Hey, what's up?
Wes here, thanks a lot for tuning into the second episode of 'I Haven't Played This
Game in Years'.
Now, today we're gonna cover a game that I haven't played since I beat it when it
was first released, way back in January of 1999; and that game is Castlevania for the
Nintendo 64—or Castlevania 64, which is what I've always called it.
Now, this game was first announced way back in '97, and I was excited.
I'm a huge Castlevania fan; every Castlevania game that I had played was just pure gold, and
and I was super stoked for this one.
Now, there were images way back in magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly that just got
me really amped up for this game and I couldn't wait.
The problem is, is that it kept getting delayed.
There was delay after delay, and it just got me even more excited for the game, and I just
could not wait.
So, after all of the hype, after all of the waiting, when this game finally came out I
was very disappointed.
After I beat the game, I think my exact words were, "I'm never playing this piece of
shit again!"
And I haven't.
Until now.
Now, the problem is, is that when this game came out, I had just played through The Legend
of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which came out only two months before, and that set the bar
up real high.
At the time that was the most impressive game that I had ever played in my life and it blew
me away, so I expected the same with Castlevania.
Every Castlevania game that I had played before that was excellent, so I expected no less;
so, I was very disappointed.
Now, what I remember from Castlevania 64 is that the camera angles were just terrible
and it had a lot of fog, and by then, when the game was released, most of the Nintendo
64 games released around that same time had fixed the fog issue considerably.
Yeah, there was still fog, but it was a lot better than the games that were first released
on the Nintendo 64.
So, after nearly eighteen years of not playing Castlevania 64, I finally decided that I need
to give it another chance.
Is it really as bad as I remember?
I'm gonna take a look at each stage and find out.
Now, there are gonna be some spoilers, so just giving you a heads up right now, but
I do not spoil the ending because it is just way too cool and you really should experience
that for yourself.
So let's take a look at Castlevania 64.
On January 26th, 1999, Castlevania was finally released in North America for the Nintendo
64 after numerous, lengthy delays.
The narrative is all too familiar for long-time Castlevania fans as Dracula predictably arises
once again from his centennial slumber, resurrected to ultimately be disposed of by newcomer vampire
hunters, Reinhardt Schneider and Carrie Fernandez.
Each protagonist's campaign offers basically the same adventure, save for three stages
later on in the game which are completely different from each other.
Castlevania 64 begins in the gloomy forests of Wallachia; where reanimated skeletons of
the dead spring from the rain-soaked ground like Springtime Tulip sprouts.
The dark and forlorn forest hosts itself to a myriad of athletically agile skeletons who
run at you with the speed and grace of Carl Lewis.
At first glance, this environment seems ideal for a Castlevania game, and in fact, is extremely
encouraging stepping through that first gateway into Transylvania.
Hell, there's even a perpetual haze of "spooky" fog that lingers throughout the entire game
to compliment the macabre and eerie setting of Castlevania 64.
Coupled with background sounds devoid of music, the battle against a relentless skeleton army
is alleviated with the gratifying sounds of each monsters' death rattle in the throes
of defeat.
Which brings us to one of the most important aspects of the game: combat.
Being an heir to the Belmont clan, Reinhardt Schneider naturally wields a whip, while Carrie
Fernandez shoots magic projectiles that actually home-in on the enemy.
While this sounds like the way to go, the homing fireball does have its fair share of
limitations, most notably the ability to only fire one shot at a time.
Using the 'R' button, you have the ability to lock onto enemies, just like in Ocarina
of Time, which is essential in not only attacking your desired foe, but to also keep said foe
within your sights while evading a barrage of attacks.
The power up system to enhance the whip from previous entries within Castlevania lore also
returns to the Nintendo 64.
You have the ability to nab up to two power ups in order to swing a longer and stronger
whip.
The same can be said for Carrie's fireballs, making them faster while also packing a bigger
punch.
