Whiplash

Game: Castlevania
System: Nintendo 64
Release date: January 26, 1999
Developed by: Konami
Published by: Konami

The Castlevania franchise's jump to three dimensions was not entirely smooth, but Castlevania for the N64 is a solid, challenging and atmospheric action-adventure game which stands up favorably to more popular installments.

Depending on who is asked, Castlevania may or may not belong to the official Castlevania timeline. In any event, Castlevania takes place in Transylvania in 1852, where Dracula has once again risen from the darkness due to the wickedness of humanity. Two heroes arise to fight the growing evil: Carrie Fernandez, a young girl gifted with magical powers, and Reinhardt Schneider, heir to the Belmont clan, the greatest family of vampire hunters.

Castlevania carries over a lot of two-dimensional staples into its three-dimensional adventure. Enemies like skeletons and Medusa heads are common throughout the well-designed game environments; secondary weapons, like holy water and axes, can be found in breakable vases, torches and statues. Boss enemies are larger and scarier than those featured in the old NES titles, however, and Schneider is equipped with a close-combat dagger in addition to his whip and secondary weapons.


The greatest drawback in Castlevania is its camera, which does not operate with the same responsiveness and freedom of cameras in other N64 games. Camera problems become especially dangerous in stages which are heavy on platform elements, when one ill-timed leap could mean certain death. Castlevania is littered with traps, hazards and moving platforms.

Castlevania is reminiscent of the Playstation Resident Evil games. Apart from the option to select either a male or female protagonist, Castlevania resembles Resident Evil in its level design (especially the villa), its horror themes and even its musical cues.

Score: 88/100