaKaabisteru]

@@mylifeingaming Truer words have never been spoken. Action game masterminds, and SHMUP genre pioneers back in Golden Age of Gaming...

[@drax13]

All the juicy shots of Die Hard Game Fan pages are enough to give me a sad. The absolute finest video game mag of all time, what a shame there's nothing even close now, especially considering how much larger the video game business is these days.

[@minionman123]

Appropriately enough. I got a Castlevania Requiem ad midway through this video xD

[@Kentama]

Same!

[@StephenAnderson98403]

Coincidence? Konamcidence?

[@SXJAYSX]

I'm debating between requiem and x chronicles on vita...

[@minionman123]

@@SXJAYSX both are good options. Vita has portability and the 3D remake. And then Requiem on PS4 looks great and you can play it on a TV. Id say Dracula X Chronicles gices you more bang for your buck. But its up to you

[@SXJAYSX]

@@minionman123 yea I just got it! Haha it's cheaper, more content, and honestly fell in love with the series with the DS trio of series. Playing handheld is what feels natural to me lol

[@andrewkos5560]

I know that Romscout (one of the biggest Symphony Speedrunners) believes that Requiem's version of Symphony is based specifically off of the PAL release of the DXC.

[@skins4thewin]

Ah man... shame to hear that they cheaped out on the PS4 version. I was thinking about buying it tonight in fact but am not so sure now...

[@UttRConcrete]

skins4thewin just buy it, two games for one

[@sethpoirier6271]

I got it and a actually it's really good . I recommend you pick it up.

[@shivasthong4924]

I am thinking of getting the PS4 version simply because I like the redubbing and have it on everything else so why not eh?

[@emptysaint]

Perfect timing! I needed something awesome to watch with my coffee.

[@TheA_Gamer554]

same

[@Oversoulse7en]

Yup, me too :)

[@rcky6666]

X4

[@r12fre0n]

Great roundup. The Wii VC was always my port of choice just for the 240p support. Never actually noticed the horizontal scaling issue; CRT hides it I guess.

[@FIDreams]

Jump to 32:09 to get to what the actual title is going on about. The rest (For Castlevania Fans) is just filler to pad out the viewing time.

[@athrunzala75]

To this day, I'm still impressed Rondo of Blood was a _16-bit_ game. It really does look and feel more like a PS1/Saturn title.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] Even crazier when you consider the PC Engine is actually an 8-bit CPU with 16-bit graphics.

[@mykalchchin8163]

i just came here to say the best way is with a controller

[@aedd3307]

which controller though?

[@Thrashman138]

Perfect way to start my Sunday morning along with a hot cup of coffee.

[@PennPal573]

Morning? I'm eating tea ATM

[@drdroop2163]

I did the same thing. Saw it on my phone and instantly went and made a cup and cast it to the TV.

[@AlphaZeroX96]

I hate graphics hoarders. Iga didn't create SoTN. Someone else was the director until they left. Iga simply finished where they left off.

[@GhettoBagel]

Man, I've been wanting to stream Rondo of Blood (my favorite Castlevania) and Symphony of the Night (the Castlevania I've never played) for a while now, but was super unsure about how to go about it. Finally the PS4 version came out, but I was concerned that Rondo of Blood wasn't up to snuff, that it'd be a really poor representation of one of my favorite games. In my research, I found this video, and BOY am I glad! This is a seriously top-notch breakdown of every release and re-release of these games, I'm actually super impressed! Anyway, thanks for the indepth look at the games, you've helped me out big time, now I don't have quite as many reservations about getting the PS4 release since I know it'll be a decent way to play and show off Rondo of Blood.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] Glad to help! For all its problems and lack of presentation, the games mostly come out of the PS4 version pretty unscathed!

[@megahyperfistgaming7751]

Did you guys try requiem sotn with the Japanese voices I have had no audio issues playing with this enabled but I did with the English.