You can also equip a sub-weapon: one of four which are mainstays within the Castlevania
realm.
The knife, axe, holy water and cross all reprise their demon-annihilating roles in Castlevania
64, but honestly, once you grab the cross just hang onto it.
You won't need anything else.
These sub-weapons are fueled by red jewels, replacing hearts from prior installments,
and can be retrieved by whipping torches or by simply destroying the enemy.
Defeated monsters will often drop items which can then be obtained by pressing the right
'C' button.
While at first this may seem like an exercise in redundancy, I assure you that you'll
be thanking your lucky stars when you have that cross in hand and accidently walk over
a knife.
Whew.
You also have a short range weapon which comes in handy when needing to break open torches.
This is essential because good god, it's a real pain-in-the-ass to try and break open
torches with the whip.
You'd think lining up with the torch would be enough, but oh no, not with Castlevania
64's atrocious camera.
Not by a long shot.
*sigh* I guess now is as good a time as any to segue into what I remember being my least
favorite part of the game.
The camera in Ocarina of Time I felt, when it was first released, finally conceived the
ideal archetype for which every Nintendo 64 game should have followed thereon after.
The camera angles were easy to center and manipulate, and the lock-on system was ideal
for combat.
Using the 'R' button will center the camera in Castlevania 64, but even then, at times
when needing to walk a tight rope, the camera has the tendency to start to slowly rotate
on its own, oftentimes causing you to fall to your doom.
The camera will even turn on you in mid jump.
C'mon!
Gimmie a fuckin' break!
But with jumping mechanics just as equally despicable as its horrendous camera, Castlevania
64 is marred by the combination of the two.
Leaps of faith become the norm.
At times you'll find yourself in a situation where the camera is set for you and cannot
be altered.
And depending on which angle you entered, that platform you need to jump to could be
off camera.
Leaps of faith, I'm telling you.
This is horseshit.
And we haven't even reached the tip of the infuriating iceberg.
You have three different camera angles to choose from, and all of them are equally garbage.
When platforming isn't required, it's an annoyance that I can deal with.
But unfortunately that's not always the case.
A satisfying run up to the point of a jumping segment can be completely ruined by one moment
of cheap bullshit.
Save jewels are scattered throughout Wallachia, and are the starting points for when you continue.
But naturally, any power ups collected at the time of saving are whisked away when starting
a game from your most recent save.
So when you are fully powered up, only to lose it all because of some cheap, broken,
camera angles and jumping mechanics, needless to say, it's enough to want to put a boot
through your goddamn television screen.
Now when you aren't accidently jumping into a pool of despair, the rest of the game is
actually quite enjoyable.
The controls are pretty responsive for the most part which makes battle a cinch, and
exploration factors into the equation as well, although that too, has its faults.
A huge problem with several of the stages in Castlevania 64 is that the environments
tend to look identical to each other.
Yeah, it's an old game, so that's to be expected, but combine it with that "spooky"
fog that I had mentioned earlier, and fetch quests become a headless-chicken-exercise
in frustration.
Without a map or compass to guide you, the horrendous Nintendo 64 fog--which most games
released around the same time had cleaned up considerably--makes exploration dreadfully
disorienting.
Flipping several switches that look the same to open numerous gates which also look identical
can be bogged down by needlessly retracing steps due to the fact that it's difficult
to discern one look-alike area from another.
The first time I went through the forest in Castlevania 64 I found my way fairly quickly
by sheer dumb luck.
I'm embarrassed to even tell you how long it took me to get through the first stage
the second time around.
So I won't.
I assure you that it was extremely tedious.
The first boss battle pits you up against a gigantic skeleton and his "biker buddies".
Heh, yeah, I know.
With the cross, this guy is a total pushover, yet reducing him into a pile of brittle bones
is immensely satisfying.
Enter the castle wall, where the true spirit of Castlevania begins to rear its ugly, yet
beautiful head.
