i finally got to play a little of the japanees version of SotN (haven't played this game in YEARS LoL!, sold my english copy back in '02 and just got a JPN region ps2 for Christmas).

It needs to be said, Dracula's in-game voice acting is BETTER in the USA version.

'Here's true power!'

'No.. It cannot be!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!'

and Death's menacing laugh sounded better in the english version too.

i don't remember who it was that complained about the english voice cast in egm's review but they need to be disciplined for being so harsh.
Granted there are some flaws and a couple of sucky voice actors (Suckubus) in the American, but overall it was a solid effort on Konami USA's part.

Dracula is really the ONLY good voice acting in the old SotN English version. Alucard was ... meh. Richter, Maria, Succubus, and everyone else, awful.

You can't expect to listen to the Japanese version and be like "oh this sounds better," since they're ... well, they're Japanese, and the characters designed here are QUITE Western. What they attempt in their voice acting doesn't fit.

Try getting Dracula X Chronicles on PSP. Once you beat Rondo of Blood, it unlocks what is THE best version of SotN to date. They re-did the English voice acting on it, plus you have the option to hear it in Japanese. And they let you play as Maria (like the JP Saturn version), and some other additions were made. That's really the definitive version at this point. Sucks that it comes as an "add-on" for another game though... (not that Rondo of Blood is bad by any means)

Ramza

it's not an add-on, it's a Chronicle!  LoL
( ;

I agree, the comparison seems unfair between actors who know English as a second language speaking dialogue in a country where it would be many times easier just to speak in Japanese (I'd be surprised to find US scripts with people speaking Japanese!), compred to native English speaking "actors."  That said I enjoyed the Japanese v.a. throughly.

EDIT:  I would really like to hear the revised English acting!

A Chronicle would still allow you to pick which games you want to play. In this release, you have to beat Rondo of Blood to "unlock" SotN, as though it were some bonus. That bothers me.

No you don't.  All you have to do is find the item that unlocks it which can be easily found after less than an hour of gameplay in the Chronicles version.  The same goes for the original Rondo as well.  The only thing that's difficult to unlock is the Turbo Duo loading game.

Also, for flames sake, SOTN is the bonus.  It's not as if this thing hasn't already been released on the PSX, SS, 360, PS3, and PSP already you know.  The version here is the 6th version, and the second for PSP.

Right, except all the other versions released in the US were direct ports and NOTHING more. This "bonus" version is really the definitive. It adds all the stuff the Japanese Saturn version has, plus more. It's an actual NEW version, whereas the five previous ports were exactly that: ports.

Whoa whoa wait, the version of SotN included with Dracula X has the Saturn extras?  Are you sure?  I thought I'd read it was the Playstation version of the game!

You read wrong. You can play as Maria and there are extra dungeon areas.

I agree with Ramza, I don't like the idea of the game being relegated to a 'bonus' or an 'add-on.'  Its definetly the first of its kind in the US, and being such a great game, to make it some sort of 'bonus' is a little bit insulting!

It's basically a port of the Japanese PSX version with some extras.  It's not based on the Saturn version which Iga said he doesn't like.  At any rate, it's hardly new.  And it should be relegated to being a bonus becuase the star of the show is Dracula X which was never released here while, as I mentioned earlier, SOTN has been released here plenty of times.

I understand that Rondo of Blood is new to Americans, which is great ... but I still think SotN is a better game, and since this is the best version Americans have gotten, it should have been "Chronicled" in such a way that you could choose what you wanted to play right from the start menu.

But I get what you're saying. Still ... the Japanese PSX version didn't originally have Maria, did it?

Ramza

Nope. Only thing taken out for the US release was the two 'extra' familiars, as far as I know.

-Joshua

That would be one of the extras.