Reviews from

in the past


Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness is a flawed gem. It's clunky even for an N64 game, the graphics are muddy, and some of the design choices are frustrating. Still, the gothic atmosphere, the expanding movesets of the different characters, and the sheer ambition of the campaign make it a worthwhile experience for Castlevania diehards. This isn't the best place to start with the series, but if you have a fondness for retro difficulty and gothic horror, there's something worth digging up here.

Cornell & Henry story clear.

A really solid 3d castlevania game, (big plus of having Skeleton riding motorcycles and revolver wielding knights) but seriously fixed alot of issues I had with the OG C64. It has its jank and camera issues but what game of this time period didn't. You play as a werewolf too and can transform, got all the the classic sub weapons and that classic castlevania music. It's got this puzzle aspect of using night and day cycle which was really cool.

If your a castlevania fan try it out. Not the greatest game in the series but a pretty decent one when it comes to the 3d ones

I don't get, WHY PEOPLE SAYS THIS GAME IS AWFUL? THIS GAME IS INCREDIBLE.
I think people compare this game with more recent games or with their homonimus Metroidvania games, when in reality, this is a 3D take ON CLASSIC CASTLEVANIAS.
The game is segmented in stages, LIKE CLASSIC CASTLEVANIAS, it's more methodical LIKE CLASSIC CASTLEVANIAS and it's levels are more focused on plataforming and it's secrets on power ups LIKE CLASSIC CASTLEVANIAS.

Strong points:

1) Excellent level design
2) Superd controls, yes, don't pay attention to anyone who says otherwise, you have to rate the controls based on the game age, and it has better control and enemy lock on than Occarina of Time and Majora's Mask. It fixes the problems that Castlevania 64 gameplay had.
3) This is not a precuel of Castlevania 64, it's a REMAKE. Cornell's story is the precuel, once you beated the game you unlock a second character, Henry, and if you play through Henry's campaing completing his objectives you unlock Reinhard and Carrie, the protagonist of Castlevania 64 and with them THE ACTUAL CASTLEVANIA 64.
4) Picking up with what I said, 4 playable characters, each of them has some unique bosses, different gameplays and secrets.
5) A good bunch of secrets in various areas including secret bosses.

Weak points:

1) The camera, like almost all the games of the N64 and PS1 era.
2) The story is somewhat cliché-

Overall, an EXCELLENT and injustified hated Castlevania game.
PLAY IT IF YOU LOVE THE FRANCHISE.

Although it is better than its predecessor in almost every way, it is still far from what I might consider a satisfactory experience. Basically because I still find it impossible to get used to the sloppy controls when it comes to the platform sections. Not an awful game tho, but at this point one would expect a more refined gameplay.


Insertar meme de Marcelino diciendo "somos más malos que mi puta madre"

I know the N64 titles get a lot of flak, but I genuinely think they're pretty good. Legacy of Darkness especially, it feels like a reworked, more fleshed out version of the original game. I love the atmosphere and slower tempo, and a lot of the frustrating sections of the original game were altered or removed. This is not your average Castlevania. It's almost more of a survival horror title, at least in pacing and atmosphere. Give it a go, but don't expect it to play like other games in the series. This one, and its predecessor, are very different.

Para nada el mejor Castlevania, tiene varios problemas notables pero definitivamente no es tan malo como muchos dicen.
Tiene muy buena ambientación, gráficos decentes y la música creo que va más en cada quien pero personalmente está buena.

i would play the Reinhardt route to get the full story but dawg i am not playing that villa level again

Cornell so cool. We love Cornell.

Ultimately fine but it's hard to find the inspiration to run around such convoluted mazes without any sort of map. Ambitious and solid as an early 3D platformer but its age makes it hard to push through.

(Zerado com o Cornell e Henry) Uma evolução absurda de seu antecessor. A apresentação do jogo é muito impressionante e as boss fights e fases ficaram menos frustrantes e bem mais interessantes.

Ao contrário do que eu disse de seu antecessor, até quem não é fã de Castlevania não pode deixar passar esse jogo, as qualidades mascaram e muito seus defeitos. Vale a pena!

I quite liked the greater focus on platforming in this one, but it just doesn't hit the same way Castlevania 64 did for me.

Beat with all characters on Hard. It was alright, the beginning was kinda rough, but there was some enjoyment to be had.

