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.
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.
I wish there was a great 3D Castlevania game so bad.
NOTE: This is a review of Henry's story mode. For a full review of Castlevania 64 or a review of Cornell's story, use these links:
https://www.backloggd.com/u/ExSOLDIER/review/135872/
https://www.backloggd.com/u/ExSOLDIER/review/449468/
As I stated in my earlier review of Legacy of Darkness, I promised I would return in October to cover the last playable character of the game—Henry Oldrey.
Henry's campaign is significantly different from the other three characters, acting more like a time trial than anything else. Henry is given seven days to save six children scattered somewhere throughout Castlevania and its surrounding lands. Armed with a pistol and a sword, Henry is an absolute powerhouse. With time being the biggest enemy, knowledge of Castlevania 64's world is essential in finding all of the children under the time limit. That said, I had little trouble locating all of the children with a couple days to spare. Anyone who has played the game previously (which will be everyone considering players must complete Cornell's story to unlock Henry's) should be more than familiar enough with the maps to find the children. Each child is in a less-than-obvious location, but with a little exploration, they can be reached with relative ease.
Henry's campaign being so different from the other three characters helps breathe some life into the game for what was my third full playthrough. The power of his pistol allows players to breeze through combat scenarios and get on with the search. It feels very much like a post-game scenario with its layout akin to Sonic Adventure 2's lost Chao missions.
That said, the final stretch of the game is divided between three locations that are accessible via a coffin teleport. The coffin warps Henry to different locations based on the in-game clock, and as such, traversing these areas can be a little tedious. Forcing the player to sit around and wait or expend a Sun/Moon card and eat up precious time makes the decision to make the teleport function this way less than desirable. Nonetheless, I still had lots of fun and completed the entire campaign in under two hours without a guide.
As the finale to Castlevania 64: Legacy of Darkness, Henry's campaign is a short but sweet bonus to a game I already enjoyed. I know that this game and its earlier incarnation are panned by many, but I found myself having a great time through each of the different story modes. Each character brings something different and fun to the table, the atmosphere is fantastic, and the visuals charming. I am emulating this, so controls are admittedly much better as I am not using a traditional N64 controller, but I do not think for a minute that playing on original hardware would significantly affect my opinion of the game. To any Castlevania fans or fans of retro 3D games in general still on the fence about this one, I say give it a try. Worst case you end up not liking it and move on. But, if you're like me, you may discover a new game you can have hours of fun with and replay several times over.
https://www.backloggd.com/u/ExSOLDIER/review/135872/
https://www.backloggd.com/u/ExSOLDIER/review/449468/
As I stated in my earlier review of Legacy of Darkness, I promised I would return in October to cover the last playable character of the game—Henry Oldrey.
Henry's campaign is significantly different from the other three characters, acting more like a time trial than anything else. Henry is given seven days to save six children scattered somewhere throughout Castlevania and its surrounding lands. Armed with a pistol and a sword, Henry is an absolute powerhouse. With time being the biggest enemy, knowledge of Castlevania 64's world is essential in finding all of the children under the time limit. That said, I had little trouble locating all of the children with a couple days to spare. Anyone who has played the game previously (which will be everyone considering players must complete Cornell's story to unlock Henry's) should be more than familiar enough with the maps to find the children. Each child is in a less-than-obvious location, but with a little exploration, they can be reached with relative ease.
Henry's campaign being so different from the other three characters helps breathe some life into the game for what was my third full playthrough. The power of his pistol allows players to breeze through combat scenarios and get on with the search. It feels very much like a post-game scenario with its layout akin to Sonic Adventure 2's lost Chao missions.
That said, the final stretch of the game is divided between three locations that are accessible via a coffin teleport. The coffin warps Henry to different locations based on the in-game clock, and as such, traversing these areas can be a little tedious. Forcing the player to sit around and wait or expend a Sun/Moon card and eat up precious time makes the decision to make the teleport function this way less than desirable. Nonetheless, I still had lots of fun and completed the entire campaign in under two hours without a guide.
As the finale to Castlevania 64: Legacy of Darkness, Henry's campaign is a short but sweet bonus to a game I already enjoyed. I know that this game and its earlier incarnation are panned by many, but I found myself having a great time through each of the different story modes. Each character brings something different and fun to the table, the atmosphere is fantastic, and the visuals charming. I am emulating this, so controls are admittedly much better as I am not using a traditional N64 controller, but I do not think for a minute that playing on original hardware would significantly affect my opinion of the game. To any Castlevania fans or fans of retro 3D games in general still on the fence about this one, I say give it a try. Worst case you end up not liking it and move on. But, if you're like me, you may discover a new game you can have hours of fun with and replay several times over.
While this was meant to be a "special edition" release, it really wasn't much of an upgrade over the original Castlevania 64. The graphics might be a TOUCH sharper, but they failed to fix any of the camera or gameplay issues, unfortunately.
