The Castlevania 64 thread...

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14 Jun 2002, 12:44 PM
Korian

The Castlevania 64 thread...

I'll be the first one to say that I like the 2-D Castlevania games better than the 3-D incarnations but with that said I think the N64 Castlevania games were bashed just for the fact that they were in 3-D.

The game even though it was a 3-D game still retained the Castlevania feel. The ability to play as two different characters with both paths being different was a nice touch. I also thought the boss design was unique and the sheer size of them was impressive.

I also liked the music and opening of both N64 Castlevania games.

Legacy Of Darkness is more of a director's cut and is also very good including the ability to play as a Werewolf and different stages.

On to the most frustrating part is carrying the fuckin magical nitro through a long path and one hit spells your doom such a pain in the ass.

Nice Dracula boss too.

Korian
14 Jun 2002, 12:55 PM
TheSCHLONG!

i actually enjoyed them too. played the original on easy and figured...pffftt...lets crank it up. only to find there's like none of those health restoring meat chunks in the harder difficulties. could've done without the motorcycle skelly's tho.
14 Jun 2002, 12:56 PM
jiji

I've never played the first CV64, but I enjoyed Legacy of Darkness. I feel like it accurately managed to capture the feel of the 2D castlevania games and brought it into 3D. The control was good, if not perfect, and the lock-on system worked well. The platforming in the game was generally linear (as opposed to simply wandering around collecting junk), and the obstacles really reminded me of previous Castlevanias (rotating spiked platforms, falling platforms, etc). Most of the classic Castlevania enemies were present, and they looked just about perfect for an N64 game. But best of all, the remixes of songs from previous Castlevanias were spot-on (unlike the ones found in a certain GBA game involving circles and moons), especially the Rondo of Blood boss music.

I've only played through the werewolf character's scenario, so I can't speak for the scenarios that were present in the first game as well as the second. I'll probably get around to those someday, though. :sweat:
14 Jun 2002, 12:59 PM
Korian

Quote:

Originally posted by TheSCHLONG!
i actually enjoyed them too. played the original on easy and figured...pffftt...lets crank it up. only to find there's like none of those health restoring meat chunks in the harder difficulties. could've done without the motorcycle skelly's tho.

Those motorcycle Skelletons did seem out of place but it's pretty fun to whip them and have them crash into the wall.

Also getting bit be a vampire oh every few seconds was kinda annoying in some parts.

Korian
14 Jun 2002, 01:02 PM
Kidnemo

I bought the first game (and returned it the same day), and it was completely and utterly horrible.

It's been so long since I played it, but I remember hating nearly everything about it.

I've read that the sequel fixed quite a bit of the problems the first game had, but after playing the orginal, I just couldn't bring my self to try the second game.
14 Jun 2002, 01:16 PM
Lordmrw

I like the 2d versions better myself, but I can genuinely say I like 64 ones. They were pretty muc how I pictured a 3d Castlevania to be. Legacy of Darkness definitely turned out better. Only thing I couldn't stand were some of the platform jumping sections, but what can you do. The music continued the Cstlevania tradition of kickass soundtracks on a cartridge no less. The intro music is haunting. Bet Werewolf'd like to play it just for Conell.
14 Jun 2002, 01:29 PM
Nash

i, for one, never bashed castlevania 64 because it was 3-d. i love a great 3-d action or adventure game. i thought castlevania 64 was a pretty good game in itself (although, i thought castlevania 64 couldn't decide whether it wanted to be an action or adventure game). however, it just isn't a castlevania-caliber game. the story, however, was really good.

ps - those motorcycles were very anachronistic.
14 Jun 2002, 01:47 PM
Kinopio

I never played legacy of darkness, but I thought Castlevania 64 was a good game. 7.5/10. I had to sell it to buy my dreamcast on 9/9/99, but I do miss it a bit. That violin intro was fantastic.
14 Jun 2002, 02:00 PM
Werewolf

Quote:

Originally posted by Lordmrw
Bet Werewolf'd like to play it just for Conell.

