This game is equal parts ambitious and admirable, as well as clunky and frustrating. It was (along with the first 64 Goemon game) Konami's first true foray into 3D, so its somewhat understandable that it's very rough around the edges, and that they struggled with certain elements of 3D gaming. Such as hit detection. And platforming physics. And 3D "camera" work.
When this game was in development, I clearly remember reading up on it, and even though I vastly prefer classic 2D gaming over 3D, I was still excited for it. The way Konami talked it up, it sounded like it was going to be amazing. It was going to be a HUGE adventure, with a prolonged OG Castlevania experience, making your way through the countryside (and a village), on your way to the Castle. The four playable characters were also supposed to be very diverse, each possessing elaborate abilities, such as Reinhardt having great whip control, Carrie being able to perform various magic spells, Cornell being able to wall jump and use cool martial arts moves, etc.
When the game finally came out, it was clear that Konami's developmental abilities, at least with this game, did not meet their ambitions. Because the finished product contained barely any of that. The "journey" from the countryside (no village) to the Castle, was very short. There were only two playable characters, Reinhardt and Carrie, and their abilities were VERY limited. Reinhardt can only whip in one direction (forward) and not very well. Carrie can ONLY shoot fireballs, no fancy levatation/etc. spells like developmental screens hinted at, etc. You have sub-weapons, like the classic knife and axe, but they too aren't SUPER effective. And of course, as previously mentioned, the camera, platforming physics and hit detection are all wonky. The game itself, in those terms, can be kinda frustrating to play.
On the POSITIVE side of things, however, again, Konami was clearly ambitious. There were things they did right, and fairly well. Chief among them being atmosphere, the game has tons of that. They set a very spooky vibe from the beginning, and the decent (though not GREAT like classic CV games) soundtrack really helps with that. Once you get in the Castle specifically, there are parts of it that are genuinely creepy. Almost like they were trying to make a CV game that was part "survival horror".
I appreciate and respect what they were going for, and in all honesty, deserved criticisms aside, this is FAR from a bad game. It definitely needed more time in the oven, and they either shouldn't have been so ambitious with their original ideas, or should have taken more time to implement them correctly. They would later release an improved "special edition" of this game, called "Legacy of Darkness", that is a SLIGHT upgrade, but really doesn't fix the game's issues. It mainly just added back in some version of the additional characters/content the game was originally supposed to feature in the first place.
Castlevania 64 is a rough, unrefined effort. But it should get points for earnestly trying. I still consider it, personally, to be a better 3D Castlevania than the ones on PS2 or PS3. I would love for them to remake this, and actually make it the game it should have been, that they intended it to be. Then again, I'd love for them to actually make/release Castlevania: Resurrection, which I was greatly looking forward to on Dreamcast. Neither will ever happen, of course.
This game is worth checking out if you never have, as the story is decent, the setting/atmosphere is pretty great, and it's a decent, but deeply flawed first 3D Castlevania effort.
When this game was in development, I clearly remember reading up on it, and even though I vastly prefer classic 2D gaming over 3D, I was still excited for it. The way Konami talked it up, it sounded like it was going to be amazing. It was going to be a HUGE adventure, with a prolonged OG Castlevania experience, making your way through the countryside (and a village), on your way to the Castle. The four playable characters were also supposed to be very diverse, each possessing elaborate abilities, such as Reinhardt having great whip control, Carrie being able to perform various magic spells, Cornell being able to wall jump and use cool martial arts moves, etc.
When the game finally came out, it was clear that Konami's developmental abilities, at least with this game, did not meet their ambitions. Because the finished product contained barely any of that. The "journey" from the countryside (no village) to the Castle, was very short. There were only two playable characters, Reinhardt and Carrie, and their abilities were VERY limited. Reinhardt can only whip in one direction (forward) and not very well. Carrie can ONLY shoot fireballs, no fancy levatation/etc. spells like developmental screens hinted at, etc. You have sub-weapons, like the classic knife and axe, but they too aren't SUPER effective. And of course, as previously mentioned, the camera, platforming physics and hit detection are all wonky. The game itself, in those terms, can be kinda frustrating to play.
On the POSITIVE side of things, however, again, Konami was clearly ambitious. There were things they did right, and fairly well. Chief among them being atmosphere, the game has tons of that. They set a very spooky vibe from the beginning, and the decent (though not GREAT like classic CV games) soundtrack really helps with that. Once you get in the Castle specifically, there are parts of it that are genuinely creepy. Almost like they were trying to make a CV game that was part "survival horror".
I appreciate and respect what they were going for, and in all honesty, deserved criticisms aside, this is FAR from a bad game. It definitely needed more time in the oven, and they either shouldn't have been so ambitious with their original ideas, or should have taken more time to implement them correctly. They would later release an improved "special edition" of this game, called "Legacy of Darkness", that is a SLIGHT upgrade, but really doesn't fix the game's issues. It mainly just added back in some version of the additional characters/content the game was originally supposed to feature in the first place.
Castlevania 64 is a rough, unrefined effort. But it should get points for earnestly trying. I still consider it, personally, to be a better 3D Castlevania than the ones on PS2 or PS3. I would love for them to remake this, and actually make it the game it should have been, that they intended it to be. Then again, I'd love for them to actually make/release Castlevania: Resurrection, which I was greatly looking forward to on Dreamcast. Neither will ever happen, of course.
This game is worth checking out if you never have, as the story is decent, the setting/atmosphere is pretty great, and it's a decent, but deeply flawed first 3D Castlevania effort.