Castlevania

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

I was very concerned when I heard Castlevania was going 3-D! Castlevania had been synonymous with great side-scrolling action games (though Castlevania: Dracula X really stunk up the series!). As it turns out, I had very little to be worried about.
In CV64, you again battle Dracula as either the normal Belmont hero or Carrie Fernandez, a strangely powerful 12 year old girl. Listen, don't ask me why, I didn't write the game! You start off on a dark and stormy night, just outside the evil castle. Konami has some great visual effects here, such as the trees getting whacked by lightning. This is a good indication of what will follow. You battle a bunch of skeletons and work your way to the inner perimeter of the castle, and then it is into the heart of darkness! The castle itself is very dark and very nicely done. Baroque details, such as the furnishings and the pictures on the wall, are all very well done (still not as good as Symphony of the Night, but still very good!). As you progres through the castle, you meet many of the inhabitants within, including the foxxy half vampire Rosa and Vincent the crazy vampire hunter. The enemies are very intense as well, especially the insane gardner (so where did he get a chainsaw in the 1800's? And what about the motorcycle skeltons?) As you progress through you have a few different levels you can go to depending on if you are playing as Reinhardt or Carrie. This helps contribute to the replay value. The final battle with Dracula's monster is like nothing you have ever seen before and it will blow you away!! Well let's rate, shall we?

Graphics=9.5 Excellent graphics complimented by great lighting effects. The mansion is very creepy and the further you get, the better the visuals get. Being a Castlevania game, of COURSE there is a big old clock tower! The bosses and other chracters suffer from the N-64's lack of ability to make really detailed faces, but in battle they look great. Some of the bosses are enormous, such as the giant bull in the arena. The last battle takes place on the plains of hell, a desolate and somewhat terrifying landscape. All in all, this games packs some very good, very dark visuals.

Playcontrol=8.4 For a 3-D game, it has a decent control system, though targeting and camera angles can be a problem at times. Playing as Reinhardt is more enjoyable than playing as Carrie, as it give you a better challenge and more ''realistic'' feel. Occasionally, you will get screwed because the camera does not give you a good picture of an area where you are doing technical jumping, but more the most part it has a decent 3-D system.

Sound=8.4 Great voices (though again, not as cool as SOTN) and cool sound effects. The somewhat low score comes from the lack of music; most of it is mere background and never erupts like in other games (the Dracula X game excluded). I got all excited when I looked into an empty coffin and the classic song ''Bloody Tears'' started from Castlevania 2 began, only to peter out after a few seconds! Doh. The opening has very good music, especially the violin part that young Dracula plays as the title comes up. It could have been better with baroque/rock style tunes we are used to!

Story=8.9 Once immersed in the game, the storyline has very interesting characters. Rosa, the gardner, the maids and butlers, all have an interesting past. The storyline as Reinhardt is very well played out and riveting. The addition of Carrie is a very strange chapter in CV's history. Her story does not fit in as well and the fact she is supposed to be 12 is kind of lame ( though I can see why, to match Malus's age and parental revenge and all.) She also has the side theme of the enemy Actrise, a woman who sold her soul to remain beautiful. As stated in the hint book, she would slaughter children to give her power. This is based somewhat on an actual historical figure, a Lady Elizebeth of 1600's England who would torture young girls and bathe in thier blood!
The confrontation with Dracula is very cool, as is his guardian, the false Dracula. A great story to play through, though the whole Carrie thing is kind of forced. It gives replay value though!

Challenge=8.6 Without maps or tips, this can be a very hard game! It sometimes gets a little confusing as where to go, but it is linear enough to figure out. SOme of the bosses are ridiculously easy (blood monster) or very hard (final Dracula form). The one ''Cheat'' you can do is store a lot of meat for the big battles, a great way to regain energy at any time. Tough, but has good replay value-- Easier with Carrie than with Renhardt.

Overall=8.4 The break from 2-D comes off good, though SOTN shows CV belongs in a side-scrolling format. A nice game and unlike Dracula X, seems worthy to bear the CV name.

*BRU'S MUST GET OMETER*=7 if you like adventure games, boost up to 9 if you are a CV fan!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/14/00, Updated 02/14/00