| Castlevania: Bloodlines | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Producer(s) | Tomikazu Kirita |
| Artist(s) | Teisaku Seki Shinichiro Shimamura |
| Writer(s) | Toshiki Yamamura |
| Composer(s) | Michiru Yamane |
| Series | Castlevania |
| Platform(s) | Sega Genesis |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action,platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Castlevania: Bloodlines, known in Japan asVampire Killer[a] and inPAL regions asCastlevania: The New Generation, is a 1994action-platform game developed and published byKonami for theSega Genesis as part of theCastlevania series. Avampire namedElizabeth Bartley is orchestrating the beginning ofWorld War I to serve as the catalyst for the resurrection of her uncle,Dracula. Players take on the role ofQuincey Morris' son, John, and his friend Eric Lecarde to take up the fight against evil.
The development team approachedBloodlines as a uniqueCastlevania experience tailor-made for the Genesis. In this sense, the gameplay was made more fast and action-oriented. Writer Toshiki Yamamura also took creative liberties to craft what he viewed was a new chapter in theCastlevania saga. The game was the firstCastlevania title for whichMichiru Yamane composed music. She used herBach influences to compose a renowned soundtrack, leading to her becoming a recurring series composer.
Bloodlines was released to positive reviews. It was re-released as part of theCastlevania Anniversary Collection on May 16, 2019, as well as theSega Genesis Mini on September 19, 2019 andNintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack through the Sega Genesis App launch on October 25, 2021.
As with most earlyCastlevania games, players proceed through each level, defeating enemies and collecting gems to power special weapons: the axe, boomerang and holy water.[4] Each stage is sectioned, and has a sub-boss battle in the middle, with a main boss battle at the end.[5] Some items 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 gaps with his whip, whereas Eric must use a different route by performing high jumps by using his spear.[6]
In 1897, the long war between humanity and Dracula came to an end, as Dracula was laid to eternal rest byQuincy Morris, a distant 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, in June 1914 atSarajevo, the Crown Prince ofAustria was assassinated. It was said that a strange beautiful woman was involved, within the shadows. The woman was Elizabeth Bartley, who, in order to revive her uncle, Count Dracula, had 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 distant 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. AfterDrolta Tzuentes resurrected Elizabeth Bartley by using black magic (Drolta is a subservient witch of Elizabeth), 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.
Bloodlines was developed byKonami in Tokyo.[7]: 28 The concept behind the game was to develop a uniqueCastlevania experience for theSega Genesis. In this sense, the gameplay was made fast and action-packed while retaining the strategic elements of previous games, and Eric was added as a playable character to add a distinct touch to the game.[8] The game is agaiden to the originalCastlevania series.[9] In fact, the game is also set in a wholly different era from previous games. Scenario writer Toshiki Yamamura took inspiration from novelistHideyuki Kikuchi to craft his own interpretation of the series canon forBloodlines. He viewedBloodlines as the second act in a three-partCastlevania saga.[8] The development team was challenged with the limitations of the Genesis's color palette, and the 8megabit cart size, but felt they were able to craft a unique atmosphere with intricately animated characters despite this.[8]
The music was composed byMichiru Yamane. Though already an established composer at Konami,Bloodlines was her first time composing for aCastlevania game.[10] As the series was already popular and known for its music, she felt pressure to perform well.[10] Having extensively studiedJohann Sebastian Bach in university,[11] Yamane felt a link between her classical music knowledge and the vampiric themes of the series, so she worked to integrate her style with the rock themes of previousCastlevania games.[12] The development process required that Yamane program the music into the game, on top of composition.[11] As she was already experienced withFM synthesis, she was comfortable doing this.[8] Yamane went on to become a recurring composer for theCastlevania series.[11]
Bloodlines was released worldwide in March 1994.[7]: 24 [b] The western version was made more difficult than the Japanese version.[8] Packaging artwork for the North American version was illustrated by Tom duBois, who also designed artwork for other western releases of Konami games.[17] The game underwent censorship duringlocalization to PAL regions. Blood and violent imagery was removed from the game, and the title was changed toCastlevania: The New Generation to keep the wordblood out of the game's title.[citation needed]
The game was first re-released as part of theCastlevania Anniversary Collection forNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,Windows, andXbox One in May 2019.[18] It was also included in theSega Genesis Mini dedicated console released later that year.[19] An unofficial tech demo for theSuper NES also exists.[20]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 84%[21] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Famitsu | 28/40[14] |
| Game Informer | 8/10[22] |
| Hyper | 79%[23] |
| Superjuegos | 84/100[24] |
| Mega Machines | 70/100[25] |
| Sega Magazine | 86/100[26] |
GamesRadar namedCastlevania: Bloodlines the 8th best Genesis game of all time out of a list of 25.[27]Game Informer's Tim Turi praised the level of gore relative to otherCastlevania titles at the time. He also called it "one of the most overlooked treasures in the franchise."[28] In a 1997Castlevania retrospective,GamePro said that while the graphics and sound were not as impressive as those ofSuper Castlevania IV, it was a strong game by Genesis standards.[29]
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