Released after Belmont's Revenge, and it's still bad. Worst classicvania and probably the worst game I've ever played. Wait nvm Mega Man x6 exists.
the worst castlevania game made by konami
The Game Boy Castlevania titles are a fascinating glimpse into the history of the franchise. The first of the trio, The Adventure, is heavily criticised, but it’s worth remembering that it was released even before Castlevania 3. The inspiration it could draw from was the discordant grouping of the first game, the confusing adventure that was Simon’s Quest, the odd semi-port that was Vampire Killer for the MSX, and the poorly received Haunted Castle arcade game. While it was wrangling with that diverse mix of influences, it also had to deal with the troubles of new hardware. The Adventure wouldn’t just be the first in the series to be on a handheld, it was the first game Konami ever developed on a mobile platform. It would release just six months after the Game Boy itself did, and all those factors lead me to believe that The Adventure had a difficult development. At least, that’s how it seems from the clunky controls, lack of features, and even its story. It claimed Christopher Belmont was the first of the family to fight Dracula, when the Castlevania 3 team would release their game about Trevor Belmont being the first only two months later. If there’s a game that completely embodies the growing pains of the franchise, it might just be this one.
Meanwhile, Belmont’s Revenge turned out much better. It was released a comfortable two years after Castlevania 3, and it’s apparent the developers had more time, more experience, or both. The controls feel much better, there are more features and levels, it’s a competently-made entry all around, even if it still feels limited by its hardware. It’s representative of the time that Castlevania games got into their flow, with the following mainline titles being Castlevania 4, Rondo of Blood, and Bloodlines, which each refined the formula to its peak in their own unique ways.
That brings us to Legends. If you played all these games in a row, or just mentally grouped them as “the Game Boy games”, its release date may seem a bit shocking. Adventure came out in ‘89, Revenge came in in ‘91, but Legends released all the way in 1997. It would release eight months after Symphony of the Night, and as such, would be the first time a classic-style Castlevania would try to mix in the exploration and story of the new format. However, what that ended up being within the limitations of the Game Boy hardware was a few times you could decide to either go left or right, with one of the two giving you an optional item that contributes to the true ending, and the other railroading you to the end of the level. You also get two cutscenes in the entire game, one with the new sexy Alucard, and one with the contemptuously beautiful Dracula. Powers similar to Alucard’s magic have been introduced, replacing the standard subweapons with innate magic like healing, stopping time, and damaging all enemies on screen. You can also go into a burst mode once per level, which boosts your damage and makes you invulnerable temporarily. The intention may have been to give players more tools to work with for more complex action, but that didn’t exactly pan out. Stopping time costs five hearts, but a full heal costs twenty, so there’s no point in using the time stop unless it allows you to clear a gap, or if using it four times would save you more than an entire health bar’s worth of damage. The burst power is so strong that you naturally save it for bosses, and it lets you defeat them by standing in place and mindlessly whipping. Overall, it’s probably the easiest classic-vania, with the bats that attack directly from above being more of a threat than all the bosses combined. While that’s emblematic of the game’s lack of balance, it also makes the game hard to hate. There aren't any frustrating levels, it has the smoothest control of all the portable games, it has a stylistic polish the others don’t, and it actually communicates a nice little story, even if it’s the third (or possibly fourth) time a Belmont was considered the first to fight Dracula.
This little Game Boy Castlevania journey I accidentally went down in the last couple weeks isn’t one I would necessarily recommend to everyone, but I definitely had a lot of fun looking at how they embody the series as a whole. The dark times, the good times, the shift in styles, the confused canon, the way you can tell the developers realized they made a horrible mistake by saying Dracula only came back once every hundred years, it’s all here. If you’re still hanging on as a fan of this abandoned series, I would say beating all three is a fun and enlightening little quest, but otherwise, it’s better to experience what they represent directly, by playing the big highlights like Castlevania 1, 4, Bloodlines, Rondo of Blood, and Symphony of the Night.
Meanwhile, Belmont’s Revenge turned out much better. It was released a comfortable two years after Castlevania 3, and it’s apparent the developers had more time, more experience, or both. The controls feel much better, there are more features and levels, it’s a competently-made entry all around, even if it still feels limited by its hardware. It’s representative of the time that Castlevania games got into their flow, with the following mainline titles being Castlevania 4, Rondo of Blood, and Bloodlines, which each refined the formula to its peak in their own unique ways.
That brings us to Legends. If you played all these games in a row, or just mentally grouped them as “the Game Boy games”, its release date may seem a bit shocking. Adventure came out in ‘89, Revenge came in in ‘91, but Legends released all the way in 1997. It would release eight months after Symphony of the Night, and as such, would be the first time a classic-style Castlevania would try to mix in the exploration and story of the new format. However, what that ended up being within the limitations of the Game Boy hardware was a few times you could decide to either go left or right, with one of the two giving you an optional item that contributes to the true ending, and the other railroading you to the end of the level. You also get two cutscenes in the entire game, one with the new sexy Alucard, and one with the contemptuously beautiful Dracula. Powers similar to Alucard’s magic have been introduced, replacing the standard subweapons with innate magic like healing, stopping time, and damaging all enemies on screen. You can also go into a burst mode once per level, which boosts your damage and makes you invulnerable temporarily. The intention may have been to give players more tools to work with for more complex action, but that didn’t exactly pan out. Stopping time costs five hearts, but a full heal costs twenty, so there’s no point in using the time stop unless it allows you to clear a gap, or if using it four times would save you more than an entire health bar’s worth of damage. The burst power is so strong that you naturally save it for bosses, and it lets you defeat them by standing in place and mindlessly whipping. Overall, it’s probably the easiest classic-vania, with the bats that attack directly from above being more of a threat than all the bosses combined. While that’s emblematic of the game’s lack of balance, it also makes the game hard to hate. There aren't any frustrating levels, it has the smoothest control of all the portable games, it has a stylistic polish the others don’t, and it actually communicates a nice little story, even if it’s the third (or possibly fourth) time a Belmont was considered the first to fight Dracula.
