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Castlevania 64; seriously fun but a bit flawed...and other "its not GREAT but I still love it" games

VGEsoterica

Member
Maybe its just nostalgia talking and the fact I got Castlevania 64 for my birthday in 1999...but I've never fully understood the amount of crap C64 and Legacy of Darkness received from fans. Sure they aren't the classic 2D entries we all grew up with and fell in love with...but that doesn't mean they aren't fun in their own right.

It was a blast to see Castlevania go into the third dimension and suddenly look so different from what we were used to. Levels were bigger, exploration felt grander and seeing all the iconic monsters in 3D was really a sight to behold when these games released. Throw in some light puzzle solving and a legit SOLID soundtrack (especially for Nintendo 64 / cartridges vs something like Symphony of the Night having CDs to store the music) and you have a genuinely enjoyable experience all around.

Then Legacy of Darkness comes in...expands the entire game...and fixes some of the shortcomings of the original Castlevania 64.

Curious who else on GAF enjoys these two games? Because even if a game isn't great doesn't stop us from loving it!

So whats your fav '"ts not great but I still love it" game. For me the number one pick would be Jersey Devil on PS1. NOT a good game...but I love it
 
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nkarafo

Member
It's not as good as the best 2D ones but it's still the best 3D Castlevania in my book. Though the standards are low.
 

Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
It's pretty terrible. But I love playing bad games sometimes. You can kind of see the man behind the curtain a bit, instead of everything being so polished it barely feels like a game. I also kinda miss the era when games were experimenting on how to handle 3D movement, camera, combat. It's homogenized for a reason in many cases, but I miss the inventiveness and variety still.
 

Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
standards are so low they dug a hole in the basement so they could get lower than basement level
The series is certainly weird in 3D, but man I miss the PS2 ones. And let's not even discuss Lords of Shadow since I think it's by far the best in the entire series.
 

deriks

4-Time GIF/Meme God
It's not a big flawed, it's a lot. Camera is weird, no Z targeting, confused map, difficulty spikes all over the game... I played for love, but holy shit, it's tough to swallow
 

01011001

Banned
Deadly Premonition 1 and 2. Both severely flawed. But they're weird and have great charm. I even played the second one for like 40+ hours at about 15fps. haha

the second one was really hard to get through tho. terrible game in every aspect. the first one wasn't really that awful, at least if you take into account where it came from.

as a game originally developed for PSP and then ported over to 360 it's overall decent I'd say.

but the second one is not only FAR WORSE IN EVERY WAY but it also has no excuse now anymore.

I love them too but god damn that second game is really hard to love
 
the second one was really hard to get through tho. terrible game in every aspect. the first one wasn't really that awful, at least if you take into account where it came from.

as a game originally developed for PSP and then ported over to 360 it's overall decent I'd say.

but the second one is not only FAR WORSE IN EVERY WAY but it also has no excuse now anymore.

I love them too but god damn that second game is really hard to love
It was too grindy and the combat sections were too padded. I like the skateboard a lot more than the car though. I had to see it through to the end, but yea, the first one is better in every way except the mode of transportation imo.
 

01011001

Banned
It was too grindy and the combat sections were too padded. I like the skateboard a lot more than the car though. I had to see it through to the end, but yea, the first one is better in every way except the mode of transportation imo.

the skateboard was a cool idea indeed... could have done more with it tho. it only was used once I think in a way that isn't just going from point A to point B

the worst part for me in 2 were that all of the dungeons were the exact same just with different layouts that all looked like really badly made procedurally generated mazes
 

VGEsoterica

Member
the skateboard was a cool idea indeed... could have done more with it tho. it only was used once I think in a way that isn't just going from point A to point B

the worst part for me in 2 were that all of the dungeons were the exact same just with different layouts that all looked like really badly made procedurally generated mazes
the dungeons were a bit of a letdown
 

00_Zer0

Member
Maybe its just nostalgia talking and the fact I got Castlevania 64 for my birthday in 1999...but I've never fully understood the amount of crap C64 and Legacy of Darkness received from fans. Sure they aren't the classic 2D entries we all grew up with and fell in love with...but that doesn't mean they aren't fun in their own right.

It was a blast to see Castlevania go into the third dimension and suddenly look so different from what we were used to. Levels were bigger, exploration felt grander and seeing all the iconic monsters in 3D was really a sight to behold when these games released. Throw in some light puzzle solving and a legit SOLID soundtrack (especially for Nintendo 64 / cartridges vs something like Symphony of the Night having CDs to store the music) and you have a genuinely enjoyable experience all around.

Then Legacy of Darkness comes in...expands the entire game...and fixes some of the shortcomings of the original Castlevania 64.

Curious who else on GAF enjoys these two games? Because even if a game isn't great doesn't stop us from loving it!

So whats your fav '"ts not great but I still love it" game. For me the number one pick would be Jersey Devil on PS1. NOT a good game...but I love it
Yeah I've been meaning to play Legacy of Darkness with the fanmade texture pack one day. One so-so game I enjoyed back in the day was Broken Helix for PS1. I played that game from start to finish and enjoyed all of Bruce Campbells one liners.
 

OCASM

Banned
Replayed both of them last month. They're pretty good games. Atmosphere and music wise they're excellent. The only people who hate them are the 2D purists.

LoD is not exactly a superset of C64 so if you've never played them my recommendation is to play them like this:
- LoD: Kornell's quest.
- C64: Carrie's quest.
- C64: Reindhart's quest.
- LoD: Henry's quest.
- LoD: Carrie's / Reinhart's quests.
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
I’m going to go with Minecraft Dungeons. I’ve never played Minecraft in my life, but as a fan of ARPGs I gave this a shot during a Game Pass promo.

