Reviews from

in the past


After playing through Mystical Ninja on N64 a while back, I was intrigued to finally try to play the other big (and infamous) N64 Konami game I'd never beaten before. While I have beaten Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness on the N64, I'd never tried the game it's so largely based off of. I thought this would be a fun thing to stream, and I played the Japanese version over two different streams over the course of around 6 hours playing as Reinhardt on normal mode (and even got the good ending on my first try, not even realizing there was a good ending to shoot for ^^;)~. This game has a pretty negative reputation, and I'd say my time with it largely confirmed for me that it deserves that reputation XD. While I think that streaming it definitely made the more frustrating parts more tolerable, it's still not something I think I'll ever wanna play again XP

The game takes place in 1852, and Dracula has begun to awaken after nearly 100 years since he was last defeated. The two playable protagonists (whose quests don't overlap at all, so I take it to mean that only one of them actually defeats Dracula in the end), Reinhardt Schneider and Carrie Fernandez both travel to Wallachia to go to Dracula's castle and put him to rest. They meet a series of other characters along the way, including an older vampire hunter, a beautiful young vampiric maiden, and a strange little boy, but the story isn't terribly interesting. It's very of its time as far as trying to be cinematic in its presentation, but mostly comes off as campy and silly, which fits Castlevania just fine, so I don't see it as much of a problem. It does what it needs to to bind the stages together, and it's good enough for that.

The gameplay itself is where the bad (and deserved) reputation starts coming into play. The game takes place across 10 or so stages with certain stages or versions of stages being unique to each of the two playable characters. You go around 3D environments solving puzzles, doing platforming challenges, fighting enemies, and collecting items to get to the end of the stage where a boss often awaits. This is a game with some pretty dang clunky platforming and combat that is wall-to-wall platforming and combat. It can be conquered, but it's overall a challenge that will frustrate more than it will feel like a fun level of challenge.

The combat is a combination of an upgradable main weapon (of which Carrie has the better between the two heroes), a much weaker secondary weapon, and then the ammo-dependent sub-weapons like the cross and axe that Castlevania knows so well. The weaker secondary weapon is so weak you'd basically never want to use it for anything except breaking a torch to try and get an item from it, and the sub-weapons are good for the range but often annoyingly weak for what they are. The main weapon isn't much good unless its upgraded, but those aren't the big problem.

The biggest problems with the combat are the lack of any Ocarina of Time lock-on feature (and OoT was out by now, so Konami has no excuse XD) as well as the awful camera that comes along with it. The C-buttons are used for things like your secondary weapons, looking around, and picking up items, so they don't control your camera. Only pressing R realigns the camera behind you OR, if you have an enemy nearby, focuses on the enemy, and you have no choice but to focus on that enemy even if you'd much rather look somewhere else by pressing R. The lock-on that is there is entirely automatic, leading to a lot of cases fighting several enemies where it can be difficult just to hit what's in front of you. The boss design is overall alright and often fun, but the combat controls never feel like anything you aren't fighting against just as much as the monsters and demons.

The stage design is overall not awful, but what DOES make the platforming awful isn't just the awkward camera, but it's also the fact that your edge grab is awful and your jumps feel quite floaty. The jumps are something you can get accustomed to, but the fact that your edge grab, an edge grab that much of the platforming in the game relies on, can at times simply decide not to work and drop you to your death. And some stages have little or no save points in them (shakes angry fist at Duel Tower), so dying from something that wasn't your fault at all to then redo a bunch of frustrating combat and platforming is a pretty common experience.

The stage design itself ranges from annoying to feeling alright, but the one stage whose design is MOST awful is the most infamous one: the alchemy tower where you need to safely deliver magical nitro through a bunch of danger without either getting hit or jumping, lest you eat immediate death. I managed to do that in one try, somehow, (which felt AWESOME, especially on stream X3), but I didn't so much feel satisfied having done it, so much as I was only relieved that the segment I thought would be a playthrough ender was finally over and done with XP

The presentation is alright for the time in terms of graphics. The humanoid models look VERY N64, but in a sort of charming, low-polygon retro aesthetic and not a particularly uncanny valley-type of 3D human modeling. Common for Konami of the 90's, however, even their not so good games have good music, and this is no exception. This game has a pretty good soundtrack composed of remixed of classic tracks as well as a few of its own, and although I'm not gonna rush to slap any of it on an MP3 player, there were several moments during the game I thought "gosh, this game has some pretty good music". As far as changes between the English and Japanese releases go, there are almost none save for the Japanese version having on-cart saves rather than requiring a controller pack to save with. Additionally, a curious thing that is identical between versions is the voice acting, which is in English in both versions.