The main game focuses this time around on Cornell, a werewolf character who was supposed to be in the OG release. He was also supposed to be this bad ass martial arts character, who in development articles was stated to be able to pull off some cool acrobatic moves. And again, unfortunately, he can't do any of that. He can swipe his claws at this, and throw "energy waves". He can't even KICK, at least that I remember. His story is different from the base story the characters share in the original game, but not by TOO much. He does get his own unique stages that are new here, including a neat opening "sneaking into the castle via a derelict ship on the lake" area. But most of his adventure is comprised of the same levels, playing out in the same order. Though it IS worth pointing out, that without spoiling it, the Dracula fight in this game IS different, at least in the final form, than in the original.
You can still play Reinhardt and Carrie in this, they become unlocked after you beat it with Cornell. And they even included the 4th character that was originally supposed to be in the game, Henry, in a somewhat different (and arguably annoying) timed adventure.
All in all, it's the same basic game, just with more of the content it was originally meant to feature in the first place. It's STILL a solid game, and better than you've likely heard. Worth checking out, at any rate.
The main game focuses this time around on Cornell, a werewolf character who was supposed to be in the OG release. He was also supposed to be this bad ass martial arts character, who in development articles was stated to be able to pull off some cool acrobatic moves. And again, unfortunately, he can't do any of that. He can swipe his claws at this, and throw "energy waves". He can't even KICK, at least that I remember. His story is different from the base story the characters share in the original game, but not by TOO much. He does get his own unique stages that are new here, including a neat opening "sneaking into the castle via a derelict ship on the lake" area. But most of his adventure is comprised of the same levels, playing out in the same order. Though it IS worth pointing out, that without spoiling it, the Dracula fight in this game IS different, at least in the final form, than in the original.
You can still play Reinhardt and Carrie in this, they become unlocked after you beat it with Cornell. And they even included the 4th character that was originally supposed to be in the game, Henry, in a somewhat different (and arguably annoying) timed adventure.
All in all, it's the same basic game, just with more of the content it was originally meant to feature in the first place. It's STILL a solid game, and better than you've likely heard. Worth checking out, at any rate.
The update that Castlevania 64 deserved.
Even more playable characters and cool additions to the story. It lost a little bit of the atmosphere it had before, but keeps being a cool Castlevania horror game.
Even more playable characters and cool additions to the story. It lost a little bit of the atmosphere it had before, but keeps being a cool Castlevania horror game.
completely serviceable 3D castlevania game for anyone who can accept third person controls in early 3D games not directed by miyamoto
couldve made the werewolf sexier so i'd trick myself into pretending to enjoy this
henry is the coolest castlevania character of all time
Jank as hell but nowhere near as bad as people say it is.
game slaps and you all are too chicken shit to admit it
I only had this game when I was like 9, I never got past the first level, but what I can say is that the wolf dude on the cover made me a furry so there's that?
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness is an enhanced re-release of Castlevania on the Nintendo 64. One of the first games (that I know of) to do this, but certainly not the last. Because a large majority of this game carries the same skeleton as Castlevania 64, I don't want to spend too much time retreading my previous review. Instead, I am going to focus on the entirely new content and make comparisons where I can see notable differences accordingly.
First and foremost, the biggest additions to Legacy of Darkness are the two new character campaigns in the form of Cornell "Blue Crescent Moon" and Henry Oldrey.
Cornell is a lycanthrope, and as such, can use his Red Crystals (the game's equivalent to Hearts that Item Weapons require for use) to transform into a powerful werewolf. Cornell's main method of attack is a ranged energy blast that makes fighting enemies much easier than when controlling Reinhardt Schneider. While the controls feel more or less the same, I did feel like I fared better both in combat and in platforming. Holding down the jump button is always a good idea as your character will grapple ledges within range and you can clamber up onto platforms. I felt the game was very generous with this mechanic as I felt I botched several jumps yet Cornell still managed to grab the ledges so long as I was holding down A. Each character retreads similar stages as one another, but there are some new areas and some new takes on locations from the original game that keep each playthrough fresh and enjoyable.
The second biggest difference from the original is the newly expanded story. Story in a Castlevania game is never the focus, but some titles manage to have engaging plotlines despite the repetition of its general premise. I found Cornell's campaign to be both fun and engaging. Cornell is searching for a young girl named Ada as she is being prepped for sacrifice to resurrect the dark lord Dracula himself. His story manages to tie into both Henry's (which comes after) and the two heroes from the original game. While the story is far from complex, the way in which they add elements and characters wholesale without ever sacrificing the overall quality is commendable.
It may simply be the fact that I had already played the original, but I felt that Legacy of Darkness was a considerable upgrade to an already immensely over-hated entry in the great Castlevania series. The added campaigns and bits of unlockables add layers of replayability with new and exciting story elements that unfold in an enjoyable fashion. I have yet to play through all of the new content as I am saving Henry's campaign for October, but I believe this game to be worth a play and then some. I had a blast with this one—even more so than its predecessor. Henry's story appears to be quite different than the other characters, so I will update this review in three months with any additional thoughts on the game.
