No One Really Asked For a Castlevania Fighting Game, But the Fact We Got One — and a Pretty Good One — Is Wild
So let’s flash back a few years, to around 2005 or 2006 or so. Someone in a Konami board room was probably going, “You know, we need to get Castlevania on the Wii somehow. It’s a beloved franchise, right? And even lower-end games like Castlevania 64 has seen some kind of following. So, what can we do?”
And someone, in reply, said, “Fighting game.”
Now, I’m not sure what prompted that, or how Konami came up with approving Castlevania Judgment when another 3D action game like what we got on the PS2 would’ve sufficed. But the end results are…pretty surprising, to say the least.
Judgment released in 2008 for the Wii, coming at a time when the system was super high in popularity. And though it wasn’t as best-selling as Symphony of the Night (for obvious reasons), Judgment still found a pretty good following. Despite its bizarre nature.
First off, the game actually has different control options. You can use the Wii remote, obviously, to get your kicks, but there’s also a surprising option to use a GameCube pad. And despite some functions being in weird places, there’s some cool moves to pull off for each character — including supers. And you run around in these pre-set 3D stages as you beat up your opponents. It’s a bit odd, but, surprisingly, I liked how well everything worked. Even though it shouldn’t have.
On top of that, the graphics, while still on the Wii side (no Super Smash level visuals here), are pretty good. You’ve got the Castlevania setting nailed down nicely in the fighting genre here, and the animations aren’t bad either (well, compared to Castlevania 64, at least). On top of that, the music is terrific and the sound effects, while not ultimate cheese, aren’t bad.
But, man, this fighting roster. Konami actually took the time to balance it properly. Dracula is a bad-ass but barely has any movement going for him; Trevor and Simon have traditional Belmont attacks, but also some nice techniques that set them apart; Maria has some devastating magic techniques that make her an undeniable favorite; Eric Lecarde is a powerhouse; and the newcomers Carmilla and Cornell make surprising additions. There are others as well, but why spoil them there?
There are also a bunch of modes, as the game is loaded with them. Along with a traditional Story Mode (not as good as Symphony, natch, but it’ll do), there’s also a Tutorial mode that teaches you the basics; an Arcade mode; an awesome Survival mode; and, believe it or not, online play. Well, it was offered at the time of release. Konami really went all in to try and get a community going for this bizarre little title. I doubt it’s still up and running, but at least you still have local play against a friend. (BTW, this game works just fine on a Wii U, hence the reason I’m writing about it right now.)
It’s just so weird. I mean, imagine a Contra dancing game (hey, it could work). Or a Metal Gear game that plays out like a board game. (It could work, too.) That’s the kind of left field decision that Konami made with Castlevania Judgment. But damn it, in spite of its strangeness, I still think it works better than I thought it could. And don’t hate me now, but…I wouldn’t mind a sequel.
And if they could add “But enough talk, have at you!” as a taunt, I would love that.
Have a great week, everyone!