[@chasesmay7237]

So I’ve been playing the English patched version of SotN on my Saturn via fenrir with a cheap rat upscaler at 720p and I’ve been really impressed. I know it’s an ‘inferior’ port but the patch, in addition to a 4m cart and loading from an sd card, really helps with the pause menu loads and general slowdown. It may not be the ‘best’ way to experience SotN, but I’ve been having a blast with it:)

[@toshiko79]

Thank God for Retropie! I've been playing both of these games on original hardware for 20 years, and playing them on Retropie is hands down the best way to experience them. Original graphics displayed through HDMI look gorgeous on even the most robust HD TVs. No scaling problems, blurriness or audio glitches. Not to mention they're the original versions. So no porting issues, no new voiceovers, added cut scenes or any other unnecessary crap. Just the the original games the way you remember them and looking better than you ever imagined they could. I bought Requiem and thought it was a mess right off the bat. It feels very laggy, buggy, music cues and sound effects are off. And don't even get me started on that God awful Chronicles English dub! Give me the original Japanese and PSX voiceovers any day. I own most of the releases of these games shown in the video, and for me, playing the originals on Retropie is the only way to go!

[@SedatedDreamer]

Love my Retropie, and I love playing these originals on it. Its portable and cheap to replace in the unlikely event of damage. I will still keep buying excellent remakes when they come out though. A Retropie also makes an awesome gift. 4 thousand plus games (on a 32gb drive) and you just became a hero to friends and family :)

[@darkado34]

Great video but some advice for my Euroland friends, don't play PSOne Classic Sotn on your PS3. At least not the legit version from any of the euro ps stores. It's PAL PS1 game, it's 50hz and it might make your TV lose sync often :)

[@vfletes1]

I suck at this games couldn't get pass 1st level on Rondo of Blood and i hate the rpg element of Symphony just way to much crap on the screen.. Sold both copies together for 100 even.. Thats how much i hated them.. Got me a Wii U insted.

[@retrozen]

Bargain bin emulation on PS4! Ouch! Thanks for the video guys!

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] Bargain bin, yet serviceable enough despite all efforts to make it a potential mess!

[@islandimus3370]

I just wanna give a shootout to the mobile port of sotn, I'm pretty sure it's based on the psp version, having the redone voices, maria playable as well as the fight to get the glasses from her in the saturn version. But it looks great, has full controller support, and you don't have to beat the game to play as richter or maria. You can input their names from the beginning, and even if you do, (I got the first of the 4 endings pretty fast so idk) it's very easy get that worst ending. It's a great port, the mobile controls are actually pretty good, and the graphics are very crisp. It also has support for 6 different languages, as well as a sort of save state feature. Basically creates a new state every time you enter a room, this did lead me to an infinite death loop once in the entire game, between my 4 endings and full map completion, but you can just not use it if you dont want to. you can still load saves normally, and just completely ignore it. I would recommend it, it's like 10 bucks go buy it

[@justanotherlikeyou]

And now that we have Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the spirit of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night lives on🙂👍

[@viewtifuljoe99]

I saw the ad for Konami's ps4 rerelease twice during this video before it got to the ps4 comparison.

[@capo5312]

13:36 the diference between the downloadable version and disc version of SOTN in PS3 is because the PS3 uses different emulators, one for disc based games and other for psn games, ps1_emu and ps1_netemu respectively

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] However not all disc games have the ultra-sharp look and instead look like PSN versions. What triggers the difference is a mystery to me.

[@thanksbetotap]

Nacho Egea Do you know why they did that?

[@capo5312]

@@thanksbetotap no idea!

[@thanksbetotap]

@@capo5312 Ah, ok. Thanks for the reply.

