Nintendo 64

Castlevania

Castlevania refait peau neuve dans ce nouvel épisode tout en 3D. Même si les puristes regretteront le changement de style, les nouveaux venus trouveront dans ce soft, un véritable plaisir de jouer. La N64 étant bien utilisée sur tous les plans, Castlevania devient un hit sur ce support.

Heiligschennis of niet, Castlevania 64 is een prachtige game. Misschien een beetje kort voor de meeste diehard spelers maar de sfeervolle muziek, prachtige beelden en gameplay vol met aktie maken het tot een waardig 3D-vervolg.

Konami lyckas inte riktigt.

I was really worried about Castlevania going 3D for a while, but I'm happy to report that this game is much better than expected. After you get over the initial frustration of making spatial judgments (damn platforms!), Castlevania quickly grows on you and will have you play non-stop till you reach the end. While I liked Schneider better (it's the whip. No, really), Carrie's got some neat levels of her own. It's definitely worth playing both characters. Graphics range from "bleech" to excellent, and there are quite a few original touches that make this game stand on its own feet. Castlevania's baby steps into the third dimension have been successful ones, but after seeing how well Goemon 2 plays in its pseudo-3D perspective, I really hope that we will see another 2D Castlevania with 3D backgrounds soon.

Despite these minor gripes, Castlevania definitely excels. The developers have done a fantastic job of capturing the atmosphere and spirit of the series, while providing a well-balanced, challenging gameplay experience that's filled with pretty visuals, awesome (though limited) music, plenty of secrets, and some incredible bosses (just wait until you see Death... whew!). Let's just hope this doesn't mark the end of the 2D era of Castlevania games.

Overall, Castlevania 64 is a cool game. Konami made sure to include the favorite features of the Castlevania series. Plus the port to 3d was a successful one too. The SoundFX took a nosedive but doesn't make the game bad. Gameplay is enjoyable, but gets slightly repetitive. If it wasn't for them huge bosses I don't know. From the graphic standpoint this game stands on a high plateau. Now whose up for some bat soup, me, me, me.

Castlevania's gameplay drew me in immediately, but my enthusiasm waned as I was forced to deal with poor camera angles, deadly water, and control problems (especially around ledges). Your enemies are the usual suspects of skeletons and werewolves, but there are some bizarre surprises like skeletons on motorcycles. There's a lot of game packed into this cartridge, and Castlevania fans should at least give it a chance.

The good points of the game are few, but noticeable. The mood established by the game rivals older Castlevania games. The music in Castlevania 64 is good and adds to the overall creepy feeling of the game. Some of the boss characters are also well done. In particular, the first boss (the skeleton of Mighty Joe Young) is quite impressive. The potential of Castlevania 64 can be seen in small flashes, at times.

Unfortunately, those flashes are too few and far between to save the game. What was attempted with Castlevania 64 is obvious, but it fell far short of its mark. Much of this may have to do with Konami rushing it to the market before it was finished, but I have to review the product I'm given. Castlevania 64 pales in comparison to its cousins and is not worth the money to buy.