The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Konami's long-running Castlevania series is renowned for its chilling atmosphere, fantastic music, and, most importantly, superb 2D gameplay. Now, for the first time in its illustrious 13-year career, the series is making the jump into 3D - a jump that understandably has many fans feeling quite skeptical. Fortunately, the development team at KCE Kobe has done an excellent job of making the transition to 3D, while still staying true to the series' roots. While not quite the overall epic masterpiece that was Symphony of the Night on the PlayStation, N64 Castlevania provides an oddly compelling 3D vampire-hunting experience that fans of the series should definitely not miss.

Castlevania lets you take the role of either Reinhardt Schneider, the latest whip-toting member of the Belmont clan (don't ask us why he's got a different last name), or Carrie Fernandez, a young girl with magical powers and a grudge. Both characters have their own separate (though similar) storylines, complete with entirely different endings and a couple of stages that are exclusive to each other's quests. Interestingly enough (to hard-core Castlevania fans, anyway), Carrie is a descendant of Sypha Belnades, the 15th century mage from Castlevania III. Unfortunately, Konami didn't bother to keep Carrie's and Sypha's last names consistent in the translation, thus ruining an otherwise interesting plot point of the game.