Castlevania 64

by Konami

Product Details

• ASIN: B00000I1BE
• Item Weight: 5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,073 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

Konami's long-running Castlevania series is renowned for its chilling atmosphere, fantastic music, and, most importantly, superb 2D gameplay. Now, for the first time in its illustrious 13-year career, the series is making the jump into 3D - a jump that understandably has many fans feeling quite skeptical. Fortunately, the development team at KCE Kobe has done an excellent job of making the transition to 3D, while still staying true to the series' roots. While not quite the overall epic masterpiece that was Symphony of the Night on the PlayStation, N64 Castlevania provides an oddly compelling 3D vampire-hunting experience that fans of the series should definitely not miss.

Castlevania lets you take the role of either Reinhardt Schneider, the latest whip-toting member of the Belmont clan (don't ask us why he's got a different last name), or Carrie Fernandez, a young girl with magical powers and a grudge. Both characters have their own separate (though similar) storylines, complete with entirely different endings and a couple of stages that are exclusive to each other's quests. Interestingly enough (to hard-core Castlevania fans, anyway), Carrie is a descendant of Sypha Belnades, the 15th century mage from Castlevania III. Unfortunately, Konami didn't bother to keep Carrie's and Sypha's last names consistent in the translation, thus ruining an otherwise interesting plot point of the game.

Unlike Symphony of the Night, with its RPG-like elements and free-roaming gameplay, N64 Castlevania plays more like the older games in the series (aside from the obvious fact that the gameworld is now 3D). The game progression is more linear, and each character has only two weapons they can use (a main weapon that can be powered up twice and a subweapon). The trademark special weapons are back (knife, ax, holy water, and cross), but as far as items go, there are only a few that you can collect during play, most of which are of the healing type.

While the game does feature a real-time clock function (similar to Zelda), it doesn't factor in to gameplay nearly as much as you'd hope. Only a couple of puzzles rely on the time of day, and they're hardly what you'd call inspired. There are a few other thought-provoking puzzles in the game (similar in style to the ones found in Resident Evil), but otherwise most of the emphasis has been placed on well-timed jumps and old-school platform-style gameplay. Some of these jumps can be rather frustrating if you're not careful with the controls, but it's nothing any old-school NES Castlevania fan won't be able to handle.

Each of the game's 12-plus stages is huge. A couple of the more confusing ones would've benefited from an in-game map (like the Forest of Silence and the Tunnel), but on the whole, the level designs are very nicely done. The graphics are nice and varied, with good use of textures and very little fogging (which seems to be used for atmosphere more than anything else). The lighting is real impressive, too. If there's one thing worth complaining about, it's the camera. All things considered, it's not that bad, but it does seem to get out of whack at the worst possible moments - especially in high-risk areas or during fast-paced battles. The game does offer three different camera styles, but the problems stem more from collision detection than the actual viewpoints.

Despite these minor gripes, Castlevania definitely excels. The developers have done a fantastic job of capturing the atmosphere and spirit of the series, while providing a well-balanced, challenging gameplay experience that's filled with pretty visuals, awesome (though limited) music, plenty of secrets, and some incredible bosses (just wait until you see Death... whew!). Let's just hope this doesn't mark the end of the 2D era of Castlevania games. -- John Morris

--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Product Description

This is the game Castlevania for the Nintendo 64. This is cartridge only and is used or preplayed. All of our N64 nintendo games are cleaned tested and guaranteed to work. We stand by our products and offer a 60 day guarantee. If a game does not work within 60 days from the time you receive it we will gladly exchange it for yo

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Castlevania 64 - A New Way Of Castlevania, November 16, 2001

By 

Aaron (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Castlevania 64 (Video Game)

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!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Castlevania Mania, October 3, 2000

By 

D. Lewis (UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Castlevania 64 (Video Game)

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!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's not quite like the classics, but it does well, July 24, 2005

By 

Sam Allen "A zealous individual" (Newburyport Mass.) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Castlevania 64 (Video Game)

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.