Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (PlayStation 2)

Reviewed by Greg Kasavin
Review date: 10/21/03
Release date: 10/21/03

Vampires, whips, and gothic horror are together in full 3D for the first time in a while in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, arguably the first polygonal Castlevania that's deserving of the name. Konami's ageless series of action games, which has enjoyed something of a renaissance these past few years on the Game Boy Advance, makes its inevitable debut on the PlayStation 2 with considerable aplomb. The game looks great, runs silky smooth, and features the best soundtrack heard in the series since the now-legendary 1997 title, Symphony of the Night. And, unlike the recent 2D Castlevania games, this one had to start from scratch and couldn't reuse a lot of the same graphics, sounds, and mechanics as its predecessor. This means that Lament of Innocence will offer an original experience to fans of the series, who'll undoubtedly enjoy seeing some of their favorite Castlevania monsters and gameplay rendered this well in 3D. On the other hand, this latest game in the series feels rather stripped down compared with, say, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, which was released earlier this year for the GBA. Lament is a fun, though fairly short and simple, game that marks a promising new beginning for this beloved series.

Join Leon, the aristocrat-turned-vampire hunter, in his quest to save his beloved from the clutches of an evil vampire.

Every Castlevania game pretty much tells the same story: It's you, the lone adventurer, versus a deadly vampire, usually Dracula himself, and an evil castle filled with monsters that stand in the way. The particulars this time involve one Leon Belmont, who's every bit the dandy that the last few Castlevania heroes have been. He's a former aristocrat who's abandoned his title and courageously set forth in an attempt to rescue his beloved, who was apparently abducted by a vampire. Leon is just a short distance from the vampire's foreboding castle when he meets Rinaldo, a wise old alchemist who (in a surprisingly long-winded opening cutscene) gives to Leon a whip imbued with the power to thwart evil. Leon can't say no to that, and, whip in hand, he walks straight into his enemy's fortress. There, he'll face legions of skeletons, ghouls, demons, and more before he finally confronts his sworn enemy.

Any longtime Castlevania fan, when faced with the reality of a new 3D installment in the series, is concerned with just one question: Seriously, is it a Castlevania game? The straight answer, in this case, is yes--for the most part.

On the plus side, even if this game were called something other than "Castlevania," fans of the series would still, by all means, recognize it as such. It features many of the particular elements that fans of the series know and love, and while you might expect that it would be easy to brand just about any game featuring medieval weapons and undead monsters as a Castlevania, this one distinctly captures much of the look and feel that the best games in the series share in common. But, on the downside, Lament of Innocence simply lacks the depth of games like Aria of Sorrow and Symphony of the Night. Unlike those games, this one has virtually no role-playing elements to speak of, the level design is particularly simple and repetitive, and, overall, the game just has less content by comparison. There are fewer types of enemies, fewer types of weapons and items, and so forth. Series fans may find all this a little disappointing. However, they, and anyone else, should rest assured that, on its own merits, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is by every means a fast-paced and entertaining action game whose main strengths lie in the execution of its action.

It's a good thing Leon is handed a magical whip at the beginning of the game. He can't do much without it.

It's at least a little ironic that this new Castlevania is clearly inspired by Capcom's terrific 2001 game Devil May Cry, which was apparently inspired by the Castlevania series in the first place. Like Capcom's game, this one is 2D at heart despite the fully 3D visuals. The play mechanics are highly responsive, and the emphasis is on fast action rather than on camera manipulation or any cumbersome controls. In fact, like in Devil May Cry, you have no control over the camera at all; it shifts automatically as you proceed through the game's countless series of corridors and antechambers.

The camera angle is rarely a detriment, though there will undoubtedly be times when you'll be struck from offscreen; another minor issue is that the controls are always relative to the camera, so as the camera angle shifts, you'll need to compensate with the left analog stick to keep Leon moving straight ahead. Also, the combination of the constantly shifting camera angles (which tend to shift jarringly as you move from room to room) and the absence of a compass needle on the main game screen means you'll constantly be referring to your automap of the castle. The map is clear and easy to read and comes up quickly when you hit the select button. Still, you'll need to glance at it all the time as you try to plot a course from point A to point B, since it's so easy to become disoriented while traveling through the castle's same-looking hallways.