Quickie Review: Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (PS2)

3D Castlevania games have never been good, right? Well, almost. I’ve played Castlevania 64, Legacy of Darkness, Curse of Darkness and Lament of Innocence. Of those four, 64 was painful, Legacy of Darkness was almost the same exact game, Curse of Darkness felt  too arcade like to me. But Lament of Innocence was the first and only 3D Castlevania that’s worth playing.

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This was another game where the right analog did not control the camera. Unlike Grabbed by the Ghoulies, you used the right analog stick as a means of quick equip. The camera is somewhat problematic throughout the game, never getting enough of what you need to see. You have zero control over where the camera follows. It can become a major hassle a lot of the time, however it’s no where as bad as the Nintendo 64 installments.

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While the size of these bosses are much larger in this 3D Castlevania game, the camera sometimes becomes a bigger foe.

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The game looks moderately good for a PS2 title. Animations are pretty clean, the castle looks morbid and gloomy, and bosses look espectially well done. It plays like a mix of Devil May Cry and God of War, but without the overdone, insanely annoying QTE. You can pull off combos, learn new ones, double jump, use sub weapons and so on. The best of both worlds are represented, and for the most part it works well enough.

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That’s not to say everything works well. Even with the castle looking decent, far too many hallways look the same. I mean exactly the same, right down to torch placements. The diffculty spikes up occasionally, especially at the bosses. The staples of Castlevania – the sub weapons, are all spread out inside the castle. You can see where you can get them by the icons on the map screen. Speaking of map screens, Lament of Innocence can benefit immensely from a map in game, rather than pressing select to halt the action. The music sounds good for the most part, but repeated way too often. Sometimes it sounds like the last sections of Final Fantasy 6. While that’s not bad whatsoever, it doesn’t feel fresh. Finally, you will get lost easily, without much help in the way of finding where to go.

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While its no Symphony of the Night, its definitely no Castlevania Adventures on Game Boy. It’s the only worth playing 3D Castlevania title, with apparent flaws, but some entertainment regardless. If you can overlook the somewhat recycled backgrounds, confusing navigation and diffculty spikes, you should find Lament of Innocence to be a decent game.

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It's not a bad game! No need to get yourself decapitated!

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Rating: 7.3