Kind of amazing how much AVGN just completely lied about this game.

Castlevania 64 has one hell of a negative reputation, but when you dig through the many arguments as to why it's bad, it basically settles at "camera bad, SOTN better". If being worse than Symphony of the Night is a qualifier for a game being a 0/10, then I'm afraid we're going to have to throw most of the games industry in the bin (probably for the best). Castlevania 64 and SOTN are completely incomparable beyond the very unsurprising fact that SOTN, which simply built on and overhauled the same style of game Konami had been making for over a decade by this point, was better than Castlevania 64...the second 3D game (to my knowledge) that Konami ever worked on.

While I think the hate for this game is absurdly overblown, it's certainly not a perfect package. The camera is certainly the biggest woe - even then, in a lot of circumstances the devs have decided to take the reigns and just have it point in the best direction for your platforming. Bosses sometimes have their own cameras too...other times, for some reason, they don't. I wish it were more consistent, but that's what rushed development gets you. Sometimes it'll get stuck on terrain which is annoying, but the biggest failure point is that it's hard to get the camera to point towards an enemy that is behind you. More on that little part later...

Gameplay is a standard early 3D action-platformer. You can run around freely, jump long distances, and attack. Attacking is a little clunky but generally responsive, and, as Reinhardt, really evokes the same vibe as the 2D games. Subweapons can be used with the yellow down-button (the N64 controller is just an absolute gremlin isn't it), but don't really have much difference between each other in the 2D space. Jumping is probably where the problems start - you have to remember to hold the jump button, because most platforming relies on your character grabbing the edge of the platform and pulling themselves up. You only hold on if you're holding the button - something people seem to take issue with? Hope you don't ever play Tomb Raider. The controls really aren't that bad; the camera is the main thing holding it back, but more than that - a failed jump usually means instant death, and that kicks you right back to the save point on the spot. Thus, any failures from platforming feel a lot more aggravating than they would in the 2D games, or other 3D platformers that leave room for failure in the form of losing health or checkpoints. Also, the right yellow button is for picking up things - this is vital to know as it's the only way you get subweapons and ammo, open doors, literally do anything in the game.

Progression has you go through several levels on the path to confront Dracula, as per usual. These levels are pretty interesting though, making good use of the third dimension for some neat gimmicks, such as shortcuts that tie areas together very neatly. Admittedly, these ideas run thin the further in you go, until the final third where the levels basically become normal Castlevania levels from a third-person perspective. Honestly, as much as I like the ways in which they experimented, the game was at its best when it was just being regular ol' Vania. There's a particularly infamous segment involving transporting an explosive that kills you if you get hit, or even so much as jump. I found that segment to be vastly easier than people made it out to be, moreso tedious if anything. Also, the solution is very easy, much easier than a certain Youtube personality made it out to be.

It's worth mentioning here that you get the choice between 2 characters. Reinhardt is the typical Castlevania protagonist, a macho man with a whip and the blood of the Belmonts. He can attack with the whip, or a sword if there are a horde of pesky bats to deal with. The whip is generally accurate, but run into the occasional collision detection issue with some bosses. I tried him out first, and honestly enjoyed the game a fair bit with him. The other character is a 12-year old girl called Carrie...and the reason I bumped down the score. She attacks with a magical homing projectile that somehow misses half the damn time. It can only hit enemies on camera, so if the camera is choosing not to show you an enemy, you don't get to hit them. That's frustrating enough, but they also have their own differing levels and bosses. Reinhardt's levels are pretty solid, while Carrie's are really cheap and annoying. The bosses are the reverse; Carrie's are the only bosses she fights that feel balanced for her moveset (well, them and the true ending's final boss) and Reinhardt's range from too hard to too easy. Having the two characters was neat, but Konami clearly struggled to balance the game for them both. Carrie has the far harder levels and fights, but then gets to just walk through Dracula like he's nothing. Probably the most badass 12 year old in videogaming, but not very fun to play.

Music has always been Castlevania's strong suit, and 64 delivers. Never going to forget how AVGN just told the bold faced lie "there is no fucking music". There's plenty of music, and it's awesome. Atmosphere is built really well, from the environmental cues, sound design, and best of all the music that veers more towards the soundtrack to a B-movie than it does the metal-albumness of SOTN. While generally striking its own path, a few classic tracks from Rondo of Blood get some solid remixes. Just a really great set of sombre tunes that compliment the aesthetic pretty well.