Now this is what I've been waiting for!
We got some classic Castlevania tropes going here.
Bone Pillars, turning spiked platforms--and Medusa heads?
You betcha.
They're just as annoying as ever.
And so is this fucking stage!
At least we have some music to accompany the headache.
As mellow as it is, it fits the mood perfectly.
When climbing the towers you relinquish all control over the camera.
It's awkward, but manageable.
With Reinhardt, anyway.
The jumping takes a lot of practice and getting used to.
Shit, I still don't have the jumping down completely.
Grabbing ledges will undoubtedly save your ass on occasion, but over-jumping platforms
is another obstacle impeding your advancement.
Especially with Carrie, who jumps further than Reinhardt.
Just when you think you got the jumping down with him, replaying as Carrie will hurl you
into a whole new world of teeth-grating frustration.
How many times did I overshoot a ledge that I was aiming for?
How many times did I needlessly fall to the hard, cold tower floor below?
The villa is another exploration-based stage where night and day play a factor into advancing
further.
Like Ocarina of Time, Castlevania 64 utilizes a night and day system with a clock in the
corner to indicate the hour.
Only some puzzles can be reached at certain times, such as the pillar which erects itself
from the courtyard fountain at midnight.
Speaking with some characters can only transpire during certain times of day as well, such
as your first encounter with Rosa, a female vampire who waters her "white roses"?
You also run into a seasoned vampire hunter named Charlie Vincent, who is already on the
hunt for Dracula.
The villa is a crowded stage for sure, also introducing us to the likes of Renon, the
salesman.
Money bags, another staple within the Castlevania series, can be collected and then used to
buy invaluable goods.
I actually really like the inventory system in Castlevania 64.
You collect spoils such as meat along with sun and moon cards, which allow you to speed
up the time of day, and these items can be purchased for a pretty steep price.
The great thing, as opposed to earlier titles in the franchise, is that instead of using
items immediately, you actually store them for later use.
Those chicken legs and slabs of roast beef will save your ass, let me tell you.
We're also introduced to a small boy named Malus, whom you have to run after through
a hedge-maze.
This section of the game can get the heart-pumping and induce anxiety attacks as you're mercilessly
pursued by a pair of devil dogs and a Frankenstein monster wielding an electric hedge trimmer.
Boy, the technological prowess displayed by these Transylvanian monsters is astounding!
Motorcycles and now gardening power tools?
If only these advances were harnessed for the greater good of humanity, there's no
telling how state-of-the-art our technology would be today.
But alas, they're only used for killing people.
Maybe these monsters are human after all?
The bitch of it all is that the horrendous camera angles will often twist-turn you around
during your disorienting dash for salvation.
Hearing those dogs growl and snap at your heels as you run or JUMP away--since jumping
moves you at a much quicker pace--is nerve-racking within itself, but couple that with a quick
running, hedge-trimming migrant worker and you'll be counting your blessings once you've
caught up to Malus.
While shooing Malus away to safety, there's still the matter of battling a faction of
vampires.
While Castlevania 64 has its problems, creating an ominous atmosphere is not one of them.
The cutscenes add to the dark and forlorn narrative of Castlevania—arguably the darkest
game in the series to date.
When innocent villagers fall victim to their prey, and then attack, it can be fairly disturbing.
And quite frankly, pretty freakin' awesome!
Stage four's underground takes two significantly different paths for our protagonists as Reinhardt
finds himself in the dank tunnels underneath the villa as Carrie is forced to navigate
the waterways infested with loathsome lizard men!
Lizard men in a Castlevania game?
Oookaaay.
Like the first stage, Reinhardt's tunnels are brimming with fog up the wazoo and infested
with spider-human hybrids.
Now I've never been afraid of spiders, but even the arachnophobia which lied dormant
within me all of this time took a hold and sent chills down my spine.
All of the environments look exactly the same, which makes getting lost inevitable.
