Game Review - by Jeremiah Pratt
Horror as we know it is related to the unknown. The mystical creatures of the night, lurking in the depths. You as the great descendant of the vampire slayer. Are called upon for a mission you know too well.

In earlier times, peace and prosperity resigned across the land, and no one thought to question their good fortune or fear for the future... Then, in the middle of the 19th Century, a dark shadow spread across Wallachia, Transylvania, home to many vampire legends. The spirits of the depraved and corrupt has roused the king of evil from his enforced sleep of 100 years. Shapshifting into a bat, a wolf, or coils of mist, he stalked the land. Seeking the dark and shunning the light, he cursed the gods as he hunted. Damned to eternal life, he sucked the blood of one young maiden after another... Count Dracula, Lord of Darkness and Master of the Castle of Death, had risen again. The peace and prosperity of the people utterly destroyed a black cloud of despair spread over the land. Evil beings roamed through the towns, and those who refused to pledge allegiance to Dracula died horrible deaths. It was then those two warriors came forth, called by fate to hunt down the lord of Darkness and deliver the people from his evil.

Features:
The Features are basic, as you'd expect. Start a game, save a game, end a game. Including an options screen, where you can tweak the button configs, and volume levels. If you wish to save 9 spaces are taken up via the controller Pak.

Graphics:
The graphics, in Castlevania, are some thing to see. Not very hard to describe, breathtaking large believable landscapes. Everything is out in the open; you never get the feeling of confinement. Castlevania also sports one of the best fog effects to this date. If that's not enough for you take heed to the time change. Nothing is lovelier than witnessing dawn arising. The creatures still come after you but atlas those pesky vampires take a break. Plus the effects are not just limited to fog, as rain and snow tend to arise.

Sound FX:
The SoundFX, are something to be heard. Instantly as the intro rolling on through you're treated with an orchestral masterpiece. Although the intro boasts some nice tunes the overall SoundFX are lacking. As there aren't to many, except some weapon effects, and player grunts. The game is music is apparently absent, as it is silent 90% of the game.

Gameplay:
The Gameplay in Castlevania 64 makes you forget about the non-existant music. It is nearly flawless; you have absolute control over your character. Included is a config system made easy for every one. There are a few flaws; one being the camera angle can become an issue. Sometimes too much for its own good. Another is the variety of enemies, as there isn't that many. Now somewhere Konami thought quantity instead of quality. As these suckers keep coming, and coming, and coming. Despite that small quirk, you are endowed with some cool weapons, and power ups. Plus you can gain gold to use at trading posts per say. One more important thing the bosses are so huge and scary, you might consider running. Just kidding, they are really large and in charge.

Overall:
Overall, Castlevania 64 is a cool game. Konami made sure to include the favorite features of the Castlevania series. Plus the port to 3d was a successful one too. The SoundFX took a nosedive but doesn't make the game bad. Gameplay is enjoyable, but gets slightly repetitive. If it wasn't for them huge bosses I don't know. From the graphic standpoint this game stands on a high plateau. Now whose up for some bat soup, me, me, me.