Verdict: Not Recommended. For an N64 game, this is on the boarder of being hesitantly recommended, and it would be if Legacy of Darkness weren't just this game but good. This game's main problems stem from it being so unpolished because it was rushed out for a holiday release. Legacy of Darkness takes what are for the most part the same stages and polishes up the level design (no more alchemy tower~), platforming controls, and combat all to a degree where that game is actually fun and recommendable. If you're gonna play any N64 Castlevania at all, it should be Legacy of Darkness or nothing, because after having already played that game, this game just feels like an unfinished beta, and that's because it basically is.

The excruciating camera and hideous platforming sections ruin what could have been a pretty decent Castlevania 3D experience.

Castlevania estava num impasse no fim dos anos 90, indeciso se seguia seu estilo imaculado 2D, ou tentava algo novo com o recém-chegado 3D. Então por que não tentar logo os dois?
Enquanto o PS1 ficou com o joguin 2D que ninguém deu bola, o N64 ficou com a grande chance de apresentar ao mundo Catlevania 3D, onde você finalmente pode.... jogar com uma garotinha Anime ao invés de um brutamontes com um barbante. Aí está sua inovação.

No mais, o jogo é uma aventura 3D típica da época que não faz nada de extraordinário, só é muito difícil, não tem as músicas que lembram Castlevania, e o controle pode te deixar na mão várias vezes. Principalmente pra infame missão de carregar Nitroglicerina e explosivos separadamente até paredes quebradas para explodir elas.

Eles tentaram contar uma narrativa nesse jogo, mas só fez parecer que queriam levar a sério um cenário onde esqueletos com motocicletas te atacam e outros com bombas na cabeça saem correndo desesperado atrás de você pra apagar o pavio.

sei que a nota é muito alta pq o jogo em si é medíocre "até" para a época mas ele tem o carisma de um castlevania, que me atrai muito a ele


Severely underrated. This is not a bad game in the slightest. Obviously, compared to SotN, it's not good. But standing on it's own, it's a solid 3D action platformer with some cool ideas.

Much like Simon's Quest it isn't as bad as it's reputation makes it out to be, however that doesn't stop it from being just regular bad.

By far my hottest take of the series. I'm slightly biased towards the N64 but this game is legitimately perfectly fine. It's definitely a bit janky and the combat is terrible, but I genuinely don't see why this game gets all the hate over other games of the era with the exact same issues. And let's not ignore the things that this game does well. The atmosphere is the best in the series, full stop. Like, it's amazing, and it's only enhanced further by the soundtrack (which is beautiful at times). That's the game's main appeal and I'm personally a huge sucker for good atmosphere, so I enjoyed my time here and expect Legacy of Darkness to fix the other issues.

Castlevania is the second franchise to join the "it had a rough transition to 3D, without actually being a rough transition" after sonic.

Castlevania 64 combines a pretty simple but enjoyable combat system which wants you to balance long range whip strikes with close range sword slashes when pressured, a really cool dynamic between its two attacks, and the classic vania subweapons return to help. This game's cutscenes are cute, and manage to be genuinely funny, like meeting an overcompensating vampire hunter, a sharply dressed demon merchant, as well as some others. Goofy aah to be sure, but very charming.

Platforming is kinda fun, as the jump gives you a good boost of speed and feels pretty smooth. However the ledge grabbing mechanic is pretty inconsistent, and it's often paired with death pits forcing you to reload your save (or the much more convenient option of emulator save states)

Only other major criticism I'd have would be its pretty lax difficulty, and short length.

This is great. I spent all these years hearing about how terrible it was, and I have to assume most of it was from folk regurgitating AVGN patter without playing it. Same thing they did for Simon's Quest.

I was tearing up when Reinhardt prayed for Rosa's soul. How could I hate this?

