Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood Reviews
Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood will have some appeal with nostalgic fans wanting to replay the game on the PlayStation 4. The lack of new features may disappoint them though. Those who are new to Castlevania, or with little interest in the series, won’t gain the disappointment I felt in regards to the voices – yet they also may not thoroughly enjoy the old-school mechanics when there are much better modern games out there which look and play much better. It’s still a decent addition to the PS4 library but will leave old fans wishing that more love and attention was put into the remaster.
Konami brings us the latest compilation of the two best titles of the Castlevania saga to the current generation of consoles, this time exclusively for PlayStation 4.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Castlevania Requiem combines two of the best games in the Castlevania series. However, it does just that. The bare-bones presentation and weird mistakes keep this from becoming a must own collection.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Castlevania Requiem takes two of the series' best but doesn't do all that much to repackage them for the uninitiated
A very welcome double pack featuring two of the series' most notable entries, but which inexplicably ruins the meme-inspiring intro of Symphony Of The Night.
Castlevania Requiem is just a port of the unlockable Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood from The Dracula X Chronicles. That said, this are two of the best Castlevania titles, which also means two of the best games ever made.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Newcomers, don't hesitate: these are two fantastic titles, and ultimately there's nothing wrong with them. Long-time fans should probably think twice, however, due to little-to-no extras and some questionable alterations.
Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood offers two of the best experiences from the long-running Castlevania series in one convenient package. While both games still hold up extremely well, the collection as a whole doesn't introduce anything new to fans, making it feel like nothing more than a slapped together port. Still, both titles are worth the time of fans and newcomers.
A lazy version of two exceptional titles. The insufficient level of the remastered fights with the extremely high value of the content.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Castlevania Requiem lets players get their hands on two excellent games, so even though it offers little else, it is still a worthwhile purchase.
Overall, I recommend Castlevania Requiem if for no other reason than to play Symphony of the Night so you can understand how the Metroidvania genre truly came to light. Rondo is trash, but the platinum wasn’t all that hard so if you’re a completionist, this is an enjoyable collection to platinum.
Bundling two of Konami's most beloved games should have been the easiest sale in the world. Instead, what is here is something that doesn't quite hit the mark. The ports are competent, but they could have been so much more. Instead, it seems like effort was spent on including meaningless features that don't really benefit anyone. Introducing force feedback to old games just seems like a bad idea in general. Still, Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood are classics. They deserve to be played, even if it is through Castlevania Requiem.
In essence, Castlevania Requiem is a mediocre port of two extremely good games. Fans will enjoy the chance to play them again — if they haven't already purchased copies for other consoles — but it's far from the definitive version of the games. This collection offers two excellent games for $20, which isn't a bad deal as long as players only expect what it says on the package: two Castlevania titles that they've probably played before.
It is a shame that there was not much effort spent on bringing back two of these classic Castlevania games to the current generation. Despite the dated look, they are still fascinating to play thanks to the masterfully crafted level design and an engrossing story.
Requiem is a poor collection, without relevant extras and permeated by technical problems. The drawbacks should displease enthusiasts of the series, however the two games are perfectly playable. In short, the port is bad, but the games are great. If Castlevania is an important series for you, it is worth revisiting in order to secure that special platinum trophy on your gamer resume.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
So the port itself is fine, but clearly not much more than that. While the games look great for their age, they’re simply not designed for modern televisions and it shows. A visual overhaul could have done wonders and truly made Requiem an essential purchase. Instead, we have fairly basic ports of one very good game and another that is in the pantheon of the greats. Given neither are on current-gen consoles before now, there’s merit to this collection for that alone, but it should have been so much more.
The target audience for this product are either shameless zealots or complete newcomers. Given that there is no other legitimate source to play both games on a current generation console, either group will ultimately end up satisfied. However, if you are looking for fan service, you'll be gravely disappointed. Imagine that: Konami phoning something in? Why does that sound so familiar?
Castlevania: Requiem is a good reminder of the best parts of the series but the collection also makes it more evident that Konami is maybe currently not adept enough to create thrilling new experiences and is only capable of haphazardly bundling together old ones in hopes that we won't notice the difference.
Castlevania Requiem is a lost opportunity. The comeback of a couple of masterpieces that are lacking in improvements from a technical point of view and are difficult to recommend to everyone nowadays.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
If you already both games of this compilation, it's not exactly worth it, as it is mainly Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night in their PSP versions - without the 2.5 version of the first one. But if you've never played those, it's a pleasant, but not very joyful, way to discover them.
Review in French | Read full review