This little Game Boy Castlevania journey I accidentally went down in the last couple weeks isn’t one I would necessarily recommend to everyone, but I definitely had a lot of fun looking at how they embody the series as a whole. The dark times, the good times, the shift in styles, the confused canon, the way you can tell the developers realized they made a horrible mistake by saying Dracula only came back once every hundred years, it’s all here. If you’re still hanging on as a fan of this abandoned series, I would say beating all three is a fun and enlightening little quest, but otherwise, it’s better to experience what they represent directly, by playing the big highlights like Castlevania 1, 4, Bloodlines, Rondo of Blood, and Symphony of the Night.
game good
Never again.
This review contains spoilers
Overall: 2.2/10
Good:
- Faster than both Belmont’s Revenge and The Adventure though not by much without Burst.
- Cool new powers that one can cycle through in order to give replayability.
- “Burst Mode” speeds up the game considerably, and is fun to go around feeling overpowered.
Bad:
- Game consistently tries to add exploration elements, but refuses to add alternate pathways to a lot of these. So a lot of this game is dead ends, looking for objects to get an ending which is just a paragraph of lore.
- Stage design and enemy design specifically in Stage 3/4 are so cluttered that it makes it genuinely unfun even with your new added option to your kit.
- Boss Design can be argued to be the best in the Game Boy set of games, but a lot of them just expect the player to have burst. Like the enemy design, the game often throws many projectiles or are way faster than Sonia. Basically forcing you to use magic/burst in order to trounce the boss in seconds.
- The Checkpoint before Dracula is very annoying, and even though he’s the best Dracula boss between The Adventure and Belmont’s Revenge, he’s still not fun. Especially his first phase which spams many projectiles at the player.
- Some music tracks like there version of Blood Tears is alright, but is around a 14 second loop which can absolutely get annoying cause of how long the first stage is. Stage 3’s song is also particularly grating to the ears, especially since it is the longest stage in the game.
- Awful Story, which undercuts a lot of the lore that was built up in III and SoTN. Which barely makes sense in terms of the timeline in which we know around the time where Lisa had died.
- Sonia as a protagonist, even though I dislike to use the term, is a Mary Sue. She was born with special powers, always told how great she was/going to be, has a romantic love interest in the series most popular character Alucard, and tries to present herself as the first Belmont as well as the first female Belmont.
- The game also constantly reminds the player through Alucard/Dracula’s cutscenes about how she’s a woman, and how these characters are just shocked that a woman is powerful. Which just felt so on the nose it hurts.
- The Design for Sonia is also horrid. Though many don’t notice it because it’s in the manual. However the design is just so bleh and tacky, especially when the series is hot off the tails of women like SoTN’s Maria Renard outfit.
Overall, as an origin story it is a complete failure. The stage design, the enemy design, the boss design are all just huge detriments to this game. In some aspects, it can even be as weak as The Adventure. Trying to do something akin to a Metroidvania on the GameBoy was a mistake, especially since they did not give an adequate understanding on how long and tedious backtracking can be cause of the dead ends.
The new powers and burst system are definitely unique, but certain things like time stop is just way too over centralizing. Making the rest of the weapons sort of redundant. Especially since on Bosses, the best option is always just to use Burst on them, because bosses are usually hell without it. Especially Phase 1 Dracula who can absolutely man handle Sonia, and spit you out on a Checkpoint 5 mins away.
The story is awful, and the dialogue can just be utterly cringey. Especially Alucard’s who, even though he would be younger, has done a complete 180 on his personality.
Though I can understand the want for a strong female character in the series, and a female Belmont, this game is definitely one of the worst ways to write a female character.
Especially since a lot of her dialogue is stealing from Richter’s Japanese Dialogue from SoTN/Rondo with characters acting stunned that a woman is kicking their ass.
In conclusion, Legends story deserves to disappear from the main canon. Perhaps one day we will get a female Belmont, however this attempt at an origin story is far surpassed by Lament of Innocence, and the portrayal of the main character falls into something like a bad fanfiction rather than the literary succession to Symphony of the Night.
The Extras are annoying to collect, stages are bad to explore, bosses and enemies are either laughably easy with Burst mode, or they’re long and drawn out with an overuse of projectiles.
Like The Adventure, I recommend to stay away from this game. I would only really play it if just the idea of a female Belmont interested you, or if you’re curious on just all of the games in the series. The reason why I think this game is better than The Adventure, because at least it runs consistently and lacks much of the lag from the first Game Boy’s outing.
Good:
- Faster than both Belmont’s Revenge and The Adventure though not by much without Burst.
- Cool new powers that one can cycle through in order to give replayability.
- “Burst Mode” speeds up the game considerably, and is fun to go around feeling overpowered.
Bad:
- Game consistently tries to add exploration elements, but refuses to add alternate pathways to a lot of these. So a lot of this game is dead ends, looking for objects to get an ending which is just a paragraph of lore.
- Stage design and enemy design specifically in Stage 3/4 are so cluttered that it makes it genuinely unfun even with your new added option to your kit.
- Boss Design can be argued to be the best in the Game Boy set of games, but a lot of them just expect the player to have burst. Like the enemy design, the game often throws many projectiles or are way faster than Sonia. Basically forcing you to use magic/burst in order to trounce the boss in seconds.
- The Checkpoint before Dracula is very annoying, and even though he’s the best Dracula boss between The Adventure and Belmont’s Revenge, he’s still not fun. Especially his first phase which spams many projectiles at the player.
- Some music tracks like there version of Blood Tears is alright, but is around a 14 second loop which can absolutely get annoying cause of how long the first stage is. Stage 3’s song is also particularly grating to the ears, especially since it is the longest stage in the game.
- Awful Story, which undercuts a lot of the lore that was built up in III and SoTN. Which barely makes sense in terms of the timeline in which we know around the time where Lisa had died.