[@00Resev]

I just want it on PC without having to resort to emulation and piracy. Is that unreasonable to ask, Konami? Throwing money to your faces in order to play the games i grew up with!? I have around 2500 (not a typo) digital games (never counted the physical ones...) between Steam, GOG, Origin, and Uplay, and yet i have to resort to dubious methods to play the games i love the most. Do you have ANY idea how happy i was when Sega released Shenmue, Yakuza, Dreamcast and Mega Drive games on PC, or SquareEnix with the Final Fantasy games, or Capcom with Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Mega Man collections, Okami HD, Dead Rising, etc. And yet, the greatest Konami games are nowhere to be seen! We have MGS 5. Great! Where are the previous four games? Maybe even a remaster of Game Cube's Twin Snakes version of the first game? We have ZOE 2. Awesome! Where's the first one? We have Castlevania Lords of Shadow 1&2. Are they good representatives of the franchise? No, they are not. Where are the 2D games? A Castlevania anthology of the 8, 16, 32bit, and portable games, would sell a bazillion copies on PC, and yet, nothing. Even overall, the Konami games of old would sell so well on PC, but there's barely anything on console, and nothing on PC. I can only imagine the truckload of money Konami would make if they released a collection of Policenauts and Snatcher. What about a T.M.N.T collection? Oh, wow, that would sell like hot cakes. And the elephant in the room, that are the Silent Hill games, especially, the first 3 games? Where are they!? I don't understand Konami...

[@paokman]

I agree. The handheld Castlevania games are the ones that need to be rereleased, as they cannot be bought anywhere (except the WiiU VC, I think). There is always emulation, but most people won't bother properly setting up one.

[@Neonmirrorblack]

"Maria offers a more agile and diverse moveset, that inarguably makes the game considerably easier, but not so much as to make the challenge entirely non trivial." You meant to say that she doesn't trivialize the game, but actually said she makes it easier, but she doesn't make it easy enough to give the game much of a challenge... Other than that, your video has really nice production values and good editing.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] I'm pretty sure that still reads right. She makes the game way easier, but it's not like there's zero challenge when playing as Maria either.

[@Neonmirrorblack]

Trivial = no challenge. Non Trivial = a challenge. You said she makes it easy, but not easy enough for it to be challenging.

[@Timorio]

@@mylifeingaming Remove the two negatives that cancel each other out and you're left with "...but makes the challenge entirely trivial."

[@bobby.theone7309]

@@Timorio Which she really does do for the most part, it's like playing on easy mode vs hard mode. In certain maps / boss fights, she makes the fights a decent challenge but with Richter it is a hard mode +.

[@DEVeloper_ACE]

SotN also has a mobile phone version available for ios and android. It appears to be similar based off of the DXC/Requiem version of the game. It has touch controls, the ability to to perform spells and other actions by tapping the icons on the screen, controller support, and the ability to play as Richter and Maria (DXC version) immediately.

[@justanotheryoutubechannel]

I wish they hadn’t prescaled the artwork and instead scaled the video before outputting as 240p, because then you could just downscale it back and it would look fine.

[@riggles]

I have to recommend the fan made "Quality Hack" it removes the black bars from the screens and seamlessly increases the viewing area, filling in otherwise unviewable areas with the correct tiles. www.romhacking.net/hacks/3606/ It looks stunning. It also finally grants you access to the hatch at the beginning even if it doesn't lead to the Saturn exclusive areas, and it highlights all the loading rooms in white on the map. Looks perfect on a CRT, it's made it difficult to go back to the black bars of the original disc.

[@j0nnyism]

Ive got the wii version of rondo and it’s excelllent

[@viniciusmedeiros2867]

It would be nice a remaster of both games on a new engine maintaining the original pixel art, just increasing the resolution to widescreen and SOTN having the sega saturn bonus. It's like what sega did with Sonic Android re-releases using the Christian Whitehead Retro Engine.

[@captaindinglepants4890]

I'm always ALWAYS happy to see videogame channels that look at the objective parts of game design. As someone who hopes to make games of his own, I'm always super happy to find well informed channels like this that explore specific elements of game design with a passion

[@TheBottomTier]

One side note: the European PSN release of SOTN is the PAL 50Hz version, which runs at 50FPS, as opposed to the NTSC's 60. This renders playing the game on a PS3 in Europe worthless. The European Wii VC release of Rondo of Blood does run at 60Hz, which you might have assumed given it never had a PAL release, but some NTSC games were forced into 50Hz for their Wii VC release (for example Puyo Puyo Tsu on Mega Drive). For the SNES releases, the Wii VC had the PAL Vampire's Kiss (50Hz), whereas the Wii U and 3DS VC got Dracula X (60Hz).

