User Reviews (1 - 11 of 34)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Terrible!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 9
Date: July 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is good for people who are obsessed with 3D, and never played a Castlevaina game in their life. If you want REAL fun, at least rent a Playstation or Playstation2 (it can play PS1 games), and try out Castlevanai: Symphony of the Night. It may not be 3D, but it's HUGE. There are tons and tons of weapons, armor, head gear, accesories, spells, etc. to try out, plus cool a** bosses to fight, and two different castles! That game is also challenging! But try this game for one reason, and one reason only. Because if yoyu don't you'll just become curious. After all, this is just my opinion.

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.

Symphony is ten times better

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 10, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I must say,I find ZELDA More fun then this game..it is extreamly borning,it has annoying graphics and I beat this in a day and a half!! it discusted me.. Symphony of the night was much better then this poor excuse for a video game!!!! Konami did a poor job at making this game..I find CastleVania BLOODLINES more exhillerating!

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.

Where's the Fun?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 15, 2001
Author: Amazon User

As I started out through the 3D world I was a little excited about finally starting another Castlevania adventure that I haven't had since I played the NES. Well after a few hours of playing I can say this did not at all hold up to my expectations. Immediately I grew frustrated trying to jump from one small ledge to another so early in the game. Then I moved on to disappointment when it became clear that I would be seeing the same creatures the whole game, and finally I just got bored of the game and stopped only on level 5. I could've kept going but it lacked storyline and imagination. Just got tired fighting the same dead skeletons and not knowing why I was doing it.

Boring

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: February 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Interesting game at first with lots of enemies to fight but the later levels revolve mostly around making difficult jumps. Would not reccomend.

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.

Not exactly SOTN(PSX's Castlevania)-but then what is?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 13, 1999
Author: Amazon User

While I was firmly against this beloved classic series going 3D,there was no way I wasn't going to play it.I needed to know if there was any way this new version could compare to the previous 2D versions(most notably SOTN,probably the very best of them all).Sadly,it does not compare to them,but it does ...oh,I guess you would say "compliment" the better ones in the series. I probably would have given it a higher score had they implemented a "Lara" jump move.You know,hold that wonderful 'walk' button,take 2 steps back,run & jump...Voila!Works like a charm every time(And,while that series has its flaws,it is the best at 3D jumping yet).Implementing a better jump control,would have prevented the platforming portions of the game from being as frustrating.So frustrating that those of the less patient temperment,might find themselves incuring additional expenses replacing broken controllers. Maybe I've been jaded by spending the last few months playing "Metal Gear Solid" and "Zelda:Ocarina of Time",after all these are two of the best games at character control in recent memory,but jumping and camera control are the downfall of most 3D games of the Action,Adventure,or Platform variety and that's what keeps this from getting a 'Gold' star instead of a 'Silver' star. One moment your having a grand old time exploring and slaying the undead,the next minute your hurling expletives at the TV because you've just died for the 20th time in a row because of those unforgiving jump and camera controls.The bottom line...rent it first-save on controllers later!

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.

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.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 Next 

Actions