- Sonia as a protagonist, even though I dislike to use the term, is a Mary Sue. She was born with special powers, always told how great she was/going to be, has a romantic love interest in the series most popular character Alucard, and tries to present herself as the first Belmont as well as the first female Belmont.
- The game also constantly reminds the player through Alucard/Dracula’s cutscenes about how she’s a woman, and how these characters are just shocked that a woman is powerful. Which just felt so on the nose it hurts.
- The Design for Sonia is also horrid. Though many don’t notice it because it’s in the manual. However the design is just so bleh and tacky, especially when the series is hot off the tails of women like SoTN’s Maria Renard outfit.
Overall, as an origin story it is a complete failure. The stage design, the enemy design, the boss design are all just huge detriments to this game. In some aspects, it can even be as weak as The Adventure. Trying to do something akin to a Metroidvania on the GameBoy was a mistake, especially since they did not give an adequate understanding on how long and tedious backtracking can be cause of the dead ends.
The new powers and burst system are definitely unique, but certain things like time stop is just way too over centralizing. Making the rest of the weapons sort of redundant. Especially since on Bosses, the best option is always just to use Burst on them, because bosses are usually hell without it. Especially Phase 1 Dracula who can absolutely man handle Sonia, and spit you out on a Checkpoint 5 mins away.
The story is awful, and the dialogue can just be utterly cringey. Especially Alucard’s who, even though he would be younger, has done a complete 180 on his personality.
Though I can understand the want for a strong female character in the series, and a female Belmont, this game is definitely one of the worst ways to write a female character.
Especially since a lot of her dialogue is stealing from Richter’s Japanese Dialogue from SoTN/Rondo with characters acting stunned that a woman is kicking their ass.
In conclusion, Legends story deserves to disappear from the main canon. Perhaps one day we will get a female Belmont, however this attempt at an origin story is far surpassed by Lament of Innocence, and the portrayal of the main character falls into something like a bad fanfiction rather than the literary succession to Symphony of the Night.
The Extras are annoying to collect, stages are bad to explore, bosses and enemies are either laughably easy with Burst mode, or they’re long and drawn out with an overuse of projectiles.
Like The Adventure, I recommend to stay away from this game. I would only really play it if just the idea of a female Belmont interested you, or if you’re curious on just all of the games in the series. The reason why I think this game is better than The Adventure, because at least it runs consistently and lacks much of the lag from the first Game Boy’s outing.
The origin of the walking sim
take out a dictionary and flip to the page that says "mid", odds are the first definition says "Castlevania Legends"
this is truly the Castlevania of all time. honestly I have no opinion of this game whatsoever. it's not good, yet it's not bad, it just exists. the music's cool I guess and the level design is pretty boring outside of Stage 3 that actually attempted to do something, bosses are pathetic and the game is embarrassing easy if you abuse the power-ups (I tried not to outside of the healing one and screen clear when the enemy placement got annoying). story is just another "Belmont defeat Dracula haha" featuring Alucard during a time when he was down bad. there's really not much else to talk about, the game's a whole bunch of nothing. I guess it's the most beginner friendly Castlevania but you're probably better off playing a more interesting game than this one.
the baby is no longer canon
this is truly the Castlevania of all time. honestly I have no opinion of this game whatsoever. it's not good, yet it's not bad, it just exists. the music's cool I guess and the level design is pretty boring outside of Stage 3 that actually attempted to do something, bosses are pathetic and the game is embarrassing easy if you abuse the power-ups (I tried not to outside of the healing one and screen clear when the enemy placement got annoying). story is just another "Belmont defeat Dracula haha" featuring Alucard during a time when he was down bad. there's really not much else to talk about, the game's a whole bunch of nothing. I guess it's the most beginner friendly Castlevania but you're probably better off playing a more interesting game than this one.
the baby is no longer canon
Yet another Konami Game Boy game that makes me question if it was even tested. There are so many moments where the level design and enemy placement are so constricted, moments where enemies spawn right on top of you, and moments where enemies will instantly aggro as soon as you enter a screen that I swear you have no choice but to take damage. This is also the first Castlevania game I've ever played where the timer killed me. How the hell are you going to make levels with an emphasis on openness and exploration and not give me enough time to even finish them? Better question: how the hell are going to make such levels and have so many of the alternate paths lead absolutely nowhere? And why in FUCK would you hide a level needed for the true ending behind something so utterly illogical?
The subweapons are pretty much worthless except the one that maxes out your HP, but that combined with the Burning Mode (which I often activated by accident because the controls are so dick) makes it possible to tank every boss after it's accessible. The bosses themselves are already pretty embarrassing, especially the Death fight, but when you add these elements to the mix, they're completely trivial. It all comes together for one of the easiest frustrating experiences I've ever had, if that makes any sense.
This is surely better than The Adventure, but it's far from exceptional. I really don't know why it exists, but Konami's decision to pretend it doesn't may be the best one they've ever made. I'm going to follow their lead.
The subweapons are pretty much worthless except the one that maxes out your HP, but that combined with the Burning Mode (which I often activated by accident because the controls are so dick) makes it possible to tank every boss after it's accessible. The bosses themselves are already pretty embarrassing, especially the Death fight, but when you add these elements to the mix, they're completely trivial. It all comes together for one of the easiest frustrating experiences I've ever had, if that makes any sense.
This is surely better than The Adventure, but it's far from exceptional. I really don't know why it exists, but Konami's decision to pretend it doesn't may be the best one they've ever made. I'm going to follow their lead.
The Gameboy Castlevania's are easily forgotten titles in the Castlevania franchise and in all honesty, they should be. They simply aren't very good, or even memorable except for maybe their great cover art. That said in Castlevania Legends defense it's easily the best of the three Gameboy games and by a decent margin. The first two games are just a legacy in excruciating design and frustration, especially the first game Castlevania Adventure.