Joguei no Pc. Eu ficava na escola pela tarde e ficava na sala do cara da informática. Tinha vários computadores, daí eu ficava jogando em um deles. Ele baixou um emulador de Nintendo 64 pra mim e eu jogava. Jogava muito Mario Kart e esse Castlevania. Eu não entendia, não sabia o que tinha que fazer... Nem conhecia Castlevania. Mas gostava bastante dos menus, da ambientação, inimigos, combate... Entendia nada, mas me agradava bastante.

joguinho bem meia boca ngl
o começo é muito bom, atmosférico e interessante mas depois tudo decai com fases estressantes, platforming chato e estágios longos e arrastados.

uma pena porque esse tinha o potencial de ser um dos melhores da franquia, mas foi renegado a "bacana" mesmo.

Melhor jogo 3d da série. Bons controles, gráficos charmosos, ambientação e trilha sonora marcantes, com uma história divertida de acompanhar, gosto muito da luta final.

É uma pena que seja ofuscado pela reputação do 64, dê uma chance.

This game is so fucking good I don't know how anyone ever thought this was bad. 99% of the complaints even by people who defend LoD are half baked at best. Only issue one could have is the n64 controller itself shafting this game a bit. Play it on a real controller and that issue is gone.
Here are my bindings for a PlayStation controller.
A=Circle=Jump
B=X=Attack 1
C Left=Square=Attack 2
C Right=Left Bumper=Collect Items
C Up=Dpad Up=Change camera
C Down=Triangle=Item Attack
L=Right Bumper=Werewolf Attack
R=Right thumbstick press=Lock on
Z=Left Trigger=Crouch
Map Dpad to right stick

They took everything simple and fun with the mechanics of the series, removed the flow, and made them extremely janky

Nobody in this world loves you, but I am eternally on my knees for you.

"Beklediğimden daha az deforme olmuş, ancak günümüz oyunlarına da bir o kadar uzak."

Oyun hakkında çokça detaylı bir ton yazı yazmıştım zamanında, bu yüzden şimdi tekrardan tonla yazıyı yazabilecek gibi durmuyorum, ancak özet geçebilirim.

Karakterlerin hikayelerinin hepsi oynanabilir olduğundan ve ayrı bölüm dizaynları da yapılmamasıyla beraber, kendini inanılmaz tekrar ederek sıkıcı bir yapıya bürünüyor.

Mekan tasarımları, müzikler, her bir sanatsal dizaynı tasarlarken teknolojilerini o kadar iyi tanıyarak yapmışlar ki, teknolojinin sınırları yüzünden böyle bir dizayna gitmişler, ucuz olmuş demiyorsunuz.

Oyunu uzatabilmek için çok ucuz yollara başvurdukları da aşikar, o yüzden bu serinin hayranı değilseniz, bu oyunun yüzüne bakmamanızı tavsiye ediyorum.

This game is insanely underrated, wish it was a Metroidvania but it's so vibey I genuinely love it. Really need to pick it up again to play as the other characters.

It's Castlevania 64, expanded!

Legacy of Darkness isn't exactly a new game, just the original N64 title with extra features, and they absolutely make this the better version.

Better lock on, higher resolution with the expansion pack, faster climbing, upgradeable subweapons, actual camera controls, new levels, new layouts for the original levels, and two new characters: Cornell and Hunk-- I mean, Henry.

Cornell is the star of the show. He's in the box art, and is the only playable character at first. This game takes place years before CV64, detailing how that game's Dracula came to be.
Completing the campaign as Cornell will unlock Henry, WHO HAS A GUN!
Henry's mode is pretty straightforward: Rescue the kidnapped children from 6 levels before time runs out. Not nearly as much puzzle solving or time-card using, just blast through the hordes of evil while looking for the missing kids. Finishing his mode while rescuing everyone will unlock Reinhardt and Carrie, Hard mode, and everyone's alt costumes.

I didn't replay the game with Reinhardt and Carrie but from what I looked up, their campaigns are largely the same, with some new layouts.

Legacy of Darkness is simply a better Castlevania 64. Play both if you're a nerd, or stick to LoD if you only have time for one.

As most people have already said, this game is just CV64 but better. Henry's mode feels a bit tacked on but Cornell is pretty good and the two from the previous game are the same with some updates to make them a bit better. This game gives you all that delicious atmosphere and music from 64 in a context that actually controls well and has a decent camera.

I wouldn't exactly call this an upgrade to Castlevania 64. More of a sidegrade


Solid upgrade to Castlevania 64. The remade levels are so much more fun, the controls are more intuitive, the bosses are way more interesting and challenging. Not a masterpiece or anything, but worth playing.

Versão definitiva do Castlevania 64. Honestamente, não vi melhorias alarmantes, só uma quantidade nova de fases que foram acrescentadas.

Ok, before we talk about the game itself - what in the Goosebumps is that title font?

