Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
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| Castlevania: Curse of Darkness | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Designer(s) | Koji Igarashi (producer) Takashi Takeda (director) Shinichiro Shimamura (lead designer) |
| Series | Castlevania |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| Release date |  November 5, 2005 November 24, 2005 February 17, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M (Mature) (17+) CERO: C (15+) PEGI: 12+ |
| Media | DVD |
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula: Yami no Juin (悪魔城ドラキュラ 闇の呪印 Akumajō Dorakyura: Yami no Juin?, Demon Castle Dracula: Curse of Darkness), is a console video game developed by Konami for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. It was produced by Koji Igarashi (also known as IGA), who has worked on several other games in the Castlevania series, including Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Also returning are series artist Ayami Kojima and composer Michiru Yamane.
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[edit] Gameplay
A 3D game like Lament of Innocence before it, Curse of Darkness differs from its predecessor in a number of ways, including a more complex, action/adventure style of gameplay, much like Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow. Hector is not a member of the Belmont clan, so he does not use the "Vampire Killer" whip; instead he has the ability (much like Alucard and Soma Cruz) to equip a variety of different weapons ranging from swords, spears, guns, bombs and brass knuckles. However, there is an extra gameplay mode after finishing the game that allows players to play as Trevor Belmont, equipped with the "Vampire Killer" and the classic subweapons (knife, axe, holy water, cross and stopwatch). The battle system is somewhat similar to that of Dynasty Warriors, whereas one button is used for standard attacks (which can be strung together into a series of combos), and a secondary button is used for stronger "finishing attacks" after a singular standard attack or a combo of standard attacks. As the player acquires progressively stronger weapons throughout the game, the number of standard and finishing attacks the player can perform increase accordingly. Each different weapon type has a different set of combos that can be performed.
Departing from the central hub level layout of Lament of Innocence, wherein the player chooses from a number of distinct stages all accessible from a central hallway, Curse of Darkness features a more complete game world with a complete castle map as in Symphony of the Night. However, the game still uses the same map engine as Lament of Innocence, rather than the square-based grid of 2-D Castlevanias. Furthermore, a noticeable difference in level design is that much of the game does NOT take place in Dracula's castle, but rather exploring forests, mountains, and villages in Europe. The player will be also aided by "Innocent Devils" (creatures developed by Hector himself), through the Devil Forgery skill, in order to defeat enemies and solve puzzles within the game. The Innocent Devils (commonly referred as I.D's) come in 6 different types.
- Fairy Type (Aids Hector with healing.)
- Battle Type (The physically strongest of the I.D's. Has the most Heart points.)
- Bird Type (Flying I.D's that fight other airborne monsters.)
- Mage type (Attacks with long-distance magic.)
- Devil Type (The ultimate type of innocent devil.)
- Pumpkin Type (Only included for humour, though they raise the luck stat significantly.)
[edit] Plot
According to Igarashi, Curse of Darkness is set in the year 1479 , three years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Though defeated by vampire hunter Trevor Belmont, Dracula's curse continues to ravage the European countryside, spreading disease, mob violence, and heresy in its wake. Amidst all this devastation is Hector, a Devil Forgemaster who had formerly worked under the employ of Dracula but betrayed him sometime during the events of Castlevania III. Eventually growing disgusted with Dracula's brutal methods, Hector leaves Castlevania and relinquishes his powers to live amongst humans, settling down to live a peaceful life. When Hector's fiance Rosaly is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake, Hector learns that her murder was directed by his fellow Forgemaster, Isaac. Seeking revenge, Hector chases his former colleague back to his old home, and back to the demonic life he believed he had left behind him.
When the game begins, Hector arrives at the ruins of Castlevania to confront Isaac. The latter scoffs at his desire for revenge and dares him to regain his powers so they can settle their score in a satisfying way. Hector reluctantly accepts the challenge, and starts hunting his former friend across the Transylvanian countryside. During his quest, he encounters several people: Julia Laforeze, a young witch in exile who turns out to be Isaac's sister, Trevor Belmont, who distrusts him for being a Devil Forgemaster, Zead, a kindly holyman who provides him with reliable information about Isaac's whereabouts, and St. Germain, a mysterious time traveller who presses him to abandon his quest, but eventually leaves him alone with some cryptic comments about a "new destiny" having emerged for him.
