First Impressions:

Vampires have always made for some of the most magnificent villains in history. Unlike many of folklore’s great monsters, the Children of the Night have waltzed into modern horror with very few changes in their presentation.

I think a prominent reason for their static image is because our perspective on vampires is based on the legend of Dracula, which is in turn based on the legend surrounding the very real Wallachian prince, Vlad Tepes. It was Vlad’s inhuman cruelty that inspired Bram Stoker’s legendary creation, one of the most gruesome examples being his fondness for impaling the surviving soldiers of opposing armies on towering poles. In one such instance, Vlad impaled over ten thousand Turkish soldiers and left them up for months. This particular spectacle was labeled “The Forest of the Impaled” by historians, all but securing Tepes’ historical notoriety. Although impalement was Tepe’s favorite method of torture, it was by no means his only technique. The different tortures employed by the prince reads like a series of plot devices from the Hellraiser movies: nails in heads, removal of limbs, blinding, strangulation, burning, mutilation of sexual organs (especially in the case of women), scalping, skinning, exposure to the elements and/or wild animals, and burning alive.

The thought that such acts of cruelty could stem from a single individual are truly terrifying. To be honest, I think it is comforting to make him into a literal monster. That way, we have an easier time believing he was capable of such atrocities. Perhaps that is why the longstanding Castlevania games have done so well for over a decade: a great story needs an exceptional villain, and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence follows its predecessors by providing gamers with one of the best villains in human history.

Graphics:

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is the first Castlevania game to prove that 3-D graphics with this series aren’t blasphemy. In fact, Lament of Innocence really does look great, most notably because it runs so smoothly. While the PS2’s Emotion Engine is starting to show its age by slowing down occasionally (mainly during the game’s lengthy in-engine cutscenes), Leon animates especially well; Indiana Jones doesn’t look as good with a whip. Enemies look good too, having successfully made the transition from older games to the third dimension. As is only proper in a game such as this, the bosses are enormous and tower over Leon while practically oozing with menace.

However, while backgrounds are wonderfully designed and textured to give the castle an eerie and unique appearance, it is rare that Leon will be able to affect them in any way. But, Konami’s longest running horror series has never been known for giving players an open-ended and free-roaming experience. Instead, it has always been notorious for having an intense and satisfying atmosphere. Lament of Innocence does not disappoint with this: Stephen King would be happy with the amount of Gothic atmosphere Leon finds himself wading through.

Sound/Music:

Castlevania’s soundtrack is one of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to in a game. Much like Arcanum’s soundtrack, there are a lot of string instruments, along with some great bass lines and skilled piano work following the game’s protagonist around. Sound effects and voice acting are also really nice to listen to, even though the script is rather hammy at times. Admittedly, the voice actors do the best the can with the admittedly bad dialogue. However, if you really find yourself getting sick of listening to it, there is an option to change the spoken lines to Japanese and just read the subtitles.

Gameplay:

For the most part, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is a phenomenal game. Unlike in a lot of 3-D action games, it does not allow players control of the camera. Instead, the camera is fixed, much like the Resident Evil series, but with far fewer awkward angles and bad framing. For the most part, the camera works very well and only rarely will players find themselves being attacked from off-screen.

The camera could have ruined the game’s platforming puzzles, but since there are no bottomless pits to fall into it is far less frustrating to miss jumping onto another level. Instead, players merely run around to the puzzle’s starting point and begin anew. In a smart move, Konami probably realized how frustrating this would be if repeated a lot decided to limit the number of jumping puzzles to a minimum.

Combat is also very strong, with Leon learning new combos and moves as time goes on. Instead of using the RPG element of leveling up after killing a certain number of enemies (as in most other Castlevania games), players will only find a few attribute-increasing items throughout the game.

Combat makes up most of the game play, though, and this is very nicely executed. As Leon progresses, he can unlock new combos and moves to wallop his opponents with. The whip (which has been the Belmont weapon of choice since the series began in 1987) is exceptionally accurate thanks to some very tight controls, and the other weapons Leon receives are pretty effective as well.

Enjoyment:

Konami really learned their lesson after their horrible 3-D Castlevania games that were released for the Nintendo 64. This is an incredibly fun game that never grows dull when being played. One of the major reasons for this, aside from everything mentioned above, is that the game serves as the origin story for the feud between Dracula and the Belmont family. The intro movie explains that Leon’s girlfriend has been kidnapped by the aristocratic bloodsucker and it’s up to him to save his beloved. On the way to the castle, Leon meets an alchemist who gives him a whip that will be much more effective than his sword against the forces of darkness. As a result, any gamer who has followed the series faithfully since its conception will feel like they have come full circle and will enjoy the story all the more.

Multiplayer:

N/A

Overall Impression:

I never really enjoyed Devil May Cry because it never felt there was much of a plot. Instead, it seemed more like an excuse to run around and beat up monsters. I have found, in my old age, that I need a good story to make sure my interest stays piqued in a game. Lament of Innocence does an excellent job of delivering DMC’s action and style with a plot that is both engaging and fun. Most stores are selling this gem for $20 or less, so it’s a pretty worthy investment for any fan of the action genre.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

Just once, I would love to see Konami infuse the Castlevania series with a strong female role. It’s a little sad, really, that all the meaty roles have gone to men. Instead, the women that do appear in the game tend to be either minor bosses or sappy love interests. While there are occasionally playable female characters, they’re relatively wimpy magic-users, and none appear in this game.

Personally, I would love to have the Belmont clan go toe to toe with Elizabeth Bathory, another historical character who possibly contributed more to the vampire mythos than Vlad Tepes did. While Dracula may be one of the oldest villains in the book, the Duchess Bathory’s role in the black annals of history helped shape the image of bloodsuckers everywhere. Bathory was another Eastern-European noble who has been attributed with the murder of over 600 virginal girls because she believed that consuming their blood would help preserve her beautiful looks. Not only did she drink their blood, but she bathed in it, all because she was terrified of time’s potential ravages.

That is my one major complaint with Dracula in the Castlevania series: he’s evil simply for the sake of being evil… he doesn’t go any deeper. This isn’t a bad thing; Dracula has always been a superb nemesis for the Belmonts, I just think it would be amazing if Konami made one of their games’ antagonists like Bathory. The game could use someone who is hauntingly beautiful, majestic, refined, eloquent, yet completely alien due to the unspeakable acts she commits just to ensure that she will never wake up a day older.

Perhaps someone at Konami will read this review and take a hint. But, then again, they’ll probably just keep on giving us relatively androgynous male heroes instead.