[@ZinhoMegaman]

I will never betray the original english dub on SoTN! I even memorized all the lines and kept repeating to my friends, they loved it, no joke.

[@moxty2795]

What about Mobile Ports ?!!

[@PremiumGerman]

When do you release the crt calibration video?

[@user-rd5wj2mm8n]

Personally I have give up waiting. Clearly not happening.

[@franciscobutte]

Symphony of the Night: PSN version on Vita. Rondo of Blood: PCE emulator also on Vita. Perfection.

[@Empyrealty]

The fact they only put it on ps4 made me pass, maybe if it gets cheaper down the line but I have older version, digital, emulation ect. Plus by limiting the games release to a console only means that without emulation down the line it will eventually become unplayable, of course that's long term but at least on pc it's there for good.

[@AlucardsQuest]

The PS4 technically is a PC, as both it and Xbone run on modern PC architecture. That could change in the future, but considering they've re-released these games so much, it'll happen again when PCs change. Why isn't it elsewhere? A few reasons, Nintendo dropped the ball on porting more Turbo and PC Engine games to the Wii U so that's Rondo out, and Xbox 360 already has it's version of Symphony... but mainly Sony came to Konami to pay for exclusivity on this release. Konami wasn't going to do anything with them otherwise. Really what the world needs is for a Castlevania Legacy Collection on all console and PC OSs like Mega Man has gotten!

[@northwindkey]

It's a PS4 exclusive because 9t was Sony that made it. Konami didn't lift a finger, Sony used their PSP emulator to give us DXC Deluxe essentially, with the awful 2.5D remake cut out.

[@laziestoldman]

Requiem on PS4 blew me away. Rondo is just stupidly polished for a 1993 game, and SotN is obviously great (was my first time playing it). At the end of the day I can live without the memetastic original voices.

[@tedloyd]

I'm never buying digital ...

[@TheDukeOfZill]

TLDR; play the PS1 disc on a PS1 on an RGB monitor.

[@PcVgLife]

Any plans to review the Mega Retron HD?

[@user-rd5wj2mm8n]

Fat chance. While I'm a big fan of the work being done here via MLIG it sadly comes with a lot of snobbery and elitism. I'd personally like the team to look deeply into devices such as Retron 5 and Retro Freak (for example) because such devices are popular and should not simply be swept under the rug.

[@user-rd5wj2mm8n]

@iVirtualPlays sorry, but both mentioned emulation devices are not "cheap clones" as neither are cheap and both (I believe) emulate rather well. MLIG's episode on getting a good picture out of a SNES the Retron 5 was referenced as a good device with a sharp image. I don't say MLIG should focus on one particular device, but a feature on the rise of emulation devices would surely be worth the effort.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] We actually have had plans to do an episode on cheaper NES clones, and other such devices, when we can get to it. While we enjoy original hardware and don't make a secret of that, I hope that doesn't automatically come across as "snobbery." We always want to make it a point that nearly any option is valid as long as someone gets the experience they're looking for, and that's why we present as many options as we can. However, first and foremost we want to put time into subjects that interest us. If we pass on covering something, it's either because A. Lack of time or B. Lack of interest. It's not because it's "beneath" us.

[@user-rd5wj2mm8n]

@@mylifeingaming don't get me wrong. I myself prefer original hardware where practical/possible, I just find it needn't be a case of either/or. I'm guilty of owning a Super Famicom Jr RGB modded myself with both good quality RGB cables AND HD Retrovision component cables. I even still have a Sony Trinitron CRT in my possession. Love the work you guys do so much I watch every episode and have even watched some 2-3 times. Please keep it up and thank you.

[@mattcrowell5875]

I don’t see the Dracula X chronicles version to be bad, and at least they brought back Maria mode exclusive to the Saturn version of SotN.