Even Hansel and Gretel had enough sense to leave a trail of breadcrumbs.
Yeah, there is the occasional sign to point you in the right direction, but the first
stage had signs, too.
Carrie's waterway is a lot more straightforward.
The stage is loaded with traps, some of them extremely cheap, and has switches to shut
off the poison waterfalls which block the exit of the level.
These switches require *sigh* jumping to reach.
Seriously, how is this the best angle to jump across the fetid waters to the adjoining platform?
Not to be left out, Reinhardt also encounters his fair share of bullshit jumps.
At times it is so difficult to discern how far a platform is, that you have to, yet again,
take a leap of faith and just hope that you make it.
The gondola also has its fair share of issues.
It sure looks like I can disembark here—
Reinhardt encounters Rosa who is fed up with the nocturnal life of a vampire.
Carrie runs into a witch named, Actrise.
I'm sure we'll meet up with her again.
This leads us to the castle center, home of the infamous Magical Nitro.
I honestly don't remember this part from the first time I played Castlevania 64 eighteen
years ago.
Obviously, I repressed this memory because Jesus Fucking Christ!
The layout of the castle center is more of a labyrinth, with tons of rooms to explore,
filled with hordes of vampires and lizard men.
Despite risking your neck to get Malus to safety back in stage three, the little shit
is back, hanging around the dangers of the castle center.
Once you've obtained the magical nitro the rules are simple, yet strict.
Move with caution.
The nitro is extremely unstable, so if you get hit, fall or even jump, it's kablooie!
Fun, right?
Riiight.
In order to escape the castle center, a wall on the first floor must be breached with a
tremendous explosion.
This is where the nitro comes in, except you're what seems like a hundred miles away.
Doesn't sound like too much of a chore, except that you must transport this volatile
substance from one end of the stage to the other.
Traps are plentiful in the castle center, so this is no easy task.
Dormant suits of armor suddenly come to life and must be avoided.
Spikes need to be evaded.
Are you an expert at funambulism?
You will be after walking over tightrope ledges and bridges.
Piece of cake, right?
Oh, good lord!
Or how about tip-toeing through moving gears, where if even a thread of your pants gets
pinched it's a one-way ticket to Jannah.
Oh my god, I finally made it!
Now to just set this bad boy down.
Why am I not getting a prompt?
Am I pushing the wrong button?
"Uh oh, SpaghettiO's"
After finally destroying the wall and taking out a massive, behemoth bull, Reinhardt encounters
a suddenly violent Rosa, controlled by none other than Death.
Carrie takes on a much more menacing foe in Actrise, before riding an elevator up to the
next section of the castle.
Now, I thought that transporting the magical nitro through an entire stage was aggravating—and
by god, it is, but it ain't nothing compared to the steaming pile of fucking horseshit
that is the Duel Tower!
Abhorrent camera angles and jumping mechanics at its finest!
Or at its worst?
Whichever one is least favorable.
Let's just say it was a good thing that I was alone when I played this stage, cuz
someone would've had to have paid for this god-awful atrocity!
The stage is comprised of mini-boss battles atop of several tower-like structures.
No big deal there.
It's not until you have to advance further, climbing ledges that grow from walls and jumping
on top of these edifices where problems arise.
Jumping from tower to tower is a game of fucking chance.
Will I make the jump this time, or will I fall to my death?
What am I jumping to?
No one knows, that's half the fun, sucker!
I almost quit the game here.
Going through this stage each time fighting the mini bosses, getting a little further,
only for it all to end at the blink of an eye because of a cheap jump is not only frustrating—it's
goddamn infuriating!
"Serenity now!"
Shit, I'm getting pissed just reliving it right now!
It wouldn't be so bad if there was a save point in the level, but what's a wound without
salt rubbed into it, right?
The Castlevania series is known for being challenging—challenging because of exceptional
level design coupled with ingenious enemy placements.
