Setting

Unlike most Castlevania games, Bloodlines is one of the first games in the series that does not take place exclusively in Dracula's castle or even Romania. In addition to the first level (Dracula's castle in Romania), there are another five levels set in other European countries — Athens, Greece; Pisa, Italy; a weapon factory in Germany; the Palace of Versailles, in France; and the fictional Castle Proserpina in England. Despite the change in setting, however, the game still features the now-archetypal designs of Castlevania games. The player starts in the ruins of Castlevania (the first half of which is taken from the first NES game), which is a recurring theme in later titles.

This game attempts to bridge the Castlevania games with the Dracula novel written by Bram Stoker, which the series had only been loosely connected to previously, having arguably more in common with the 1931 Bela Lugosi film than the actual novel. The game even refers to one of the stars of the novel, Quincey Morris. In doing this, some plot points invented by the American localization staff of the game are openly contradicted.

According to the North American manual, John Morris (and his friend Eric Lecarde) were supposed to have witnessed his father's death moments after he had stabbed Dracula. This contradicts Stoker's novel, which most scholars agree takes place between 1885 and 1893, and John was born in 1895. Also, John and Eric were not mentioned in the novel. The original Japanese and European instruction manuals makes no mention of John and Eric being witness to his father's death. The novel describes the travellers who chase Dracula, but there is never a mention to any kids traveling with them. Nothing in the game contradicts the possibility of John witnessing his father's death, regardless of whether his age at the time prevented him from remembering the event.

The manual claims Quincey stabbed Dracula with a wooden stake. However, in the novel, Quincy uses a Bowie knife. Additionally, the manual claims it was Quincey Morris alone that killed Dracula, with no mention of the combined efforts of other characters in the novel. However, in the novel, Dracula is killed when Jonathan Harker sliced through Dracula's throat (implying beheading), while Quincey simultaneously stabbed him through the heart.

Quincey attempts to court Lucy early in the novel, but it is not mentioned that Quincey has a two-year-old child (meaning, he either is in a relationship, or just got done with one); though, in Bram Stoker's version, Quincey was intended to be a bachelor with no children.

Additionally, the Countess Bartley is loosely based on the actual historical figure Elizabeth Báthory. The witch who resurrects her in the game's backstory is Dorottya Szentes, who in reality had connections to Báthory. (Just as the name "Bartley" in the English versions of the game is a mistransliteration of Báthory, the name "Drolta Tzuentes" is a corruption of Dorottya's name.)

The game's backstory also references the real-life death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, suggesting that the assassination had been ordered by the Countess.

Bloodlines' story weighs heavily on Portrait of Ruin, which stars John Morris' son Jonathan as the main character. John Morris dies sometime between 1917 and 1944 as a result of his reliance on the Vampire Killer whip and the fact that it saps the energy of its non-full-blood Belmont users (John had been injured in the fight with Dracula in 1917 and his reliance on the whip never allowed him to fully recover from his wounds).

Characters

John Morris (ジョニー・モリス, Jonī Morisu) Born on December 12, 1895, in Texas, USA, is the current wielder of the Vampire Killer whip. "John Morris has been summoned by fate to slay the Countess Bartley before her diabolic plan can be fulfilled. Like all of his forefathers, he is wise in the ways of vampire slaying and is skilled with the legendary whip."[1]

Eric Lecarde (エリック・リカード, Erikku Rikādo): Born on May 3, 1892 in Segovia, Spain, he uses the Alcarde Spear (アルカード・スピア, Arukādo Supia). "Eric Lecarde, master lanceman, has volunteered to take his friend's place in the hunt. However, he hasn't told John the real reason behind his appetite for vengeance: the Countess turned the love of his life, Gwendolyn, into a vampire." [2]

Story

In 1897, the long war between humanity and Dracula came to an end, as Dracula was laid to eternal rest by Quincey Morris, a descendant of the Belmont family. Peace was restored to Europe, until the outbreak of the First World War, which transformed the continent into a dark world filled with massacre and violence. At the beginning of the war, on June 1914 at Sarajevo, the Crown Prince of Austria was assassinated. It was said that a strange beautiful woman was involved, within the shadows. It was Elizabeth Bartley (エリザベート・バートリー, Erizabēto Bātorī). In order to revive her uncle, Count Dracula, she conducted an unholy ceremony which caused the war, giving her possession of human souls from Europe.

The game itself takes place in 1917. The characters are John Morris, a descendant of the famed Belmont and Morris families who obeyed his fate to fight vampires day and night, and Eric Lecarde, whose girlfriend was transformed into a vampire when Elizabeth was revived. After Drolta Tzuentes (ドロテア・ツェンテス, Dorotea Tsentesu) resurrected Elizabeth Bartley, they traveled across Europe to conduct the resurrection of Count Dracula. John Morris and Eric Lecarde followed them. Even though the resurrection of Dracula was a success, the vampire hunters defeated him, and his allies.

Castlevania: Bloodlines underwent censorship during localization to PAL regions in Europe and Australia. The word blood was kept out of the title at the time. Therefore, the title was altered to Castlevania: The New Generation. When the game starts, the blood from the bottom of the title screen was changed to water. Another thing that was changed for the title screen is that the North American and Japanese versions had blood dripping effects from the title to the blood pool, but in the European version, the title screen just faded in through pixelated text and had no blue water dripping effect. The zombies were changed from pink to green to make them less gruesome. In the European version, Eric's spear does not impale him after he dies. There was a rearrangement of enemy placement as well, making the difficulty either easier or harder depending on where in the game the player is. Also, only some sub-bosses use the life bar meter to show damage, whereas others don't.

Eric's facial features were more feminine (i.e., bishōnen) in the Japanese version. When brought to North America, his facial design was changed in the intro to seem more masculine. Oddly, although also changed for the European and Australian versions intro, his feminine face was kept for the cover of those releases.

The game was originally released as a side story of Castlevania series.

The music of Bloodlines was composed by Michiru Yamane, who garnered acclaim for her score for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and subsequent handheld Castlevania adventures. Though she once admitted to have worked under extreme pressure and deadlines, this soundtrack met the standards of the previous entries and is highly regarded on its own for its gloomy atmosphere. The music for the second level, titled "The Sinking Old Sanctuary," was reused in later Castlevania games, Circle of the Moon, for the Game Boy Advance, and Legacy of Darkness, for the Nintendo 64.

The main themes for each of the first levels of the three NES Castlevania games (Vampire Killer, Bloody Tears, Beginning) are accessible in-game with a code and can be played in the sound test as well. Also, Nothing to Lose (the Castle Keep theme for the NES Castlevania) was played in the final part of the first stage. Theme of Simon (from Super Castlevania IV) plays after defeating Elizabeth and before the battle with Dracula.

GamesRadar named Castlevania: Bloodlines the 8th best Genesis game of all time out of a list of 25.