Castlevania Legends

A full moon rises on Castlevania Legends, the first Game Boy title since 1991 in the wildly popular vampire-hunting series. The feminine twist to this entry has pony-tailed Sonia Belmont cracking her whip on all sorts of things that go bump in the night. Hardly a Y chromosome is in sight as Sonia searches a gloomy castle for Count Dracula himself.

Fans eager for Konami's upcoming Castlevania 64 will find Castlevania Legends an eerie entry with plenty of merits of its own. The pak is a classic side-scroller, offering loads of opportunities to poke around dank dungeons, hop from castle ledge to castle ledge and scurry up rotting ropes past slumbering bats. Armed with nothing more than a stout heart and trusty whip, Sonia advances through five stages from the castle's exterior to the horror abiding at its heart.

Free-floating wraiths, pike-wielding knights and other doomy denizens are all eager to take a bite out of Sonia. Branching routes bring a welcome maze-like aspect to the action. Trapdoors plunge Sonia into dungeons crawling with creatures guaranteed to make your skin crawl.

Power-ups Sonia gains en route lengthen her whip, convert it to a chain and eventually give it the ability to hurl fireballs. Playing the game in fairly easy Light Mode gives her the fireball capability right from the get-go. Konami even hid a secret sixth stage midway through the fifth stage. Sonia will have to step lively or else a time limit will squelch her vampire-hunting plans.

The flickering candles that weakly illuminate Sonia's way conceal Hearts, which count toward extra lives. A gothic Super Game Boy frame adds to the funereal atmospherics. The music is so-so, but the graphics are crisp and clear.

Packed with sepulchral secrets and macabre minions, Castlevania Legends is a tightly designed pak that delivers the ghoulish goods to Game Boy action fans.

Source:

www.nintendo.com – Game Boy