Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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A playthrough of Konami's 2007 horror-themed action-platformer for the Sony PlayStation Portable, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles.

Here are some timestamps:

2:33 Richter playthrough (regular path)

58:01 Maria playthrough (alternate path)

1:48:54 Boss rush normal (done 3x to unlock the Peke game option)

2:12:44 Stage 3' (to unlock the PC Engine version of Rondo of Blood)

2:18:21 Demo of the PC Engine version, showing the intro and Stage 0

2:22:53 Demo of Symphony of the Night, showing the intro, "Final Stage: Bloodlines" (my God, that music!), and the opening Dracula fight

2:29:49 Akumajyo Dracula Peke (the PC Engine version's mini-game error screen when you boot the game with too old a system card inserted)

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a PSP-exclusive compilation of the two Dracula X games, Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, with the focus being placed squarely on Rondo. It marked the first time that Rondo of Blood was officially made available outside of Japan.

The primary draw is a full 3D remake of the 1993 PC Engine CD game Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (youtu.be/ifP3Afn4HGA) and a localized version of that original game, but the package also includes an updated copy of Symphony of the Night that features a new translation and voiceovers. Notably, it also refused to acknowledge the existence of Dracula X for the SNES (youtu.be/pD7m-kH80iM).

The remake stays mostly faithful to the source material. The 2D sprites and backdrops were replaced with 3D assets, the soundtrack was rearranged to sound more modern, the dialogue was rewritten, several new cutscenes were added, unlockable bonuses were hidden throughout the game, a few tweaks were made to the level layouts, and a new boss rush mode was added.

It's a solid remake that did its job in giving a fifteen-year-old game a facelift and extra content to make it appeal to an audience that had no experience with the original. I thoroughly enjoyed it when it first came out, but it didn't hit me the way the PC Engine version did. It's impressive for a 2007 handheld game, but it lacks the timeless quality of the game it's based on. The updated assets don't have the character of their 2D counterparts, and the music doesn't have the punch to stand out in the din of thwacks and grunts. I think a large part of the disconnect comes from the difference in production values. As a triple-A console game from 1993, the original Rondo might look dated, but it still feels like a top-quality game. The 2007 version is clearly more advanced on a technical level, but it suffers from being a mid-budget production for a handheld. It comes across as less than a game like Rondo deserved, and I think that's a large part of why this 3D remake has aged so poorly in comparison.

While I don't think it lives up to its namesake, the PSP game is still worth checking out for the bonus content and the novelty of its presentation, and once you've grown tired of it, you still have the English version of the OG classic on the disc to fall back on, along with its PlayStation sequel.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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