There's also a weird Day/Night Cycle thrown in, akin to Simon's Quest. Some events in the early game only happen at specific times, requiring an awful lot of waiting. Doors bearing sun and moon symbols also exist, which only open when at day or night respectively. These appear in the middle of the game, but honestly? I think the devs forgot about this gimmick entirely, as it's almost never relevant past those story segments. Only 2 constants throughout the game are affected; being bitten by a vampire can sometimes infect you with vampirism. If you fail to cure it by midnight (with an item easily dropped or bought), you succumb and get a game over. The other thing the cycle affects is the ending: if you fail to reach Dracula in approximately 14/15 days(?), you'll be stuck with the bad ending. You can use items called sun and moon cards to change the time of day to what you desire immediately, but overuse of them will quickly lead to a bad ending. Certainly an interesting idea, but once again undercooked.

I would genuinely argue that this game gets a lot of unnecessary shit when it makes the jump to 3D no more awkwardly than the likes of Sonic, despite Adventure being celebrated and this game being condemned. With some more time in the oven, it could've even been a stone-cold classic for the system. It also doesn't overstay its welcome - maybe it's even a little too short, I would've liked to see more of the areas such as the Clock Tower. That being said, I can only recommend it to N64 enthusiasts or big Castlevania fans who are open to playing games that aren't just the IGAvanias. Of course, you could also make the argument to play Legacy of Darkness instead, but that's still a very different game, and I'm interested to see exactly what changes it makes.

I am convinced they used the power of the PS2's emotion engine solely with the intention of crafting Kazuma Kiryu into the most handsome protagonist possible at the time. The rest of the game is just a fun bonus they did in their spare time.

The wonderful Backloggd community threatened - that is to say, heavily suggested - that I play Yakuza PS2 instead of the remake, Kiwami. To that I say, screw it, release order supremacy, I will get around to Kiwami eventually. But of course, that means starting with this, the original PS2 release, and I'm happy to say I quite enjoyed it, in spite of everything.

The story is the main draw of the game - well at least, it sure seems to believe that it's the case - and I found it decent, but not particularly sound. It gets a bit too bogged down with filler early on, and a lot of characters go severely underutilised. Heck, it was to the point I found myself completely forgetting about a lot of them over the course of the game, making any reappearances they may or may not make later on more than a little confusing. The emotional hooks are pretty good, but - without getting into spoiler territory - I think it doesn't resolve the plot threads in satisfying ways, and kind of collapses in on itself by the end. So many issues could have been easily avoided, and certain twists are wholly unnecessary and exist purely for shock value.

Main story aside, a big selling point of the games (mainly through the hype given by the fandom) are the substories, side quests dotted throughout the district of Kamurocho that see Kiryu meet all sorts of weird and wacky people with problems that need solving...actually, in the first game, it's mostly just scam artists and guys who want to beat Kiryu up. They get pretty tedious, and can be annoyingly obscure to even find in the first place, and only a few have particularly likable stories - most are just thinly veiled excuses for an utterly ordinary combat scenario.

As for the combat itself, I found it to actually be pretty fun for the time...but I have to throw a few caveats out with that statement. Firstly, Kiryu's starting moveset is pretty dire. Light attacks and a combo-ending heavy attack, as well as a grab. Landing hits builds Heat, a sort of super-mode that stuns enemies easier and allow for Heat Actions that play a nice, brutal animation and deal massive damage. As you gain experience and level up (choosing which aspect of your abilities you want to prioritise) you gain more moves, and more still through a certain tutor halfway through the game. Once your move repertoire is more fleshed out via these means, the combat becomes bloody fantastic. Throws, backbreaking, dodging, it's incredibly well crafted. Well, with the exception of certain bosses that render a lot of your abilities useless, but they're usually not too bullshit. Usually.

