Castlevania: Bloodlines

From Sega Retro

For the unreleased Sega Mega Drive game, see Vampire Killer (RazorSoft).

n/a

  • NTSC-U
  • NTSC-J
  • PAL

CastlevaniaBloodlines title.png

VampireKiller MD title.png

CastlevaniaTheNewGeneration MD title.png

Castlevania: Bloodlines
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo Switch Online
Publisher: Konami
Developer:
Distributor: Majesco Sales (US re-release)
Sound driver: Konami/Vampire Killer
Genre: Action[1]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥7,800 (8,034)7,800e[2] T-95043
Sega Mega Drive
US
T-95076
Videogame Rating Council: GA
Sega Mega Drive
EU
T-95076-50
Sega Mega Drive
DE
T-95076-50
Sega Mega Drive
PT
Sega Mega Drive
UK
£44.9944.99[6][7] T-95076-50
Sega Mega Drive
SE
(Rental)
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Nintendo Switch Online
JP
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
US
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
EU
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
UK
SUBsub
Nintendo Switch Online
AU
SUBsub

Castlevania: Bloodlines, known in Japan as Vampire Killer (バンパイアキラー) and in Europe as Castlevania: The New Generation, is a Sega Mega Drive action platform game developed and published by Konami. First released in the United States in December 1993, it is the first title in the company's popular Castlevania series to be developed for a Sega system.

The game is a moderate departure from previous entries in the series, as gameplay is generally much faster and more dynamic, and for the first time, does not feature a member of the Belmont clan as a playable character (instead connecting the protagonists to those of the original 1897 Bram Stoker horror novel Dracula, and taking place exclusively in Romania.)

Story

In 1897, Quincy Morris defeated Count Dracula, but died afterwards due to the wounds from the battle. His son, John Morris, and his friend Eric Lecarde witnessed it.

Twenty years later, a vampire named Elizabeth Bartley - who had been executed in 1421 - was accidentally brought back to life by a witch named Drolta Tzuentes. Once back, Elizabeth wants to revive her dead uncle - none other than Dracula.

Now, it's up to John and Eric - descendants of a clan of vampire hunters, the Belmonts - to find Elizabeth and stop her, before she brings Count Dracula back to the land of the living.


The ancestors of the Belmont family are doomed to confront the power of evil incarnate......Dracula!

In 1917, a countess sought to revive the long dead spirit of the vampire. Her name was Elizabeth Bartley.

To revive him, she needed to travel all over Europe, enlisting help from all the powers of darkness.

Two young vampire hunters set out to fulfill their destiny.... Push back the evil hordes and drive the vampire back into his dark netherworld.

— Opening sequence


Gameplay

In Castlevania: Bloodlines, the player travels through six different countries of Europe, controlling either John Morris — current owner of the "Vampire Killer" whip — or his childhood friend Eric Lecarde — a master lanceman. Macabre creatures such as zombies and skeletons are summoned by Countess Bartley to kill you.

Along the way the player can collect items to power-up their character's weapon (up to three times), as well as one of three special weapons, useful to hit enemies from afar. In order to use the special weapons, the player must collect jewels, which are hidden inside candles found all over the way.

By default A attacks, B jumps and C uses the special weapon; controls can be changed at the options menu. Special weapons normally require one jewel per usage, though holding Up while pressing C turns it into a smart bomb, which uses up four jewels. Also, if you collect three power-ups having at least eight jewels, the special weapon is temporarily replaced by an ultimate attack that costs eight jewels. Holding Down and pressing A midair performs a straight down attack.

Passwords are given at the end of each stage, once the stage boss is defeated. When passwords are used, the weapon level, jewels count and score are reset — the special weapon is also lost.

Playable characters

Castlevania MD JohnMorris.png
John Morris (Johnny Morris in the Japanese version)
Born in 12 December 1895 in Texas, USA, he is the son of Quincy Morris (who died upon defeating Dracula in 1897), and a distant descendant of Trevor Belmont. His weapon is the sacred whip "Vampire Killer", used by the Belmonts for centuries and temporarily entrusted to the Morris clan, since the Belmonts are unable to touch it until the year of 1999.

Morris has only one special move: Swing with Whip (hold Up, press A midair — lashes the whip at ceiling blocks and swing forward).