Unfortunately my issues with Classicvania games are still present here regardless. The enemy placements and AI for how they attack you for constant cheap hits at angles you can't defend against continue to be irritating. The bats and shades that fly at you the instant you enter a room or when you climb one of the games many, many ropes got on my nerves start to finish. This is exasperated by them reappearing if you step half a centimetre off the edge of the screen which you often have to so you can find an angle to attack them from.
The level design is kinda boring. As mentioned above you get some ropes and blocks with the odd visual flourish like a gate or gears instead of blocks but it's all rather trite. The bosses and enemy variety are fairly decent though strangely extremely easy for a Castlevania game. My biggest issue though is an old hold over from the original games of the levels having a timer. Why? Literally what does this accomplish? The levels aren't 100% linear with dead end sections going off for a few screens that can take time to go through with the enemy placements then back again. I got to one boss who after some dialogue took one step as I reached it with a zero timer and my character just fell over and died like she had a heart attack.
So pointless. Kind of funny, but utterly pointless.
Overall it's an ok game that as mentioned above is easily forgotten. I give it some credit for having a female lead (which is still all too rare in gaming, never mind it's own series). Otherwise it's worth playing for a novelty if nothing else.
Unfortunately my issues with Classicvania games are still present here regardless. The enemy placements and AI for how they attack you for constant cheap hits at angles you can't defend against continue to be irritating. The bats and shades that fly at you the instant you enter a room or when you climb one of the games many, many ropes got on my nerves start to finish. This is exasperated by them reappearing if you step half a centimetre off the edge of the screen which you often have to so you can find an angle to attack them from.
The level design is kinda boring. As mentioned above you get some ropes and blocks with the odd visual flourish like a gate or gears instead of blocks but it's all rather trite. The bosses and enemy variety are fairly decent though strangely extremely easy for a Castlevania game. My biggest issue though is an old hold over from the original games of the levels having a timer. Why? Literally what does this accomplish? The levels aren't 100% linear with dead end sections going off for a few screens that can take time to go through with the enemy placements then back again. I got to one boss who after some dialogue took one step as I reached it with a zero timer and my character just fell over and died like she had a heart attack.
So pointless. Kind of funny, but utterly pointless.
Overall it's an ok game that as mentioned above is easily forgotten. I give it some credit for having a female lead (which is still all too rare in gaming, never mind it's own series). Otherwise it's worth playing for a novelty if nothing else.
Alucard had the hots for a 17 year old, not a good look... 🤨
Feels like something from a GB themed game jam made by someone who's vaguely heard of Castlevania.
Sonia and Alucard, a couple that are Mother and Father of Trevor Belmont...
Ridiculous.
Ridiculous.
short, sweet, and easy, but that also kinda leaves the game a bit unremarkable. could only really rec to the people that already know castlevania, but i guess the game is good enough to stand on its own either way. It's pretty much a simple castlevania game.
As the last Game Boy game, Castlevania Legends is a huge letdown. It isn't as bad as say Castlevania: The Adventure, but it’s more of a forgettable entry in the series.
The game stars Sonia Belmont, a female Belmont who storms Dracula's Castle to defeat the Count himself. This game acted as an origin story, beginning the Belmont clan as a whole, and is famous for being retconned by Koji Igarashi from the official timeline. As the story involves Sonia and Alucard making out together, it's probably for the best, all because it doesn't make sense story-wise.
The gameplay is more of the same as the Game Boy games, but new to Legends is Burning Mode. When activated, she becomes invulnerable to enemy attacks and her attack strength has been doubled for a brief period of time. I used this for all of the bosses, and they are pathetically easy to bring down with the mode activated. For the levels themselves, they are boring and a slog to get through. There are six levels and they go on for notoriously long than they should be. There are five items to collect based on the original sub-weapons, and these are required in order to get the good ending. There really isn't much to say honestly, so I'll wrap this review up.
Castlevania Legends isn't a bad game, it just isn't a memorable one, and as the last original Classicvania game, this is disappointing. The origin story is a mess, with boring level design, and mediocre music makes this game a forgettable experience.
The game stars Sonia Belmont, a female Belmont who storms Dracula's Castle to defeat the Count himself. This game acted as an origin story, beginning the Belmont clan as a whole, and is famous for being retconned by Koji Igarashi from the official timeline. As the story involves Sonia and Alucard making out together, it's probably for the best, all because it doesn't make sense story-wise.
The gameplay is more of the same as the Game Boy games, but new to Legends is Burning Mode. When activated, she becomes invulnerable to enemy attacks and her attack strength has been doubled for a brief period of time. I used this for all of the bosses, and they are pathetically easy to bring down with the mode activated. For the levels themselves, they are boring and a slog to get through. There are six levels and they go on for notoriously long than they should be. There are five items to collect based on the original sub-weapons, and these are required in order to get the good ending. There really isn't much to say honestly, so I'll wrap this review up.
Castlevania Legends isn't a bad game, it just isn't a memorable one, and as the last original Classicvania game, this is disappointing. The origin story is a mess, with boring level design, and mediocre music makes this game a forgettable experience.
So, after talking about one of the most content heavy games with pages upon pages of talking points, I guess it only makes sense to follow this up with what is easily the most unremarkable, mediocre game in the series where I’ll barely be able to find anything worth mentioning. After the genuinely enjoyable GameBoy game Belmont’s Revenge, my expectations were heightened for this entry, given that it showed that even with the limited hardware of the handheld console, something genuinely fun could come from a Castlevania game on it, which made this one all the more disappointing when this title felt so devoid of much of anything.
In a lot of ways this game feels like a massive downgrade from the previous handheld game honestly, going back to simply proceeding through Dracula’s Castle, rather than evoking a wide range of atmosphere that Belmont’s Revenge did, along with having much weaker variety overall, most stages having the same few enemies, along with no meaningful new or interesting mechanics or ideas between stages, making for an extremely uninspiring playthrough. Probably the most perplexing of the decisions in this game is the fact that the role of subweapons was decreased further, each stage having a particular subweapon that you seemingly cannot change, but with the issue of none of them actually being worth using in the slightest, making the game feel closer to the awful Castlevania: The Adventure than its sequel. Other issues with the game are that the levels end up feeling way too long and repetitive, with some setpieces seemingly used multiple times in each stage, almost feeling as if you’re playing through the same area 2 or 3 times, not helping is the fact that the game’s incredibly easy. Any challenge this game potentially could have is removed by the invincibility feature, which allows you to move incredibly fast and take no damage once per life for about 10 seconds, making those few moments of potential challenges absolutely worthless anyway. The only time I struggled in the slightest here was in the very last section of the final level, and it was more a test of patience than skill.
