Castlevania Legends

***Castlevania Legends*** (悪魔城ドラキュラ 漆黒たる前奏曲 ***Akumajō Dracula: Dark Night Prelude***) is the fourteenth installment in the *Castlevania* series, and the third to be released on the Nintendo Game Boy. It was developed by KCE Nagoya and published by Konami in Japan in 1997, and in North America and Europe in 1998. It was re-released for Nintendo Switch Online on October 30, 2023.

According to the game's storyline, it was set before any of the previous games in the series and dealt with the origins of Dracula and how his feud with the Belmont family first started. When the first official timeline was published it was retconned out of the storyline. The game now takes place in an alternate timeline, separated from the main chronology.

## Plot

The year is 1450 and a mysterious man made a pact with an evil deity to become immortal and conquer the world. Having become a powerful Demon King, he summoned evil demons from the underworld and sent them out to overthrow the entire European continent. He became known as Count Dracula, and nobody dared to oppose his might.

The Belmont family, a house of nobles living in a remote area of Transylvania, had a young girl with powers not possessed by common folk. Sonia Belmont was looked after by her grandfather who trained her in the use of his special whip that contained magical powers.

One night, when she was 17 years of age, she encountered the young enigmatic Alucard, and formed a bond with him. He was the son of the feared Count, but he had decided to turn away from him and his evil deeds.

The mansion where Sonia was born was one day suddenly attacked by grotesque monsters. When she returned to find her home in ruins she encountered her grandfather breathing his last. Before he passed away, he passed his whip on to her and told Sonia to use her special abilities to rid the land of evil.

Sonia traveled across the Transylvanian countryside to Dracula's Castle, destroyed Dracula's minions, and eventually defeated the Count himself. After having crossed paths with Sonia, Alucard decided to seal himself away before she would press on to face his father, unable to deal with seeing his father dying as well. However, Sonia gave birth to a child not soon after that would continue both his legacy and that of the Belmont Clan.

## Gameplay

*Castlevania Legends* consists of six timed stages, each ending in boss battles. Obstacles such as pits are found along the way, as well as trap rooms that can cause instant death. The control scheme is similar to the previous two *Castlevania* titles released for Nintendo Game Boy, with a few notable improvements. The option to use sub-weapons has been removed. In addition, Sonia is able to slowly crawl, which Christopher was unable to do in the previous Game Boy installments. This move is required to avoid getting hit and to slowly travel through cramped corridors.

Instead of sub-weapons, Sonia can unlock powerful Soul Weapon abilities from defeated boss creatures. Soul Weapons consume Hearts and are chosen from a menu by pressing the **SELECT** button during normal play. The effects of these abilities include freezing enemies for a short time (Wind), refilling Sonia's health bar (Ice), killing or damaging all enemies onscreen (Fire), fire out a wave of energy that shoots through anyone in its path (Saint), or destroying an enemy and nullifying its projectile attack (Magic). A new ability called Burning Mode can be initiated by pressing the **A** and **B** buttons at the same time; this makes Sonia invincible for a limited amount of time, increases her walking speed and makes her whip attacks stronger.

Because the game was released very soon after *Castlevania: Symphony of the Night*, its design was influenced by the open-ended gameplay of that title. Multiple paths can be chosen, which often lead to a special item that can be collected. However, there's only one correct route to take to the end of the stage.

Another example would be the hidden stage that can be accessed by finding its hidden entrance in Stage 5, The Cathedral. Playing this stage is essential for getting the special ending because one of the special items that are needed to trigger it can be found there.

The game's regular weapon, the whip, can once again be upgraded by collecting Crystals found by hitting candles. Light Mode selectable at the start of the game lets the player start with a fully upgraded whip. Unlike the previous Game Boy *Castlevania* titles, should Sonia take damage by an enemy, the power of the whip will not decrease to a previous form. When the whip is fully powered, it can launch fireballs straightforward. Another staple that the game shares with the previous two entries is the absence of staircases and their replacement with ropes.

A notable feature in the Japanese version is the option to save after each stage while most previous games in the series do this by the means of a password system. The other versions of *Castlevania Legends* continue this tradition.

## External links

* *Castlevania Legends* at the Castlevania Wiki