N64 A 2nd chance for Castlevania 64

[Majora Fi]

Considering the divisive nature of original game, was "Legacy of Darkness" a good idea or just a waste of time and money?

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

I haven't really played them myself, but someone's whose opinion I deeply value told me that "Legacy of Darkness" was Konami acknowledging that the first game was a hot mess and trying to do things right.

It apparently improves upon the original a whole lot, but I fail to see exactly how (at least on the surface level).

 

[Majora Fi]

I haven't really played them myself, but someone's whose opinion I deeply value told me that "Legacy of Darkness" was Konami acknowledging that the first game was a hot mess and trying to do things right.

It apparently improves upon the original a whole lot, but I fail to see exactly how (at least on the surface level).

I also see Legacy as a hot mess because you're forced to complete DLC to unlock the base campaign

 

[SamanthaSamantha's icon]

I also see Legacy as a hot mess because you're forced to complete DLC to unlock the base campaign

Offfff. That's rough.

I can't help but thinking that someone at Konami got the memos mixed up: Castlevania 64/LoD would have probably worked a whole lot better on the much faster Playstation 1, whereas "Symphony of the Night" could have probably taken advantage of how the N64 drew sprites and refreshed the screen.

Food for thought... maybe.

 

[Majora Fi]

Offfff. That's rough.

I can't help but thinking that someone at Konami got the memos mixed up: Castlevania 64/LoD would have probably worked a whole lot better on the much faster Playstation 1, whereas "Symphony of the Night" could have probably taken advantage of how the N64 drew sprites and refreshed the screen.

Food for thought... maybe.

Symphony's CGI cutscenes have aged poorly, so I'd bet on the N64 as well.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Heck nah, i appreciate what the game tried to do, bringing 3D to the series before the PS2, but the controls aged poorly and the camera makes the one of Mario 64 looks like Rayman 2 or Banjo Kazooie, also some levels has BS requirements (Nitro plant anyone?) and the time limit tied good ending feels less like a tense challenge and more like punishing a player for controls they had no blame for

 

[G.L.a.D.O.S.]

They aren't so much of a hot mess, like say Superman 64, and this was the birth of 3D console gaming. So I give these two Castlevanias leeway for that.
As an aside, Mario came out roughly three years before, and 3D was still in its infancy. A game like Castlevania at that time didn't adapt well to 3D. It does now, as best as I can tell, though I haven't played any new 3D Castlevania games since Lament of Innocence on the PS2.

And it wasn't a bad game. Not great by any stretch of the word, but it controlled fine and was a fairly good entry in the series. So no, I don't think the N64 Castlevanias are awful. For the time, considering the hardware and the fact that it was new territory,

I think they're perfectly fine games, again, for what they are.