Overall, this game is pretty bloody disappointing just in how it feels devoid of practically anything good, although it’s not the horribly misguided mess of the first GameBoy title at the very least. There wasn’t a point in this game where I felt like I was actually having fun, just happens to be fortunate that it was very short and easy anyway, otherwise I’d probably rank this as my least favourite, since even Castlevania The Adventure managed to have some more distinctive level design, for as horribly flawed and unbearable that game felt.
In a lot of ways this game feels like a massive downgrade from the previous handheld game honestly, going back to simply proceeding through Dracula’s Castle, rather than evoking a wide range of atmosphere that Belmont’s Revenge did, along with having much weaker variety overall, most stages having the same few enemies, along with no meaningful new or interesting mechanics or ideas between stages, making for an extremely uninspiring playthrough. Probably the most perplexing of the decisions in this game is the fact that the role of subweapons was decreased further, each stage having a particular subweapon that you seemingly cannot change, but with the issue of none of them actually being worth using in the slightest, making the game feel closer to the awful Castlevania: The Adventure than its sequel. Other issues with the game are that the levels end up feeling way too long and repetitive, with some setpieces seemingly used multiple times in each stage, almost feeling as if you’re playing through the same area 2 or 3 times, not helping is the fact that the game’s incredibly easy. Any challenge this game potentially could have is removed by the invincibility feature, which allows you to move incredibly fast and take no damage once per life for about 10 seconds, making those few moments of potential challenges absolutely worthless anyway. The only time I struggled in the slightest here was in the very last section of the final level, and it was more a test of patience than skill.
Overall, this game is pretty bloody disappointing just in how it feels devoid of practically anything good, although it’s not the horribly misguided mess of the first GameBoy title at the very least. There wasn’t a point in this game where I felt like I was actually having fun, just happens to be fortunate that it was very short and easy anyway, otherwise I’d probably rank this as my least favourite, since even Castlevania The Adventure managed to have some more distinctive level design, for as horribly flawed and unbearable that game felt.
I don't feel my eyes because of this game.
Great protagonist, lame everything else. Legends fails to learn from past GB titles, repeating the same mistakes. Level design is marked by the same sloppiness, while the mechanics remain constrained compared to console counterparts. The distinctive open level selection of Belmont's Revenge fails to re-emerge, marking a regression to the basic progression of The Adventure, with a slight deviation toward the end.
The only distinctive mechanical feature is the new take on sub-weapons, which are now spells Sonia can cycle between, with some classic sub-weapons being hidden in levels. While I wouldn't want this as a standard, it works to set Legends apart. It feels appropriate considering the fresh protagonist. Her interactions with Alucard and Dracula are better written than I expected, though not exceptional.
Legends is pretty damn bad on the whole. Definitely better than The Adventure, but not quite as salvageable as Belmont's Revenge. It's a shame, as I really do dig the protagonist for whatever reason. If we'd got a 'Legends ReBirth', I'd definitely be down. As it is, I cannot recommend Legends, or the GB trilogy in general, to anyone but the most diehard Castlevania fans.
The only distinctive mechanical feature is the new take on sub-weapons, which are now spells Sonia can cycle between, with some classic sub-weapons being hidden in levels. While I wouldn't want this as a standard, it works to set Legends apart. It feels appropriate considering the fresh protagonist. Her interactions with Alucard and Dracula are better written than I expected, though not exceptional.
Legends is pretty damn bad on the whole. Definitely better than The Adventure, but not quite as salvageable as Belmont's Revenge. It's a shame, as I really do dig the protagonist for whatever reason. If we'd got a 'Legends ReBirth', I'd definitely be down. As it is, I cannot recommend Legends, or the GB trilogy in general, to anyone but the most diehard Castlevania fans.
Sonia is an enjoyable protagonist and the small bits of dialogue are surprisingly good, but that really doesn't save the rest of the game. Many of the improvements seen in Belmont's Revenge are simply not present here. The difficulty is completely unbalanced thanks to the new gameplay mechanics, making this one of the easiest Castlevania games to play through, and yet also one of the most frustrating due to poor and overall just very sloppy level and enemy designs. The graphics are uninspired and dated even for its time and the music is the same 20 seconds long track on loop.
The soul weapons, the previously mentioned new mechanic which replaces the sub weapons, are an interesting idea but they all vary completely in usefulness. Combine them with the newly introduced burning mode that makes this game's Belmont unstoppable and you have the easiest boss fights in the series, Dracula included. Castlevania Legends is still by all means better than the Adventure, but there is not much to enjoy here. It's kind of shocking to realize it was made in the same year as SotN and see it take inspiration from the game in form of hidden rooms and branching pathways, but it just never gets the execution right, again leading to more frustration than enjoyment.
The soul weapons, the previously mentioned new mechanic which replaces the sub weapons, are an interesting idea but they all vary completely in usefulness. Combine them with the newly introduced burning mode that makes this game's Belmont unstoppable and you have the easiest boss fights in the series, Dracula included. Castlevania Legends is still by all means better than the Adventure, but there is not much to enjoy here. It's kind of shocking to realize it was made in the same year as SotN and see it take inspiration from the game in form of hidden rooms and branching pathways, but it just never gets the execution right, again leading to more frustration than enjoyment.
sonia ass when climbing the rope is crazy i cum
can she climb those fucking ropes ANY slower
eh, its not an awful game, just a really boring one. You pretty much see all the game has to offer by the end of the first level, and although the music is exciting the gameplay is anything but. Avoid unless you're a either a completionist or desperate for anything Castlevania related.
