Before I get into the bulk of this review, I must impress that Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is by no means a remake. Leave whatever you have heard at the door. This new entry into the series is a prequel. Set in the times before the name Belmont became common place, this new Castlevania is a true and proper transition into the third dimension. Lament of Innocence succeeds where Castlevania 64 failed. You cannot simply take a Belmont ’s whip and name, throw it on a cartridge and slap the Castlevania brand onto it. The series simply did not work as a third person hack and slash. Not only did it disappoint fans but it left a sour taste in many peoples mouth’s whenever they thought of the term “remake”. Konami has done an admirable job of keeping the new game true to its heritage. Lament of Innocence does not disappoint. While it does have minor flaws, none of them keep the game from being one of this year’s best.

 

            Castlevania’s plot is quite simple. You play as a young Belmont who is in search of his true love. She obviously stumbled upon a bad crowd (Dracula) and was kidnapped. While the damsel in distress vehicle is pretty obvious, it has always worked for the series and it is never more or less than how it is presented. You meet a shopkeeper who sells products to people who intend to visit the mysterious castle (how he stays in business, I dare not ask). He gives you a whip and sends you on your way to the castle. As you can see, the plot doesn’t hold much of a grasp over the game, which leaves a lot of room for the bulky gameplay.

 

            As you may have guessed, the game stays true to all aspects of the originals. You basically storm the castle and explore hundreds of rooms, solving puzzles and bashing in the heads of skeletons. The best aspect of the game is simply how well it controls. Although you are playing in a 3D environment, you truly feel as if you are playing a traditional side scroller. When you start out you fight the usual easy enemies and don’t have many of the neat special powers that you usually get later on. But as you get farther into the castle, the game gets progressively harder as the enemies require more skill to defeat. The balance of difficulty is superb. It never feels too hard or too easy which is something most games these days lack. As I stated before, you start of with a basic whip which can be upgraded later on in the game. You also have the familiar side weapons that are commonplace in all games of the series. Once you find the powerup, you can unleash a special power, whether it is daggers or holy water. Most of these items are used for a last resort because throughout most of the game, you will be whipping your opponents into the ground. You collect hearts so that you have enough power to use them. As with almost every Castlevania game since Symphony of the Night, there is a special innovative idea that is tested. With Circle of the Moon you would collect cards and combine them to create special powers and it was the most exciting aspect of the game. Lament of Innocence does have a feature similar to this but it is used to a much more subtle degree. When you come across certain enemies they will attack you with a magic spell, when they do, you simply hold the block button and absorb the magic and then use it back on them in the form of a special power. These powers can be gained from certain key items throughout the game. There are many ways to defeat your opponents and those are just a few ways, but the giant bosses that appear, require a lot more than a “special” power. The bosses in the Castlevania series have always been a big attraction. They make no less of an impression in the newest installment. They are bigger, badder and tougher, and most of all, they require actual skill to defeat. All in all the game will take most gamers about 10 hours to complete if they keep with it. Luckily there are enough secrets to keep you coming back for more.

 

            Lament of Innocence’s strength comes from its gritty and gothic depiction of its environments. The textures emit a haunting feel and the character models and designs complement that. While nothing in the game is extraordinary, the graphics do a great job of depicting a mysterious castle filled with demons and when it comes down to it all, that’s what really matters. How it is presented. So when you have great textures, a great framerate and excellent art design, is the sound expected to follow through? Well of course it is and in most respects the audio presentation is wonderfully delivered. The musical score isn’t exactly haunting but it is mellow enough to present a spooky feel to the whole setting. Most of the tracks are techno based which doesn’t exactly fit the theme but then again, this is wild and crazy Konami we are talking about here. The voice acting is decent and for the most part it does its job. I feel they could have chosen better actors for some of the key players though.

 

            Lament of Innocence is the best 3D remake of a classic series since Rygar and because that was only a year ago, I guess the fate of remakes is in good shape. For a fun action romp or pure nostalgic pleasure, Lament of Innocence is the best way to spend money on a full priced game. Is it perfect? Of course not, but it has enough of an effect that it makes us remember why we enjoyed the games of old. Sometimes leaving a formula alone is better than putting it through the pain and hardships of uncertain evolution. It plays the same as the older ones. So what? Remember, you play games to have fun.