This overview was initially printed in October 2012. We’re updating and republishing it to mark the sport’s arrival within the Nintendo Change On-line Sport Boy library.
The percentages had been stacked towards Castlevania Legends nearly from the beginning. When it was launched in the direction of the tip of the ’90s, it had the near-impossible process of following Castlevania: Symphony of the Evening – a recreation which had revitalised Konami’s gothic collection and received widespread vital acclaim.
So as to add to the heady degree of expectation, it was one of many first video games from Konami’s fledgling (and now defunct) Nagoya studio, which might later code the commendable however in the end inferior Sega Saturn port of Symphony of the Evening. Another excuse followers needed to be excited was the sport’s standing because the sequel to the incredible Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge, arguably among the best motion titles on the console. And at last, it was one of many final big-name monochrome Sport Boy video games earlier than the system was usurped by its successor, the Sport Boy Shade.
Given this mixture of circumstances, it is maybe unsurprising that Castlevania followers anticipated one thing large, however they had been left feeling bitterly dissatisfied.
Positioned as an origin story and notable for being the ‘first’ Castlevania journey when it comes to chronology (till the discharge of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence in 2003, a minimum of), Castlevania Legends sees a feminine Belmont assume the lead function for the primary time within the historical past of the franchise. Sonia Belmont makes a constructive first impression, she’s able to altering course mid-jump and may even crawl while crouching, one thing that was solely beforehand doable in Tremendous Castlevania IV. Outfitted with the trademark whip — which will be powered up by gathering particular objects — Sonia seems like a real Belmont, a minimum of.
One other neat contact is the truth that Dracula’s troubled offspring, Alucard, makes an look as an end-of-level boss, his intention being to not hurt the heroine, however to check her mettle to make sure she’s as much as the duty of taking up his villainous father. One thing which is quite much less welcome is the insinuation through the finish credit that Alucard is Trevor Belmont’s father, and due to this fact all the Belmont bloodline is definitely part-vampire – arguably one of many key causes that Castlevania Legends has since been faraway from the official timeline of the franchise.
Visually, Castlevania Legends is a large number. From the barren and repetitive backgrounds to the unimpressive sprites (solely a handful of which possess greater than two frames of animation), the sport seems downright amateurish. In comparison with the sensible presentation of Belmont’s Revenge, the drop in high quality is surprising – much more so when you think about {that a} staggering seven years separates the 2 titles. Given the superb developments made in Sport Boy improvement by corporations like Uncommon through the center of the last decade, it is nearly unforgivable that Castlevania Legends was launched within the Sport Boy’s twilight years.
Regardless of some tight and responsive management, the gameplay does not do a lot to win you over, both. Castlevania Legends seems to have been created by any individual who has solely the vaguest grasp of recreation design. Ranges are constructed in such a way that enemies usually fall off excessive, unseen platforms and land immediately onto your character, providing you with no time to react. Elsewhere, platforms are organized nearly at random, which makes selecting out a secure route a case of luck quite than ability. Couple these issues with some crippling slowdown and the sport turns into even more durable to take pleasure in.
Additionally, for some inexplicable purpose, Konami Nagoya determined to incorporate particular ‘lure’ rooms, which might solely be escaped by defeating a collection of re-spawning enemies. Your reward for surviving this irritating onslaught? Freedom from the room, and nothing else. By the point you have fallen foul of those traps (a few of that are unavoidable, whereas others are triggered by whipping candles which look similar to all the opposite candles within the recreation) for the third or fourth time, you may be near hurling your Sport Boy on the nearest wall in disgust.
The frustration does not finish there, although. Enemies mechanically respawn, so in case you backtrack (as you usually need to do, as the sport options many useless ends) you may need to battle them over again. Within the pursuits of preserving you in your toes, this could possibly be seen as a profit. Nonetheless, there are moments once you’ll need to struggle the identical enemy repeatedly as a result of it knocks you backwards, and by the point you have killed it and are able to advance once more, it has respawned proper on the sting of the display screen.
To counter this horrible recreation design, Konami Nagoya took a drastic method. As a substitute of rebalancing the issue, the studio merely added an ‘straightforward’ setting within the type of the Mild Mode. Right here, your whip is completely at its fullest energy, making issues slightly simpler. In case you ever really feel the necessity to ignore this overview and expertise the sport for your self, Mild Mode is the way in which to take action because it’s barely much less possible to present you hypertension.
Whereas the sport itself is usually shoddy, Konami Nagoya ought to a minimum of be recommended for trying to think about some new parts. In a controversial transfer, the sub-weapon system has been eliminated completely, changed by a spell mechanic. These ‘Soul-weapons’ devour hearts — identical to the normal sub-weapons — however you get a brand new one upon the completion of every degree. The long-lasting sub-weapons have not been utterly forgotten, nevertheless – they’re hidden as collectable objects all through the sport, and are one of many fundamental causes the levels have so many branching pathways and useless ends.
One other addition in Castlevania Legends is ‘Burning Mode’, which will be activated as soon as per degree and briefly turns Sonia into an invincible, flame-covered harbinger of loss of life. Greatest saved for the tough boss encounters (that are made much more difficult by the truth that you possibly can by no means see how a lot well being the boss has remaining), Burning Mode is a neat function, however it feels prefer it’s there to stability out the unfair problem greater than anything.
The Castlevania collection is famed for the excessive customary of its music, however except for a stirring variation on the basic Bloody Tears for the opening degree, Castlevania Legends’ soundtrack is without doubt one of the most jarringly discordant we have but witnessed on the Sport Boy. Once more, that is in stark distinction to the music featured in Belmont’s Revenge, which managed to beat the constraints of the {hardware} to ship basic, toe-tapping tunes. Regrettably, Castlevania Legends is without doubt one of the few titles within the lineage that you will need to play with the amount turned proper down.
When Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi expunged Castlevania Legends from the ‘canon’ timeline in 2002, he admitted that the sport was one thing of a humiliation. Whereas one may assume his stance was largely as a result of the truth that he did not personally oversee the manufacturing of the title, it is onerous to disagree together with his opinion. Castlevania Legends is a shambling mess of a recreation which very practically plunges to the depths beforehand charted by the equally hateful Castlevania: The Journey. Do not be sucked in by the identify; that is finest prevented.
Conclusion
After the chic Belmont’s Revenge, Castlevania followers deserved one thing actually particular to see off the collection on the Sport Boy. Sadly, they obtained Castlevania Legends as an alternative. Poorly-designed, atrociously scored, and usually missing any of the polish we have come to count on from Konami’s well-known vampire-slaying collection, it is an inauspicious finish to a conveyable trilogy that solely has one worthwhile entry: the aforementioned second title. Do not be fooled by the sport’s steadily-increasing worth on websites like eBay — that is collectable solely for its identify alone, not for the sport itself.