My first impression was this is baby’s first ARPG. And it kinda is… but then I kept playing it…and playing it..and playing it.

I was still having fun regardless. Hell, I’m thinking of grabbing the Ultimate Edition right now while it’s on sale. There’s just something about an ARPG that grabs me.
 

dwish

Member
Got a bunch of those on PS1. Some examples...

Future Cop LAPD
Unholy War
Ehrgeiz
Hogs of War
Croc

Edit:
More recently, FFXV
 
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kunonabi

Member
CV64 is my favorite game in the series even if I consider III to be the best. It was one of the only 3D platformers of the era that felt like a classic platformer with its tight jumps, invisible and rotating platforms, and aggressive enemy placement. I enjoyed the story and characters, the atmosphere, bigger focus on actual vampire elements, and how the castle actually felt like a real place.

It had issues to be sure, although I was lucky enough to avoid one of them, but to me it's still the template for classic Castlevania gameplay in 3D. I wasn't so fond of Legacy of Darkness though since I preferred the original stage layouts.
 
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TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Dragon's Dogma my be the epitome of flawed games that are still real fun to play.

When it comes to Castlevania 64, I wasn't able to get into it. That first level in the forest drained most of my will to keep playing it.
 
Isn't Goonies 2 on the NES supposed to be bad? I loved it as a kid.

I don't remember much about it I'm sure if I tried replaying it today, I'd ruin my childhood memory.
 
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JimmyF

Member
Did not play c64, but Legacy is an incredible game.
Controls and camera were quite good for its time and the platforming was surprisingly good as well. The team that made this game did a good job, remember this was the early days of 3D games and a lot of developers struggled with 3d back then.
If you like the Souls games then this should be right up your alley.

C64 and LoD get a lot of underserved hate, I mean it's nowhere near Earthworm Jim 3D bad.
 

Crayon

Member
Oof I have so many games I love that really are not all that. That gets divided into ones that I would and would not play now.

Here's a really rough one that I will still play - Mechwarrior 2 on ps1/saturn. A case where dumbing something down has some pretty decent results. It's not better than the original by any stretch but I like it alot.
 

BlackTron

Gold Member
N64 wasn’t meant to be a showcase for Castlevania games.

PSX wasn't meant to be a Castlevania showcase either and we got SotN out of it.

Just because a console wasn't "meant" for a series doesn't mean we shouldn't judge a game on it by its own merits.
 

jaysius

Banned
VGEsoterica VGEsoterica No youtube video this time?

Joe Biden Reaction GIF by The Democrats
Confused Stephen Colbert GIF by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
 

VGEsoterica

Member
He forgot lol, here's the video.



Don't mikd the shilling, those threads are probably amongst my favorite ones on gaf.

moderator deleted it...so I guess thats not allowed any more...bummer, always enjoyed these threads. I mean views from Gaf are sub 1% of my traffic so...no biggie lol. Just good to have a visual aid
 

Strider7

Member
Recently, Gotham Knights. Older games that many would consider trash, yet I love: Wanted: Weapons of Fate, COD Ghosts, Hitman Absolution, and Splinter Cell Conviction and Blacklist.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
moderator deleted it...so I guess thats not allowed any more...bummer, always enjoyed these threads. I mean views from Gaf are sub 1% of my traffic so...no biggie lol. Just good to have a visual aid

Are the videos monetised? That might be the issue. If not I would tag a mod and get an explanation, I can't see it being a big issue if you aren't trying to make money off GAF traffic.
 

GeekyDad

Member
With a 37 out of 100 on Metacritic, Tenchu: Dark Secret is still one silly but fun as f*** DS games I love to go back to.

sDl0zoB.jpg


Look at those yummy graphics :messenger_tears_of_joy:

2527181.jpg


I always remember this one when one of these threads comes up. It was all about setting the traps. The combat blew ass, but if you set the traps mindfully, you would bounce the enemy from one trap to the next (usually about three or four), and it would off them. Just beautiful, mindless fun.
 

01011001

Banned
With a 37 out of 100 on Metacritic, Tenchu: Dark Secret is still one silly but fun as f*** DS games I love to go back to.

sDl0zoB.jpg


Look at those yummy graphics :messenger_tears_of_joy:

2527181.jpg


I always remember this one when one of these threads comes up. It was all about setting the traps. The combat blew ass, but if you set the traps mindfully, you would bounce the enemy from one trap to the next (usually about three or four), and it would off them. Just beautiful, mindless fun.

on that note may I bring up the Xbox 360 exclusive Tenchu Z by little known development house From Software?

518S522i71L._SY445_.jpg


loved that game even tho you play missions set in the same 5 or 6 level maps for the whole game and it has some jank to it... but it was just fun running across roofs and air-stealth-killing people



on a similar note, again Xbox 360 exclusive, again From Software,
Ninja Blade!

51lgTMptEUL._SY445_.jpg


Basically a super arcady and kinda janky character action game that's super fun and which I almost 100% completed while having it loaned from a friend for the weekend back in the day
 
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DGrayson

Mod Team and Bat Team
Staff Member
moderator deleted it...so I guess thats not allowed any more...bummer, always enjoyed these threads. I mean views from Gaf are sub 1% of my traffic so...no biggie lol. Just good to have a visual aid

This is false. We said quite clearly that you are allowed to post your videos but 7 since 1 November is too much. 1-2 per month is fine and welcome. I always like your threads.
 
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