Castlevania in Glorious 3D
The graphical presentation is amazing. Even if it is a bit blurry at times, it adds to the "wet" atmosphere of the game. Believable looking environments were successfully created with a lot of environmental depth and mood, translated straight from the realistic and imaginable to a computer graphical presentation that outdid my expectations. This was the first game that demonstrated to me just what the Nintendo 64 was capable of as a platform. There is very little voice-work, but there are a lot of well-done sound effects. These effects are merged with the graphical presentation so well that they appear to be occurring naturally as a response to real happenings in the environment. From the opening scene in a rainy forest, with lightning striking down a tree and setting it ablaze, to scenes in the Clock Tower with the grinding sound pouring out of moving cogs, graphics and sound accomplish a synergy that draws the player into the environment, and makes him forget that it's ultimately polygonal.
The opening sounds of a child playing a somber air on a violin mark the beginnings of some of the best mood music available in any game, and really set a new standard for in-game music. It is wonderfully composed and very fitting to each environment that the player must traverse. The sound of a regal harpsichord piece accompanies the inside portions of "The Villa" stage, giving the player the feeling of being in royal 17th century surroundings to match the sumptuous home he must traverse. A symphonic dirge accompanies his traversal of the "Tower of Execution" stage, driving the feeling of death by torture at every turn, and a soft understated tune accompanies the "Tower of Sorcery", giving a winter cold feeling to accompany the floating crystalline landscape. Sometimes music can be overstated in a game, but this is definitely not the case here. There are stages that are completely music free, such as the "Forest of Silence" or the outside areas in "The Villa" stage, and this decision makes those stages far more atmospheric than they would have been with accompaniment.
Gameplay might be the one department in which this game falls short, though it is by no means a fatal fall. It is difficult to tell who is behind you as you are running from the various creatures who are out to get you, from skeletons to the occasional werewolf or vampire, and it can be even more difficult to turn around and attack at the right time. The biggest part of this difficulty can be attributed to the camera. Though it is not impossible to control, controls aren't designed in such a way that it would be very easy either. On many climbing puzzles, the difficulty is really noticeable, as you must often blindly jump at a ledge to grab on, simply because you cannot see the ledge, only to have the camera change to a better position after you've grabbed the ledge, or fall to your death. The other aspect is in the attack targeting system. Because this system is automated, you will often be forced to attack the creature that has been targeted instead of the one which maintains a more direct threat, just so you can eventually target and attack the latter.
Despite these faults in gameplay, this game features some of the most incredible boss fights I have encountered, even previously on a Castlevania game. Right off the bat, the player encounters a boss in the form of an amazing King Kong sized skeleton of an ape, and it just gets better from there. You'll face a giant sacrificial animal, resurrected by the power of Dracula's castle and given nuclear breathe, a Witch bearing sharp crystals, and a phenomenal fight with Death himself. The latter of these is a Castlevania tradition, but this one goes well beyond any previous encounters with Death in the series. The Dracula battle is incredible as well, particularly when facing off with him in his final form, which is absolutely beyond anything experienced in a game of this type.
At the point in which you begin a game, you will choose to play either an heir to the Belmont clan of Vampire slayers, named Reinhardt Schneider, or an heir to Syphias the sorceress (from Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse) named Carrie Fernandez. Each story is a bit different. If you choose Reinhardt, he senses Dracula's return and his blood link with his ancient vampire-hunting clan forces him to go on a quest to end the threat. If you choose Carrie, she will rush to face off with Dracula to avenge the murder of her mother, who died protecting her against his bloodlust. Regardless of the choice, your character will meet the great (and perturbed) vampire hunter Charlie Vincent, save a wandering child, and meet a powerful Dracula in three different forms, one of which is unique in the series and centers on an identity twist. While that twist is not likely to take you by surprise, it does add a foundational element to the game's storyline. Each character also has his own unique story elements. Depending on which character you choose, you may develop a love-interest along the way with a vampire, or face off against a rival from your own family. Though most of the stages are the same for both characters, there are three unique stages for each of the two characters, giving some incentive to play through it more than once with both. Both stories are full of genuinely bittersweet and surprising moments. The dialog was clearly penned with a mind to avoiding the cheesy. To make things a bit more interesting, there are multiple endings possible for each character, depending on how long it took you to play the game. The best time gives the happiest and most fulfilling ending.
Think about what would happen if someone took the original Castlevania game on the NES, the one that started it all, and translated it into a 3D game with full-on graphical art work, much better orchestra-quality music, first-class sound-effects, and a depth of story that the original one just didn't have, and you will have the basic idea behind "Castlevania 64". No, this game is NOT a clone of "Symphony of the Night". It took the approach of the "old school" Castlevania games, and it did so with a lot of gusto. The Castlevania series of games is one of the most varied stylistically in existence, and that's part of why I love it so much. I was disappointed by the reaction of so many reviewers who don't seem to understand that the Castlevania series is a lot more diverse than the formula in "Symphony of the Night". "Symphony of the Night" is a great game as well, but it's not the only thing going in the Castlevania world. To judge this game strictly by that standard is to ignore much of Castlevania's history, the history that got it to where it is today.