An inconsequential footnote
Sometimes that's worse than being terrible.
Say what you want about Adventure, that one is in the anniversary collection.
Kid Dracula is also in there
Not this one through.
Sometimes that's worse than being terrible.
Say what you want about Adventure, that one is in the anniversary collection.
Kid Dracula is also in there
Not this one through.
Castlevania Legends is not a good game but for me to call it bad would be too harsh for me personally. While it has it's flaws and is ultimately unpolished for the standard of the series. There is still a decent game in here for me.
I think what hurts this game the most is just how easy it is, besides some of the awful enemy placement especially with bats, it's so easy to beat the game. If you can keep the projectile whip ability then you're golden for most of the game. I'm also surprised just how good the time stop is in this game.
There's also this burning mode where you move faster and are invincible. I'll be honest I only used it for bosses as it makes a lot of them a joke. You can get through most of the game fine without it. You also get additional abilities by beating bosses and that's a neat way of doing it. It's better than having nothing for the first GB game.
The game's level design a lot of the time feels like hallways and ropes. You guys like ropes? I like ropes, actually no I don't I lied sorry. But yeah it's nothing special and they oddly feel long. There's only 6 stages in the game if you count the hidden stage. There's also 5 items you need to find for the good ending but it's not much.
The game looks eh, nothing really impresses me too much. It does have SGB support at least but the border is really lame. The music is good though some of it is just tunes from previous games. Oddly the final boss theme is Vampire Killer of all things.
Castlevania Legends is the game seen as the embarrassment of the bunch which personally I wouldn't agree with it but along with that and some plot that kind of doesn't fit with the timeline, the game no longer is canon. It's a shame the game is the way it is, I could see it being good. It's still better than the first GB game though can't say for the 2nd because I haven't tried it. I can't really say I'd recommend this but hey I got some fun so I'm satisfied.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
I think what hurts this game the most is just how easy it is, besides some of the awful enemy placement especially with bats, it's so easy to beat the game. If you can keep the projectile whip ability then you're golden for most of the game. I'm also surprised just how good the time stop is in this game.
There's also this burning mode where you move faster and are invincible. I'll be honest I only used it for bosses as it makes a lot of them a joke. You can get through most of the game fine without it. You also get additional abilities by beating bosses and that's a neat way of doing it. It's better than having nothing for the first GB game.
The game's level design a lot of the time feels like hallways and ropes. You guys like ropes? I like ropes, actually no I don't I lied sorry. But yeah it's nothing special and they oddly feel long. There's only 6 stages in the game if you count the hidden stage. There's also 5 items you need to find for the good ending but it's not much.
The game looks eh, nothing really impresses me too much. It does have SGB support at least but the border is really lame. The music is good though some of it is just tunes from previous games. Oddly the final boss theme is Vampire Killer of all things.
Castlevania Legends is the game seen as the embarrassment of the bunch which personally I wouldn't agree with it but along with that and some plot that kind of doesn't fit with the timeline, the game no longer is canon. It's a shame the game is the way it is, I could see it being good. It's still better than the first GB game though can't say for the 2nd because I haven't tried it. I can't really say I'd recommend this but hey I got some fun so I'm satisfied.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Sonia Belmont, girlfriend to Alucard and sadly stricken from the timeline. Anime legend. She has the ability to go super saiyan and become invincible for a few seconds. What more could one ask for?
Okay probably like, a better game. We could ask for that. This is in many ways somehow the worst of the Gameboy 'Vanias but about halfway through it's incredibly bizarre idiosyncrasies kind of won me over. It was one of the times I went down an entire, multi-room path full of enemies only to discover it was a dead end containing one (1) chicken drumstick at the end which gave me back maybe half of what I lost.
There's a sort of accidental survival horror element here. Enemies are frequently nigh-impossible to properly dodge both due to their placement and movements and also the extremely "hmm" hitboxes, but they very rarely do significant damage. The levels are very, very long slogs. Your 'burning mode' can be activated at-will once per life per level to give you invincibility, extra strength and speed, but there are segments that seem intended to force you into using it. This is also the literal only classicvania where the first whip powerup doesn't come free from the first candle you hit every time.
All that said, checkpoints are very frequent and running out of lives doesn't send you any further back than that. The difficulty is entirely a facade, propped up by a number of hidden items you need to find to get a slightly expanded ending. Instead of subweapons, each level earns you a new magic power which you can select freely, including a heal for a whopping 20 hearts. It's actually kind of cozy in a way, despite the rampant frustration of bats that start at the top of the screen and can only fly directly downwards onto your head god DAMMIT
Some good things: Alucard is in this and looking like his SOTN self because this game came out in nineteen ninety fucking seven. There are some very neat enemy sprites, including one of my favorite Dracula forms. Having a super invincible mode you can do is objectively very cool. It reminded me of shitty old games I made as a kid again, something that just seems to be endemic to monochrome handhelds
Okay probably like, a better game. We could ask for that. This is in many ways somehow the worst of the Gameboy 'Vanias but about halfway through it's incredibly bizarre idiosyncrasies kind of won me over. It was one of the times I went down an entire, multi-room path full of enemies only to discover it was a dead end containing one (1) chicken drumstick at the end which gave me back maybe half of what I lost.
There's a sort of accidental survival horror element here. Enemies are frequently nigh-impossible to properly dodge both due to their placement and movements and also the extremely "hmm" hitboxes, but they very rarely do significant damage. The levels are very, very long slogs. Your 'burning mode' can be activated at-will once per life per level to give you invincibility, extra strength and speed, but there are segments that seem intended to force you into using it. This is also the literal only classicvania where the first whip powerup doesn't come free from the first candle you hit every time.
