Castlevania: The Bloodletting

"Castlevania: The Bloodletting" is the commonly used name among the gaming community for a canceled Castlevania game that was intended to be released for the 32X add-on for the Sega Genesis.
==History==
Series producer, Koji Igarashi, when questioned about the game, mentioned he worked on it before the project was abandoned and its team disbanded. He and other team members would later proceed to work on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the Sony PlayStation.Unfinished symphony: Castlevania's keeper speaksElectronic Gaming Monthly, issue 206 (August, 2006), page 102.
Production of the game began after the success of Tokimeki Memorial, which was released in 1994, and for which IGA was the scenario writer for. After it became clear the game had sold well, he was asked on which project he would like to work on, choosing Castlevania.
In the December 1994 issue of Game Players magazine, a Castlevania game for the Sega 32X was first announced.Unreleased 32X games at Sega Retro. IGA mentioned in the notes for Symphony of the Night's official soundtrack that he was already working on the game's scenario while also writing the scenario for the PS remake of Tokimeki Memorial, which was released in October 1995.SotN OST Liner Note Translation From this it can be concluded that "The Bloodletting" was canceled sometime between December 1994 and October 1995.
Contrary to many reports about the game, the name "The Bloodletting" was not purely a fan invention, as a Konami brochure from the Chicago Consumer Electronic Show from 1995 advertised a game under this title. A trademark for "The Bloodletting" requested by Konami in 1995 also exists in the database of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.CASTLEVANIA THE BLOODLETTING - Trademark Details at JUSTIA Trademarks. IGA mentioned the 32X game got canceled before it got an official name, therefore the name "The Bloodletting" is incorrectly associated with that game.
A single sprite for three characters is all that remains of "The Bloodletting". Through later interviews with IGA, it has been revealed that the game was intended to feature Richter Belmont, Maria Renard, and a rival to Richter.Message from the Producer, Part 5.
The sprite for the rival was reworked from Richter's original sprite in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, while the new Richter sprite later became Fake Trevor's.
==Characters==
Sprite	Character 	Description
 	Richter Belmont	The main protagonist of the game.
 	Maria Renard 	The co-star of the game, possibly playable.
 	The Rival 	A rival character, playable.
==Interviews==
Electronic Gaming Monthly, Issue 206 (August, 2006), Page 102
EGM:
:Is it true that SOTN is connected to the doomed Sega 32X game Castlevania: The Bloodletting?
IGA:
:Well, there was another Castlevania title being developed on the 32X, but I don't believe the title was The Bloodletting. The game was canceled before the name was confirmed. This is actually the game I worked on after Tokimeki Memorial. The team for this game was disbanded, but several members, including myself, went on to work on SOTN.
Vampire Hunter Dot Art Collection
Commentator:
:There is a character strange near the center.
IGA:
:The left is a rival-positioned character.
:It is a playable character that images the overseas-market user's preference.
:Two of the right is Richter and Maria's canceled character models for Mega-Drive32X during developments.
Commentator:
:I did not know the existence of such a character!!
:The rival character seems to have been a tough power fighter more than Richter.
:Maria has exposed the thigh — hmmm, SEXY!
:Thank you IGA!!
==Gallery==
001.jpg|A brochure from the Consumer Electronic Show (1995).
==Related products==
*Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - "The Bloodletting" was intended to be a sequel to Rondo of Blood.
==References==
==External links==
* - A fan game reimagining what "The Bloodletting" could have been like.
*Castlevania Realm
*Inverted Castlevania Dungeon (Internet Archive: December 17, 2011)
de:Castlevania: The Bloodletting
es:Castlevania: The Bloodletting
Category:Canceled Games
Category:Sega 32X Games
 
Category:Castlevania Games