Dracula X (PC Engine) Vs Super Castlevania IV (SNES) - which game is better?

[Tatsujin]

not to knock the snes, it was amazing at turn base RPGs and other type games.

this quite made me chuckle

and because it's also true.

And yes, I also felt about the often strange tiles and misscoloring in CV4, when I frist played it bitd.
I mean even the whole coloring is far superior in rondo, and colors aren't exactly the SFC most weakness.

When rondo came out, which of course was also the very next castlevania I had played after CV4, it offered a whole new world of so many awesome things I probably wouldn't have even ever dreamed about. its prodcuction value was such immense higher than for any existed CV at that time (was btw. konamis most expensive production at that time), and it shows it off all and very clear in the best imaginable manner just possible.

And yes I'm still confused by few people in here, that still think CV4 is superior to rondo, when it clearly isn't. I know the "it's a matter of taste" blabla thing, .. but this just doesn't count here anymore, way too big the gap between is.

[spenoza]

Honestly, CV IV's weaknesses have a lot to do with it being an early SNES title with limited game data being used and Konami wanting to make it darker and "more realistic". While I'm not sure I like Simon's new look, I really do like the atmosphere. I think it is the creepiest of the CV games. The music and graphics design really create a dark, spooky environment that I think works well for the game.

Rondo has a very different kind of appeal, quite frankly. Sometimes I think the game is way too light-hearted, and a couple of the CD tracks actually bother me a little because they're not serious enough.

Yet, both are great games that are fun to play even today, and both are definitely CV games and will never be mistaken for anything else.

[Tatsujin]

Honestly, CV IV's weaknesses have a lot to do with it being an early SNES title with limited game data being used and Konami wanting to make it darker and "more realistic". While I'm not sure I like Simon's new look, I really do like the atmosphere. I think it is the creepiest of the CV games. The music and graphics design really create a dark, spooky environment that I think works well for the game.

Rondo has a very different kind of appeal, quite frankly. Sometimes I think the game is way too light-hearted, and a couple of the CD tracks actually bother me a little because they're not serious enough.

Yet, both are great games that are fun to play even today, and both are definitely CV games and will never be mistaken for anything else.

your first point may be valid, but why did the 2nd one the SNES so baddly too, compared to rondo? it even had a lot more of memory than the first had (sure still no real comparions to a full CD of data, but which most of it was used for cda red book anyway) and came even out two years after rondo.

also as said, the music in CV4 was great and added a lot to its darker atmosphere. though, the graphics are not really dark per se, more like muddy. like the SNES tried obsessive to pull off darker colors but for which it wasn't really designed. kinda of replicate the MDs brown palette, but with a higher color count.

I must say, rondo has its brighter parts compared to CV4, but it also has way muuuch more darker and creepier locs than anything ever seen before.

few locs that come to my mind:

1. the saurus in the 1st stage walking in the dark background before entering the castle (only red eyes)
2. the heavily splattered saurus is chasing you inside the castle (heart attack)
3. the beginning of 2nd stage with the great thunderbolt effects (enlights the dark back ground)
4. the sitting man that falls into dust when touched or whipped against the wall.
5. particulary every boss location is way more creepier (and adrenaline loaded) than anything in CV4.
-> especially the by bones made skeleton boss comes to my mind. damn I was really terrified while fighting against him the first time. such a creepy loc with all the bones and skulls everywhere and then suddenly the boss rises out of it and even transforms itself several times. only creepier in a similar way was the boss "legion" in SotN.
6. also that part (in the 5th stage I believe) with the graveyard where those dead souls try to grab you with their arms from the ground and drag you to hell. or the picture on the priate boat as mentioned before, as well the mirror etc etc... oh and the landscape with the viaduct in the back ground, where all sudden a mid-boss is coming out of the behind. that one dark landscape picture alone brings me more creepy atmosphere than almost any stages in CV4 combined.

I could go on and on...

walking throught CV4 is just like whipping the shit out of the same repeating as well mostly boring enemies again and again.

[nodtveidt]

Legion was also used in Portrait Of Ruin and I have to say, the first time I fought that thing, it was quite terrifying. Hard as f*ck to beat the first time too... had not played SotN at that point so I didn't know what to expect. The music that accompanied the PoR version of Legion just added to the intensity of the battle.

Every pre-boss area in Rondo is f*cking creepy. The PSG music that plays during that time, and then the oppressive boss track that mixes in when the boss makes its appearance, is legions (haha, see what I did there) more memorable than anything in CV4, especially in the cases of the Minotaur and the headless knight. I do agree that there are parts that don't come off as being very serious... but I think CV4 actually tried too hard to be dark and creepy but ended up looking rather wimpy and washed-out.

CV4 isn't a bad game. It's definitely a Castlevania. I've played it through a few times; it's fun in its own ways. It's just a rather weak entry into the franchise. Trying to compare it to Rondo though? Pure insanity. That's like trying to compare a rhinestone to the Hope Diamond.

[awack]

TATSUJIN

this quite made me chuckle

and because it's also true.

Yeah, and I mean it, just look at Final Fantasy 3 or Chrono Trigger, amazing turn base RPGs...I truly want to know, is there a PCE turn base rpg((other than Mysterious Song )) that's as impressive as those two games, I don't have a lot of experience with these type games, I think Black Tiger is the one person who can answer that question with some kind of authority, and I know its kind of an ambiguous question since what exactly do I mean by impressive, well, I mean animation/special fx....any way, that's not the subject of this thread, so.

