Dracula X: The Rondo of Blood

Catalog #: KICA-7622-3 Publisher: Konami Release date: 11/3/93 Price: 3600 yen Front Cover

If you own the original Dracula X CD, you may be thinking to yourself: "What's the point in owning a soundtrack to Dracula X? All of the music is on the CD in redbook." And that's a valid question. But there's more to this 2 CD set than just the Dracula X OST.

Here you get all of the music from the game, without any of the speech intermissions or data tracks (you can also play it on your computer - Windows has a problem with playing the music from Turbografx/PC Engine CDs.) Additionally, there's also a bonus tune, a remix of the "Cross Your Heart" first level theme from Haunted Castle. And it kicks ass, especially since it's the only arrangement I've ever heard of this tune.

If you've played the SNES Dracula X, you'll have a good idea of the music on this CD - but it's even better. Certain tunes are the same, like the arranged "Bloody Tears" and the new "Cemetary" but "Cross a Fear" and "Op. 13" were two awesome tracks that weren't used in that version. Plus the ending theme, "March of the Holy Men" is totally cool.

The other CD is mostly a straight recording of the music from Castlevania: Bloodlines, which, despite coming out of the Genesis synth, is excellent music. The final four tracks of this CD are arranged versions from the X68000 game, but it includes the "Theme of Simon" which most people would be familiar with. Even if you've never played the game, the arrangements are all very good here too (though the original music can be heard above)

Like so many other early Akumajou Dracula CDs, an original copy is damn near impossible to find nowadays, and SM bootlegs aren't very common either.

Disc One