As I said with Castlevania (64), just try it. Give it a shot. Yes, there is jank. Yes, there are some very tight and demanding platforming sections. That's Castlevania. The series had always been like that to varying degrees—even in the 'perfect' Symphony of the Night.
Castlevania 64 review: https://www.backloggd.com/u/ExSOLDIER/review/135872/
First and foremost, the biggest additions to Legacy of Darkness are the two new character campaigns in the form of Cornell "Blue Crescent Moon" and Henry Oldrey.
Cornell is a lycanthrope, and as such, can use his Red Crystals (the game's equivalent to Hearts that Item Weapons require for use) to transform into a powerful werewolf. Cornell's main method of attack is a ranged energy blast that makes fighting enemies much easier than when controlling Reinhardt Schneider. While the controls feel more or less the same, I did feel like I fared better both in combat and in platforming. Holding down the jump button is always a good idea as your character will grapple ledges within range and you can clamber up onto platforms. I felt the game was very generous with this mechanic as I felt I botched several jumps yet Cornell still managed to grab the ledges so long as I was holding down A. Each character retreads similar stages as one another, but there are some new areas and some new takes on locations from the original game that keep each playthrough fresh and enjoyable.
The second biggest difference from the original is the newly expanded story. Story in a Castlevania game is never the focus, but some titles manage to have engaging plotlines despite the repetition of its general premise. I found Cornell's campaign to be both fun and engaging. Cornell is searching for a young girl named Ada as she is being prepped for sacrifice to resurrect the dark lord Dracula himself. His story manages to tie into both Henry's (which comes after) and the two heroes from the original game. While the story is far from complex, the way in which they add elements and characters wholesale without ever sacrificing the overall quality is commendable.
It may simply be the fact that I had already played the original, but I felt that Legacy of Darkness was a considerable upgrade to an already immensely over-hated entry in the great Castlevania series. The added campaigns and bits of unlockables add layers of replayability with new and exciting story elements that unfold in an enjoyable fashion. I have yet to play through all of the new content as I am saving Henry's campaign for October, but I believe this game to be worth a play and then some. I had a blast with this one—even more so than its predecessor. Henry's story appears to be quite different than the other characters, so I will update this review in three months with any additional thoughts on the game.
As I said with Castlevania (64), just try it. Give it a shot. Yes, there is jank. Yes, there are some very tight and demanding platforming sections. That's Castlevania. The series had always been like that to varying degrees—even in the 'perfect' Symphony of the Night.
Castlevania 64 review: https://www.backloggd.com/u/ExSOLDIER/review/135872/
Terrible underrated.
It is true it suffers from bad camera and a weird control scheme, but the game overall is great, with many alternative routes to reach the end of the game with the different characters. It has an amazing, dreadful atmosphere at all times, which no one ever mentions and is a great part of the experience.
A pretty good attempt at bringing the Castlevania formula into 3D.
One of my favorites on the series, despite being so criticized.
It is true it suffers from bad camera and a weird control scheme, but the game overall is great, with many alternative routes to reach the end of the game with the different characters. It has an amazing, dreadful atmosphere at all times, which no one ever mentions and is a great part of the experience.
A pretty good attempt at bringing the Castlevania formula into 3D.
One of my favorites on the series, despite being so criticized.
Anyone that says this is better than the original Castlevania 64 is a liar and cannot be trusted.
Criminally underrated game, that often gets overtrashed due to being a directors cut of a significantly less good game. It functions differently from the usual 3D Platformer, but if you can get used to the rules of the game, it's actually incredibly intuitive, and 4 playable characters, mixed with all the changes that hard difficulty makes to the fixed drops results in an incredibly replayable short platformer, albeit with a steep learning curve, that I can imagine most players wouldn't be too keen on getting used to.
The story is ridiculously cheesy, but to pretend that isn't charming in its own right is silly, especially when Castlevania has always dived into campiness. The music is really good, but unlike most other games in the series, focuses more on ambient sounding tracks, more than high octane action, resulting in an appealing soundtrack in its own right.
Genuinely, give it a shot. It's my 2nd favorite N64 game, and while learning the mechanics is a far cry from most other 3D platformers, even at the time, it's still a really good game if you can get past that.
The story is ridiculously cheesy, but to pretend that isn't charming in its own right is silly, especially when Castlevania has always dived into campiness. The music is really good, but unlike most other games in the series, focuses more on ambient sounding tracks, more than high octane action, resulting in an appealing soundtrack in its own right.
Genuinely, give it a shot. It's my 2nd favorite N64 game, and while learning the mechanics is a far cry from most other 3D platformers, even at the time, it's still a really good game if you can get past that.
Awful Camera. Awful Controls. Great atmosphere though.