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Castlevania - Nintendo 64

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: May 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Extremely difficult to play unless you're an expert.Great graphics.Problem with this video game is that it does get old after maybe an hour or so.Many levels to conquer.I'd only recommend this game to those who have plenty of patience.You know,the SAME kind of patience you need to have while on Ebay just waiting for a posted item's time to run out while them other 'have no-life' buyers often snipe the item YOU wanted SO badly in the last fifteen seconds.That kind of patience.

Much better than people give it credit for being

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: May 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

In 1996, when Nintendo released the Nintendo 64, fans of Nintendo and Konami alike were wondering, "when is there going to be a Nintendo 64 Castlevania game?" Many screenshots of the forthcoming game filled Nintendo Power magazine, but numerous delays continues to occur. Finally in 1999, the game got released. Many fans of the series tend to bash this game, and many tend to praise it. Who is right? Read on for my review of Castlevania 64.

PROS:
-THE GAME PLAYS LIKE THE CLASSIC NES GAMES, ONLY IN THREE DIMENSIONS. If you're one of those people who just likes a straight-up action/adventure title with some puzzle elements thrown in to keep things fresh, this is an excellent game for you.
-YOU GET A CHOICE OF TWO CHARACTERS. As always, there's the typical descendant of the Belmont family. And the second character this time around is a young female magic user, probably the ancestor of Sypha Belnades from Castlevania III. Both characters have their own strengths and weaknesses, and each one explores some areas that the other one doesn't.
-IN THIS GAME, YOU CAN UPGRADE YOUR SECONDARY WEAPONS IN ADDITION TO YOUR PRIMARY ONES! If you pick up more than one of a secondary weapon, you will make it more powerful! This is an awesome idea, and it's a shame other games in the series didn't make use of it.
-EACH CHARACTER HAS TWO ENDINGS. Depending on how long you take to complete the game, you'll encounter one of two endings.
-YOU CAN OBTAIN MONEY AND USE IT TO PURCHASE GOODS. In most Castlevania games, money bags just give you a few points. Not true here. In this game they actually use a money system! This was used by some other entries in the series, and the ones that used it benefited greatly from it.

CONS:
-THE PLAY CONTROL ISN'T TOO GOOD. This is mostly Nintendo's fault and not Konami's, because of the godawful Nintendo 64 controller (what exactly were the guys in Nintendo's R&D department smoking when they developed that thing?) You may want to get a third-party controller if you decide to play this game, accordingly.
-BOTH CHARACTERS HAVE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME STORYLINE. Basically, if you beat the game with one character, and you go through and beat it with the other, don't be expecting anything drastically different (other than a few different levels.)
-THE GRAPHICS ARE A RATHER PATHETIC ATTEMPT AT A FULL THREE DIMENSIONS. THE Nintendo 64 never really made any graphical process in its five active years, and here it really shows.
-THE SEQUEL, LEGACY OF DARKNESS, RENDERS THIS GAME OBSOLETE. Basically, Legacy has everything this game has and more!

OVERALL:
Overall this is a good game, and it's definitely better than people say. However, it's not great by any means, and I really only recommend it to Nintendo 64 owners - this game is NOT good enough to buy the system for, though. Take my advice and pass on this one, and go directly to Legacy Of Darkness, the sequel - you won't be missing anything.

Castlevania Mania

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: October 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game in my opinion is the best of all the castlevania series so far except maybe legacy of darkness. The soundtrack is awesome. The graphics are very well done and it gives you a sense of being there and actually relaying the fear instead of being dull and boring. Also you have to at least rent this game the cinema scenes are awesome!

Castlevania 64 - A New Way Of Castlevania

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Now if you are a fan or those 2-D games and stuff like that, you probably will think this is a disgrace for the N64. I thought this game was awesome. Especially the beginning, Forest Of Silence! The music and sound effects are great and the game story is good. The controls may take a while to get used to but if you like games with a challenge, get this. I think that fighting skeletons gets boring after a while but I think when you get to higher levels, (I'm not sure of this) there will be more vicious enemies to fight for your pleasure. I thought the game could have been a little more...well....diverse and detailed, but where I am now, is awesome! I have to say, I bought this at Fucoland and I had no idea I would like it this much. I rented it once before and I hated it because it was so hard. Really, I just didn't put my mind to it and look where I am now. I'm in the 1st castle! This is a great action-RPG game that will keep you hooked for hours. I would recommend that 10 and up should play this game because of the theme and the bloody scenes. There isn't much of a story to this game but for me, that's okay. But for serious gamers (I think I am but this game is so good that I don't really care about the story) you might be a little ticked off because of the lack of story. There many levels for you to get through and they all take a long time. The Forest Of Silence took me about 3 hours to figure everything out (no cheats no guide no nothing). There are two charaters to chose from. Reinhart and a girl (I forgot her name). Now Reinhart has a sword and a whip to fight off enemies and to destroy other things. I think he is better than the girl because he has a stronger weapon. The girl has a energy ball that takes 2 seconds to charge up. I don't like that because if an enemy is comming towards you, you have to charge. She also has these two....rings they look like. She uses that to slice things, just like Reinhart's sword. There are two modes you can go through. Easy and Normal. Normal is not that hard but there is quite a difference between that and easy. There are some options that you can do like the controls and stuff. As I mentioned before, their isn't much of a storyline but when you start the game, there is some. So that makes the game better. Be prepared to do a lot of jumping.

Overall, this game has great sound effects, music, weapons, items, charaters, abilities, an okay storyline, excellent graphics and just a really good play!