The major flaws in gameplay come from two sources. Firstly, the camera. Bad cameras in 3D games were still a thing even into the PS2 era, and sadly Yakuza is among the offenders. While you can center the camera with L2 to match where Kiryu is facing, it only works when you're not locked into an animation, and won't always be where you really want it to be facing. The major failing there is not mapping camera control to the right analog stick, which is used for....uh...absolutely sod all. Well, it scrolls the minimap: a feature I can say with absolute certainty is completely useless in every concievable way. The full map displays the second you hit Start, so I really don't get why they gave such a feature to the right analog stick instead of camera control. More annoyingly, there's no proper lock-on in the game. Holding down R1 will cause you to begin shifting around the direction you're facing, and will sort of lock on to any enemy you're facing, but if you miss a swing or they get too far out of the way, you're back to swinging at empty air again. Add in the fact combos cannot be cancelled, and you have a recipe for frustration that goes to show that the combat system, while almost there, has serious room for improvement.

I had mentioned how fantastically brutal the combat animations were earlier; that ties in to what I think the strongest element of this game is - the presentation. Kamurocho is a smallish hub world for the game to take place in, but it's amazing how much work was put in to make it feel more alive than any GTA game could boast at the time. Lots of low-poly strangers walking around on-screen, people holding conversations that appear as brief textboxes around the edges of the screen (shoutout to that one woman who still doesn't know where she is from beginning to end), people chasing after you begging you to go to a hostess club, a sizable number of interactable NPCs who's dialogue can change to suit current story events, the place is jam packed on first impressions. Stores sell food and medicine that restores Kiryu's HP and even give a little experience, enough to imply that these beef bowls are physically making him stronger. Arcades are home to those accursed UFO catchers, and they're fully functional! Strip clubs, massage parlours, the extensive hostess mini-stories, it's a game that rewards you for breathing it all in.

This extends to the cutscenes too - the direction and animation is superb, and the voice acting - the proper, Japanese voice acting - sells it very well. Let's not forget the sound design, a very underappreciated aspect of making the big, impact punches actually come across as visceral as they are. For a breakout title that noone but Sony seemed to have any faith in, RGG visibly put all they had into making sure that the game made an impact on audiences, and - at least in Japan - it's clearly paid off.

I deliberately try to avoid giving out 7/10s to games, as it's a very cliché score that is often thrown out as a "it's good, but not fantastic" rating, as opposed to acknowledging it as an 8, or daring to give it a 6. However, I cannot in good conscience give Yakuza a 6 given how much it accomplished of what it has clearly set out to do. That said, the story and gameplay issues hold it back from an 8. So, Yakuza gets the ol' 7/10 - exciting, impressive, but significantly flawed. And let me just say, I cannot wait to see how Yakuza 2 improves on everything.

A great vehicle for delightful British cartoon hijinks. The soundtrack really puts in the work to make every moment land, several things made me laugh that probably wouldn't have if it weren't for the perfect timing of the piano. This is a game that caught the eye of everyone even mildly interested in games, so I admire that the controls and puzzle-solving aren't compromised to appeal to as many people as possible. The way your control over the goose changes between running and walking, and having to remember to bend your neck down manually, makes pulling off objectives feel genuinely satisfying. The puzzles you have to solve take some real thinking and observation. Very neat game, only takes a couple of hours too.

A stylish, frantic platformer that takes an approach to difficulty that I can actually tolerate: incredibly difficult in places and requires constant repetition and memorisation, but is generous with the consequences of dying so as not to make giving it another attempt a hair-pulling excerise in frustration.

Well, for the most part - the final stages try to do things with the game mechanics that they're simply not designed to do and the game becomes cripplingly unfair as a result. However, given those are 5 or so levels at the end of a whopping 65 (with a bonus 66th for completing every "Tricky Treasure" course), I can't say the game suffers particularly badly for them.

The main issue one might face here is repetition; you go through 4 worlds of different settings and aesthetics while gaining new abilities - you then revisit these worlds with new harder levels to put these new abilities to the test. I personally think this is a clever way of structuring the game, but your mileage may vary.

Altogether this game is a solid platformer, but the story is...lacking, as in it tries to exist but is impossible to really understand due to the minimal presentation. Does it matter? Mostly not, until the final world at least. Heck, I think pretty much all of my issues come down to that final world.

Recommended, but be prepared to have a couple aneurysms.