Legacy of Darkness exists in a weird little spot. People complain about remakes and remasters happening way too quickly these days, such as The Last of Us Part I or Spider-Man Remastered. Leave it to Konami, then, to be over 20 years ahead of the trend - Legacy of Darkness is a weird, sort-of remake of the same year's Castlevania on N64, basically being the finished product compared to Castlevania's rushed release state. Most people consider it a direct upgrade. Me? I'm not sure it's quite that simple.

Rather than Reinhardt or Carrie, you only have one campaign unlocked from the start; newcomer Cornell. He's a man-beast who has a somewhat unique moveset compared to the original games' characters. His main attack is this projectile that takes the best parts of Reinhardt and Carrie's attacks - it deals as much damage as Reinhardt's whip, while having a range similar to Carrie's magic. It doesn't track, but it moves fast enough for it to not really matter. I found it surprisingly overpowered for most of the game, to be honest, though the new bosses won't all have you missing the old attacks.

Cornell can also assume a man-beast form with one of the triggers. This basically increases your stats a fair amount, but drains your crystals each second - which, by the way, are still used for your sub-weapons. It's a good idea, but with a crucial flaw: it cannot be disabled once activated. So if you accidentally trigger it, well, no more subweapons for you.

Speaking of subweapons, they're all about the same as before - knife for quick projectile attacks (which is almost useless for Cornell considering his basic attack is just the same, but better), axe flies in an arc, cross acts like a powerful boomerang, and holy water creates a damage area on the floor for a period of time. One big difference, though, is that collecting duplicate subweapons now upgrades them up to twice, massively increasing their area of effect and damage. It's a great change, though annoyingly they go back to level 1 upon loading a save file, be it from dying or powering off.

Cornell's campaign is the longest by far, adding in a bunch of new levels while overhauling the older ones. While it puts a lot more meat on the game's bones, I found it to become a little tedious, maybe outstaying its welcome. It makes better use of the day/night cycle for the dungeons compared to the original release, but mainly through a labyrinth of day/night doors. You can probably imagine how tedious it gets to keep going into the menu and using a sun card or moon card to change the time of day just to open a door - now imagine that 20 times in succession. Castlevania 64 was short, but I think I preferred that length compared to Legacy of Darkness' - and this is just one of four different campaigns in the game.

The second campaign you unlock is that of Henry, and it's the most unique of the campaigns between the four. You have 7 in-game days to find 6 children, scattered through a small selection of the levels. It's a fun change, but it relies on you knowing the layout of these levels to begin with. As such, I can't agree entirely with the notion that you can play Legacy of Darkness instead of Castlevania 64, as a campaign such as Henry's makes more sense after beating both Cornell's campaign, as well as Reinhardt and Carrie's from the original release. Now, while both of their campaigns are also in Legacy of Darkness, there's a reason I've not brought it up - they're unlocked for saving a certain amount of children from Henry's campaign. Even then, they use the remixed level designs from Cornell's campaign, so it's not quite the same experience.

If there's one thing that stands out about Henry's campaign though, it's his weapon. These losers brought a whip, some shitty magic and whatever those projectiles are to fight vampires and shit? Henry isn't messing around - he brought a motherfucking GUN to this fight. Not many games cause me to physically pogchamp, but pressing the attack button for the first time only to hear a gunshot was enough to illicit that reaction in me. Combat with Henry is such a one-sided joke with his firearm that I'd say it's best saved for last, when you've already beaten the other three stories.

Altogether, it's definitely got more going on than Castlevania 64, but it takes away a little from what made me like it. The camera controls are different - instead of three choices of automatic camera, there are only two now. I found the auto camera to be a lot worse in this game, but as it turns out you can now use the D-pad to manually adjust it yourself, so that counts for something.

What bothered me a little more is the music. I mentioned in my Castlevania 64 review how much I liked how they went for a more atmospheric, B-movie horror style feel. Legacy of Darkness retains some of the music, but also throws in a few more Rondo of Blood remixes. It's nice to hear them, but it takes away from the unique identity of the N64 titles in my opinion. Symphony of the Night got to go all out with their music direction, so it pains me to see this get stifled in that regard.

Altogether, I find this to be a decent little 3D platformer that makes gameplay improvements, but stylistic downgrades from its predecessor. They even took out the hammy voice acting! Still, it's worth a try. Begrudgingly, I'll admit that if you have to play only one of them, that you'll probably enjoy Legacy of Darkness more than 64, but I maintain that the optimal way is to play 64 first, and appreciate (or not) the changes that LoD goes on to make.