Side_Scroll'R
01-26-2007, 11:41 PM
I decided to do another review, because i had so much fun with the last one. The game i will be reviewing tonight is Castlevania 64 for the Nintendo 64. This was one of the first 64 games that i have played, I had never tried any of the other Castlevania games before but have always wanted to. So it was also the first Castlevania game that i ever played. So lets get started.
Now ever since this game was released ive heard a thousand excuses why its not as good as the other ones and a thousand excuses why its a pathedic excuse for a Castlevania game, but I say different. Now I am just like alot of gamers who like the games that they love to stay the games that they love. Alot of gamers dont like big changes and through my pwn experience, classic games going 3D seems to be the biggest reason that gamers lose faith in their games. I am one of those gamers, I simply hate it when they mess up a good game by making it 3D. My favorite fighting game the Mortal Kombat series went down hill ever since Mortal Kombat 4. But this game was actually good being 3D. Now I understand that this game should not be considered a Castlevania because it was a completely different team that designed it, but that is no reason not to at least give it a try. The first thing that happens when you start the game is it checks for a memory card, unlike several Nintendo 64 games that has memory built into the game. Now thats not so bad, but it is a good idea to have a memory card and i will explain why later. The intro to Castlevania 64 is a nice rotating view of Dracula's castle followed by a young child playing the violin, which looks very good for the early 64 days. Ok so here you are at the main menu, before you start the game you will get a choice of characters such as Reinhardt Schneider, which is your classic whip carrying hero. Or Carrie Fernandez the girl with magical powers such as shooting energy balls out of her hands. In my experience, Carrie is alot easier to use, because the energy balls are like heat seaking missles... they will travel to your enemy no matter which was your facing, that is if you power it up all the way. The cool thing is, there is a completely different story and some different stages depending on which character you choose. So you've picked your character, lets get started. The first stage is called the silent forest (not really that silent). Well the graphics look great for 64, but i cant say the same for the music. Several times in the game you will be playing with no music at all unless your fighting a boss and like i said one of the most important things in the game is the music, but ... i guess it kind of make sense because i dont expect techno music to be playing in the middle of a dark forest in the year 1852, so its not too bad. Now the first items you get are just like all Castlevania games, a knife and a red jewel that gives your more of that item. So im running around finding these red jewels and i come across and clear silver jewel that resembles a hologram. Turns out its a saving point, but remember you need a memory card to use this saving point. Now if you dont have a memory card then the game is much more challenging and ill tell you why. When you die you start all the way over at the begining of the stage. Some of these stages are pretty long too. The first time I played this game i was playing the 5th stage for several hours, but no matter how far into the stage you are... if you die then you have to start all the way over. Now, one of my favorite parts in the first stage is were you have to jump from one platform to another with poison liquid under you, which is about 7 minutes into the game but seems a hell of alot longer. Ok so here i go... alright i made it to the next platform now all i have to do is jump to the last one and hang on because its sticking out the side of the cliff... OH SHIT! I fell, looks like i have to start all over again. So basically, upgrading to a memory card is a smart move, unless you like a challenging game (which i myself am always up for). As for the controlls, they are alright but are kind of hard to get used to for the simple fact that they are kind of slippery, but trust me you can get over that because the story line is pretty good. This is another game with the kinds of story line that i like, not too short and not too long... but still keeps your intrest. This was the first game i have ever played that gave me a sort of ... unsafe feeling i suppose, this game is pretty creepy, but in a good way like silent hill, not a bad pop out and scary way like resident evil. If you have never played this before and you get to the garden maze on the 3rd stage called the Villa, you might have the same reaction as i did. In this maze you not only have to find your way around it but you are being chased by gardeners with chainsaws on there arms and killer dogs... i literally felt out of breath and tired when i beat that part, because its so frightening. Its like a dream were someone is chasing you and for some reason you cant run very fast or your weak... its just so blood rushing to me. This game is also filled with interesting secrets and unlockables. It is fun and entertaining as well as a hell of a challenge, and i hope you give it the time and effort it deserves. Thank you for reading
