Castlevania (Nintendo 64)

About Castlevania (Nintendo 64)

Castlevania (1999), often called Castlevania 64, is Konami's first 3D Castlevania, in which the Belmont heir Reinhardt or the magical orphan Carrie stop Dracula's return.

Castlevania (Nintendo 64) in Depth

After a century of dormancy, Count Dracula is poised to return to power, and players choose between two heroes: Carrie Fernandez, a young orphan gifted with magic, or Reinhardt Schneider, whip-wielding heir to the Belmont clan. Each explores Dracula's grand estate to defeat him and his undead hordes. Combat adds a basic lock-on system, with a long-range attack, Reinhardt's whip or Carrie's homing energy balls, and a close-range one, a dagger or rings, each with strengths and weaknesses. The series' sub-weapons, axe, knife, cross and holy water, return, now powered by red jewels instead of hearts.

Much of the challenge comes from leaping between platforms that may rotate, glide along like a rail shooter, crumble underfoot or be invisible, while dodging enemies and traps. It also borrows from survival horror: players are locked into caged fights such as the battle with Cerberus hounds in a near-black Villa, timed duels where a ceiling descends, and fights with vampires who can bite the hero and turn their status to "vamp", blocking their main weapon and healing items unless cured. In the Villa's hedge maze, players must follow a boy named Malus while unbeatable enemies give chase. GameSpot praised it for capturing "the atmosphere and spirit of the series" with "some incredible bosses (just wait until you see Death... whew!)".

Making Castlevania (Nintendo 64)

Konami first showed it at the April 1997 Tokyo Game Show. It was about 10 per cent complete in September 1997 and 20 per cent in February 1998, and at the October 1998 Tokyo Game Show its playable levels were a hit. That month Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe cut two of the four planned characters, including Cornell, to focus the team and finish sooner. Released in 1999, it received generally positive reviews, most critics considering it a good transition to 3D despite the changes; IGN singled out its "outstanding sound effects with lots of bass". An expanded version, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, followed the same year.