[@HansOilaf]

1997: insert disc; play. 2019: this. xD

[@trevor_mounts_music]

I love that people will spend an ungodly amount of money on a game that could be played for free. BRB I need to import an PC engine and then mod it for the Arrr Gee Bees so I can see those big fat pixels in all their glory. Can't fix stupid 😂

[@8thLife]

These videos are always so well put together, even if I am not that interested in the topic I find the videos really entertaining. As much as I wanted to love it, I've tried SOTN twice now and couldn't get into it. However, after watching this I think I need to give it a third try haha.

[@videogameobsession]

I always wondered why Konami restricted the PSP version of Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles from working on the PSTV.. I'm guessing they always wanted to sell us another collection. I wouldn't mind so much if they were to sell a physical copy of the PS4 collection.

[@Falcnuts]

"You guessed it, uneven scaling" I did not guess that nor would I ever. Love the channel boys.

[@angelemmanuelperezmuniz1474]

When I played Dracula X Chronicles I didn't even knew that it was a remake or that Symphony of the Night was a Castlevania game. I remember wanting to play Symphony of the Night in the PS2 days but I'm glad I had the chance to play it on the PSP. I love those games so much even if the display settings for the original versions are a pain on the PSP.

[@nyxshadowhawk]

I was so grateful for Requiem! It was a godsend; I didn't think I was ever going to play these games (though now I realize I could have played Symphony on my PS3 anyway). I definitely think it's important to give early 2000s kids like me the opportunity to play classic games by updating them for new consuls. I'm now on my third playthrough of Symphony, which has become one of my absolute favorite games. Rondo is extremely difficult, though. I'm stuck on level three. I think I prefer the Metroidvania format! I actually... kind of like the PSP dialogue in the Requiem version. The only thing bad about it is we don't get to hear the definition of a man. Thanks so much for making this video!

[@stevenhawkins5058]

Too bad this video predated the TG-16 Mini console (which wasn’t really all that “mini” lol). M2 did an amazing job with that thing. I have played every version of Rondo outside of the PC Engine original and the TG-16 mini is the definitive way to play Rondo of Blood if you can get your hands on it that is. I paid $100 for mine and it was worth every fucking cent.

[@elusivelogic6704]

The Wii takes the win for best video quality of Rondo! This swiffer competitor Nintendo released is the silent winner for a lot of retro clean up jobs.

[@shona-sof]

I couldn't tolerate the Wii version of Rondo. the horizontal scaling mess was like visual nails on a chalkboard to me. it sucks because I was dying to play that game!! oh well. i have the new release now!

[@HamtaroSonicHedgehog]

@@shona-sof Not like it matters anyway since the Wii Shop Channel is going down. :( So this version will pretty much be forever gone outside of homebrew roms.

[@lionocyborg6030]

To summarise, Akumajou Dracula XX: Vampire's Kiss (Castlevania Dracula X) on SFC is Final Doom: The Plutonia Experiment, Dracula X: Rondo of Blood is Doom 64 and Dracula X2: Nocturne in the Moonlight (Symphony of the Night) is Doom 4. Preferably with the PSP dub as the PS1 original English dub is terrible.

[@SotNist]

I love that the new collection uses the Dual Shock 4 controller speaker so much. The best use of it so far imo. Zero input lag too, super snappy. The display and border options are much better than the PSP releases too. It fixed a lot of the problems like the changing aspect ratios when you enter/exit the inventory, borders you couldn't disable, and got rid of the bilinear filtering smear + desaturated colors. Definitely the best version of the redone VO versions.

[@Fox4251]

I played the Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles and played Rondo of Blood on there, but I wanted it to play on the actual console or an emulator that was close to the PC Engine, luckily I found the emulator Mednafen which plays PC Engine, PSX, Sega Saturn and many more. Also I was able to find a PC Engine English translated version of Rondo of Blood which I liked a lot. As for Symphony of The Night I own the PSX version and play it mostly on my PS3, the next thing I want to do is play the Sega Saturn version of Symphony of The Night with the Mednafen emulator, but I heard it can be difficult to find some people say. Because of the 2 Castlevania games its what pretty much started me into playing other Castlevania games like the OG Castlevania on NES, Castlevania 2 Simon's Quest, Super Castlevania IV on SNES, Castlevania Circle of the Moon for GBA and Aria of Sorrow and Harmony of Dissonance. Now I have a copy of Lament of Innocence for PS2 I played it and fully beaten the game 100%. Also I have a copy of Curse of Darkness for PS2 which I have not beaten yet, but I'm about 75% done.

