Review Mazinkaiser 4/5 · Jun 24, 2026
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness: Like Moon Card and Sun Card
NOTE: this mainly consists of Cornell and Henry's playthroughs. I already weathered Reinhardt and Carrie in the original but sampled Reinhardt's playthrough a smidge to see some changes.
Legacy of Darkness is a legitimate step up from the original Castlevania 64 - not just a remaster but a control and level design improvement in ways that really smoothed out the …
NOTE: this mainly consists of Cornell and Henry's playthroughs. I already weathered Reinhardt and Carrie in the original but sampled Reinhardt's playthrough a smidge to see some changes.
Legacy of Darkness is a legitimate step up from the original Castlevania 64 - not just a remaster but a control and level design improvement in ways that really smoothed out the rougher edges on the original.
Starting with adding both prequel AND sequel campaigns, the player starts out as the man-beast Cornell in his attempt to save his sister Ada from being sacrificed to Dracula. After saving a young boy, that young boy grows up to save kidnapped children in the time of Reinhardt and Carrie's adventures.
This game plays very similarly to the original, with some big exceptions - gone are the three camera views, instead sticking with action vs battle (and an auto view for tricky corners). Control wise jumping on ledges feels much better, and the framerate has dramatically improved (along with graphical detail and added cutscenes!) Many of the levels have been redesigned and traversal along them are remixed, and subweapons can now scale with repeated pickups. There are still plenty of instant deaths from falls but the game feels much tighter to navigate and combat feels less like a hassle.
The moody atmosphere of the original remains intact, with some more exciting nods to older Castlevania tracks that feel much more memorable and exciting - add that to the improvements and you have a title that is finally worthy of the Castlevania name. As tempting as it may be to try out the original Castlevania 64, Legacy of Darkness has everything you want and need from a 3D Castlevania and more.
