I replayed Rondo of Blood again. This time so that I saved all the maidens. I have to say that after playing more of the alternative levels, in many ways it's better than IV. Although, I liked IV a good deal, it was held back by greatness by some obnoxious cheap random elements. For example, in level 3 these fish men can randomly spawn near a grappling spot and knock you off the platform. If they do there's nothing you can do. I wouldn't say this is extremely common in 4.
But it is prevalent enough to where replaying 4 can be tedious.
Rondo of Blood is more difficult than 4, but also fair. There's far less cheap deaths and the levels are based more on skill than memorization. The one major downgrade is there's much less platforming in Rondo than there is in 4.
Another significant improvement in Rondo of Blood is the bosses. They're much better and more difficult than they were in 4. Death being my personal favorite.
The best part of Rondo of Blood for me is the music. Due to the PC engines greater capabilities, Rondo of Blood uses actual instruments. It has imo, the best soundtrack of any Castlevania game.
It's somewhat unfair to compare them since the PC engine was so much more capable, but take a listen to Bloody Tears in 4 vs Rondo:
View: https://youtu.be/QOWUSsFar-s?si=MF-Smq7bp9T1RCWy
View: https://youtu.be/WqWW0PTkjR8?si=6meArIdFGgRNSY9f
Also, the begining
View: https://youtu.be/ZbObVMYy3yg?si=3Fn6Z_oiiurPnHVl
View: https://youtu.be/uBf4tvMOM7w?si=SZNudao7RUkRDFqX
All in all, I'd say Rondo of Blood is an amazing game and probably one of my favorite platformers. It's a shame Konami stopped making linear Castlevania.
But it is prevalent enough to where replaying 4 can be tedious.
Rondo of Blood is more difficult than 4, but also fair. There's far less cheap deaths and the levels are based more on skill than memorization. The one major downgrade is there's much less platforming in Rondo than there is in 4.
Another significant improvement in Rondo of Blood is the bosses. They're much better and more difficult than they were in 4. Death being my personal favorite.
The best part of Rondo of Blood for me is the music. Due to the PC engines greater capabilities, Rondo of Blood uses actual instruments. It has imo, the best soundtrack of any Castlevania game.
It's somewhat unfair to compare them since the PC engine was so much more capable, but take a listen to Bloody Tears in 4 vs Rondo:
View: https://youtu.be/QOWUSsFar-s?si=MF-Smq7bp9T1RCWy
View: https://youtu.be/WqWW0PTkjR8?si=6meArIdFGgRNSY9f
Also, the begining
View: https://youtu.be/ZbObVMYy3yg?si=3Fn6Z_oiiurPnHVl
View: https://youtu.be/uBf4tvMOM7w?si=SZNudao7RUkRDFqX
All in all, I'd say Rondo of Blood is an amazing game and probably one of my favorite platformers. It's a shame Konami stopped making linear Castlevania.
