Konami's first PSP Castlevania showing, Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles, is a kind of half-attempt at bringing a proper Belmont adventure to the Sony portable. It's not quite a full on effort, giving gamers what they asked for—a 2.5D Castlevania release and a localization of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood—just going far enough to meet expectations. It also includes Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but only as an unlockable. So, how does it play? Pretty much exactly like the PC Engine release.

Gamers who have only played the recent Metroid-style Castlevania games from Igarashi and company might find the Rondo of Blood remake on the shallow side. This is straight up, old school Castlevania. It's largely an exercise in scrolling to the right, whipping at dangerous things, jumping over benign things, and eating turkeys stashed in the walls of Dracula's castle.

There are no complex systems, no items to collect, nothing outside of a linear "walk and whip." And that's okay. Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles doesn't venture far from its roots, similar to Konami's other portable title Contra 4.

That doesn't mean it's a cakewalk. The PSP game adheres to older gameplay conventions, where skill is a must and save points were few and far between. During my E3 2007 experience, I played through the first three levels of the game before I exhausted my share of credits. Far more challenging than the recent Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS releases.

Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles is shaping up to be the answer to hardcore CV fan's wishes. It's loaded with some of the best games in the series, in lovingly recreated and original forms, plus it sports a host of sweet bonus features. Fans weened on the newer, longer adventures should take note that it's not quite what they may be used to.