At last Castlevania makes its way to the Nintendo 64, and right on time too. This time Konami opts for 3D graphics, and while it takes away some of what Castlevania is all about (side scrolling action), it is still a good game in its own right.
This time you have the choice of two characters from the start of the game, Reinhardt Schneider and Carrie Fernandez. Each of the two have a different path to follow throughout the game. For instance, the storyline unfolds and develops differently for Carrie than it does for Reinhardt, and a few of the levels are different, or not included for the other character. Upon playing as Carrie I found that there was a level that Reinhardt never found. That's a great part of the game that adds more replay value after you finish the game with one character.
How has the 3D atmosphere effected the gameplay? It almost keeps this game from feeling like Castlevania, actually. What was great was seeing Castlevania come to life on the Super NES and PlayStation after falling in love with the original NES versions. The 3D camera angles change everything in the Nintendo 64 version. Pressing Left or Right used to move your character left or right, but now, in the N64 version of Castlevania, your character controls somewhat like Mario from Super Mario 64. Pressing Up moves your character away from the camera and Down moves your character towards the camera, regardless of the direction that your character is facing. In Tomb Raider, on the other hand, pressing Up makes your character walk in the direction they're facing, and pressing Down makes your character back up. If you've played a bit of Super Mario 64 or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, you won't have much of a problem adjusting to how the analog stick controls your character in this Castlevania. What does make the controls frustrating, however, are the sudden movements that the camera makes according to your position. When you character gets near a wall, for example, the camera angle shifts to keep from going through the wall. This changes where pressing Up causes your character to go. It becomes especially difficult when you have to make precise jumps. The method of attacking has also changed because of the new 3D environment. Castlevania for the Nintendo 64 uses a lock-on attack system similar to what Zelda for N64 has, although not nearly as good. The result is hitting one enemy when you meant to hit another. Bosses that have smaller enemies running around them are especially difficult to defeat (such as the boss in the first level).
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Reinhardt Schneider
Carrie Fernandez
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The graphics are mouthwatering, just as a Castlevania game should be. There is fog in most of the game, which adds to the mood a lot, but also masks pop-up. The music is great too, but not as memorable as the soundtrack for the Super NES version, which was especially exceptional. The eerie screams and haunting music has always been an important part of setting the mood in all of the Castlevania games, and it works well in this version too. The levels range from a mansion full of monsters (which was strikingly similar to the mansion in Resident Evil, I might add) to a lava-filled dungeon with razor-sharp blades and bloody spikes. A level with huge turning gears even made its way to the game, as in some of the previous in the Castlevania series. Overall, however, I would have to say that the further levels of the game are more exciting than the beginning ones, although more frustrating as well.
Saving is done on a controller pack, not on the game pak. My main complaints about this incarnation of Castlevania is the difficulty of controlling your character (due to the camera movements) and the shortness of the game. I was at the end of the game before I knew it. What is in the game is done extremely well, there just isn't enough of it. Fans of Castlevania should definitely check this version out, although I wouldn't expect another Castlevania-style side-scroller. That's not what this game is. The story and gameplay follows more of an RPG/action style game. It's still an excellent game, although short. Don't look past this one.
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