Ghosts of N64 Week: Castlevania 64

Welcome back lovers of byte and graphics to Day 3 of Ghosts of N64 Week.  Today we tackle a title franchise from Konami (Frogger, Contra, Gradius, Metal Gear, Silent Hill and Dance Dance Revolution)  and join in the quest to eliminate (yet again) the minions of evil and their master Dracula for the umpteenth billionth time but this time with the option of playing two different protagonists Carrie Fernadez a sorceress and Reinhardt Schneider, heir to the Belmont clan of the Castlevania legacy.  Bringing about the more realistic graphics of yesteryear in the N64 creation our heroes visit these horror stricken lands and must right these many wrongs.  This is Castlevania 64.

CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT, SHUT UP!!!

For nearly sixty years of isolation, chained in his coffin, Dracula reemerges to bring about his destructive wrath.  The year is 1852 and our two heroes sense his arrival and head to the Transylvanian lands of Wallachia to do battle.   Meeting with Charles Vincent an elder vampire hunter in his fifties (God only knows how he has lived this long in this profession), Rosa a freshly turned vampire that does not seek to be evil and Renon I think is supposed to be some demon salesman lead our heroes into this dilapidated villa and volunteer to show them a secret path through Dracula's estate garden maze to an underground path to the castle.

 Before they can make their way through, Dracula's lackeys Death and Actrise try to pit the heroes versus these new-found friends.  Carrie must dispatch her own family now turned vampires while Reinhardt destroys Rosa and then it is up level by level to the castle keep.    Will our heroes reach Dracula in his still weaken condition or will they succumb to the dark prince's powers?

AHHH!! I have 90's superhero shoulderpads!!!

And now just a few comments on the game and gameplay.   This follows the typical action adventure platform with decent enough controls but the camera angles giving the 3D experience is a little wonky so keeping track of enemies is all based on which target gets captured by the recital.  Cycling through additional weapons, acquiring treasures and secondary weapons are easy enough to understand, it is just remembering if you haven't played in a bit can be a hassle.  With the real feel of a story line opening up we get to learn more about the characters in this game than we have the entire franchise up to this point.   With the ability of alternative costumes improving your game either character is acceptable to play unlike that of Nightmare Creatures because the monk was slower than Congress on public opinion.

I like the introduction to a story rather than just slaying monsters because they are evil aspect.  We get a handle on both Carrie and Reinhardt and show they are not infallible and human to the core.  For Reinhardt, he is carrying on a legacy he is loosely attached too, while Carrie is avenging her family that was used as tools for her destruction and Dracula's amusement. This game also shows real time events based on the speed and alacrity that the player has, puzzle solving and even in-depth exploration providing hours of entertainment and frustration.

 I have also noticed a bit of confusion to this title mixing it up with another Castlevania title called Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness.  That particular game is more rare and harder to find and it may use the same graphic engine and levels of its predecessor it is a different game altogether with a different lead character and story arc not commonly stemmed away from the Belmont clan.

How are skeletons beating me up?? They have no muscle to back it up!