Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis)

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Retrology
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Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis)

Postby Retrology » May 28th, 2017, 2:23 am

Just started playing this game, so here's my initial thoughts.

This is really good! I haven't played Super Castlevania IV or any other Castlevania games except for the first one, but I like how addicting the gameplay is. I love how crisp the sound effects are when you kill someone with a whip or a spear, and the powerups such as an axe or holy water is awesome to use. The game is really challenging and punishing, but that just makes me come back every time to play it. The 2nd boss is relentless though.

Overall, I'm really liking this game. Question though: Is there any way I can change my weapon or revive my health?

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis)

Postby VideoGameCritic » May 28th, 2017, 8:31 am

Regaining health is always a battle in those old Castlevania games. You'd expect the hearts (which are all over the place) would replenish your health but instead they restock your special weapon gauge. Makes no sense.

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Rev
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Re: Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis)

Postby Rev » May 29th, 2017, 9:15 pm

Retrology wrote:Just started playing this game, so here's my initial thoughts.

This is really good! I haven't played Super Castlevania IV or any other Castlevania games except for the first one, but I like how addicting the gameplay is. I love how crisp the sound effects are when you kill someone with a whip or a spear, and the powerups such as an axe or holy water is awesome to use. The game is really challenging and punishing, but that just makes me come back every time to play it. The 2nd boss is relentless though.

Overall, I'm really liking this game. Question though: Is there any way I can change my weapon or revive my health?


Yeah, this is one of the few older Castlevania titles I've actually beaten and unfortunately, you can change your sub-weapons but the spear or whip is dependant on which character you pick. Health upgrades I believe are hidden in the walls or special areas. You can also pick up extra lives as well. To make the final stage as easy as possible I would highly recommend making sure to complete at least the first 4 stages with no loss of lives and snag a password each time you beat a stage with no deaths. This will help a lot with the final stage as it has a boss rush and is quite long. The guy with the traditional whip has a much harder campaign than the spear guy, beat it with both, he's definitely harder to use.

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Retrology
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Re: Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis)

Postby Retrology » May 30th, 2017, 2:39 am

Rev wrote:
Retrology wrote:Just started playing this game, so here's my initial thoughts.

This is really good! I haven't played Super Castlevania IV or any other Castlevania games except for the first one, but I like how addicting the gameplay is. I love how crisp the sound effects are when you kill someone with a whip or a spear, and the powerups such as an axe or holy water is awesome to use. The game is really challenging and punishing, but that just makes me come back every time to play it. The 2nd boss is relentless though.

Overall, I'm really liking this game. Question though: Is there any way I can change my weapon or revive my health?


Yeah, this is one of the few older Castlevania titles I've actually beaten and unfortunately, you can change your sub-weapons but the spear or whip is dependant on which character you pick. Health upgrades I believe are hidden in the walls or special areas. You can also pick up extra lives as well. To make the final stage as easy as possible I would highly recommend making sure to complete at least the first 4 stages with no loss of lives and snag a password each time you beat a stage with no deaths. This will help a lot with the final stage as it has a boss rush and is quite long. The guy with the traditional whip has a much harder campaign than the spear guy, beat it with both, he's definitely harder to use.


Interesting. What makes you say the spear guy has an easier campaign?

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Gentlegamer
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Re: Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis)

Postby Gentlegamer » May 30th, 2017, 9:07 am

Spear Man can attack in different directions and super jump upwards.

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Rev
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Re: Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis)

Postby Rev » May 30th, 2017, 12:16 pm

Yeah, the spear guy also has a larger attack swing and if you hold the attack button and rotate left up right or right up left he'll twirl his spear which makes killing several aerial enemies much easier as well. His whole arsenal just feels a lot more prepared for the battle ahead compared to the whip guy, who really can only swing from ceilings with his whip (which is easy to kill yourself with until you practice enough).

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Retrology
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Re: Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis)

Postby Retrology » May 30th, 2017, 9:56 pm

Played this again after listening to your suggestions, and I'm as far as the fourth stage this time. The spear guy definitely is a lot easier to control/play with, and I was able to remember that cracked walls=hiding food. So far I've only been able to find one extra life location, but I'll keep exploring.

The effects and variety of the stages are astounding for Genesis standards. My favorite is ascending up the leaning tower of Pisa while dodging Medusa heads.

The one complaint I have is the password system. Why the hell does it have to be like 6,000 billion letters long (I know that's 6 trillion, 6,000 billion sounds funnier)?

Still, I love this game, and can't wait to play it again. It's addicting as hell and the level designs are creative and engaging enough that you can't wait to see what's around the corner.


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