All that said, checkpoints are very frequent and running out of lives doesn't send you any further back than that. The difficulty is entirely a facade, propped up by a number of hidden items you need to find to get a slightly expanded ending. Instead of subweapons, each level earns you a new magic power which you can select freely, including a heal for a whopping 20 hearts. It's actually kind of cozy in a way, despite the rampant frustration of bats that start at the top of the screen and can only fly directly downwards onto your head god DAMMIT
Some good things: Alucard is in this and looking like his SOTN self because this game came out in nineteen ninety fucking seven. There are some very neat enemy sprites, including one of my favorite Dracula forms. Having a super invincible mode you can do is objectively very cool. It reminded me of shitty old games I made as a kid again, something that just seems to be endemic to monochrome handhelds
Vamo lá essa review vai ser um pouco longa porque esse jogo é me deixou com "mixed fellings".
Castlevania Legends teve uma ideia super interessante, porém algum infeliz decidiu aplica-la em um console de mão bem limitado, óbvio Game Boy é um portátil maneiro com ótimos jogos, mas não serve para um Castlevania... O resultado disso é um jogo curto (o que não é um problema, o que estraga são as fases confusas), com pouca variedade de inimigos, um jogo que roda aproximadamente uns 15 ou 10 fps, outro detalhe, como o jogo roda com uma taxa de fps baixa o controle vai pro saco, se movimentar nesse jogo é bem travado e lento, isso chega a incomodar demais para quem tá jogando.
Não vou comentar muito da história, até porque a história é uma Belmont indo atrás do Dracula e se apaixona pelo filho do vilão da série. Eu até gostaria que isso fosse muito canônico haha, até porque eu gosto da Sonia Belmont, a primeira protagonista Belmont na série, anos depois tivemos Shanoa, mas ela não é Belmont.
Sobre o Design dos personagens nas artes conceituais eu adoro, me da a sensação daqueles OVAs e Animes dos anos 90, isso me chamou muita atenção para jogar e infelizmente perceber que o jogo tem diversos problemas.
Conclusão, o maior erro de Castlevania Legends foi ser feito para o Game Boy e não pro SNES, N64, Sega Saturn ou PS1.
A limitação estragou um conceito que eu achei super legal e gostaria de ver mais sobre a Sonia Belmont, infelizmente a Konami coloca esse jogo no esquecimento junto com série inteira...
Castlevania Legends teve uma ideia super interessante, porém algum infeliz decidiu aplica-la em um console de mão bem limitado, óbvio Game Boy é um portátil maneiro com ótimos jogos, mas não serve para um Castlevania... O resultado disso é um jogo curto (o que não é um problema, o que estraga são as fases confusas), com pouca variedade de inimigos, um jogo que roda aproximadamente uns 15 ou 10 fps, outro detalhe, como o jogo roda com uma taxa de fps baixa o controle vai pro saco, se movimentar nesse jogo é bem travado e lento, isso chega a incomodar demais para quem tá jogando.
Não vou comentar muito da história, até porque a história é uma Belmont indo atrás do Dracula e se apaixona pelo filho do vilão da série. Eu até gostaria que isso fosse muito canônico haha, até porque eu gosto da Sonia Belmont, a primeira protagonista Belmont na série, anos depois tivemos Shanoa, mas ela não é Belmont.
Sobre o Design dos personagens nas artes conceituais eu adoro, me da a sensação daqueles OVAs e Animes dos anos 90, isso me chamou muita atenção para jogar e infelizmente perceber que o jogo tem diversos problemas.
Conclusão, o maior erro de Castlevania Legends foi ser feito para o Game Boy e não pro SNES, N64, Sega Saturn ou PS1.
A limitação estragou um conceito que eu achei super legal e gostaria de ver mais sobre a Sonia Belmont, infelizmente a Konami coloca esse jogo no esquecimento junto com série inteira...
It's bad. That's it. That's the review.
i have no words. actually no, i have 7
What a Castlevania Legend!
Ooww!
Ohh, no!
What a Castlevania Legend!
Ooww!
Ohh, no!
That was it? That's Castlevania Legends? That was just boring design and rubbish hitboxes!
Honestly, I expected much worse, I expected a game that would shit on my bed and kick me in the dick. Instead it's just a deeply mediocre platformer that is definitely not good, but not offensively terrible in the same way that Castlevania: The Adventure was. I'd be more forgiving...if it wasn't such a downgrade in every way from the OTHER Castlevania game on Game Boy, Belmont's Revenge.
Platforming is standard Castlevania affair - you move pretty slow, you have to time your whip swings and jumps carefully, and you get knocked back upon taking a hit. However, things have been simplified. Stairs are basically non-existent, instead there being platforms you can jump through more akin to most other platformers. Knockback is minimal and I was only ever sent into a pit from it once. It's honestly fine, but my praise stops there.
Level design is abysmal. Usually just stretches of corridors with the most deeply unimaginative, and dare I say borderline docile enemies. There's this one enemy who hides in the floor and then pokes out a big claw to inflict damage...but chooses to do this not when under you, but just in front of you. Embarrassing.
One big selling point is the non-linearity of the levels. While it's true you can take multiple paths, most of them are literally just dead ends with a healing item to say "sorry mate, here's some of the health back you lost while getting here." A few of these alternate routes house the collectables you need to unlock the true ending(meaningless as it is since the entire game was retconned) but you still have to make it all the way back yourself, with no map in sight in case you do get lost. My issue here doesn't just lie with the unnecessary non-linear design, but the fact that, horror of horrors; the time limit is back. Why?! Rondo of Blood did away with it and was all the better for it, and that game was almost entirely linear! Legends asks you to explore, then literally murders you for doing so.
One thing that makes the entire first half of the game embarrassingly easy is the ability you get to shoot fireballs when your whip is fully upgraded. It makes every boss in the game way easier, and unlike Adventure you can't lose the whip levels from getting hit. I almost choose to believe it's this easy to imply that, with this being intended as the first game in the timeline, Dracula still didn't have this whole Castlevania thing figured out, and hired some lousy henchmen to guard everything.