I remember a few people talking about background animation, this is another category where Rondo dominates, and BG animation and Parallax  scrolling, horizontal or vertical line scrolling such as is in rondo(last boss fight) rotating tunnels, warping fire, the leaning tower of pisa etc...im talking about actual animation whether it be tile or sprite animation,  such as lightning, rain, torches, fish, figures, cogs etc, most games just have a handful or a couple dozen frames, Rondo has hundreds of frames....as far as parallax scrolling goes, does SCIV or Dracula XX ever have three or more over lapping layers, I cant think of any off a hand, Rondo has a few like the first part of the ghost ship level..... and by the way, not every section in a game has to use parallax, just look at SOTN, there are many, many sections that don't have parallax.

[ProfessorProfessorson]

This is a bit of a one sided compare. The odds are obviously not going to be in Castlevania 4's favor due to its age, the fact it was an early release, and that it was designed to be more in line with Castlevania 1 and Haunted Castle as opposed to all the later Castlevanias. Dracula X really got the benefit of a system that had been on the market for a long while at that point and its capabilities could be exploited fully. Plus, I mean, cd-rom versus what, an 8mb cart who's development was started in 1989?

I'd worry less about comparing the two and just simply celebrate the fact that Super Castlevania 4 accomplished its goal, of bringing the gameplay from pt1 back to the series, and enjoy both games for what they offer. As far as whatever drawbacks Dracula X on Snes has, you still have to admit the music is damn nice on it for Snes stuff (some of the best game music I have heard on Snes), as well as the backgrounds and colors. Its really not a bad Castlevania game. May not be up to the Pc-Engines snuff as a whole action wise, but compared to like Bloodlines it can hold its own fine. That and many of its backgrounds are way more detailed then the PCE Drac X. People when comparing the two never really seem to want to compliment the Snes version for that or anything else it did right, and that is pretty sad.

[awack]

There has been a few Dracula XX vs Rondo threads, and the comparison was a little more fleshed out. As far as SNES action games are concerned (contra, Demons crest, super ghouls n ghost, act raiser1, act raiser 2, Batman & robin, Hagane, and so on) Dracula XX is one of the more impressive titles by far with its large sprites, lots of frames, beautiful sprite and tile graphics, cool fx, and yes really good music, the pre boss fight music is amazing, the clock tower stage looks fantastic, in many ways, I prefer it to SCIV, im kinda curious on how a 16meg Rondo of blood port for the Genesis would have turned out.

[johnnykonami]

I love all of the classicvanias, myself, and I think both games you've mentioned have their merits.  I was lucky to score a copy of Drac X when it was released in 1992 (or was it 93?) and I played the heck out of it.. I'm sure I'd be terrible at it today but back then I had it basically memorized.  Loved the multiple paths, the boss fights, everything, and of course bragging rights to my friends since I was the weird one with the NEC consoles.  I really like the soundtrack to Super Castlevania IV, though, and that is what comes to mind first when I think of that game.  It has it's cool moments and I definitely enjoyed playing it at my friends house.  I wonder if Castlevania Bloodlines is a fairer comparison, I rank that one quite a but higher than IV personally.  But it's all a matter of taste and they are all great games.

I do enjoy the Metroidvanias, but Symphony of the Night is the best in my book and I don't like the direction the art design took in the later games as much as the originals.  I did enjoy the multiplayer Castlevania HD on Xbox 360 though, wish that would get a rerelease on Steam so I'd have an opportunity to buy all the DLC which I never got to try (because frankly it was a bit of a rip off on 360.)

The newer 3D castlevania titles I've barely played, they don't seem to convey the spirt of the series to me.

[Tatsujin]

I also quite like those kind of peeps that brag about how dare of drac x rondo to bent off the classic way castlevania style with its anime stuff and multiple ways, but in the same sentence praise the n64 casts..le LOL

[spenoza]

So, all this talk has me wanting a real sequel to Cvania II, and on the PCE. I think I enjoyed CV2 more than most folks...

[RyuHayabusa]

I love both games but Castlevania IV will always have a special place in my heart. Rondo may be a deeper game due to multiple playable characters, branching paths, etc. but IV has the spookier atmosphere due to the music and overall darker look. IV also has better controls due to the 8 direction whipping, being able to change direction mid-air easier, using the shoulder buttons for weapons. Both games are neck and neck for me so I can't really choose one.

[Tatsujin]

as said before, I don't think or feel that CastIV is spookier than drac x or its colors are held darker.

I have the feel that most peeps that claim that have probably played CastIV as an 8yo kid e.g., where drac x was experienced the 1st time many years later, which may cause that biased feelings.

in fact its colors is only "muddier" and mostly unfitting with the regular more pastel kind of SFC/SNES color palette. that's why it came out kinda strange. but some might be attracted  exactly to that look. I'm not very much.

[RyuHayabusa]

I have to disagree about the colors only being muddier. There are parts where it's kind of ugly but Konami definitely went for a more dark, spooky look with Castlevania IV. The music is far more dark and spooky in IV as well compared to Rondo. Don't get me wrong, I love Cross A Fear and Op.13 but Rondo's soundtrack isn't spooky for the most part. As I said before, Rondo is a deeper game but it lacks the spooky atmosphere that IV has.

[nodtveidt]

I decided to play SC4 again a couple of days ago... I had forgotten how boring it can be at times. I also did not remember the sprite animation being so crude.

[lukester]

Now that I've played CVIV, it's a very slow and kind of ugly game.

Rondo wins, hands down.

Bloodlines is really fun, but still not as good as Rondo.