In a lot of ways, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (PS2) is similar to Metroid Fusion for Gamecube in that they are both part of massive, story-driven games that have been enjoyed for nearly twenty years now. But probably the most significant leap that Fusion made was trying to reintroduce the 2D gameplay of a beloved series into something worthy of next-generation games. LoI definitely has the same idea in mind, and while overall the game succeeds in many crucial areas, there is still something lacking.

Breakdown

LoI’s storyline is definitely one of the most interesting in the entire Castlevania series taking players all the way back to the beginning of the Belmont line to Leon Belmont. The story’s excursions into the background of the Belmont clan and why they have hunted Dracula for thousands of centuries do an excellent job of tying up all the loose ends – seeming to give every Castlevania game a new sense of purpose. Every now and then, the script and accompanying voice acting are a little sub par, however. The game that’s behind the story is a somewhat mixed bag. It wouldn’t be fair to assume that the designer’s and programmer’s jobs of translating such a beloved series like Castlevania was going to be a simple task, though. Luckily, the same fantastic musical score has remained a trademark of the series and mostly, they’ve pulled off all of the transitions very well.

The combat system and the excellent control scheme are the best examples of their achievement. Pulling off combo attacks, dodging, and moving around the environments in general is a very fluid affair. The greatest combat aspect of the entire game is the sub-weapon / magical orb fusion. There are 5 sub-weapons (like the axe, knife, cross, etc. from all the previous games) and 7 orbs. Now if my math skills are still okay, that means that Leon can combine any of these weapons with any of these orbs for a total of 35 graphically-mind-blowing and highly-damaging spell attacks! Pair this up with all the unlockable combos, aerial attacks, hidden weaponry, and magical relics and you have a game with some very deep and intricate action scenes.

Unfortunately, there are more things to lament about LoI than there are to praise. Combat is fun but a poorly placed, uncontrollable camera angle can sometimes ruin the whole situation. The camera can make even the easiest of jumping puzzles into a frustrating ordeal. And speaking of puzzles, in LoI there virtually are none, replaced by some very simple “riddles.” The first step in these riddles is to find a clue-item. The second: to backtrack to an area of the castle and beat the appropriate switch with your whip until something is unlocked. But probably the biggest failing of LoI is the uninspired layout of the castle itself. It is by no means an ugly layout, though. In fact, the graphics in Castlevania are some of the prettiest ever seen on the PS2. The problem is almost an entire half of the environments in the game are repeated way too many times. Empty hallways abound, and serve no other purpose than to bring Leon into yet another cluster of locked rooms with enemies to kill. It’s very difficult to accept this flaw when one of the most important aspects of a Castlevania game has always been the castle itself.

If it weren’t for the unexciting environments and the loopy camera angles, LoI would have been a spectacular game, worthy in every way of its namesake. As it stands however, it is just a good game. Overall, Konami did a nice job of bringing one of its greatest franchises into the third dimension. The story, controls, graphics, and music are top notch and there is an extra character and difficulty setting unlocked after completing it, as well. If all goes well, the Castlevania series, much like Dracula himself, will continue its legacy for many more generations to come.

Posted: November 24, 2003