Castlevania MD EricLecarde.png
Eric Lecarde
Born in 3 May 1892 in Segovia, Spain, he is also related to the Belmont lineage, though details are unclear. Eric decided to become a vampire hunter after Elizabeth Bartley changed his girlfriend, Gwendolyn, into a vampire. His weapon is the "Alcarde Spear", entrusted to the Lecarde family by Alucard, the son of Dracula, to assist the Morris clan. He has the advantage of being able to attack upward and diagonally, by pressing the desired direction on the D-pad.

Lecarde has two special moves: Mega Jump (hold Down, press B — jumps three times higher) and Spinning Lance (hold A, press Left/Right — spins the lance back and forth).

Items

Castlevania MD 1up.png
1up
Awards the player an extra life.
Castlevania MD BagofKreutzers.png
Bag of Kreutzers
Awards 100 to 2,000 points.
Castlevania MD RedJewel.png
Red Jewel
Adds 1 jewel for special weapon usage.
Castlevania MD BlueJewel.png
Blue Jewel
Adds 5 jewels for special weapon usage.
Castlevania MD CoatofArms.png
Coat-of-Arms
Powers up the player character's weapon.
Castlevania MD MirrorofTruth.png
Mirror of Truth
Hits all enemies on screen.
Castlevania MD MuttonChop.png
Mutton Chop
Restores one half of the player character's life.
Castlevania MD SpellBook.png
Spell Book
Causes a random effect, such as a weapon power-up.
Castlevania MD BlackOrb.png
Black Orb
Makes the player character invulnerable for a short while.

Special weapons

Castlevania MD BattleAxe.png
Battle Axe
The Battle Axe thrown up then falls down, making it difficult to hit enemies in certain cases, though it's great to reach the ones above you. At level 3, it summons three axes which fly straight forward.
Castlevania MD CrystalBladeBoomerang.png
Crystal Blade Boomerang
The Boomerang thrown in a straight line then comes backward, possibly hitting enemies twice on its way. At level 3, it summons three boomerangs which fly forward forming a circle.
Castlevania MD SacredWater.png
Sacred Water
Like the Battle Axe, the Sacred Water is thrown up then falls down, and can damage enemies in the air, though when it touches the ground a sacred explosion is created. At level 3, it flies through the screen in a spiral movement, hitting a good area.

Stages

Castlevania MD Stage1 Intro.png

Castlevania MD Stage1.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage1 Intro.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage1.png

Stage 1 - Ruins of the Castle Dracula, Romania
The first stage is divided into eleven sections, featuring a Hellhound at the end of 1-5 and the stage boss — Armor Battler, a giant mecha knight.

Castlevania MD Stage2 Intro.png

Castlevania MD Stage2.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage2 Intro.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage2.png

Stage 2 - Atlantis Shrine, Greece
The second stage has seven parts, featuring three mini-bosses — the Water Mage and two Armor Lords, all in 2-3 (the first one wielding a morning star and the other wielding an axe) - plus the stage boss — Golem, a stone giant.

Castlevania MD Stage3 Intro.png

Castlevania MD Stage3.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage3 Intro.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage3.png

Stage 3 - The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

Castlevania MD Stage4 Intro.png

Castlevania MD Stage4.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage4 Intro.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage4.png

Stage 4 - The Munitions Factory, Germany

Castlevania MD Stage5 Intro.png

Castlevania MD Stage5.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage5 Intro.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage5.png

Stage 5 - Versailles Palace, France

Castlevania MD Stage6 Intro.png

Castlevania MD Stage6.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage6 Intro.png

  • Castlevania MD Stage6.png

Stage 6 - The Castle Proserpina, England
There are three boss fights throughout this stage starting at 6-5, which is a fight with Death and rematches against the stage 2 through 4 bosses, Elizabeth and Medusa at 6-7, and a final battle with Dracula and Drolta at 6-9.

History

Censorship

Castlevania: Bloodlines was the subject of much debate at the time, as even though it features considerable amounts of blood and violence, the Videogame Rating Council awarded the game a "GA" (the lowest rating possible.) This later affected the European release, which was heavily censored and renamed Castlevania: The New Generation as a result. Interestingly, the Australian release retains the European name, but remains identical to the American release in content.

Legacy

Like most Konami games on the Sega Mega Drive, Bloodlines has become a highly desirable game and as a consequence is rather expensive. For many years, the game had never seen a rerelease on another system, which didn't help the game's rarity. In 2019, the game finally saw two re-releases - as part of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Steam, and as one of the 42 games pre-installed on the Mega Drive Mini. The Mega Drive Mini re-release includes all regional versions of the game accessible by changing the system language accordingly.