For more info on this game please visit http://castlevania.classicgaming.gamespy.com/Games/cv64.html
Now ever since this game was released ive heard a thousand excuses why its not as good as the other ones and a thousand excuses why its a pathedic excuse for a Castlevania game, but I say different. Now I am just like alot of gamers who like the games that they love to stay the games that they love. Alot of gamers dont like big changes and through my pwn experience, classic games going 3D seems to be the biggest reason that gamers lose faith in their games. I am one of those gamers, I simply hate it when they mess up a good game by making it 3D. My favorite fighting game the Mortal Kombat series went down hill ever since Mortal Kombat 4. But this game was actually good being 3D. Now I understand that this game should not be considered a Castlevania because it was a completely different team that designed it, but that is no reason not to at least give it a try. The first thing that happens when you start the game is it checks for a memory card, unlike several Nintendo 64 games that has memory built into the game. Now thats not so bad, but it is a good idea to have a memory card and i will explain why later. The intro to Castlevania 64 is a nice rotating view of Dracula's castle followed by a young child playing the violin, which looks very good for the early 64 days. Ok so here you are at the main menu, before you start the game you will get a choice of characters such as Reinhardt Schneider, which is your classic whip carrying hero. Or Carrie Fernandez the girl with magical powers such as shooting energy balls out of her hands. In my experience, Carrie is alot easier to use, because the energy balls are like heat seaking missles... they will travel to your enemy no matter which was your facing, that is if you power it up all the way. The cool thing is, there is a completely different story and some different stages depending on which character you choose. So you've picked your character, lets get started. The first stage is called the silent forest (not really that silent). Well the graphics look great for 64, but i cant say the same for the music. Several times in the game you will be playing with no music at all unless your fighting a boss and like i said one of the most important things in the game is the music, but ... i guess it kind of make sense because i dont expect techno music to be playing in the middle of a dark forest in the year 1852, so its not too bad. Now the first items you get are just like all Castlevania games, a knife and a red jewel that gives your more of that item. So im running around finding these red jewels and i come across and clear silver jewel that resembles a hologram. Turns out its a saving point, but remember you need a memory card to use this saving point. Now if you dont have a memory card then the game is much more challenging and ill tell you why. When you die you start all the way over at the begining of the stage. Some of these stages are pretty long too. The first time I played this game i was playing the 5th stage for several hours, but no matter how far into the stage you are... if you die then you have to start all the way over. Now, one of my favorite parts in the first stage is were you have to jump from one platform to another with poison liquid under you, which is about 7 minutes into the game but seems a hell of alot longer. Ok so here i go... alright i made it to the next platform now all i have to do is jump to the last one and hang on because its sticking out the side of the cliff... OH SHIT! I fell, looks like i have to start all over again. So basically, upgrading to a memory card is a smart move, unless you like a challenging game (which i myself am always up for). As for the controlls, they are alright but are kind of hard to get used to for the simple fact that they are kind of slippery, but trust me you can get over that because the story line is pretty good. This is another game with the kinds of story line that i like, not too short and not too long... but still keeps your intrest. This was the first game i have ever played that gave me a sort of ... unsafe feeling i suppose, this game is pretty creepy, but in a good way like silent hill, not a bad pop out and scary way like resident evil. If you have never played this before and you get to the garden maze on the 3rd stage called the Villa, you might have the same reaction as i did. In this maze you not only have to find your way around it but you are being chased by gardeners with chainsaws on there arms and killer dogs... i literally felt out of breath and tired when i beat that part, because its so frightening. Its like a dream were someone is chasing you and for some reason you cant run very fast or your weak... its just so blood rushing to me. This game is also filled with interesting secrets and unlockables. It is fun and entertaining as well as a hell of a challenge, and i hope you give it the time and effort it deserves. Thank you for reading
For more info on this game please visit http://castlevania.classicgaming.gamespy.com/Games/cv64.html