Time for another of my reviews, as game hunting has necessarily been slow going as of late. This is my review of...
...a fun and somewhat overlooked game for the GameBoy. This game had the misfortune of being "officially" omitted from the canon of Castlevania by Koji Igarashi...apparently fancying himself as a bit of a Martin Luther and omitting what made him uncomfortable. Nonetheless, Igarashi has made some fine Castlevania games, so I try not to hold a grudge. Now let's get to the review. Ladies and germs, I present to you Castlevania Legends....
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| I really dig the boxart |
Castlevania Legends is the third and
final Castlevania game released for Nintendo's GameBoy. Hitting North American
shelves in 1998, Legends, like many games released at the end of a system's
life span, was not as widely played as the previous two GameBoy entries. Though
it may have gone largely unnoticed(for a Castlevania game) and has a bit of a
negative reputation, that doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't plenty of
fun to be had in this short, sweet game. It should also be mentioned that, at
the time of this review in 2012, Legends has been removed from the official
timeline of the series. Bummer. Now, lets talk more about the game itself.
The storyline is simple, as is to be expected of a Castlevania game. The
heroine, a first for the series, is Sonia Belmont. Sonia is a teenage girl who
has shown uncommon powers since birth and has been trained by her grandfather
in the use of his powerful whip. As you might expect, the creatures of the
night attack Sonia's home and she sets out to stop Dracula and his minions.
Making your way through the adventure, things unfold in the traditional
Castlevania manner. There are six sidescrolling stages Sonia must make her way
through. You will mostly find yourself moving left-to-right/right-to-left,
though quite often you must move up and down via ropes, rather than stairs as
in many of the Castlevania games. The stages themselves are not exactly short,
at least not as short as I was expecting. However, thanks to unlimited
continues and the fact that you are not sent back to the beginning of a level
when you die, it shouldn't take you too long to plow your way through to the
end.
As far as controls go, Legends is simple and precise. Every strike of the whip
and every jump feels quick and responsive. At first I had some issues hopping
onto the ropes, as I thought you had to press up on the D-pad once you were
aligned with the rope. Legends makes it easy for us: simply keep holding the
direction you are jumping on the pad and Sonia automatically latches onto the
rope. Thankfully, in Legends you don't have to worry about control limitations
or imprecision masquerading as game difficulty.
Sprinkled throughout each of the stages are the usual assortment of creepy
crawlies, such as bats, spiders, armored knights, zombies, and mermen. Most
enemies can be defeated with one or two strikes from Sonia's trusty whip.
However, some enemies, such as the knights, are tougher and require a bit of
strategy to defeat.
Each level has a main boss character, and sometimes a sub-boss as well. These
characters are some of the better looking points of the game, as they are well
drawn and have nice detail for a GameBoy game. The boss characters have a
menacing look and can be very large, though they may not be quite as fearsome
as they may appear.
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| Nice graphical detail compared to Adventure |
At various points in each level, you
may be faced with a choice of which direction to go. Some paths lead to special
items like a 1-up or a healing item, some take you to the end of the stage,
while some will lead you to a special item, such as the axe or cross. Unlike
many Castlevania games, these items cannot be used as sub-weapons to attack
enemies. Instead, they are simply collected in your inventory and reward you
with a special ending should you collect all of them and finish the game. Though
these traditional sub-weapons do not serve their usual purpose, Legends does
have a secondary feature that fills their void.
After beating each boss at the end of the level, you collect an orb as you
might expect. Each orb grants you the ability to use it's inherent magic. The
"ammo" for these abilities, as you might have guessed, are the hearts
you collect from candles along the way. Most of these magical abilities can be
used to attack, though one freezes time much like the stopwatch in older games,
while the other will completely refill your health bar for a mere 20 hearts!
All of these abilities are useful, though I found it best to save and spend my
hearts on the time-stopping and healing abilities. Stopping time is especially
useful as it can freeze those pesky bats as you are trying to move through
precarious platforming sections or climbing the ropes. Interestingly enough,
these magical abilities are not the only change to the classic Castlevania
formula.
"Burning Mode" is a useful feature that can really help you out of a
tight situation. Once per section(and life), you may press both the A and B
buttons to activate this fearsome change. Sonia will be surround by flames and
is invincible for a short time. Not only that, but she moves much faster and
her attack power increases dramatically. This is especially useful against boss
characters when you are running low on health. This feature makes many of the
bosses a cakewalk, which ties into something about Legends that you may not
care for.
Unlike many of the older Castlevania games, Legends is pretty light on
difficulty. If you are looking for a challenge, Legends is not the place to
find it. Not only are many of the bosses a breeze, but "Burning Mode"
will make them laughably easy. The platforming and combat is normally very
straightforward and only mildly challenging, so the magical abilities and
"Burning Mode" features can often be used to plow through the
trickier sections with relative ease. All of this, combined with the unlimited
continues and not being sent to the beginning of a level when you die, makes
Legends the least challenging Castlevania game I have ever played.
Graphically, Legends represents itself fairly
well on the GameBoy. Sonia and the enemy characters are well displayed and distinct.
I never had an issue with enemies being lost against the platforms or
background due to the limited color palette. However, I did play the game on a
GameBoy Advance which gives the game a nice, colorful boost in the graphics
department. The boss characters are the true highpoint of the visuals. Each
boss is detailed and has a fierce look about them, as opposed to some other
enemies, such as the ghosts, which have a slight comical look to them. The
background imagery in the game is sparse, but nice and well done where present.
Being a GameBoy game, Legends won't have any of the grand, detailed levels you
are used to from other Castlevania games. Despite these limitations, the game
still manages to retain that distinct look and feel that is so important for
Castlevania fans.
The music is not especially memorable, but that is not to say it is bad in any
way. Being a GameBoy game, there are certain limitations that can be expected
from just about any game on the system, and music is one of them. However, you
might find yourself humming along to a familiar theme or two along the way. I
found the music pleasant and enjoyable, with just the right amount of
melancholy to set the mood.
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| The game is still fun...deal with it |
All things considered, Legends is a fun and enjoyable experience. The graphics
and music are clean and a bit simple, which is a good thing for a GameBoy game.
Thankfully, Konami did not try to do too much with the game and designed a fun
and solid journey within the constraints of the GameBoy. The controls are
surprisingly precise and on point, which I think has a little bit to do with
how easy the game is. A game doesn't need to be challenging to be fun for me,
so I had a good time hopping platforms and whipping away at the enemies and
really enjoyed the experience. If you are a classic Castlevania fan, or a fan
of old school hack-n-slash platformers, Legends will be right up your alley.
