Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness

Legacy of Darkness is an expanded version of the series' first 3D entry, Castlevania for the Nintendo 64, which Konami released in that same year. The player once again makes their way through Dracula's castle, full of drawbridges, stone gargoyles and dark corners, fighting bats, zombies and the series' classic bosses, hunting for keys and special items that open new paths, all while wrestling with the camera and lighting typical of early 3D adventures of that era. The game still keeps the atmosphere and interconnected level structure that makes Castlevania recognizable even outside its usual 2D form, and offers a choice between two differently playable characters with their own paths and endings through the castle.

Compared to the original version on the same console, this isn't just a reissue with a different cover. Legacy of Darkness adds an entirely new campaign as Cornell, a werewolf hero from an earlier point in the series' story, with completely original levels, unique transformation abilities and a different close-combat fighting style than Reinhardt or Carrie, who rely on a whip and ranged magic. On top of that, the developers reworked the fog and draw distance in scenes to partly cover up the technical limitations of the first version, added support for the N64 Expansion Pak for a sharper, less foggy image, added new environments and bosses, adjusted enemy placement and overall pushed the game toward higher difficulty and a longer playtime. The result feels like a more thorough, more mature version of the same concept rather than a mere port to another platform, and fans still treat it today as the definitive form of the series' N64 era, since it contains practically everything the first version offered, plus its own extra content on top.

Why play it: Legacy of Darkness will appeal to players who want to see how Castlevania first tried its hand at 3D, while also wanting the most complete form of that attempt, including the bonus campaign as Cornell and better Expansion Pak support, which the base Nintendo 64 version lacks — it's the clearer choice for anyone who wants to revisit this era of the series just once.