It's a great game idc what anyone says

I have to imagine that a lot of the antagonistic attitudes toward this brisk, attractive, moody adventure are performative echoes of that old AVGN video. The camera is fiddly, sure, but anyone with the medium literacy to seek out and play a game like this in 2023 should be able to figure out how to tame it within the first hour. The widespread complaining about the Nitro part, though... I cannot shout SKILL ISSUE loudly enough. Shit is not hard!!! (Incidentally, anyone still taking AVGN seriously in 2023 has a skill issue of a more cognitive kind.)

They call her Carrie because she carries the game with her kite goddess tech. I am subtracting half a star though because her second costume is just a pretext for preteen panties.

CASTLEVANIA MARATHON- 11/22

dog weiner

The fact that this came out after Symphony of the Night is jaw-dropping. It kinda sucks.

Next- Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Previous- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

é um jogo ruim, mas não é tão ruim assim, simon's quest é bem mais torturante

A lot of promise! the combat is neat. The platforming is so bad it's good until try 4 then it's time to turn off emulator.

"Cool to check out in emulator for hour" - tier

A lot clunkier, a lot less polished, but so is your mom and I still love her.

Me lembro de ver vários vídeos criticando o jogo, dizendo que ele era o pior castlevania e tal. Até ver o vídeo do sr. Wilson, que foi uma opinião diferente das já vista, então depois do vídeo dele, eu decidi dar uma chance para castle 64... e não foi tão ruim.

É até engraçado como uma fase ruim pode ser capaz de destruir um jogo, e acho que esse foi o maior erro dele foi ter uma única fase ruim. Claro, tinha aquela dos elevadores que eram uma merda, mas o combate não era uma droga, não ótimo, e sim funcional. O real problema na jogabilidade era o sistema de dia e noite, que pode ocasionar em um final ruim, sinceramente, eu achei ele bem desnecessário para o jogo, parece que foi feito para enrolar.

A trilha sonora apesar de não ser animada quanto os outros castlevania, eu gostei dela, principalmente a "castle wall" e a "underground tunnel", são músicas lentas que possui um épico pico de sinfonia, me fazem lembrar de strange journey.

Se você não tem tanta paciência com jogos antigos, esse tu vai odiar, porém se está acostumado com esse tipo de jogo, castlevania 64 pode até ser divertido! Acho que se não fosse pela maldita fase da bomba, muita gente teria uma opinião mista sobre ele... ou continuaria odiando pelo boss final ser ruim.

Un combate soso con un apuntado de objetivos automático terrible, control sobre el personaje bastante irregular teniendo que posicionarte de cierta forma para hacer buenos saltos y no morir junto a la cámara que no se puede acomodar de forma manual ni automática para ayudarte en la perspectiva del plataformeo o combate; Todo esto mientras se muestran en pantalla visuales muy pobres (incluso para la época) con animaciones rígidas, demasiada niebla que limita el rango de visión del entorno que en ciertas ocasiones resultan confusos para la exploración al haber muchos sitios similares entre si.
Al menos el juego puede presumir de tener una buena dirección artística y ambientación dando ese sentimiento gótico y de horror medieval que es acompañado perfectamente por las composiciones del juego, así como tener ciertas ideas interesantes que no se explotan por completo como las puertas que solo se abren a cierta hora del día. En conclusión, al menos lo intentaron pero es un juego que resulta aburrido y frustrante, aunque esta la calavera motorizada viajera del tiempo por lo que le doy un 20/10

AVGN was absolutely LYING about this one, what the hell. Castlevania 64 is great! Tons of fun and charm.

It does have its shortcomings, of course. Textures look a little rough, some heavy slowdown in certain areas, cutscenes tend to go on for a little long with nothing happening, and respawning enemies can get sort of annoying. That said, CV64 has motorcycle skeletons, so It's a 5/5 by default.

In all seriousness, I love that this game isn't trying to be a 3D Metroidvania; you progress through stages, mowing down skeletons, zombies and vampires in a pretty linear fashion. There are a few instances of backtracking like the infamous Nitro+Mandragora section(which is NOT NEARLY AS BAD as the aforementioned nerd made them out to be), but for the most part things keep moving forward. After leaving an area you never really visit it again, indicated by a pause and your health refilling before the screen transition. It doesn't take very long to beat either; short but sweet, offering a bit of variety with exclusive levels for both characters.

