Castlevania (1999 video game)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Castlevania | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe (KCEK) |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Series | Castlevania |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 64 |
| Release date |  January 26, 1999 March 11, 1999 May 14, 1999 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen ELSPA: 11+ SELL: 12+ |
| Media | 64-megabit cartridge |
| Input methods | Game controller |
Castlevania is a video game developed and published by Konami for the Nintendo 64. It is the first 3D game in the Castlevania series, and was released in North America on January 26, 1999. Its Japanese title is Akumajō Dracula Mokushiroku (悪魔城ドラキュラ黙示録 Akumajō Dorakyura Mokushiroku?, lit. "Demon Castle Dracula Apocalypse"). Early in development, the game was known as Dracula 3D and Dracula 64[1]. Fans and media alike nicknamed the game "Castlevania 64" to differentiate it from other games in the series that bear the same title.
Contents |
[edit] Storyline
Dracula reawakens in 1852, after a century of enforced slumber, as a result of humankind's descent into vice and wickedness. Two young heroes sense his return: Carrie Fernandez, a girl gifted with magic powers, and Reinhardt Schneider, heir to the ancient Belmont clan of vampire hunters. The two set out to storm the Count's castle in the Transylvanian province of Wallachia and vanquish him.
As they penetrate the castle walls, an aristocratic vampire appears to warn Carrie and Reinhardt that "all who oppose the Dark Lord will die."[2] The two then come upon a decrepit villa, where they meet the elderly vampire hunter Charles Vincent, beautiful yet unwilling vampire Rosa, demonic salesman Renon, and young boy Malus. Beneath the estate's maze garden lies a subterranean path to the castle's center, where Dracula's servants (Actrise and Death) attempt to waylay the heroes by pitting them in battle against their loved ones (the Fernandez warrior and Rosa).
Carrie kills her vampirized kin while Reinhardt bests Rosa in combat. The heroes then climb several of the castle's towers before confronting Actrise and Death atop the Room of Clocks. With their defeat, the heroes move on to climb the Clock Tower to the Castle's Keep.
The heroes may also need to battle Renon, the Demon Salesman in his true form. This depends upon if thirty thousand gold or more is spent with Renon over the course of the game.
[edit] Endings
If the hero took sixteen[citation needed] or more "in game" days to reach the second chamber on the stairs to the Castle Keep, Vincent will have arrived before them, been defeated by the aristocratic vampire assumed to be Dracula (in reality Gilles de Rais[citation needed]), and turned into a vampire (thus triggering the bad ending). The hero will then have to battle Vincent. Without Vincent's intercession, the hero will not discover that Malus was indeed Dracula reincarnate - not simply possessed by him - and receive one of the bad endings in which the hero rescues the boy.
If the player took fifteen or fewer days[citation needed] to reach the second chamber on the stairs to the Castle Keep, they will arrive before Charles Vincent (thus triggering the good ending). After fighting de Rais disguised as Dracula, they will encounter Malus - who transforms into an adult - and defeat him atop the Clock Tower. After his defeat, Malus will regain the form of a child. Attempting to dupe the hero, he will pretend to have no recollection of the battle, but Vincent will arrive and douse the boy with holy water. Vincent explains that Malus was not possessed, but was in fact Dracula reincarnate. Malus then transports the hero to an alternate realm to battle his true form, a centipedal dragon. After Dracula's defeat the player will receive one of the good endings: In Carrie's ending she places a nosegay upon her stepmother's grave. In Reinhardt's ending Rosa, who sacrificed herself for him atop the Room of Clocks, is revived and her humanity restored.
[edit] Position in chronology
- Further information: Chronology of the Castlevania series
Castlevania was present within the series' chronology from its original release in 1999 until 2002, when a timeline published on the official Japanese Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance website omitted it - as well as several other Castlevania games - from the series' continuity.[3] In 2006, series producer Koji Igarashi stated that "These games were taken out of the timeline [...] not because I didn't work on them, but because they were considered by their directors to be side projects in the series".[4] Since the 2002 removal, the events of Castlevania have occupied an ambiguous place in timelines published by Konami of Japan, Konami of America, and various gaming publications. The most recent English language timeline, distributed with preordered versions of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin in North America by Konami of America, includes the 1999 Castlevania but does not describe the game's plot.[5]
[edit] Gameplay
[edit] Difficulty settings
Castlevania has different settings to adjust the challenge posed by the game. In "Easy mode", the player will only be able to play until the end of the Castle Center level, at which time the game will ask them to try "Normal mode" to advance to the subsequent stages. Upon fulfilling certain conditions a 'hard mode' will be unlocked. In this mode enemies take more hits to defeat and subweapons require more jewel points to use (e.g. 2 jewel points for the knife instead of 1).
[edit] Development
While in development at Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe (KCEK), Castlevania was originally known as Dracula 3D. United States news media referred to the game by this title as well as Dracula 64.[1] In September of 1997, the game was approximately 10% finished[1] and was 20% complete in February of 1998[6]. In October of 1998 the game was featured at the Tokyo Game Show; several levels were playable and the game was a hit with the crowd.[7] Later that month, it was revealed that KCEK decided to drop two of the planned four characters from the game "in favor of focusing the programming team's development efforts and moving completion of the game forward."[8] In January of 1999 a Japanese release date was set for March 4, 1999[9] and Castlevania won the "Game of the Month" award at IGN.com[10]. On the 18th, it was announced that the U.S. release date for the game would be January 26, 1999.[11] On that date, the game shipped as planned and was available the day after at a MSRP of $49.95.[12]
The character artwork was designed by Yasuomi Umetsu.
The Villa's exterior is based on one of the façades of the French château d'Azay-le-Rideau. Dracula's castle was based on Mont Saint-Michel.
Several elements of the game were designed to allude to past Castlevania titles: Carrie's alternate costume is an homage to Maria Renard's dress in Demon Castle Dracula X Rondo of Blood, Reinhardt's alternate costume is an homage to Simon Belmont's outfit in the first Castlevania, and the Behemoth boss in the Castle Center can be crippled, a reference to the crawling Behemoth first featured in Rondo of Blood.
[edit] Soundtrack
The music for Castlevania was composed by Masahiro Kimura, Motoaki Furukawa, and Mariko Egawa. Tomokuni Katayama performed the violin solo, a rendition of "Bloodlines" from Demon Castle Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, that greets the player on the title screen. The soundtrack was released in Japan on March 26, 1999. It was also released in Europe under the name Castlevania: The Original Game Soundtrack.
Castlevania also features sporadic voice acting, mainly for the prologue's narrator and several of the game's main characters. Bianca Allen provided the voice for Carrie and Andrew Hanikson for Reinhardt.[2] The PAL version of the game features voice acting for Gilles de Rais in the Castle Wall and Castle Keep levels; the American version did not include the voice work for the latter level.
[edit] Critical reception
Castlevania garnered respectable scores upon its release, including 9/9/8/9 from EGM, 8.2/10 from both IGN and GameSpot and a 4.5/5 from GamePro.[13] However, it has since acquired a negative stigma in the media. The game has been criticized for having first generation graphics, a problematic camera, and a steep learning curve for controls.
Defenders of the game also respond with the fact that Castlevania was the first game that Konami KCEK had programmed in 3D.[14] They also speculate that the game was rushed out for a holiday release. Many elements of this claim are evident, such as how the werewolf Cornell and chainsaw-wielding Coller were cut from the game. Technical problems and sacrificed material would later be addressed in its sequel, Legacy of Darkness.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c IGN Staff (24 September 1997). Dracula 64 Out for Blood (HTML). IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ a b Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe (KCEK). Castlevania. Konami. Nintendo 64. (in English). (1999-01-26)
- ^ CASTLEVANIA (HTML) (Japanese). Konami (2002). Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
- ^ Kalata, Kurt (26 July 2006). Tales from The Crypt: Castlevania's 20th Anniversary Blow-Out (HTM). 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-19.
- ^ Image of the most recent English language timeline.
- ^ IGN staff (18 February 1998). Bring Out the Garlic... (HTML). IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ IGN staff (8 October 1998). TGS: Konami Whips Castlevania into Shape (HTML). IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ IGN staff (21 October 1998). Castlevania Revisited (HTML). IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ IGN staff (11 January 1999). Coming Soon in Japan (HTML). IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ IGN staff (11 January 1999). N64 Games in January (HTML). IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ IGN staff (18 January 1999). Konami's '99 Lineup (HTML). IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ IGN staff (26 January 1999). Beware Dracula (HTML). IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
- ^ Castlevania review scores. GameStats.com. Retrieved 12 December 2005.
- ^ Austin, Dean (1999-11-18). Behind the Castle Walls (HTML). IGN. Retrieved on 2005-12-12.
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||
