Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness

Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
North American box art
Developer(s)	Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe
Publisher(s)	Konami
Director(s)	Yuji Shibata
Producer(s)	Etsunobu Ebisu
Writer(s)	Takeo Yakushiji Koichi Yagi
Composer(s)	Masahiko Kimura
Series	Castlevania
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64
Release	NA:December 8, 1999 JP:December 25, 1999 EU:March 3, 2000
Genre(s)	Action-adventure,platform
Mode(s)	Single-player

Castlevania: Legacy of Darknessis a 1999action-adventure gamedeveloped and published byKonamifor theNintendo 64.Aprequeland expanded version ofCastlevania,also released on the Nintendo 64 earlier the same year,it contains a remake of the original game with improved graphics, added villains, and alternate versions of some levels.

Gameplay

Cornell can transform into a werewolf and use his claws to attack.Legacy of Darknessfeatures3Dgameplay.

A large part of the game's challenge is based on jumping from platform to platform while avoiding environmental hazards, such as enemies and traps. Platforms are usually stationary, but some may rotate out from under the player, move through the environment like a rail shooter, and crumble or fall away underfoot. There are some invisible platforms that either afford players a strategic advantage or lead to hidden items.

Castlevaniaincludes elements from thesurvival horrorgame genre. In addition to the trappings and narrative devices of Gothic horror, players are often placed in situations that evoke feelings of stress, anxiety, and vulnerability. Players may be trapped in caged fights with monsters, such as the battle with the Cerberus hounds in the Villa when the screen darkens to near-black. Some caged battles are timed, such as the boss battles in the Duel Tower level, where the player will be crushed by a falling ceiling should they not best their enemy in time. Vampires are often fought in caged environments, with the added complication that they can latch onto Carrie, Cornell, Henry and Reinhardt to suck their blood. If the player does not break free by rapidly rotating the control stick, the character's status changes to "vamp" and they will not be able to use their primary weapon or healing items. Unless a specific item is used to recover, the game becomes exponentially more challenging.Legacy of Darknessfeatures two high-stakes survival horror sequences: In the Villa's maze garden, players must help Henry through the labyrinthine hedges while strong, unbeatable enemies give chase. In the Castle Center, players must carefully carry the "magic nitro" item through a nerve-wracking obstacle course to its destination. One fall or hit can cause the volatile chemical to explode, resulting in immediate death.

Plot

Set in the year 1844, the game stars the man-beast Cornell in his quest to prevent his adoptive sister, Ada, from being used as a sacrifice to resurrectDracula.The game opens as Cornell arrives at his village, which has been burned to the ground by Dracula's minions. He finds Ada's pendant in a doorway and follows her scent to Dracula's castle.

During the course of the game, Cornell comes upon a grand estate owned by the Oldrey family: J.A. Oldrey, the master of the Villa, Mary, his wife, and Henry, their son.Gilles de Raisand Actrise have turned Oldrey Senior into a vampire. At Mary's request, Cornell guides Henry to safety. Later in life, Henry returns to Castlevania to save kidnapped children.

Throughout the game, Cornell encounters his rival and fellow man-beast, Ortega. Ortega has allied himself with Dracula to finally beat Cornell in combat, turning into a chimera like creature. They eventually battle near the end of the game, just before Cornell defeats Dracula and saves his sister. He only accomplishes the latter by sacrificing his man-wolf powers. Unbeknownst to the hero, acquiring this power was the true aim of the dark forces, as it was the perfect sacrifice (not Ada, as Cornell had assumed) to resurrect Dracula at his full power.

Development

Legacy of Darknessis a continuation of Konami's first attempt ofCastlevania,also published in 1999 to create a3DCastlevania.For example, Cornell was present in early development media and press information forCastlevania,but was ultimately removed before the game's release.

