The box says the two playable characters are relatives of the Belmonts, thus the title "Bloodlines," and with the whip wielding character, John, you can almost feel it. But why use a Texan with a whip when you can use a Spaniard with a spear?
The game's play control has stepped up with not so sluggish reactions. Being able to jump on to a set of stairs has its advantages. Both characters have a special move or two. John can use his whip as a grappling hook on ceiling tile (yes he can use the whip in an upward direction as long as he's jumping) and the other guy can use his spear as a pole vault and jump pretty high. He can also spin his spear in a quick circle to kill enemies.
The usual Castlevania environments are here but this time set in actual places across Europe. A countess is trying to
Mummies in the tower.
The Texan in Atlantis, Greece.
revive Dracula so the Belmont descendants set out to follow her across the continent. There is a stage in Atlantis, Greece, a munitions factory in Germany and a castle in England. A clock tower is part of the Germany stage and features a boss made out of gears, resembling the trash can mini-boss on Earthworm Jim, if you know what I'm talking about. Doesn't fit at all with the whole theme in my opinion and came off very cheesy. There is a trippy part of the last stage where a middle strip of the screen gets displaced so your body and feet aren't always connected making the platform jumping and enemy slaying a bit challenging. More games should try and include little novelties like this.
Unlike other sidescrolling counterparts, this game really doesn't contain too many frustration points. The first time
through the game, it was conquered in about three to four hours. Not super easy and not too hard, it falls just on the easy side of average with just six stages.
As a good Castlevania should, Death shows his bony face before it's over. There are also the usual giant knights and a gargoyle and stone golem as bosses.
So, while not outstanding, the game is entertaining and bears the Castlevania name more proudly than some can.
A Castlevania without Death would be like not having Dracula.