Yes indeed ;)

In fact I remember the original was supposed to have the werewolf in it but was taken out, I was devastated to say the least, so I refused to buy it when it came out just because of that... they did release the Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness later on which made me very happy and so I bought that one :)
14 Jun 2002, 02:57 PM
Will

Castlevania Legacy Of Darkness is the only 3D Castlevania anyone should buy since it's a more full version of Castlevania 64. Although it kind of sucks it didn't have that awesome intro music from C64.
I thought it does Castlevania well in 3D along with some good puzzles and awesome music, nifty idea about turning into a vampire if you get bitten too.
14 Jun 2002, 03:36 PM
dorikyasu

I liked Legacy of Darkness as well. I was so close to finishing it too, if it wasn't for my Memory Pak mysteriously losing all of the saved games... :(
I believe Japanese version had a built-in battery back up that was taken out in the US version (just like Hybrid Heaven situation).
Anyway, I throughly enjoyed the experience and hopefully get a chance to finish it one of these days (right, just like the rest of my pile of shame... :sweat: ).
14 Jun 2002, 04:45 PM
Tenchimo

I didn't really enjoy the controls for Castlevania 64, but it was a fun game nonetheless. The house of the dead-type zombie guy with a chainsaw is a badass. One of my favorite parts of the game. Also, Schneider is a pretty cool main character, I never really played with the girl. Also, the last boss fight is enough reason to play through the whole game. One of the biggest bosses of all time.
16 Jun 2002, 01:49 AM
SearchManX

I really really enjoyed Castlevania 64 also. I rented it and beat it (although with the bad ending) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Whoever says that C64 is a bad game didn't enjoy it just because it was 3D and branched off from the sidescrolling, platform jumping roots.

I am hoping to pick up LoD if I find it for $20 but it seems like I might want to pick up the original C64 because the awesome violin intro music isn't in there!

Some of my favorite moments in the game: (SPOILERS)

Although it was obvious, it was cool that you found out this one guy was a vampire by looking in the mirror. It wasn't too scary but the idea was there.

Also I think the guys that made this game were inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula or some other vampire flicks when the female victim of one vampire you slayed came back to life and you had to fight her... that was pretty cool.

And Death had an amazing design in this game. The fact that he had wings with black feathers made him look so much more medieval demonic looking. I actually made a drawing of him for one of my art projects in high school and I think it turned out pretty good.

Also, the demon guy that sold you stuff was a neat idea. It was interesting that you had to sign a contract with him... it would've been nicer if you actually didn't need to pay him gems, all you needed to do was pay him back with something more valuable... :evil:
16 Jun 2002, 01:54 AM
Despair

Well, Since I will be getting N64, I might pick up Legacy of Darkness as well, since I never played it. I played CV64, and remember not being very fond of it, but I'm willing to give Legacy another try.

We will see how it will go :)
16 Jun 2002, 02:00 AM
Will

LOD was a bitch to find where I live I'd almost pay anything to just have a copy but luckily through some more searching I found a few copies available. If you find the game get it fast it's one of those games that are kind of rare.
16 Jun 2002, 02:01 AM
Despair

Well, Just got both CV64 and LOD for $18 :)

Hopefully, I will have N64 to play them when they arrive :) Otherwise I can always look at them laying on my shelf :)
16 Jun 2002, 02:02 AM
SearchManX

C64 started out a little generic, but if you keep at it, you'll find some shining moments in this game. I'm sure LoD retains much of what was in C64, so no worries about that.

Compared to the limited offering of gothic style undead games for the N64, LoD and C64 were among the best.

BTW, I forgot to mention the part where you're chased in the garden... that part got my heart jumping!
16 Jun 2002, 02:13 AM
Will

The hedge maze and the Nitro puzzles were pretty long and kind of annoying but were VERY cool. I just wish Cornell had more moves as a wolf instead of just having super strength.

It sucks Konami decided to not do anymore 3D Castlevania's I think they could benefit more with the new technology in consoles than they did before.
16 Jun 2002, 02:16 AM
SearchManX

For awhile I was interested in Castlevania: Resurrection... but I think it had a long ways to go from the video that I saw.

And if anyone remembers, there were originally 4 selectable characters when C64 was first announced. They had videos of Cornell, the magic girl, Cornell, and a 4th character (no not Henry) who was a Jason-like character with a hockey mask and chainsaw. Would've been interesting to play as a psycho who chops and saws up his enemies.

And I remember the Nitro level... haha... for awhile I didn't know where to put it when I got to the end. I kept putting it down at some other location and nothing happened... I got really frustrated trying to find out where it was...
16 Jun 2002, 02:20 AM
MechDeus

I didn't hate it because it was in 3D, I hated it because of the terrible graphics, not-very-good controls, worthless lock-on, bad camera, highly annoying jumping puzzles, and the added "adventure" aspects.

