A game in need of a sequel or at least a good GBA remake!
GAMEPLAY ~
Yeah we all know the basics, whip slashing, heart collecting, rope climbing. We know the drill. The controls are as followed A you jump, B you attack, D-Pad you move select is your item menu and start is pause. The problem for me came in the form of rope climbing. As in the GB title "Belmont’s Curse" this was a relatively new feature, the problem lies in the sub-weapon usage. As you climb those inevitable ropes you will make the mistake of using those SW as you progress higher, and some of those abilities take up mucho hearts. An there is no way to disable this (as far as I know).
The other problem is non-responsive controls. I've attempted many times to jump and strike or turn quickly to strike only to find my character didn't move and now I’m in a beast sandwich. Again, very frustrating when your life is all you have. The game gives you 2 starting options, standard and light. I've played both modes and both are exactly the same. The monsters move just as fast and many of the bosses seem ultimately too hard... maybe it's because there is no health bar on monsters. Instead it's replaced with a "burning" meter, which is Sonia's "super saiyan" esk ability. This burning ability seemd to appear whne your life was low, whihc was every boss fight, because there was no health bar. Understand the vicious cycle?
With a few good tweaks this could have been the quintessential GAMEBOY adventure!
STORY ~
Dracula has reached the height of his dark power after abandoning his human form. With his new power he is able to rule over the entire world. You play as Sonia, a girl gifted with the ability to see spirits. Her blood line is that of the legendary Belmont’s and now it is her turn to take up the whip and vanquish Dracula once again.
GRAPHICS ~
This game was released around the demise of the original GAMEBOY system. But up from it's ashes comes Legends, a game gifted with the latest in handheld graphics! Thought still not that impressive in this day and age, back than you couldn't ask for more! Your character even looked like a woman! Now that is a triumph for the GB if I’ve ever seen one! The monsters all look completed and there is hardly any slowing down, thought some was noticed. The backgrounds were nice as well, and there was two different paths (just as in Belmont’s Curse) that lead to the end. This game ran on such an outdated engine but still pulls through when needed.
SOUND ~
The music featured in this game was good, it gave a nice balance with the overall feel. As in all other Vania titles there are remixes of older tracks, basically you'll hear either Bloody Tears or Vampire Killer. But besides all that the rest of the music was top of the line. The SFX were good as well with fireballs and whip smacks. Well, really you can't ask for that much when it comes to SFX, it was the GAMEBOY, but for it's time, they'll do!
REPLAYABILITY ~
The thing that hurt the replayability was the Password system. This was always a downer for the Vania series, all the way through the SNES series it killed every time! The only good thing about this PW system was that there was only 4 boxes to fill, so it wasn't as hard as some of the other games. There was 5 legendary items to find in each stage. When all 5 are gathered you get the complete ending. There was I believe 3 different endings, so that was always fun to go back and do. The problem with collecting stuff was...
A) Time
B) The inability to backtrack.
If you passed up the area you need to explore to get the item, you're screwed. So if this happens, go find yourself a password and continue from wherever they leave you.
OVERALL ~
Not the best Castlevania game for the GAMEBOY but still not the worst (that award goes to CV: Adventure!) This game would be a worthy candidate for an awesome sequel (they gotta finish "Resurrection") or at least a GBA remake. Because this game had potential, but for it's current state...
Go download a ROM of Legends and enjoy this game for what it is.
The first and probably last female Belmont!