The elements that string together a solid 3-D action game can be found within Lament of Innocence.
Since this story takes place during the 11th century, this chapter in the series is considered to be the Episode 1 of Castlevania. This is where the epic battle between the Belmont clan and Dracula truly begins. Some questions surrounding the long running franchise will be answered here like: Where does the famous Belmont whip, the vampire killer, come from? Or why is it that Dracula can come back from the dead ever one hundred years after his apparent demise? These questions along with others will be answered throughout the story. The plot manages to maintain interesting from start to finish with the help of some long, excellently made cutscenes that help move the story forward. The classic Belmont whip will be you primary weapon throughout the game. Leon starts off with two basic attacks: light and heavy but as you make your way through the castle he gains more and more skills that he can string together to create devastating combos that will help him wipe out hordes of enemies that stand in his way. The combo system is fun to play with but it isn’t rewarding at all. You’ll get nothing for stringing together a 10 hit combo; it’s a little bit disappointing considering on how other actions games like Devil May Cry would reward you with more red orbs (which are the game’s currency) depending on how massive the combo turns out to be. The lack of these rewards will result in player’s button mashing through most of the game. Combat is still a heck of a lot of fun; it's pure and simple.
Leon’s secondary weapons are none other than Castlevania’s classic sub-weapons which include: Axe, cross, holy water, knife and a brand new one, the crystal. These sub-weapons require certain amount of hearts before they can be used but fear not, 99.5% of the rooms in the castle contain chandeliers that when destroyed, awards you with a couple of hearts. New to the series is the use of orbs. Depending on the orb you have equipped at the time, the sub-weapons can unleash different magical attacks, for example, the blue orb combined with the holy water releases an attack called energy gazer that shoots water from above the ground in front of Leon resulting in a devastating blow for enemies.
Scattered throughout the castle are relics that give Leon special abilities like running faster and boosting attack power for a limited time in exchange for MP. Problem is, inexperienced Castlevania players will burn through most of the game and only get to obtain one or two of these relics since they are so well hidden and by the time they do collect them they will have already past through the harder parts of the adventure.
The castle is pretty big this time around but that’s not necessarily a good thing since some parts in the game require you to backtrack to certain areas which can be time consuming. Gone are the portals introduced in Symphony of the Night, instead you can only transport to two areas: back to the shopkeeper’s hut outside the castle or the last place where you saved the game, everything else must be done with just your bare feet. It somehow feels that Konami wanted to fill in some play time into Lament of Innocence by having to walk most of the way which is really boring.
The boss fights are really well balanced, meaning that you can’t defeat them easily but it’s not overly difficult either. On the other hand, action veterans will find them really easy (Especially if you’ve played through Devil May Cry 3) while casual gamers might find themselves repeating these battles quite a few times before they can finally bring them down. You won’t need to use strategy guides on these guys, not ever. One of Lament of Innocence’s biggest issues is the fixed camera. Sometimes you won’t be able to see your enemies since they can be off-screen resulting in cheap hits (Resident Evil anyone?). Also the platforming can be a little bit frustrating since you’ll miss most of the jumps due to weird positioning of the camera but at least you won’t get an instant game over if you fall into a bottomless pit. The good news is that there aren’t many areas that require you to jump anyway. Lament of Innocence truly feels right at home with the Playstation 2 mainly because of its beautiful, well detailed graphics. The lighting is superb and the game never seems to slow down no matter how many enemies invade the screen, even if Leon decides to unleash a devastating magical power. Dracula’s henchmen from previous Castlevania games make a triumphant return into full 3-D and they still manage to give out that sense of dread we came to know and love from the 2-D era. The animations are amazing, especially the ones when you defeat a specific type of enemy where they will turn into this big pile of blood that splatters all over the place and then disappears into thin air. This might be the sole reason the game got an ‘M’ rating.
The only thing stopping this 3-D graphic gem from truly standing out, are the repetitive environments. The castle is basically divided into five different sections, each one with its own different setting, but you’ll find yourself going through the same rooms and corridors over and over again in each one of these sections. If it weren’t for the map, you’d be lost in no time since there isn’t much of a difference between the rooms; only the enemies and the lighting change most of the time. One of the greatest soundtracks ever composed for a videogame belong to 1997’s Symphony of the Night, it had a mix between rock, opera and classical music that set it apart from all the other games in the series. Michiru Yamane returns once again to helm the music in Lament of Innocence and it’s safe to say that she’s done it again. From the church-like music in the House of the Sacred Remains to the haunting, eerie sounding track from the Ghostly Theatre, Yamane sets the mood perfectly. The only setback is the music from the cutscenes, where some of them sound really over-dramatic, sort of like the kind you can listen to during daytime soap operas on TV.
The voice acting in the game is brilliant. Special mention goes to the actors that lent their voices to the Walter Bernhard and Rinaldo characters. They did an excellent job on giving them a defining personality. The game includes an option to switch to Japanese speech. It’s a nice feature to play around with but it really doesn’t seem to fit into the mood of the story since its happening somewhere in 11th century Europe not in Japan. But that depends entirely on the players taste. No lip synching errors can be found at all in both of the languages.
Making your way through the five sections of the castle including the final stretch to the vampire’s keep, will clock in about 8 to 10 hours. Unfortunately going back and collecting all the hidden items won’t take up much of your time. Lament of Innocence however will award you with some special features once you’ve beaten the main game, some of which include: hidden playable characters, a harder difficulty setting (A tough nut to crack) and a boss rush mode, that’ll make you visit Castlevania at least a few more times. There’s also a hidden sound test that can be accessed in the game’s main title screen at any time right after unlocking it. The elements that string together a solid 3-D action game can be found within Lament of Innocence. It does an excellent job at maintaining the Castlevania feel from previous titles in the series with its responsive controls, hectic battles, fun boss fights, terrific music, gorgeous graphics, a well paced story, superb voice acting and a handful of hidden goodies, make this chapter in the long running series a memorable one; Definitely worth checking out for both newcomers and hardcore fans of the series.
The game does have its minor shortcomings: the repetitive environments, the awkward platforming, the unnecessary backtracking and the unrewarding combo system is something that won’t interrupt your enjoyment of the game but it’ll certainly stand out. Konami’s vampire hunting franchise has finally found a home in the Playstation 2 thanks to Lament of Innocence (sort of like what Circle of Moon did with the GBA) and if it’s any indication, the epic battle between Dracula and the Belmont clan in full 3-D is far from over.