[@dreammfyre]

Man, thinking of rebuying a PS3 just for SOTN, GT6 and MGS4/The MGS Collection... crazy talk? Also, where were the comparisons to emulating them on a PC? It's like you don't even acknowledge it. Or is it just assumed to be the superior way these days lol?

[@papabear5935]

I say go for it.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] We didn't go in depth with PC emulation because we are not overly familiar with it, plus, as you say, video options and filters are pretty flexible and all over the place. Accuracy is the question mark (very good in many cases!) but anyone who knew what they were doing could probably match or exceed official options, sure. Working within the confines of original hardware + mods or other official releases is just more interesting for me to examine.

[@eternity9099]

I love Dracula X Chronicles on PSP. It’s probably my most played PSP game.

[@ElricSowrd]

11:01- The cross on the coffin looks messedup. 11:45 & 28:28- I like using the Smoothing Filter Option! You can see it in my playthrough. 16:38- Yeah, it's annoying on PSVita compared to PSP. Wish I have more THAN ONE Custom Designs just for Metal Gear Solid! It gets annoying when switch between gameplay, cutscenes and codec scenes. 😤 28:38- Like I said, I'd rather have borders than stretch the Aspect Ratio than how the games were supposed to look. I pre-ordered the game before the release after seeing that "25% OFF" on the icon. I don't like Rondo that much because it's so hard that I can't beat the 2nd Boss - Werewolf. I wish there are Save States like with Street Fighter 30h Anniversary. I like Symphony of the Night more since it's more easier and I can Save in-game.

[@maynardj.keenan8957]

Otaku_GameFan I was scrolling through the comments to see if I was the only one who having owned and played the PS version and owning the HD Xbox Arcade/Live since 2009, preferred the “enhanced” version. Since 2009 I’ve played it over and over multiple times via my 360 and now my Xbox 1 and have dabbled playing some playthroughs with the original graphics and never enjoyed it. Not sure if it’s my video ratio not being 4:3 or remembering the PS version being better visually back then and now it just hasn’t aged well but I just do.

[@adaolucena360]

Oh my Gosh ! Another PS fanboy channel. It's amazing. The problems on Xbox 360 and Sega Saturn about scaling and use of CRT TVs are the same in PSP, but he analises then in such differents point of views.

[@TheElectricUnderground]

Just DON'T emulate it ;-)

[@0rderSol]

Unless you're getting Requiem, in that case, it's emulation.

[@SubmitToTheBiomass]

Excellent video covering all the different things to be covered. Nitpick; at 3:22 when you said "but not so much as to make the challenge entirely non-trivial", you were effectively saying the opposite of what you meant to say, due to the double negative. "[...] entirely trivial" would have hit the mark.

[@Dragoonglue]

The PSP version of Symphony of the Night didn't have anything retranslated, it just had a rewritten script using the original translation as a basis, so in the end both versions have the same mistakes.

[@leegsy]

I have both SOTN from PSN and also Dracula X Chronicles as well as the NES & GBA Castlevania games on emulators.

[@jashketchup]

everyone: Tom Hanks: here’s the best way to play Castlevania!

[@eloiferreira7500]

O liked this game on Wii

[@ElegyForTheMasses]

I don’t remember Rondo of Blood or Symphony of the Night being released on Wii

[@eloiferreira7500]

@@ElegyForTheMasses" rondo of blood "

[@ElegyForTheMasses]

Eloi Ferreira Was it on the Virtual Console? I only played it on an RGB modded PCE, but I enjoyed it then.