Not this cheap, bullshit.
Let's be honest here.
A game that's challenging because of broken cameras and terrible jumping mechanics is
NOT a good game.
These faults stick out horribly like a gangrenous thumb, and arguably ruins the entire experience.
This stage alone falls into that category.
And the fact that I've seen reviews which fail to mention these glaring and obvious
blunders, while at the same time unconditionally praising Castlevania 64, is quite disheartening.
But then by accident, on one of my many trips falling down the tower, I discovered that
you could actually climb down several ledges to a secret path that only involves jumping
across the acidic lake on "stepping-stone" like platforms.
Problem fucking solved!
"Urge to kill, rising."
Thank god no one is in front of me at the moment, because I would probably proceed in
choking the fucking life out of them right now!
I would take the magical nitro quest all day over ten minutes of the Duel Tower.
No doubt about it!
Quite possibly the most infuriating stage that I've ever encountered in a video game!
And I've been playing them for damn near 35 years!
By the good grace of god, or whichever deity you bow down to, and all that is pure, Carrie
mercifully has a completely different stage to traverse.
Halle-fucking-lujeah!
Carrie climbs a tower loaded with electric traps, sliding crates and conveyor belts.
While this stage will naturally test your patience with some questionable jumps, it
pales in comparison with the horseshit menagerie that is the Duel Tower.
Carrie's tower of science offers a futuristic peek into what strange experiments those evil
Transylvanians are into.
Strange hibernating beings suspended in glowing fluid within glass-like chrysalises guarded
by machine gun turrets fill an open laboratory, once again, hosting a plethora of tricky,
but manageable jumps.
A piece of fucking cake compared to Reinhardt's stage six.
Carrie's homing shots come in handy here, attacking turrets from behind the safe confines
of a moving assembly line of large crates.
Before long, Carrie moves on to her next exclusive stage, the eye-pleasing Tower of Sorcery.
This stage is made up entirely of floating ice structures, and while there is still the
occasional bullshit jump, and it's hard to tell at times which platforms can be reached,
it's a walk in the park in comparison to what we've come across so far.
Probably a big reason for this is the fact that the stage is an open area minus walls
to fuck up what has by now become our biggest enemy: the camera.
Which brings us back to Reinhardt's seventh stage; another level made up of climbing,
jumping and bullshit platforming: The Tower of Execution.
With moving platforms, Bone Pillars breathing fire and pendulous scythes, you'd think
that this would be the most difficult stage yet.
Nope.
After the Duel Towers, despite the cheap deaths littered throughout this stage, it's a freakin' breeze.
At least there's a save point!
The next stage begins in a room of clocks.
Now, wouldn't this be the perfect setting to offer some power ups, a little meat maybe
and some fucking red crystals?!
The cross requires five red crystals per use, but has the game been giving Reinhardt crystals
since completing stage five?
We'll get back to this in a second.
Renon is available to buy some goods, so stocking up on meat is a must.
It's just too bad that he doesn't sell red crystals….
Atop of the clock room, Reinhardt confronts Death.
This is one of the coolest boss fights that I've ever seen on the Nintendo 64, period.
And the awesome boss theme from Rondo of Blood plays throughout the battle, which simply
sounds amazing!
Carrie on the other hand, faces off against Actrise again.
Once the bosses have been vanquished it's on to the clock tower.
You know what that means—the end is within sight.
Just one more bullshit stage before the final act.
What would Castlevania be without a level full of moving gears?
While clock tower stages are a staple within the franchise, none have been as poorly crafted
as this one.
The entire stage requires jumping and climbing, not to mention a bit more of the high-wire
act.
The camera is completely uncontrollable here, which means you better have a good "sense"
of where platforms should be.
I can hear the camera operator now…
"Whatever, I do what I want!"
While this stage is an absolute thorn in the butthole, it still pales in comparison with
that dreadful Duel Tower.
