Pocket Power: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (PS Vita) (2024)

Handheld gaming is more than a compromise of power and portability. Whether it’s the ability to play anywhere, multitask or hold an entire console in your hands, it’s a special experience consoles have never replicated. In a world where high resolutions and teraflops reign supreme, we take a look at a portable relic every month and reflect on what makes it memorable. Be warned, spoilers may occasionally populate these articles.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was a highly-anticipated game years before its 2019 release. IGA had parted ways with Konami, which meant that he wouldn't be behind any more Castlevania games. Bloodstained was a new IP, and from the look of things, it was going to be very much in the vein of Casltevania: Symphony of the Night. Most of the funding for the game was generated through a Kickstarter campaign, which the goal was quickly met, along with several other stretch goals. One of these stretch goals was a spin-off Bloodstained game, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, which was released about a year before Ritual of the Night.

What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse

There isn't a swear jar at the main Hardcore Gamer office, but there is a functionally similar jar for every time a comparison is made between Castlevania and Bloodstained, which has put our kids through college. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is an 8-bit action platformer. Being a new IP, it introduces new characters and has its own lore, world and monsters. Its gameplay is also reminiscent of a 35-year-old game called Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Items are hidden in candles, there are recruitable additional characters, levels have multiple paths and even many of the subweapons function like classic Caslevania subweapons. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon had enough original ideas that it felt like a new game, but the Castlevania influence couldn't be ignored.

The events in Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon take place about ten years before Ritual of the Night. Zangetsu is the main protagonist. Cursed by demons, Zangetsu ventures out on a quest driven by revenge. Feeling the presence of a great demon, he hopes slaying the most powerful demon can rid him of his curse, but he isn't one to discriminate. Zangetsu vows to kill any and all demons he encounters on his journey.

See Also

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The player begins as the swordsman Zangetsu, but can recruit three additional playable allies. Miriam, who would later take on the starring role in Ritual of the Night, fights with a whip and can jump higher than the other characters. Alfred is a powerful sorcerer, and while he can't take too many hits, his fire and ice spells are incredibly useful in certain situations. Alfred plays similarly to Sypha in Castlevania III. Gebel is the last of the companions to recruit, who attacks with bats that act like short-range projectiles that fly into an upward arc. His most useful power is the ability to transform into a bat, which can allow him to access otherwise inaccessible areas, much like Alucard in Castlevania III. What's great about this roster is each character has something of value to contribute, sometimes in unexpected ways.

A Little Help From His Friends

There isn't a difficulty selector in the traditional sense, such as changing the settings to Easy or Hard. Instead, there are two game modes, Veteran or Casual. Veteran is the intended experience as it recreates the feel of how 8-bit games are actually played. This includes a limited number of lives, which can make things harder, but the real matter of substance is getting knocked back when taking damage. Getting knocked back was common in classic Castlevania games, and can lead to unexpected deaths as it can be disastrous in platforming sections. Casual mode is much easier, as the player is given infinite lives and getting knocked back doesn't happen. Having the choice is an asset. People who are put off by the true challenge of retro games can use Casual mode to make the game more accessible, but those who grew up Castlevania can get the true punishment on Veteran, which can be a daunting task to complete as a solo Zangetsu.

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon has eight stages. The stages advance in a set order, but there are different paths that can be taken to the end. Sometimes there's a friendly skeleton pointing at the recommended way, but depending on which party members are currently alive, not all passages may be available. The end of each level is a boss battle, some of which will be seen again in a different Bloodstained game. Some of the latter boss fights can get challenging, but the party system can make the fights a lot easier. This can be done in two different ways. One is being selective about which subweapon each character has and switching characters at strategic times (this approach makes Gremory much easier). The other way is to take advantage that each character has their own individual health bar, slug it out with the boss and just be sure to switch characters before anyone dies.

Retrovania

There are a total of six endings for Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. Many of them depend on how Zangetsu deals with his companions. During the first three levels, the player is prompted to talk to a companion after beating the boss. Talking to the character recruits them, but Zangetsu could also kill them and inherit a new power. Or he could just walk past them, neither gaining their services nor power. Based on how useful the companions are in overall game progression, some endings are more difficult to achieve than others. After completing the game with all three allies, Nightmare mode is unlocked where the player begins with Miriam, Alfred and Gebel, but Zangetsu is not in the party. The final stage is also different in Nightmare mode, but otherwise it's the same as the regular game.

There's no shortage of games that bank on nostalgia to get gamers' attention, and Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is among them. This isn't an inherently bad thing, as these games can be enjoyable if done properly. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is an example of this. Even though it's the initial game for a new IP, it perfectly captures the overall vibe and gameplay mechanics of the 8-bit games that inspired it. The 8-bit aesthetic is perfectly executed, although they did take advantage of hardware advances to add more visual effects and larger sprites that might have seemed out of place on the NES. The different game modes offer a choice for players who want the true old school challenge or something more relaxing, with the different endings providing additional challenges and reason for multiple playthroughs. It's linear and can be completed in only a couple of hours, but is a must-play for fans of classic Castlevania.

In addition to PlayStation Vita, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon was released for Nintendo 3DS, PC, PlayStation 4, Switch and Xbox One. A sequel, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2, was released in 2020 on multiple platforms. It provides a similar experience to the original, but introduces new supporting characters. Retro-style games aren't a market for everyone, but both Curse of the Moon games are some of the better examples of catering to nostalgia while still feeling contemporary. An interesting element of Bloodstained it it pays tribute to all three 8-bit Castlevania. Classic Mode is basically a Bloodstained remake of Castlevania, Classic II: Dominique's Curse is a great homage to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and the two Curse of the Moon games are tributes to Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.