Castlevania : The Dracula X Chronicles

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for PSP is Konami’s 2007 action-platform game and a reimagining of the 1993 PC Engine Super CD-ROM² title Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. Released in North America on October 23, 2007, it brings vampire hunter Richter Belmont’s campaign to Sony’s handheld in a new 2.5D presentation: 3D character models and scenery are arranged around the precise, side-scrolling structure associated with the series. Konami developed and published the package, known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula X Chronicle, and positioned it as both a new take on Rondo of Blood and a compact celebration of this corner of Castlevania history.

The story is set in 1792, after Count Dracula returns and abducts Annette, Richter’s beloved. As heir to the Belmont clan, Richter enters the vampire’s territory armed with the Vampire Killer whip, heading through dangerous stages toward Dracula’s castle. The main route is a focused, stage-based quest rather than an open-ended adventure: players learn enemy patterns, time jumps over hazards, and make careful use of attacks while working toward the next boss encounter. Candles and defeated foes supply hearts, which power familiar special weapons including the dagger, axe, holy water, cross, and stopwatch.

Richter’s basic moves preserve the deliberate feel of Rondo of Blood. The whip provides his regular attack, while crouching, jumping, using stairs, and choosing a sub-weapon all affect how safely he can meet the game’s monsters and traps. A collected item can upgrade the whip, and hearts can be spent on special attacks, so resource use matters alongside quick reactions. Stages contain alternate routes and concealed objectives, creating reasons to revisit earlier areas. Several captives can be rescued, and choices made during the campaign influence paths and endings. Maria Renard can also be unlocked as a playable character, offering a different style of movement and attack from Richter.

The PSP remake is not simply a visual replacement for the original. It adds voiced scenes in English and Japanese, rearranged music, revised stage material, new hazards and boss content, and a Boss Rush mode. The latter includes courses built around successive boss fights and supports two-player Ad Hoc wireless play. The game also lets players unlock musical tracks and use its Sound Assign feature to change background selections. These additions sit alongside the original game’s gothic settings, from village approaches and ruined passages to the castle itself, while retaining its direct arcade-style progression.

A central feature of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is its unlockable archive. Players can open the original Rondo of Blood, which made the game available outside Japan for the first time in this collection, as well as an adapted version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The included Rondo preserves its older sprite-based presentation while adding English voice work and language options. Symphony of the Night follows Dracula’s son Alucard and Maria Renard in a very different, exploration-led Castlevania adventure, making the disc a contrast between linear stage action and a larger castle to investigate. The small Akumajō Dracula X Peke mini-game is also included as an unlockable extra.

Within the long-running Castlevania series, this PSP release revisits the chapter that established Richter Belmont and Maria Renard before Symphony of the Night carried the story forward. Its combination of a rebuilt Rondo of Blood, the original version, and Symphony of the Night gives the handheld release three connected views of Konami’s vampire-hunting saga. For players seeking Castlevania action on PSP, The Dracula X Chronicles centers on structured whip-and-sub-weapon platforming, branching stages, hidden rewards, and a 1792 battle to end Dracula’s latest resurrection.