Back in 1998 Konami released their Castlevania game for the Nintendo64. The game has gone through some
heavy cut backs in various in-game things, like the game was supposed to feature 4 characters but due to
problems with the code, Konami decided to remove two of them.
Castlevania 64 was the first game in the franchise to change from 2D into 3D as well as presenting more
puzzles and enemies. The game wasnt bad at all, but it somehow didnt catch gamers attention and didnt
provide the right story and so on. Konami themselves wasnt too happy about the result either.
The graphics were looking much like a 1st generation game, foggy and pretty poor in some areas. So shortly
after the release of Castlevania 64, Konami announced something they called
"Castlevania 64: Special Edition". This would be an updated version of Castlevania 64 and was released in
Europe about a month ago. Since I didnt like the original N64 much, I decided not to check out the
Special Edition game, now called Legacy of Darkness, right away, but then a couple of days ago I gave the game
a try.
And boy it looks like Konami learned from the many mistakes they made in the first game. Not only does
Legacy of Darkness take advantage of the Expansion Pak, but it also features an incredible intro, cut scenes and
to everyones surprise, the original four characters.
The new game is a mix between an updated version of the original and a new story. Right from the beginning
you get the feeling that you're about to experience something great by watching an incredible 2 minute+ intro.
At first gamers only have one character available, but the other 3 will be unlocked during the game when their
special abilities are needed. The main character, Cornell, is half human and half warewolf, his sister has
been kidnapped and you, as Cornell, has to rescue her. The game features 14 huge levels filled with lots
of puzzles to solve.
The game might be boring if you've played the original a lot, but who has really? since the games are almost
identical. But the new game gives the right feeling when playing and once you've started playing it's hard to
stop again. The story and levels change enough not to make the game boring.
Not having played the original very much, its simply too boring and generally bad story, I've decided to give
this one a top score, also because Konami managed to correct all the wrongs and turn the old game into a
brilliant one. Deadlines are set to be met, but sometimes it's worth to delay a game.
Overall: 95%
Final note: Incredible game, way up there with Zelda. Good graphics and great sound combined with a
kickass gameplay and story, a true winner!
