Gamers have been longing
for the Castlevania series to evolve ever since PSone and Nintendo 64 led
classic games into the third dimension. Their longing only led to lamentation
when the first attempt to evolve the series failed, followed by the cancellation
of all future Castlevania games (including one in development for Sega’s last
game console, the acclaimed Dreamcast).
The series saw a rebirth
on the Game Boy Advance with Circle of the Moon and two stellar sequels. Those
games were in 2D and were arguably better than the original titles released more
than a decade ago. This got smart gamers thinking: if Konami can still improve
upon the 2D formula, isn’t it possible to bring this game into the third
dimension? Isn’t it possible to take everything you know and everything you’ve
learned and create a new kind of Castlevania adventure? In Castlevania: Lament
of Innocence, the series’ first true foray into 3D action, gamers will discover
that the answer to their question is yes.
Capcom’s mighty popular
Devil May Cry series has led most developers to take a second look at their own
games. Or it could be a mere coincidence. But the basic controls in this game,
like the controls in many other games, are very much a re-creation of DMC. This
almost seemed to hurt the game at first, but then I happen to bump the right
analog stick. Disappointingly, the camera is pre-positioned. It’ll move with
your character, but that’s far as it goes. However, Konami delegated other
actions to the right stick: item usage. At any time during the game you can tap
the right analog stick in any direction to bring up an items window. From there
you can select any item you wish, like a potion, which will come in handy when
the unbreakable skeletons are kicking the bones out of you. Similarly, you can
hold down the left shoulder buttons to bring up one of two circular menus. From
there you can use the right stick to circle the menu and quickly choose which
relic to use.
That’s basic stuff, but
the whole game feels basic until you’re about 30 minutes into a castle. You can
choose from one of five castles to explore and can leave and return to them at
any time! The castles have a fairly basic layout; not too much climbing, and
the puzzles aren’t too difficult. However, the enemies are tough – VERY tough!
They’ll come at you in droves, and unlike the idiotic movie ninjas who kindly
wait for the superhero to kill the first bunch before attacking, these enemies
will not hesitate to go for the kill. They’ll attack at any time, regardless of
how many bats, zombies, or werewolves are already in the process of slaughtering
you.
Despite feeling
surrounded by evil, the game does not give off that typically cheap gameplay
feeling. It’s challenging, but it’s a real challenge, one that you know you can
beat, it’s just a matter of how quick you are, and how many times you’re willing
to drag yourself to a save point. Because you know that if you don’t, you’ll
eventually die, and all that experience gained is wasted. If you’re going to
let that continue you might as well throw in the towel right now. Why you’d
want to do that is beyond me, but some gamers just aren’t relentless enough.
The combo system is
simple, but very cool. Try an air combo on for size – just tap the SQUARE
button a few times to "whip" your enemies into shape. The combo requirements
are the same on the ground, but there are more options. You could tap the
TRIANGLE button three times to unleash a stronger combo. This combo is slow,
but the whip is swung around a few times, hitting any enemy within a short
radius. For a faster, but still devastating combo, you could press SQUARE
twice, TRIANGLE once, unleashing a powerful blast that knocks enemies backward.
There are many other attack moves and combos – including a fiery lunge kick –
but you’d be better off discovering them on your own. It’s a lot more fun that
way.
Without giving too much
away, the projectile items must be mentioned. The projectiles are here,
including the knives, axes and holy water, and they’re really fun to use.
Guiding them in the third dimension isn’t as hard as you may think.
Castlevania: Lament of
Innocence will make gamers cry tears of joy. It’s a lovable, enjoyable game
that, while not quite perfect, is clearly a classic. It’s almost as good as
Aria of Sorrow. The killer action is the draw, but you’ll be really impressed
by all that Konami has done with the controls. The enemies are hard enough to
beat that you almost definitely will not plow through this game in one all-night
session. Keep in mind though: as deep and lengthy as the previous Castlevania
games seemed (6-10 hours), when compared with 3D titles they were relatively
short. Lament of Innocence is more like its predecessors: short but sweet.
Well worth the purchase, and packed with hours of replay value.
Gameplay: 9
Devil May
Castlevania. That’s what you could call this game. It wouldn’t be an entirely
incorrect label, considering how the controls are very similar and all.
However, it wouldn’t be fair to label this game that way. Outside of the basic
control movement (jumping, etc.), nothing is the same.
There
are orbs to collect, new skills to learn, awesome combos to perform, and helpful
relics to obtain. At first the game seems very basic – like a toned down
version of Castlevania. Start pressing some buttons and you’ll see that is not
the case. Who would have thought that Konami would still find a number of uses
for the analog stick, which does not control the camera but activates items
instead. (The camera is pre-set like Resident Evil: CODE Veronica, only less
dynamic).
As much
as I was looking forward to this game, I was worried about Konami’s ability to
re-create the battles in 3D. Thankfully, they did it with near-perfection! The
new combo system adds so much to the game – it makes the old single-hit whipping
of the old Castlevania games seem light-years behind Lament of Innocence.
Graphics: 8
It may control
like Devil May Cry, but Lament of Innocence sure don’t look like it. Don’t get
me wrong, the graphics are pretty. The character detail and background textures
are good but they scream yesterday. Yesterday is long gone, we need to move
forward, and so do the graphics in video games.
Sound: 8
Lament of
Innocence will treat its players to some of the best, most subtle music they’ve
heard all year. Each song is distinct, but several of them have a joining sound
that ties them to this game. You couldn’t play Lament of Innocence for an
extended period of time, hear one of those songs and not recognize it.
For more on the music of
Lament of Innocence, Aria of Sorrow and Symphony of the Night, check out
GameZone Online’s
review of the
Castlevania Music Sampler
(Limited Edition).
This game has terrible
voice acting though. The story has never been a selling point for me, but now
that the game is on PlayStation 2 competing with big-budget titles, it shouldn’t
have a story that belongs in a cheesy movie sequel.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Castlevania still
remains the hardest when played from a 2D perspective, but this 3D iteration
packs a challenging punch.
Concept: 8.7
They finally did
it. Because of the close relation to Devil May Cry, it’s not so much the base
concept that made this game score big. The transition from 2D to 3D is never an
easy one, and it’s even harder to maintain the classic gameplay feel in a 3D
game. Castlevania: Lament of Innocence maintains that feel.
Overall: 9
If you’ve shed a
bucket full of tears, wishing for a 3D Castlevania game that lived up to its
name, you’d better dry your eyes, ’cause Konami has finally done it. The
gameplay is combo-rific. You’ll actually enjoy dying! The enemies keep coming,
and you keep fighting, but eventually they win out. And it never feels cheap.
The replay value is
really high – easily a 9 out of 10. So if you like games that are fun to play
AFTER they’re over, grab yourself a whip and start swingin’. Castlevania is
here to stay. Let’s all gather around the TV this Halloween and enjoy the
gaming goodness.