Combat takes a little bit of time to learn, but once you do, it works pretty well considering the tech at the time. Some people say that Carrie is the easier character to play as since she has a homing projectile, but I had no issues with Reinhardt.

Despite the super blurry textures, CV64 has atmosphere for days. This game perfectly captures the kind of "spooky vibe" that early Castlevania games were going for. The same could be said for the music; like CV4, it's very lowkey instead bringing the energetic vibe usually found in the other games.

If you're willing to put up with its janky spots, Castlevania 64 is a keeper.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention the time mechanic! CV64 works on a day/night cycle. It's.............. unnecessary. I feel like the game would be better off without it.

Janky but in a fun way. Reminds me a lot of King's Field.

Zerei as duas campanhas. Os meus sentimentos em relação a esse jogo são mistos, ele foi divertido para mim mas as partes divertidas não compensam o tamanho de problemas e bullshits que tem nesse jogo.

Eu diria que vale a pena jogar apenas se você é realmente fã da franquia, se não pode passar longe, não vai perder muito. Porém, estou ansioso para ver como será sua sequência (lançada no mesmo ano, diga-se de passagem).

I've only played this game as Carrie, so this is a review of her side of the game. This is quite the rough passage to 3D for the franchise.

Castlevania 64 has its fair share of problems. Unintuitive controls, prime early-3D camera problems, confusing level design coupled with very similar-looking areas in a lot of said levels, and very basic bosses that can be beaten with the same strategy with very little thought for what's going on (charging Carrie's homing attack and running in circles around the boss). The game has a wonky camera and weird controls, yet expects you to perform tight platforming all the same, sometimes with enemies around; oftentimes, it will feel more frustrating than hard.

The soundtrack, while good, couldn't really carry the game for me. Still, it has checkpoints in good places most of the time and while it can be frustrating, the player is usually given a chance to retry not too long afterwards. It still has the heart of a Castlevania game, but it lacks polish and love.


Tá longe de ser o pior Castlevania de todos, passei mais raiva com o The Adventure do que com esse. O 64 ainda me fez soltar risadas de muitas coisas (tipo a caveira de moto e a missão de levar uma bomba que explode ao pular ou ser atacado). Só desisti porque, pra minha surpresa, o jogo só vai até a metade caso você jogue no modo fácil e, sendo sincero, não acho que vale a pena recomeçar tudo de novo pelo modo normal só pra, enfim, continuar e zerar o jogo.

This game sure has some staunch defenders and I think I somewhat understand where they're coming from. The music is a lot more atmospheric compared to other Castlevania OSTs and, uh actually, that's about all I got. It's not as bad as a lot of its detractors say it is, but it's not this misunderstood gem either.

As is (mostly) standard for early 3D games, the camera is a mess at points, usually at times when you don't want it to get fucky. The biggest cause of death in this game isn't the enemies or bosses, it's the one-two combo of the camera and jumping into poisonous water/bottomless pits. Speaking of the enemies, they feel mostly uninspired (except for the skeleton bikers, they're rad). The bosses were quite pathetic, I literally threw axes at Dracula's face, and he couldn't do a thing.

There are two playable characters, Reinhardt and Carrie. I was originally going to play through both campaigns but after finishing Reinhardt's hollow story I opted out of doing so. Carrie is supposed to be the "easy mode" of the game, so if you're curious enough to play this, then it's probably in your best interest to go with her instead. On the subject of easy mode, if you want to see this game through to the end, then select normal difficulty after choosing your file. The game will end early after finishing the Castle Center level.

I actually had this game as a kid, and I know for a fact I never really got much further than the Castle Wall level. I remember the big skeleton boss in the first level and that's about it. I must have shut it off after falling into the poison river one too many times and switched over to Mario 64 or Pokémon Stadium instead. It's not awful, but it's also not good and I even struggle to call it mediocre since I felt almost nothing playing this. From what I hear, Legacy of Darkness is a better experience and retroactively makes this one obsolete, so you should probably just ignore this one altogether.