By the way, remember how Adventure had no subweapons, and Belmont's Revenge at least thought to give you a couple of options? Well, Legends thought screw that, because they're gone again! In its place are Soul Weapons, essentially magic that you get from killing bosses that replaces subweapons. They can stop time, do a full screen attack, shoot projectiles (which you should already be doing by default) and...fully heal you at any time for 20 hearts. Really weird choices of abilities, and you only get a new one every stage. The subweapons can be picked up in the game, but they can't be used - their only purpose is for the true ending. Was it meant to be some kind of clever reference to the other games? How about referencing the parts where I get to actually use them instead?
How about that story eh? It's the one thing from the game that is probably shit on the most, and not even because they put women in Castlevania - people actually seem to like Sonia Belmont a fair bit. What they don't like is the bit where she and Alucard have a thing for one another. Sure, there's an age gap - hard to avoid when you're Alucard - but Sonia was a minor in this game. Makes her feats impressive...but this writing decision nasty. Other than that it's Castlevania business as usual. It's meant to be an origin story, with Sonia being the first of the Belmonts to bear the curse of having to fight Dracula, but Iga decided he didn't like it and made his own origin story later on, retconning Legends as non-canon. The cutscenes are a bit distracting and take forever to scroll through, but mercifully, they are skippable.
Musically, this game has nothing worth mentioning. None of the boring tracks from the game stuck with me at all other than the...interesting remixes of Bloody Tears and Vampire Killer. Graphically, I can't be too harsh given that this is for Game Boy, but the monster designs are generic even by Classicvania standards.
All in all, it is at least a playable platformer, it doesn't screw up too much in what it presents other than the really bad hitboxes on projectiles, which are either too big or too small in either extreme. But the things it does set out to do are all mundane and unexciting, and without a killer soundtrack to trick you into thinking you're doing something badass when you aren't, it falls flat. I think this game is perhaps a little overhated and Adventure is still the worse game...but I'm not about to take a bullet for this one. Especially not following Belmont's Revenge...
Honestly, I expected much worse, I expected a game that would shit on my bed and kick me in the dick. Instead it's just a deeply mediocre platformer that is definitely not good, but not offensively terrible in the same way that Castlevania: The Adventure was. I'd be more forgiving...if it wasn't such a downgrade in every way from the OTHER Castlevania game on Game Boy, Belmont's Revenge.
Platforming is standard Castlevania affair - you move pretty slow, you have to time your whip swings and jumps carefully, and you get knocked back upon taking a hit. However, things have been simplified. Stairs are basically non-existent, instead there being platforms you can jump through more akin to most other platformers. Knockback is minimal and I was only ever sent into a pit from it once. It's honestly fine, but my praise stops there.
Level design is abysmal. Usually just stretches of corridors with the most deeply unimaginative, and dare I say borderline docile enemies. There's this one enemy who hides in the floor and then pokes out a big claw to inflict damage...but chooses to do this not when under you, but just in front of you. Embarrassing.
One big selling point is the non-linearity of the levels. While it's true you can take multiple paths, most of them are literally just dead ends with a healing item to say "sorry mate, here's some of the health back you lost while getting here." A few of these alternate routes house the collectables you need to unlock the true ending(meaningless as it is since the entire game was retconned) but you still have to make it all the way back yourself, with no map in sight in case you do get lost. My issue here doesn't just lie with the unnecessary non-linear design, but the fact that, horror of horrors; the time limit is back. Why?! Rondo of Blood did away with it and was all the better for it, and that game was almost entirely linear! Legends asks you to explore, then literally murders you for doing so.
One thing that makes the entire first half of the game embarrassingly easy is the ability you get to shoot fireballs when your whip is fully upgraded. It makes every boss in the game way easier, and unlike Adventure you can't lose the whip levels from getting hit. I almost choose to believe it's this easy to imply that, with this being intended as the first game in the timeline, Dracula still didn't have this whole Castlevania thing figured out, and hired some lousy henchmen to guard everything.
By the way, remember how Adventure had no subweapons, and Belmont's Revenge at least thought to give you a couple of options? Well, Legends thought screw that, because they're gone again! In its place are Soul Weapons, essentially magic that you get from killing bosses that replaces subweapons. They can stop time, do a full screen attack, shoot projectiles (which you should already be doing by default) and...fully heal you at any time for 20 hearts. Really weird choices of abilities, and you only get a new one every stage. The subweapons can be picked up in the game, but they can't be used - their only purpose is for the true ending. Was it meant to be some kind of clever reference to the other games? How about referencing the parts where I get to actually use them instead?
How about that story eh? It's the one thing from the game that is probably shit on the most, and not even because they put women in Castlevania - people actually seem to like Sonia Belmont a fair bit. What they don't like is the bit where she and Alucard have a thing for one another. Sure, there's an age gap - hard to avoid when you're Alucard - but Sonia was a minor in this game. Makes her feats impressive...but this writing decision nasty. Other than that it's Castlevania business as usual. It's meant to be an origin story, with Sonia being the first of the Belmonts to bear the curse of having to fight Dracula, but Iga decided he didn't like it and made his own origin story later on, retconning Legends as non-canon. The cutscenes are a bit distracting and take forever to scroll through, but mercifully, they are skippable.
Musically, this game has nothing worth mentioning. None of the boring tracks from the game stuck with me at all other than the...interesting remixes of Bloody Tears and Vampire Killer. Graphically, I can't be too harsh given that this is for Game Boy, but the monster designs are generic even by Classicvania standards.
All in all, it is at least a playable platformer, it doesn't screw up too much in what it presents other than the really bad hitboxes on projectiles, which are either too big or too small in either extreme. But the things it does set out to do are all mundane and unexciting, and without a killer soundtrack to trick you into thinking you're doing something badass when you aren't, it falls flat. I think this game is perhaps a little overhated and Adventure is still the worse game...but I'm not about to take a bullet for this one. Especially not following Belmont's Revenge...
not as bad as people say. i mean it’s definitely not good but as a Game Boy title? …yeah it’s alright.