Versions

The game utilizes a region lockout mechanism, but it can be disabled by holding down the A button during startup. Note that this doesn't affect the title screen and graphics modifications (so it's not possible to turn a censored PAL version into an uncensored NTSC-J or NTSC-U version). The PAL version included on all variants of the Mega Drive Mini disables all region lockout by default.

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English Castlevania: The New Generation Castlevania: The New Generation
English (US) Castlevania: Bloodlines Castlevania: Bloodlines
Japanese バンパイアキラー Vampire Killer

Production credits

The only regional difference in the ending credits is in the very first line, where it says "<regional game title> Staff". Also, if you beat the game in normal difficulty it ends with "Try Expert Mode!"; if you finish it in expert difficulty it changes to "Congratulations! You are the master of Vampire Killer".

  • Programmer MK1: Hanaten
  • Enemy Program: Takashi Takeda
  • Trap and Enemy Program: Kenichiro Horio
  • Wandering Programmer: Koji Komata
  • Program: Hidenari Inamura
  • Main Designer: Bunmin
  • Design: Mamuun
  • Special Design: Tat, Norio Takemoto
  • Sound Program: Atsushi Fujio, Osamu Kasai
  • Sound Design: Michiru Yamane
  • Package Design: M.Yoshihashi, Kaori Sasaki
  • Special Thanks to: H.Takeuchi, K.Iketani, K.Kinjyo, T.Shinguu, N.Tanaka, S.Yomota, H.Jyuni, A.Shizuno, T.Niimi, T.Yabe
  • Copyright by: 1994 Tokumashoten Intermedia Inc.
  • Supervisor: Yutaka Haruki
  • Producer: Tomikazu Kirita
© 1994 Konami All Rights Reserved
Source:
In-game credits
Castlevania Bloodlines MD credits.pdf
[14]

Digital manuals

Magazine articles

Main article: Castlevania: Bloodlines/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Castlevania: Bloodlines/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) NTSC-U
70
[15]
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) PAL
60
[16]
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) NTSC-J
40
[17]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
63
[18]
Consoles + (FR)
82
[19]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
83
[6]
Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U
91
[20]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
83
[21]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU)
70
[22]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 7 (RU)
70
[23]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
88
[24]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
80
[25]
Gamers (DE)
73
[26]
GamesMaster (UK) PAL
70
[27]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
70
[28]
Hyper (AU) PAL
79
[29]
Joypad (FR) PAL
86
[30]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
78
[31]
Max Overload! (UK) PAL
72
[32]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK)
91
[33]
Mega (UK) PAL
82
[34]
Megablast (DE) PAL
80
[35]
MegaTech (UK) PAL
83
[36]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
90
[37]
Player One (FR)
92
[38]
Power Up! (UK)
78
[39]
Power Unlimited (NL)
74
[40]
Score (CZ)
75
[41]
Secret Service (PL)
70
[42]
Sega Magazine (UK) PAL
86
[43]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
70
[44]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
84
[45]
Sega Zone (UK) PAL
85
[46]
Sega Force (SE)
88
[47]
Sega Mega Drive Review (RU)
84
[48]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
74
[49]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
87
[50]
The Zone (AU)The Zone (AU)
82
[51]
Todo Sega (ES)
85
[52]
Tricks (RU)
74
[53]
Tricks 16 bit (RU) NTSC-U
84
[54]
Tricks 16 bit (RU) PAL
80
[55]
Video Games (DE) PAL
85
[56]
VideoGames (US) NTSC-U
80
[57]
Sega Mega Drive
78
Based on
44 reviews