[@eloiferreira7500]

@@ElegyForTheMasses i played on Wii , on Brazil my contry Pc engine games to much expensives

[@claire6452]

Please release a few castlevania collections on the switch for the love of god. Have one including Castlevania 1, Castlevania III and Super Castlevania with Chronicles as a secret unlock. Another one with Rondo, Dracula X and Symphony with Bloodline or the 3D remake of Rondo as secret unlock. But more importantly ... have one for Circle, Harmony, Aria .. with maybe the wii gameboy remake as a secret... And the last one with Dawn, Portrait and Ecclesia. Please? One can dream..

[@TheBenignSeraphim]

There was something so satisfying by your input latency video shots. Did a great job of making it plain to see.

[@Nick_Nightingale]

I wonder why Konami didn't do a port of Rondo of Blood to Sega CD? Possibly a rights issue? If it would have come to the American Sega CD I would have kept the system.

[@_zoinks2554]

I'm going through the GBA Trilogy now. I'm excluding the b/w original Gameboy releases. They are just to simplified and ugly.

[@mikaela5938]

Being a fan of the BlazBlue games, I really like the PSP dubs because Dracula and Richter have the same voice actors as the main protagonist Ragna and his rival and brother Jin

[@LXZ]

The rotated pixels and mixed resolutions on PS4 Pro make me want to throw up.

[@ISAK.M]

There aint no way im like "yeah let me finally go play Castlevania Symphony of the Night" to then find out it has a prequel and My Life in Gaming has a video on it XD

[@kevinsayshowdy]

I’ve spent a week prior to this very video going over which version to get. As a collector and gamer I obviously want the real deal but I was racking my brain trying to figure out which trigger to pull first. Then this video fell right into my lap. Thanks guys. Awesome awesome content on such a trophy game series.

[@justanotheryoutubechannel]

Hang on a minute, if the German OP didn’t previously have subtitles, how are you supposed to know what it’s saying? Also, if the cutscenes are in Japanese on the original, is there a fan translation or patch that adds English subtitles.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] The original version had Japanese subtitles, as it was only released in Japan.

[@IkariMetalSlugger]

I still prefer the level design and straight forward gameplay of the Classicvania games over the Metroidvania games personally. For me, Rondo of Blood is unquestionably the best in the series.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] I think I do too, but I like both! I've only finished the main modes of each Metroidvania, while the "Classicvania" are the ones I keep coming back to!

[@assamasn]

What about Dracula X on the new Turbo graphics mini & PC engine mini???????? Review thoughs

[@gepflegtePCSpieleKultur]

Thank you for your extensive Work, great Review... not Boring at any Point... for me with ADHD... Kudos!

[@nightmuffin937]

Why was this game not Ported to the Sega CD in the first place???

[@sadham2668]

Yeah that’s a good idea, I honestly have no idea, the sega cd is more powerful than the pc engine so it definitely could have worked.

[@fossil-bit8439]

Great video as always! You guys have any plans for more RGB console episodes? Maybe Original Xbox or Dreamcast?

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] Of course! Wii will be the next one, but we want to do Xbox and Dreamcast and others too!

[@GagzGaming]

Love this! Would like to see a similar review done on Castlevania 64 and Legacy of Darkness on the N64. These games are highly underrated and thanks to AVGN’s completely irrational review, gave the game a very bad name (look at original IGN and Gamespot reviews where game got 8.2). Best environments and level design.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] I agree, I quite like those games myself. They are reasonably good action games for that era, and are a more true conversion of Castlevania action gameplay into 3D than the PS2 era games (although I'll admit I have a soft spot for Lament of Innocence, even though it's not exactly the greatest game).

[@GagzGaming]

My Life in Gaming lament is a solid game, great music, but everything just seems so similar. Feels like a dungeon crawler.

[@jamiewood4280]

All very well,but actually owning SOTN on ps1 i the EU will set you back $200+

[@kumatmebro315]

So after watching this whole thing I still don't know which system to play it on. Maybe i'll emulate it on a hacked nintendo switch