I swear that stage will haunt me in my dreams for the rest of my life.
But what's the fucking deal with the red crystals?!
On this playthrough with Reinhardt, the entire second half of the game gave me about 40 red
crystals.
That's right you heard me, 40.
Maybe 50, but still—would a good game supply you with a minimum of half the ammunition
that you can carry--which can easily be restocked, mind you--throughout the entire second half
of the game?!
The answer is simply, fuck no.
This is absolutely unforgivable.
And I'm including the final stage in this as well.
The final five stages supplied me with 40 to 50 red crystals.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Now, knowing this going into Carrie's adventure, I got stingy as hell with my cross, and hardly
used it at all.
Of course the game then affronted me with more red crystals than I could manage just
to piss in my face, yet again.
I swear this game really likes to stick it to me.
The tenth and final stage is the epic battle of good versus evil.
The living against the undead.
God and the devil.
Fighting Dracula is similar to prior Castlevania installments—while you duke it out with
his "vampire form" you know it's only a matter of time before he takes on other
shapes.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm going to end this right here.
But the end has an incredible twist to it, which is simply awesome, and it would be criminal
to ruin it for anyone here.
If you have the balls and/or the masochism to make it this far on your own, unlike the
rest of the game, you will not be disappointed.
Uuuuugh, Castlevania 64.
Believe it or not, I actually like it a lot more than the first time around.
Is it a great game?
No.
Is it a good game?
*Groan* for me, I'm gonna hafta say no.
And I'll tell you why.
The second half of the game for me completely ruins the entire experience.
All of the bullshit platforming, all the stupid jumps, the cheap deaths—if it were done
with a proper camera angle and some proper jumping mechanics, then it would have been
pretty freakin' awesome.
But unfortunately, this game failed hard at that.
That Duel Tower?
Oh god, I don't ever want to play that again.
So, it'll probably be at least another eighteen years, if ever, I play this game again.
Now believe it or not, I actually wanna play Legacy of Darkness now, which previously I
had stayed completely away from that because I was like, "If it's anything like Castlevania
64, I want nothing to do with it."
But, I actually did enjoy this game a little bit.
And I know it doesn't sound like it; but it really had the potential to be a great
game.
And some people may be able to look past the bad camera angles and the poor jumping mechanics,
but I can't.
It just pissed me off way too much, and a game that pisses me off that much—I shouldn't
be playing it.
Let's be honest, I shouldn't play it, I shouldn't do that to myself.
Now for you, maybe you can deal with it, and you can look past it, and the game is cheap
enough that I actually encourage you to try the game out yourself if you haven't
already.
But for me, Castlevania 64 is one of the worst Castlevania games out there.
It may be the worst.
I played Lament of Innocence, and the same thing with Castlevania 64, as soon as I beat
it I was like, "Nope, I'm done.
I'm not playing this again."
And I haven't, and I got that game when it was first released, so I'll have to revisit
that one again for a future episode.
Now is it worse than Lords of Shadow?
Uh, I actually remember enjoying Lord of Shadow better, but that's another game that as
soon as I beat it, I was like, "I am never playing this piece of shit again."
And I haven't.
So, I'll probably revisit that one as well, on a future episode too, so stay tuned for
that, but I'm in no hurry to cover that one.
So anyway, that's what I think of Castlevania 64 today.
What do you think of it?
Have you played it?
And what are your thoughts?
Can you look past the bad camera angles and jumping mechanics?
I sure couldn't.
So, let me know what you think of Castlevania 64.
So anyway, before I take off I just want to give a shout-out to my good buddy Lunar Caustic
for the Castlevania cover that you hear right now.
I encourage you to check out his music, I will actually leave a link for this song in
the description below, so make sure you give it a listen.
Thanks a lot, man!
And thanks all of you that stuck through this long-ass episode, I really appreciate it.
Until next time, I will catch all of you later.
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