I am a big fan of the CV series, i borrowed my friends PSP and his Dracula X Chronicals so i could see if i wanted it for my b-day, and i was satisfied after i beat it.

Story: You are Richter Belmont of the belmont clan and you have to stop dracula and save your girlfriend and a couple of other hotties who were kidnapped. The game's story takes place in the 1800's and it has been 100 years since simon belmont has killed drac. Things dont look good as a necromancer by the name of shaft ressurects dracula by stabbing a lady(i really did not get that :/ ). Richter's girlfriend is then kidnapped by drac and shaft and is taken to castlevania. Richter is taking a stroll until he is informed that she has been captured and goes after him on a chariot, whip in hand. He gets attacked by death on the way and then has to walk there on foot through a flaming village and other sights(more on that later). It is a fine story but its still the same mostly as the others in so many ways.  

Gameplay: Gameplaywise, you have gotta love castlevania's retro platforming. The time of linear has returned, no more leveling up and grinding(Grinding is in the earlier CV games such as SotN but it seems so invisible), just good ol' stage to stage action. You have a vast array of weapons including the whip of legend, vampire killer and also subweapons. There are 5 subweapons which are the throwing daggers, throwing axes, cross boomerang, bible, and holy water(i think their is a stopwatch but i never found it XD). Also you can execute item crashes that unleashes the power of your subweapons such as the dagger wind which has richter throw a ton of blades at the enemies or hydro storm which rains holy water on the enemies, to name a few. Controls are smooth as butter, but can sometimes feel clunky thanks to the new graphics but you will never feel like that in the unlockable 2D 1996 port of Dracula X: rondo of blood which is the same thing just 2D. You can also play as Maria in both versions who is faster than richter and can double jump but she is very fragile and can die quickly.

Presentation: Fairly good graphics and character models are noticed in DXC. The sad thing is that most graphics look like you are playing a DS game, it is not spectacular but that does not mean it isan't decent. The thing that really turns me off is in cutscenes when they zoom in on a character's face, their mouths are the same throughout the entire game and don't move when happy, sad, or even when talking :o. The voice acting is good but i cant say the same for the script it does not sound anything like an 1800's setting.

Overall: If you have a PSP, BUY THIS GAME! while it may not offer much in presentation, it makes up for it with fantastic gameplay and a gripping story. Sadly the story also is labeled for being too short but i didnt care about that too much. Overall, awsome game you should buy it!
9.4/10

part 2: symphony of the night unlockable review coming soon.....

darkjak is my only source of gaming information.  if it weren't for him, i wouldn't know what to buy!  keep up the good work dewd.

thanks man, glad i could help :3

so darkjak you might not get it but i doubt angry black man was being serious. he's saying that these random review topics aren't really that interesting and that gwers probably don't really care about that too much. if you want to make a topic about a game, make one for discussion, not your reviews. feel free to include a review of your game but your topics shouldn't be about just your reviews. also, seeing some screens about the games would be nice too.

I didn't like this game... I feels really sluggish, the character. You move slowly, unless I missed the "move faster" button. And attacking feels limited, although this is the way Castlevania games basically are. Only one I seem to have liked is the first one on the DS.

try playing as maria, she moves faster but is more fragile

To Mr Dakjak,

Where did you get 9.4 from? Did you get to the end of this review and say "I'd really like to give this a 9.5 but I couldn't do it with a clear conscience......9.4 it is" FRANKLY mr Dakjak, I have to disagree! I vehemently BELIEVE sir, that Castlevania: DXC New/Old Rondo of Blood DESERVES, nay REQUIRES, a score of 9.5. To give it anything lower, such as your laughably trite 9.4 is merely an insult to me, the series creators, and mostly importantly, God. I don't think those folks at Konami worked dozens of hours of unpaid overtime just so some snotty American punk could callously and derisively toss them a paltry score of 9.4 on this, the greatest and most influential forum in the history of mankind.

You sir, have betrayed my trust in you. And for that, I sincerely hope you are ashamed.

Signed,
the undersigned

thats my way of rating it buddy :/
honestly i would have given it a perfect 10 if it wasant for:
-Mediocore story -.2
-Movement in the 3D game is somewhat clunky -.2
-Missing character expressions is unnaceptable! -.3
 10.0
-00.7 
--------
09.4
dont be flaming me because of it not being an odd number

so darkjak you might not get it but i doubt angry black man was being serious. he's saying that these random review topics aren't really that interesting and that gwers probably don't really care about that too much. if you want to make a topic about a game, make one for discussion, not your reviews. feel free to include a review of your game but your topics shouldn't be about just your reviews. also, seeing some screens about the games would be nice too.

no disrespect mr admin, but there are lots of people on this forum that could benefit from this, i enjoy writing reviews >:o
jesus me reviewing games sure as hell is not the end of the world

lock this topic.....right now.....plz

and don't get me wrong, i was just trying to help you to improve your topics since this is a discussion forum as mentioned. it's still nice to see that you put effort in your topics.