Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

Being a 3D game like Lament of Innocence before it, Curse of Darkness differs from its predecessor in a number of ways. It includes a more complex, action-adventure style of gameplay, much like Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow. Hector is not a member of the Belmont clan, so he does not use the "Vampire Killer" whip; instead he has the ability (much like Alucard and Soma Cruz) to equip a variety of different weapons ranging from swords (both one handed and two handed), spears, axes (also both one handed and two handed), brass knuckles and an extra type called special weapons (which varies from tonfas to gatling guns). However, there is an extra gameplay mode after finishing the game that allows players to play as Trevor Belmont, equipped with the "Vampire Killer" and the subweapons which are the knife, axe, holy water, cross, and stopwatch. The battle system is somewhat similar to that of Dynasty Warriors, whereas one button is used for standard combo attacks, and a secondary button is used for stronger "finishing attacks" after a singular standard attack or a combo of standard attacks. As the player acquires progressively stronger weapons throughout the game, the number of standard and finishing attacks the player can perform increases accordingly. Each different weapon type has a different set of combos that can be performed.

Departing from the central hub level layout of Lament of Innocence, wherein the player chooses from a number of distinct stages all accessible from a central hallway, Curse of Darkness features a more complete game world with a complete castle map as in Symphony of the Night. However, the game still uses the same map engine as Lament of Innocence, rather than the square-based grid of 2D Castlevanias. Furthermore, a noticeable difference in level design is that much of the game does not take place in Dracula's castle, but rather exploring forests, mountains, temples, aqueducts, ruins, and villages in Europe. The player will be also aided by "Innocent Devils", which are demonic creatures developed by Hector himself through the Devil Forgery skill, in order to defeat enemies and solve puzzles within the game. They are similar to Alucard's Familiars in Symphony of the Night, however they level up and evolve together with Hector.

It was produced by Koji "IGA" Igarashi, who has worked on several other games in the Castlevania series, including Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Also returning are series artist Ayami Kojima and composer Michiru Yamane.

The game generated mid to high review scores. Common praises often go to the game's battle system – which as stated by IGN "...can offer up a fairly wide variety of skirmishes and strategies..." -, the Innocent Devil system and musical score. Common criticisms of the game go to the game's environments, which have generally been considered dull and repetitive. X-Play gave Curse of Darkness a 3 out of 5 while IGN gave it a 7.8, or "Good" rating.[9] GamePro Magazine gave the game a 4.0 out of a 5.0 fun factor, stating that it was a game that got more intriguing as it goes on. GameSpot rated it 6.8, saying it looked good and had solid controls, but the level design was "monotonous".[6] Game Informer's Tim Turi felt that it was "decent" but did not feel like it captured the "overall style and atmosphere" of other Castlevania games.[13]

Adapted and illustrated by Kou Sasakura, a two-volume manga adaptation titled Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (悪魔城ドラキュラ 闇の呪印, Akumajō Dorakyura: Yami no Juin) was published in Japan from 2004 to 2007.[14] Taking place between the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, the manga centers on Isaac and Hector.[15] Tokyopop licensed it for English-language release in North America.[14] The first volume, (ISBN 978-1-4278-0053-4), was released September 1, 2008, and the second, (ISBN 978-1-4278-0214-9), was published January 1, 2009.[16] It is also licensed in France by Soleil Manga.[17]

The manga was positively received by English-language readers. The first volume ranked 72nd on the list of the top 100 best-selling graphic novels in September 2008 with an estimated 1,564 copies sold.[18] In December 2008, the second volume placed 171st on the list of the top 300 best-selling graphic novels with an estimated 720 copies sold.[19] However, it received mixed reviews from English-language critics—two of whom were fans of the Castlevania franchise. Criticism focused on Sasakura's artwork which tended to focus on close-ups and neglect the backgrounds, and the lack of fleshed-out characters.[15] Mania Entertainment's Nadia Oxford disliked having a child as one of the main characters, calling it "unnecessary pandering to a younger audience" and concluding that "It's disappointing to see Castlevania thrown to a kid like so many other great properties."[20] Conversely, another reviewer described it as "a fairly well done vampire comic book" with a "pitch perfect mood" and pleasant artwork,[21] and About.com's Deb Aoki ranked it fifteenth on her list of the twenty-two best vampire manga.[22]

Hector and Isaac were introduced in the second season of the Castlevania animated television series as recurring characters (with the latter being vastly different in terms of character design compared to the game). In the subsequent season, a loose adaption of Saint Germain was added to the cast as well, with the intent of a future season adapting the events of Curse of Darkness.[23]

• "Castlevania: Curse of Darkness." play Magazine. February 2005. pp. 18–22.

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia