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Why does Castlevania 64 get so much slander

E

Ermac

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Dec 24, 2007
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I like this game a lot. I played it a lot as a teen, and also did a playthrough a few years back and had a ton of fun with it. The only negative to me is the wonky platforming, but with save states it's not as bad.

Also Rosa is top 3 Castlevania characters without a doubt.



What is Gaf's general opinion of this game.
 
A

abstract alien

Member
Oct 11, 2007
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I thought the beginning of the game was awful. My cousin powered through it and, yes, it gets so much better later on. Really enjoyed it after that.
 
B

brandonh83

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Jun 26, 2005
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The game has really terrific atmosphere thanks to the low-key music and muted colors. Surprisingly. I don't think it's a great game but it's certainly moody as hell.
 
D

Deadpool_X

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Jan 22, 2014
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The same reason most people hate Zelda 2: They have never played it, but heard from a vocal minority that it sucks, therefore, they continue the hatred, but blind to why they truly hate it.

Personally, I love it. I've beaten it many a time.
 
C

Corpekata

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Jun 7, 2013
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I remember thinking it had some pretty good atmosphere back in the day. The vendor/salesman guy gave me the willies. Don't remember much else though.
 
B

bon

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Jun 20, 2009
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I've always liked it. It's janky in some areas but for the time I think it was a solid attempt at a 3D Castlevania. Great soundtrack and atmosphere.
 
T

Troidal

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Jun 7, 2004
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Certainly was the best 3D Castlevania which captured the atmosphere quite well. Moreso than the PS2 3D ones. Those were garbage.

Not sure if it stand the test of time though. I haven't touched it since I played it on release.
 
T

Tabular

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Jun 1, 2013
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Because of expectations being too high. The 2d Castlevania's that came before it were godlike and people were foolish enough to think that a 3d version would be as good or better. It was very very disappointing to say the least.
 
V

vocab

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Feb 12, 2009
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Its got some good stuff to it I will admit. I hate the camera. Also, when I first played it I realized I couldn't progress on easy because it stops you on stage 5.

Also,
the more you use the shope the harder the game gets. Shop keeper becomes a boss
. Mind blown.

I have the players guide to this game and some of the later levels always looked cool, but never got there as a kid.
 
NeonZ

NeonZ

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Dec 7, 2005
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If I recall correctly, most of the hate for this game seemed to be basically retroactive - after its prequel turned out to be just an expansion pack, it was retroactively considered antiquated and a misstep for the series, but it seemed to have a positive critical reception initially.
 
P

Phediuk

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Sep 10, 2013
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Because it wasn't a very good game. Even compared to other N64 action/adventures it was hopelessly outclassed by at least a dozen other games. It wasn't terrible and people exaggerate its awfulness in retrospect but it was pretty "meh" even at the time.

And compared to Symphony of the Night it was a pile of doo-doo.
 
K

kick51

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Apr 18, 2013
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from what I've seen, it seems way better than or Lament of Innocence or Curse of Darkness.
 
S

someguyinahat

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Jun 23, 2009
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The camera was probably the toughest boss in the game. Also, it does have a different feel from the 2D castlevanias so that may have turned some people off. But was it a bad game? No. It wasn't great, but it was good.
 
G

Gentleman Jack

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Apr 19, 2011
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Two reasons that keep cropping up are the camera and the 'blow a hole through that wall' quest. I never played it, but I definitely remember at the time most 3-D games hadn't quite figured out intuitive camera movement or interfaces so I skipped it entirely.
 
kunonabi

kunonabi

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Dec 2, 2010
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Troidal said:
Certainly was the best 3D Castlevania which captured the atmosphere quite well. Moreso than the PS2 3D ones. Those were garbage.

Not sure if it stand the test of time though. I haven't touched it since I played it on release.
Click to expand...
It still stands up pretty well. The level design and atmosphere make for shortcomings in the camera and occasional clunkiness. As the last major CV done in the classic style it's well worth playing. The game reviewed well at release, aside from shitformer, and it's really the metroidvania nuthuggers that have gone out of their way to discredit it.
 
J

Jamix012

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Jun 6, 2012
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It's one of those games that AVGN reveiws and thus starts spreading bad word of mouth. I haven't played it, but I know people who like that game.
 
R

Reallink

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Jan 7, 2008
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It was compared to SotN and found wanting. They were released like a year apart. No surprise or conspiracy, it was a first attempt at 3D in a time of clunky 3D adaptations.
 
E

Eusis

Member
Apr 15, 2011
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Early 3D jank.

I enjoyed it, but that you pointed out needing savestates to mitigate platforming issues kind of highlights part of why people didn't like it. Also SotN blew people away and there may've been some 2D favoring among the CV group (I admittedly can be one of those, I just want 3D to be used well and to not be treated as inherently making 2D obsolete. Being a properly 3D platformer CV64 didn't really bug me though.)
 
M

mantidor

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Jul 24, 2009
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I loved the game.

Skeletons on motorcycles was all kinds of wrong though, but I really enjoy it, I still prefered the girl to be honest, the whip didn't worked as well in 3D.
 
T

TreIII

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May 15, 2006
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It's a decent game in its own right, but it's clear that it was rushed to meet that Holiday release. Konami's Kobe branch didn't have the time to even put everything they wanted into the game.

Legacy of Darkness was closer to the game we should have gotten from the outset.
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Oct 13, 2008
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It's not slander, it's libel.

And either way, truth is a defense. Castlevania 64 is a turd.


Signed,

A Lament of Innocence fan
 
N

Ninjimbo

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Nov 11, 2010
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NeonZ said:
If I recall correctly, most of the hate for this game seemed to be basically retroactive - after its prequel turned out to be just an expansion pack, it was retroactively considered antiquated and a misstep for the series, but it seemed to have a positive critical reception initially.
Click to expand...
The game was received well at the time. It even got a few 9's in EGM.

As a kid, it creeped me the fuck out but it was fun to play. The only thing I didn't like was that the game was too hard for me at the time. I never saw an end to it. The game felt pretty close to the old games only in 3D.
 
M

Moofers

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Apr 15, 2010
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Anyone who says this was better than Lament of Innocence is out of their minds with N64 nostalgia. The game was a turd, plain and simple. It had decent atmosphere and a few standout moments, but it was really generic and the soundtrack was terrible compared to SOTN which came out first in the same generation.

Lament of Innocence was really the great one that people like to look back on and scoff at. It had the same amazing composer as SOTN, great bosses, and solid combat. Plus all kinds of hidden areas and weapon powerups. Play that one and leave the N64 turd in the closet where it belongs.

To be fair, I didn't play the werewolf edition of the N64 game. I heard mixed things about it.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

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Mar 31, 2009
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It's not amazing, but it's pretty fun

The snazzier n64 one, Legacy of Darkness, is a preferable experience to lords of shadow for sure
 
W

Warewolf

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Aug 4, 2013
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No idea, honestly never really hear much about it. It's in the top 5 N64 games for me. Catch me on a good day it might even be top 3.
 
W

Wishmaster92

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Apr 16, 2012
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I think cornell's story in lod was better, but i really enjoyed both games back then. Great soundtrack too.
 
T

TheYanger

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Dec 24, 2008
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Jamix012 said:
It's one of those games that AVGN reveiws and thus starts spreading bad word of mouth. I haven't played it, but I know people who like that game.
Click to expand...
Let's be fair, it had bad word of mouth way before that. Everyone I knew was disappointed with this game when it came out. It's certainly not unplayable, but you're talking about one of the most beloved franchises in gaming at that time being reduced to 'eh'

It was pretty bad.
 
Iorv3th

Iorv3th

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Jan 16, 2013
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It had some pretty awful platforming early on that prevented me from getting far enough to give much of a shit about it. I was pretty excited for it but just stopped playing it because of it.
 
N

Ninja Scooter

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Jun 7, 2004
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considering the technology it packed some pretty sweet atmosphere. I remember the Villa level being cool as hell. I can't imagine it's aged all that well though. The controls were pretty mediocre even for their time.
 
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