Ugh, and that's a Castlevania fan's opinion!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: June 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Konami took a bold step into 3-D with this Castlevania installment for the 64. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to expectations, which part of it is because it wasn't the same people (believe it or not) that did Symphony of the Night (PSX). Read on to see why it's a below average game:

THE GOOD
Finally, Castlevania in 3-D! Despite many shortcomings, the game does have some eerie music and a dark atmosphere, which are characteristic of a Castlevania game (at least the newer releases). You can select between two characters (Carrie and Reinhart) that change the storyline somewhat.

THE BAD
I was never a fan of the 64 controller and this is the one game where it hurt most. The controls and gameplay were difficult at best, and normally I have a decent tolerance level for controls; Here's where I absolutely loathed it. Getting your character to go where you want is quite a challenge for this game. Also, the storyline, aside from the two characters' different (yet similar) paths, is really hollow at its core and doesn't add anything new to the Castlevania legacy.

OVERALL
Not recommended. I advise renting the game only. ONLY BUY IT IF YOU ARE A DIE-HARD N64 FAN. Otherwise, I strongly recommend skipping it. I'm a big Castlevania fan and I feel that this game does not do the series justice. I noticed some people in their reviews that they liked this game over Bloodlines (Genesis); Why?! Bloodlines had far better gameplay and replay value than this! Perhaps it's because 90% of gamers today prefer graphics over gameplay, when it's GAMEPLAY that creates the game.

Worthy of the Castlevania name, with a few technical flaws.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: February 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

"Castlevania 64" offers you the experience of seeing a Castlevania adventure in a free-roaming, 3-D realm. I have played every Castlevania game right back to the NES days, and this is a good addition to a fine series. This is a great game, but not as good as "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night" for Playstation.

To start on a positive note, there is a lot of depth added thanks to the 3-D graphics. You can roam freely, battle monsters face-to-face, and search for hidden items without the constraints of side-scrolling. The control is responsive, and the buttons are easy to figure out, which is good considering the pace of the game. The 3-D worlds are huge, and are fun to explore. The sound is also excellent. You can hear the clatter of bones, the snapping of jaws, and the cracking of whips clearly, without that horrible distortion that we all remeber from earlier installments.

The cons of this game are mostly technical, nothing to do with the graphics or storyline. First of all, the camera can be a servere pain sometimes. It often lingers when you don't want it to, and the response time for panning and scanning is pertty bad.
The control is good, but sometimes it is clunky when you need to perform delicate movements. I remember the first level when I kept falling into the water and dying when I tried to jump from one ledge to another and missed by one inch. Also, a map would be helpful. Certain areas look the same as others, and sometimes, I cannot tell where I have been and where I am going. But as I said, these are more technical flaws. They don't exactly ruin the game.

Overall, this game is fun, and gives a whole new depth to the long-running series. But as good as this is, "Castlevania: SOTN" for Playstation is much better.

Not worthy of Castlevania name

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is the worst Castlevania ever. It plays more like the very original but in a 3D atmosphere. It is nothing like it's Playstation counterpart or even the early Castlevania sequels 2 and 3.

This game is basically a shoot-'em up with a whip. There is no great puzzles or complex storyline like Castlevania 2 and 3 for the original Nintendo. Additionally, it is not even a good shoot-'em up. The path is a straight line, with a big monster at the end. It was totally boring an not worth my time.

The Playstation version was much better, more in the vain of the later NES games. If you want a Castlevania from the late 90s, get that one.

It's only redeeming quality is the 3D fighting, but that is nothing exciting with most games nowadays. I heartily recommend staying away from this game.

Vampires,werewolfs,and skeletons oh my!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: June 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Evil has once again awakened in the dark prince's palace.With alot of bad guys and 10 hard to beat levels,and don't forget our stars of the game,a brave,kicking butt little girl,Carrie.And a brave young whipping man,Reinhardt.This game will keep you on your tippy toes.You explore an old huge house,Dracula's castle,the forest,and even places you would only see in your nightmares.This game is for 11 and up due to strong bloody violence.Great music and setting.This is a game you can sink your teeth into!

It's not quite like the classics, but it does well

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: July 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I used to own this game, and while it is not the game I miss most, I still do think about it from time to time. The visuals are very good for the N64's graphics engine, and the voice acting, though there isn't a whole lot, is pretty good. The control is a bit of a problem, as is the camera. However, this is not a big surprise, for it is the first time the series of Castlevania has been moved to the third dimension. Then again, other series didn't really have that much trouble in the third dimension (Zelda, Mario, Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, etc.), but you can't always win, can you? The music is awesome (naturally-it's Castlevania!) The sound effects are also good. The boss design is highly unique as well, and most importantly, IT'S FUN! I bought it for a mere $20, and it was actually worth it. Though I have sold it, I might try and purchase a friend's copy. If you are looking for a game that is a bit more simplistic in design than the classic Castlevania titles, then this is your ticket for sure.

3-D killed Castlevania ...Not!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: March 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game shortly after it first came out, on the strength of the Castlevania franchise and a few still shots I had seen. From the moment I plugged it in, I knew I had made a very wise choice. The sound effects are crisp, well placed, and suitably creepy, and the gothic music score complements the game incredably well. The graphics are stellar, and the character vocals and cut scenes are extremely well done. The storyline is very engrossing, and the use of two main characters, each with two possible endings, gives the game great replay value. Many of the reviews I've read harshly criticised this game for being a 3-D platformer, which is admittedly a drastic step away from the traditional side-scroling action of previous Castlevania games. They couldn't be farther from the truth. This is a fun, imaginative, and thoroughly entertaining game, with more than it's share of the gothic horror feel necessary for a great Castlevania game. Every gamer should be lucky enough to own this classic.

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