Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (Sony PlayStation 2, 2003)

This is the first Castlevania for the PS2.

The graphics are nice although some rooms and corridors are reused which can get repetative.

STORY:
The story details the origins of the famous 'Vampire Killer' and how it was created.
We learn a little of Dracula's origins like his true name (before he became known as Dracula).
The game's voice acting is done rather well which really does help carry the story. If you own the American version you can change the voices to Japanese.

GAMEPLAY:
The game takes place in Lord Dracula's Castle and is divided into areas or levels which are entered via teleporters.
Leon, the main character fights with a whip known as the Vampire Killer and by pressing a combination of the Square and Triangle buttons you can pull off some cool looking attack combos which more of them are unlocked as you progress.
In addition, Leon can use Sub weapons which are like throwing weapons for example bottles of holy water, axes etc. These consume 'hearts' every time you use them. Finding and equiping 'Orbs' will alter each sub weapon in the way Leon uses it.
Leon also uses 'Relics' which consumes Magic Power (you can fill your magic power back up by using the mana prism item or perfect guarding).
Relics range from replenishing Health to making Leon invisible.

MUSIC:
I thought that the music in this game was the best in the Castlevania series.
Imagine classical mixed with dance music and you get a rough idea.
Leon's Theme is typical of this.

EXTRAS:
To get the most out of this game, you will need to find colour coded keys which are found in each level. These keys will open doors in other levels, so expect to to revisit the same level 2 or 3 times if you want to find all the relics.
There are a nubmber of hidden elemental bosses in some of the levels which if you are good enough to find and beat them will drop other whips for you to use.
There is one other awesome hidden boss deep within the castle called the Forgotten One. If you want lots of blood, gore and intestines, then you'll find them all here.

Finishing the game will let you play as one of the bosses (won't spoil which one). The game play with this boss is much different than Leon. This boss has a new attack scheme.
Then there is one last character to play as which you get by finishing the game with the boss. This new character (again I won't spoil who it is, but think of the Halloween theme)is one of the cutest designed characters I've ever seen...
There is also 'Crazy Mode' which once you have finished the game can be played again with a much harder difficulty setting.

Overall this is a simple pick up and play type game. Enjoyable and worth buying.

Generally, from the box art graphics on the back, it looks like its okay quality, but overall the graphics are superb for a ps2 game originaly made in 2003. The backgrounds of the castle are all beautifully rendered, and although one may get frustated at the camera angles at first, it is an exceptionaly explorable world. What it really is about the graphics, is that, they are smooth, while not super-realistic, they are extremely smooth, and never show different layers or polygons. In this game, there are no polygons. If your already a big Castlevania fan, you'll find this game is the beginning for the Belmont clan, this is where the series starts in a chronological order. Like most games installments in the castlevania seires it has the same haunting charm. If your new to casltevania, you may find you will like it. An excellent game, difficult to find (in good condition), I looked for a whole year keeping my eyes open at games stores trying to find a copy with the box AND game booklet. I only found it once I searched ebay.
A very good game overall.

A lot of people wondered whether 3D was a good choice for Castlevania, but nothing of important value has been lost. The first thing you notice about this game are its remarkable graphics. The studio really went all out considering this game was made published in 2003. Another note-worthy thing is the dialogue. For the most part, it is tight and polished voice-acting, with very little "corny" moments. The music in this game brings me back to the days of fighting in Dracula's castle. If you liked Symphony of the Night, you will probably like this game. Environment-wise, it's like a sequel to the great 2D Playstation game. I love this game, a definite "for-life" shelfer. Leon reminds me of Alucard in ways (a reference to the protagonist of Symphony of the Night, not me :P)

Sorry so short, I'm low on time. Bye, and thanks for reading.

First ofall I love this game. i don't know why alot of people were complaning about this game and got bad reviews. What a game is supposed to do when you play it is pull you into the story and have solid gameplay. Castlevania definitly has both. The story may seem kind of simple but, the great voice acting and awesome music to go with it just makes you feel like your in the story. The gameplay is easy to learn and it is very fun learning all the moves and ways to damage enemies. All in all, this is a very solid title with plent of power ups and items to find even after you finish the game. Definitly a must play title, and a must have for castlevania lovers!!

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence has generally received positive reviews since its release. On Game Rankings, the game has an average score of 78%, based on 59 reviews.[1] On Metacritic, the game has an average score of 79 out of 100, based on 45 reviews.[2]

X-Play gave it a 3 out of 5, calling it a Devil May Cry clone, while EGM gave it 8.0, 7.5, and 7.5 (out of ten). On the other hand, GamePro gave it a 5.0 (their highest score) on the fun factor, stating that it was the first successful 3-D Castlevania game.[3] IGN gave it an outstanding score of 9.0 (out of ten) calling it the most stylish Castlevania game to date, with a brilliant musical score and many game options.[4] 1up.com described it as returning to Castlevania's action-heavy roots in order to ease its transition to 3-D, but features such as the card system from Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was missed.[5]