Legacy of Darkness's primary focus is on a new story (aprequelto Carrie and Reinhardt's adventures) in which Cornell explores new levels, as well as redesigned levels fromCastlevania.Levels fromCastlevaniathat have not been drastically changed (such as the Villa) are often navigated in a new or novel manner and feature different puzzles. Completing the game once unlocks Henry's quest, and he explores his own set of levels and new bosses. Many are redesigned levels fromCastlevania.

Carrie and Reinhardt's quests are a secondary focus (bonus features), that can only be unlocked after completing both Cornell and Henry's quests. Carrie and Reinhardt's quests lack the voice acting, some cutscenes and the original level designs present inCastlevania(due to space concerns), instead adopting the new level designs (from Cornell and Henry's quests). Their quests also feature new bosses from Henry's quest, such asMedusaand the Queen of the Spider. They are also given new armor and weapon designs, though the original starting armor fromCastlevaniacan be unlocked during Henry's quest.

InLegacy of Darknesscontrol of the game's characters, camera, and frame-rate were streamlined. The game supports the Nintendo 64'sExpansion Pakadd-on, which allows for an option in which textures are displayed in a higher resolution. However, this mode has some frame-rate issues.

Castlevania: Legacy of Darknesswas present within the series' original chronology from its original release until 2002, when a timeline published on the official JapaneseCastlevania: Harmony of Dissonancewebsite omitted it – as well as several otherCastlevaniagames – from the series' continuity.The others also includedCastlevania Legendsfor theGame Boy,Castlevania: Circle of the Moonand the originalCastlevaniarelease for theNintendo 64.

In 2006, series producerKoji Igarashistated that "These games were taken out of the timeline [...] not because I didn't work on them, but because they were considered by their directors to be side projects in the series".Since the 2002 removal, the events ofLegacy of Darknesshave occupied an ambiguous place in timelines published by Konami of Japan, Konami of America, and various gaming publications. The most recent English language timeline, distributed with preordered versions ofCastlevania: Portrait of Ruinin North America by Konami of America, includesLegacy of Darknessbut does not describe the game's plot.Igarashi later clarified that he looks at the titles as "...aCastlevania"gaiden" (subseries) "and complimented them by stating"...they both have a really unique take on theCastlevaniaworld. "

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	64%

Review scores

Publication	Score
AllGame
CNET Gamecenter	8/10
Consoles +	83%
Electronic Gaming Monthly	7.25/10
Famitsu	28/40
Game Informer	5.25/10
GameFan	89%
GameSpot	7.3/10
Hyper	78%
IGN	6.8/10
N64 Magazine	75%
Next Generation
Nintendo Power	7.2/10

Legacy of Darknessreceived mixed reviews according to thereview aggregationwebsiteGameRankings.Blake Fischer ofNextGensaid of the game, "Legacy of Mediocrityis more like it, at least in 3D. We hope the next installment onDreamcastwill be better, but until then, this is satisfactory. "The planned Dreamcast game,Castlevania Resurrection,was eventually canceled.In Japan,Famitsugave it a score of 28 out of 40.

The Freshman ofGameProsaid in one review that the game was "basically what the N64'sCastlevaniawas meant to be. It's more of a remake than a sequel, as if you're being asked to forget the one before ever happened. If futureCastlevania3D games can build on the good things about this one (and leave out the bad), then maybe the series can have a bright future after all. "Boba Fatt, however, said of the game in another review, "Legacyis bigger, but it isn't better. Even with four characters, the gameplay bites the big one. It's not worth a second look fromCastlevaniafans, or even a first look from newbies. "

In 2012, Tim Turi ofGame Informerfelt that the werewolf form was interesting but not enough to make it a good game.

Time Extensionplaced the game 19th on its list of rankedCastlevaniagames: "While having another storyline to play through is welcome,Legacy of Darknessdoesn't do a great deal to correct what was wrong withCastlevania 64,and the attempts it does make at providing something superior – such as support for the N64's RAM upgrade for higher resolution – are undone; the game's frame rate tanks when the RAM pak is installed, making it hard to play. "

External links

• Castlevania: Legacy of DarknessatMobyGames