Castlevania: Bloodlines

Mega Drive, JP
CastlevaniaBloodlines MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
VampireKiller MD JP CartTop.jpg
VampireKiller MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Vampirekiller md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
CastleVaniaBloodlines MD US Box.jpg
Cover
Castlevania md us cart.jpg
Cart
Castlevania Bloodlines MD US Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US (cardboard FlipTop) (Majesco Sales)
Castlevania MD US Box Back Cardboard.jpgNospine.pngCastlevania MD US Box Front Cardboard.jpg
Cover
Castlevania MD US Assembled in Mexico cart.jpg
Cart
Castlevania Bloodlines MD US B&W Manual.jpg
Manual
Mega Drive, US (cardboard Slipcase) (Majesco Sales)
Castlevania MD US CB SlipCase Box Back.jpgNospine.pngCastlevania MD US CB SlipCase Box Front.jpg
Cover
Castlevania MD US Assembled in Mexico ALT cart.jpg
Cart
Castlevania Bloodlines MD US B&W Manual.jpg
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
CastleVaniaBloodlines MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
CastlevaniaTNG MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Castlevania Bloodlines MD EU Manual.pdf
Manual
Castlevania MD EU pcb.jpg
PCB
Mega Drive, PT
Castlevania MD PT cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, SE rental (HENT orange)
Castlevania MD SE rental cover.jpg
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Castlevania: Bloodlines/Technical information.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
  2. Beep! MegaDrive, "April 1994" (JP; 1994-03-08), page 11
  3. GamePro, "December 1993" (US; 1993-xx-xx), page 253
  4. Computer Trade Weekly, "" (UK; 1994-02-28), page 21
  5. Max Overload!, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-22), page 35
  6. 6.0 6.1 Computer & Video Games, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-15), page 62
  7. Mega Power, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 25
  8. Sega Pro, "April 1994" (DE; 1994-03-23), page 42
  9. https://store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000046986.html (Wayback Machine: 2021-10-26 03:04)
  10. @NintendoAmerica on Twitter (archive.today)
  11. @NintendoEurope on Twitter (archive.today)
  12. @NintendoUK on Twitter (archive.today)
  13. @NintendoAUNZ on Twitter (archive.today)
  14. File:Castlevania Bloodlines MD credits.pdf
  15. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 43
  16. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 44
  17. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 326
  18. Beep! MegaDrive, "April 1994" (JP; 1994-03-08), page 19
  19. Consoles +, "Mars 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 92
  20. Electronic Games (1992-1995), "May 1994" (US; 1994-04-21), page 79
  21. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "February 1994" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 38
  22. Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 300
  23. Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 7, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 64
  24. Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 2 February 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 60
  25. GamePro, "March 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 48
  26. Gamers, "März/April 1994" (DE; 1994-03-04), page 18
  27. GamesMaster, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-17), page 48
  28. Hippon Super, "April 1994" (JP; 1994-03-03), page 61
  29. Hyper, "February 1994" (AU; 199x-xx-xx), page 46
  30. Joypad, "Mars 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 112
  31. MAN!AC, "04/94" (DE; 1994-03-09), page 50
  32. Max Overload!, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-03-22), page 34
  33. Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-xx-xx), page 22
  34. Mega, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-17), page 43
  35. Megablast, "2/94" (DE; 1994-03-30), page 32
  36. MegaTech, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 18
  37. Mean Machines Sega, "Castlevania: The New Generation Review Book" (UK; 1993-12-28), page 2
  38. Player One, "Mars 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 68
  39. Power Up!, "Saturday, April 02, 1994" (UK; 1994-04-02), page 1
  40. Power Unlimited, "Jaargang 2, Nummer 4, April 1994" (NL; 1994-03-23), page 36
  41. Score, "Červen 1994" (CZ; 1994-06-01), page 60
  42. Secret Service, "Październik 1996" (PL; 1996-10-01), page 72
  43. Sega Magazine, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-10), page 92
  44. Sega Power, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-03), page 38
  45. Sega Pro, "April 1994" (UK; 1994-02-24), page 60
  46. Sega Zone, "March 1994" (UK; 1994-02-24), page 46
  47. Sega Force, "3/94" (SE; 1994-03-29), page 8
  48. Sega Mega Drive Review, "1" (RU; 1995-04-03), page 31
  49. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
  50. Sonic the Comic, "May 13th 1994" (UK; 1994-04-30), page 11
  51. The Zone (AU)The Zone (AU) "Season 1, episode 3" (1994-05-14, ) (+17:44)
  52. Todo Sega, "Marzo 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 54
  53. Tricks, "2/95" (RU; 1995-xx-xx), page 18
  54. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 9
  55. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 51
  56. Video Games, "5/94" (DE; 1994-04-27), page 99
  57. VideoGames, "March 1994" (US; 1994-0x-xx), page 67


Castlevania: Bloodlines

CastlevaniaBloodlines title.png

Main page | Comparisons | Maps | Hidden content | Development | Magazine articles | Video coverage | Reception | Promotional material | Region coding | Technical information | Bootlegs


Sega Mega Drive
Prototypes: 1993-08-04 | 10-07 | 1993-12



John Morris sprite Castlevania games for Sega systems
Sega Mega Drive
Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994) | Super Castlevania IV‎ (unreleased)
Sega 32X
Castlevania: The Bloodletting (unreleased)
Sega Saturn
Akumajou Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku (1998) | Castlevania: The Bloodletting (unreleased)
Sega Dreamcast
Castlevania Resurrection (unreleased)