The intro music was awesome, though. I can't believe they took that out of LoD! I never even wanted LoD and refused to look at it because of C64. In fact, that game is the main reason I cursed every step of Castlevania: Resurrection, because I didn't want another plodding travesty like that POS.
16 Jun 2002, 02:25 AM
Will

Quote:

I didn't hate it because it was in 3D, I hated it because of the terrible graphics, not-very-good controls, worthless lock-on, bad camera, highly annoying jumping puzzles, and the added "adventure" aspects.

Yeah I understand why, but they fixed just about everything in LOD, even the platform jumping was more accurate and fixed. I agree with the C64 intro music though I hope I can find that Mp3 on the net somewhere.
16 Jun 2002, 02:29 AM
SearchManX

Quote:

Originally posted by MechDeus
I didn't hate it because it was in 3D, I hated it because of the terrible graphics, not-very-good controls, worthless lock-on, bad camera, highly annoying jumping puzzles, and the added "adventure" aspects.

The intro music was awesome, though. I can't believe they took that out of LoD! I never even wanted LoD and refused to look at it because of C64. In fact, that game is the main reason I cursed every step of Castlevania: Resurrection, because I didn't want another plodding travesty like that POS.

You're a very critical gamer, MechDeus, but I respect your opinion. To me, C64 was a very gothic and more mature Super Mario 64.

Graphics - I didn't care if they were crappy or not.
Controls - I got used to it within the first 2 levels. Yeah they took some time to get adjust but eventually I could fight werewolves without breaking a sweat. The lock-on really helped in one-on-one fights, you just gotta watch a master at work. :) It's been awhile since I've played it so I think I'll have to relearn the controls all over again...

Jump Puzzles - I didn't think there were many of these. Far less annoying jumps then in the old-skool 2D Castlevanias.

The camera was a problem at times, but like Mario 64, I got used to continuously refreshing the camera until it became second nature. It's too bad because if it didn't had the Castlevania title, then people wouldn't be so harsh on it. On its own merits I think it has enough depth to be a very decent game. It'll never reach SotN quality but to me, it's at least equivalent to Bloodlines and better than the GB games.
16 Jun 2002, 02:59 AM
MechDeus

Well, I can easily deal with horrible graphics if the game is fun, but I found neither in C64.

Quote:

Controls - I got used to it within the first 2 levels. Yeah they took some time to get adjust but eventually I could fight werewolves without breaking a sweat.

It wasn't that I ever had a real problem with them, but they just didn't work as well as they should've. But maybe I should watch a master at work, I'm betting I suck at it in comparision. :)

There is one thing I liked about the game: the bosses. The bosses were great, and usually large and fun to fight. My favorite was the, *ahem* seller boss (purposefully ambiguous for those who haven't played it), and Dracula was incredible (at least he wasn't a pushover like C:SotN, where it was more fun to see how many seconds you could beat him in then it was simply challenging). Maybe if this had designed like some Treasure games (shorter, more action-focused levels and more bosses) I'd have liked it more, but it just didn't deliver.

Especially after all the personal hype I had built up for myself. I wanted that game badly, reserved and bought the day it came out and everything. Though I did begin to get let down once they announced the loss of two of the characters for time constraints, but decided to persist in my then-love of it. Blah. Was never able to bring myself to even finish the second quest (for me that was Carrie).

Quote:

[...] even the platform jumping was more accurate and fixed.

Now that intrigues me. If I find a copy hella cheap (it seems to run around $25 or so near me, and I really don't want to pay that much for it), I'll be sure to pick it up and try it out.
16 Jun 2002, 11:16 AM
SearchManX

Yeah the boss fights were really fun. Especially Death and that horned beast from Dracula X... fighting Dracula in 3D was pretty cool too.

Quote:

Especially after all the personal hype I had built up for myself. I wanted that game badly, reserved and bought the day it came out and everything. Though I did begin to get let down once they announced the loss of two of the characters for time constraints, but decided to persist in my then-love of it. Blah. Was never able to bring myself to even finish the second quest (for me that was Carrie).

I guess part of your dislike for C64 was the let-down. I took the game for what it was, not what I thought it could be. I was let down by the exclusion of the 2 additional characters also, but I had time only to play as Schneider anyway (during my rental). If you wanna really see a game that was bad but had some potential, then Shadow Man is another one out there.