At one point, Trevor decides to trust Hector, and uses his own blood to unlock a parallel world called the Infinite Corridor, where Isaac is supposedly hiding. However, when Hector fights a Dullahan there, an evil glyph channels his energy and uses it to summon a new incarnation of Dracula's castle. Isaac, who intended this all along, cruelly stabs Trevor and leaves him for dead.
Hector enters the new Castlevania, where he fights and defeats his nemesis. As he prepares to kill him in a fit of rage, he suddenly remembers Julia, who had warned him not to let the Curse take hold of him. Horrified, Hector realizes that his actions are being controlled by Dracula's Curse. A triumphant Zead appears and confirms this, explaining that the Devil Forgemasters were supposed to fight to the death, with the blood-stained victor becoming the vessel for the Count's reincarnation. Having secured Isaac's body for this purpose, he reveals himself to be Death and attacks, in vain. Hector proceeds to destroy Dracula, and then uses his powers as a Devil Forgemaster to lift the Curse. Julia comes to his rescue, and they start a new life together. Meanwhile, St. Germain departs for the distant future, wondering how the struggle between mankind and Dracula will end.
[edit] Characters
Hector - Main Protagonist of the game. Former Devil-forgemaster. He betrayed Dracula and left for a normal life. He took back his devil forgemaster powers in order to defeat Isaac and once again bring peace back to the land. The player controls Hector in the normal play mode.
Trevor Belmont (playable) - A member of the Belmont family. Wields the legendary Vampire Killer whip of his family. He isn't "well-known" until later on in the game. After the player beats the game as Hector, Trevor Mode is unlocked (by naming a new file as @trevor).
Isaac - Hector's fellow devil-forgemaster, he stayed loyal to Dracula after Trevor defeated him a few years before the start of the game. The player will fight Isaac a few times over the course of the game.
Dracula - As with most Castlevania games, he is the main antagonist of the game. He is revived, and the player must once again defeat his two forms in order to return peace to the land.
Julia Laforeze - Isaac's sister. She provides items for the player in a shop. Similar to Rinaldo from Lament of Innocence.
Zead - Seemingly someone who is against Dracula, though is later on revealed to be Death himself.
St. Germain - A person against Death. He can travel through time and does fight Hector at one point in the game.
[edit] Bosses
Below is a list of bosses the player will fight in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.
- Crazy Armor
- Wyvern
- Trevor Belmont
- Skeleton Diver
- Minotaurus
- Isaac with Innocent Devil (Abel)
- St. Germain
- Trevor Belmont
- Dullahan
- Isaac
- Death
- Dracula
- Dracula (Demon Form)
- Optional Bosses
- Legion
- Nuculais
[edit] Music
Michiru Yamane once again composes the music. The guitars that were missing from Lament of Innocence's score reappear in quite a few tunes, lending to a sort of retro-feeling of older Castlevania titles that had more progressive rock soundtracks. The opening drum roll from the classic Castlevania III song, "Beginning", appears in a few songs too, including Trevor Belmont's boss theme (who happens to hail from said game). The name enter screen, option screen, and load game screen music is reminiscent of the Requiem of The Gods Theme from Symphony of the Night, mostly in the chorus. There was a sampler given away as a bonus to anyone who pre-ordered a copy of Castlevania: Curse of Darkness from supporting retailers.
[edit] Reception
The game garnered mediocre reception, generating from mid to high review scores. Common praises often go to the game's battle system - which as stated by IGN "...can offer up a fairly wide variety of skirmishes and strategies..." - , the Innocent Devil system and musical score. Common criticisms of the game go to the game's environments, which have generally been considered dull and repetitive. X-Play gave Curse of Darkness a 3 out of 5 while IGN gave it a 7.8, or "Good" rating.[1] GamePro Magazine gave the game a 4.0 out of a 5.0 fun factor, stating that it was a game that got more intriguing as it goes on. Gamespot rated it 6.8, saying it looked good and had solid controls, but the level design was "monotonous".[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Roper, Chris (October 31st, 2005). Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. ign.com. Retrieved on 2006-06-04.
- ^ Greg Kasavin (November 1st, 2005). Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. Gamespot.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
- "Castlevania: Curse of Darkness." play Magazine. February 2005. pp. 18–22.
[edit] External links
- Official website (Japanese)
- Metacritic entry (PS2) & (XBOX)
- Curse of Darkness entry at GameSpot, with preview screenshots and videos
- PS2 onf Gamefaqs
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