Castlevania is one of my favorite series (Even though I haven't played SotN yet), but they've been traditionally a 2D franchise, and its 3D games before this one varied from awful to barely passable. So I wasn't sure what to expect once I got to this. But as things turned out, it's not bad at all!
Sure, this game has aged a lot in some areas, it's a game from over 20 years ago. Main problems include the camera being fixed but not always looking at you, having only a few combos (Not great in a character action game) and little synergy between them, enemies having lots of clones and calling them new (With only one or two new attacks), and some annoying boss fights (Nothing unbearable until the lastand the secret boss).
Other than those things, it's a solid game. Instead of being an RPG, Konami chose to make it a character action game, likely riding the Devil May Cry wave (Which I'm sure this game is inspired on). You still have level ups like in previous Castlevanias but it's less prevalent than before.
Gameplay is decent, and you're back to only using the whip and special attacks like in ye olden days, camera may be a drawback and platforming may be annoying sometimes, but overall it's not that bad. For the time it was made, I don't think this game looks bad at all, and places all have the looks and feels of a Castlevania.
That's an important fact: This game feels like Castlevania. The level design is simple and the "metroidvania" aspects aren't used as much as previous games, but from the art direction to the music (Which I really liked by the way) and enemies, it's very distinctly a Castlevania game. This is important, because Castlevania has an atmosphere that few games can replicate, even the sequel to this game, Curse of Darkness, while overall a superior experience, doesn't quite feel right for the franchise (In my opinion, of course).
It's quite a decent game for its time, and I enjoyed it, though by the end I was kinda glad I was done with it. If you like PS2-era character action games, or the Castlevania franchise, give it a try, it can be annoying sometimes but it's not a waste of your time.
SCORE: 6.5/10
Sure, this game has aged a lot in some areas, it's a game from over 20 years ago. Main problems include the camera being fixed but not always looking at you, having only a few combos (Not great in a character action game) and little synergy between them, enemies having lots of clones and calling them new (With only one or two new attacks), and some annoying boss fights (Nothing unbearable until the last
Other than those things, it's a solid game. Instead of being an RPG, Konami chose to make it a character action game, likely riding the Devil May Cry wave (Which I'm sure this game is inspired on). You still have level ups like in previous Castlevanias but it's less prevalent than before.
Gameplay is decent, and you're back to only using the whip and special attacks like in ye olden days, camera may be a drawback and platforming may be annoying sometimes, but overall it's not that bad. For the time it was made, I don't think this game looks bad at all, and places all have the looks and feels of a Castlevania.
That's an important fact: This game feels like Castlevania. The level design is simple and the "metroidvania" aspects aren't used as much as previous games, but from the art direction to the music (Which I really liked by the way) and enemies, it's very distinctly a Castlevania game. This is important, because Castlevania has an atmosphere that few games can replicate, even the sequel to this game, Curse of Darkness, while overall a superior experience, doesn't quite feel right for the franchise (In my opinion, of course).
It's quite a decent game for its time, and I enjoyed it, though by the end I was kinda glad I was done with it. If you like PS2-era character action games, or the Castlevania franchise, give it a try, it can be annoying sometimes but it's not a waste of your time.
SCORE: 6.5/10