Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
Developer(s)	Konami/KCET
Publisher(s)	Konami
Designer(s)	Koji Igarashi (producer)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release	NA October 21 2003; JPN November 27 2003; EU February 11 2004; AUS February 20 2004
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single player

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (commonly abbreviated as LoI) is a video game created by Konami for the Sony PlayStation 2 console. It was originally released in Japan in 2003 as Castlevania (キャッスルヴァニア, Kyassuruvania). Lament of Innocence is set in 1094, making it the first chronological installment of the Castlevania series.

Plot

In the 11th century, when monarchies weakened, local feudal lords grew stronger. The first knights simply protected their lord's domains, but with the reforms of late 11th century, knights also protected the peace. They fought against heretics for God.

One company of knights was said to be invincible due to two men: Leon Belmont, a baron who feared nothing and was a masterful warrior. And his friend Mathias Cronqvist, a genius tactician whose education made him an exception, in a largely illiterate society. They trusted each other completely and had a long friendship together.

But one day, as Mathias returned from a victorious campaign, he received news of the sudden death of his wife, Elisabetha Cronqvist. His grief was profound, and he became bedridden. A year passed since then, and because of Leon's efforts, the company stayed undefeated. However, an army of monsters suddenly appeared in Leon's domain. Because of the Crusades in the East, the Church was only interested in fighting heretics, instead of monsters. It was forbidden to fight unauthorized battles, so Leon wanted permission to retaliate. But the church denied his request, and didn't have any intention of granting it.

One night, Mathias struggled from his bed. He told Leon that the monsters were related to a vampire, who lived in a castle of the forest, 'Eternal Night'. Mathias said that Leon's betrothed, Sara Trantoul, was kidnapped by this vampire and brought to his castle.

Because Leon couldn't fight the vampire without the Church's permission, he renounced his title as a baron, and journeyed to Eternal Night. Leon ran into the forest and met Rinaldo Gandolfi, an old alchemist who lived in Eternal Night. Rinaldo was surprised Leon was not a baron anymore, which made both of them equal in rank. Rinaldo invited Leon into his cottage, and told him that he had "unfinished business" with Walter Bernhard, the vampire of the castle. Walter enjoyed playing life and death games with hunters, and allowed Rinaldo to help any that passed by his cottage (Walter thought this made his games "more fun"). But he was never defeated before.

Rinaldo gave Leon a whip made out of alchemy, to assist him. Leon asked what alchemy was. Rinaldo explained the principles behind the whip's making, and coincidentally, it was Mathias who taught him alchemy. The arts of alchemy were handed down in Mathias' family, orally.

In addition to the whip, Rinaldo used his own power to channel energy into Leon's gauntlet. This allowed Leon to absorb magical attacks. Thanking the old alchemist, Leon left with the Whip of Alchemy, and his enchanted gauntlet. But Rinaldo reminded Leon of one thing - before he could reach Walter's quarters, he must defeat the five castle guardians to open the door to it.

Leon entered the castle, and successfully defeated the five guardians. During his battle with the guardian Succubus, Leon learnt that Rinaldo's "unfinished business" with Walter was revenge for vampirizing his daughter. Rinaldo told Leon he had no choice but to kill his daughter, after she murdered his wife and son. Leon's mission became a favor to his new friend, as well as rescuing Sara.

He also learnt that Walter was in possession of the 'Ebony Stone', the power source that enveloped Eternal Night in darkness. Rinaldo said that if the 'Ebony Stone' was combined with another called the 'Philosopher's Stone', it would accomplish alchemy's goal - immortality. Only two were valuable to vampires - the Ebony Stone and the Crimson Stone, an ultimate source of power that was lost for ages.

The door to Walter's quarters was opened, and Leon entered. Walter greeted him for the first time, and after Leon demanded Sara was released, he complied. Sara was no longer of any use to Walter. Infuriated, Leon attacked him with the Whip of Alchemy, but it did nothing at all. Amused with him even more, Walter proposed Leon to fight him in the Castle Keep.

Only concerned for Sara, Leon took her back to Rinaldo's cottage. But after examining Sara, who was unconscious, Rinaldo discovered bite marks on her neck. She was bitten by Walter. Leon was worried and agitated about what to do. According to Rinaldo, the only way to undo the curse was to defeat Walter. The Whip of Alchemy couldn't do anything. But Rinaldo knew only one way to resolve this and defeat Walter - Sara was vampirized by Walter and had a part of him inside her, a part that could be harnessed by the Whip of Alchemy. Leon had to combine his hatred and kill Sara, making the whip effective against Walter. Leon was shocked and even more worried.

Sara overheard the two. She knew that she was turning into a vampire, and volunteered to be killed if it would stop others from suffering the same accident. She gladly insisted Leon to grant her last wish. Leon couldn't be convinced, but he realized there was no other choice. It was done, and the Vampire Killer whip was created.

On behalf of Rinaldo and Sara, Leon ran into the Castle Keep and confronted Walter for the last time. Walter saw that Leon had the power to defeat him, and he was surprised. After their fight, Walter realized he had lost. But he boasted that he would come back, and find the Crimson Stone. Ironically to him, Death entered and took his soul, and then transferred it to the "king who wields the Crimson Stone".

It turned out to be none other but Mathias, Leon's most trusted friend. Mathias elaborated on his scheme - he used everyone and orchestrated everything that happened to get Walter's soul. After Elisabetha died, Mathias felt betrayed by God. God took away the person he loved most, even after he risked his life fighting heretics. He defied mortal life, and cursed God forever.

Mathias then offered Leon to join him and become immortal, because Leon suffered the same loss. Leon refused and kept his promise to Sara. Mathias left Death to kill his former friend.

Leon emerged victorious. He then told Death to relay this message to Mathias: "You have become a cursed being, and I will never forgive you. This whip and my kinsmen will destroy you someday. The Belmont clan will hunt the night!"

The castle fell apart, and Leon escaped safely. The sun started to shine in the forest of Eternal Night, and the night was gone.

Mathias escaped to foreign lands, where he continued to curse God. It is then assumed that he changes his name to Vlad Tepes and eventually proclaims himself as 'Lord of the Vampires', and 'King of the Night'. He would eventually become known as 'Dracula'.

Characters

Leon Belmont: The earliest known member of the Belmont clan. He is the protagonist of the game. A crusader knight in 11th-century Europe, he is betrothed to Sara Trantoul, and fights alongside the cunning Mathias Cronqvist. When Sara is kidnapped by Walter Bernhard, he renounces his title of Baron and ventures alone into the Forest of Eternal Night.

Walter Bernhard: A vampire of unknown age. He is the antagonist of the game, luring the protagonist Baron Leon Belmont to his castle by kidnapping his fiancee, Sara Trantoul. The forest where he lives is called Eternal Night, as it is covered in unending darkness by the means of a jewel called the "Ebony Stone".

Mathias Cronqvist: A tactician who has helped Leon Belmont's company of knights to defend the Holy Land. He is married to Elisabetha, who dies in 1093. Mathias becomes bedridden, and orchestrates a plan to become immortal, cursing the God he once defended.

Elisabetha Cronqvist: The wife of Mathias Cronqvist. She dies under unknown circumstances in 1093, a year before the events of the game. Mathias is overcome with grief and rage. It is Elisabetha who is indirectly responsible for the creation of Dracula. Her soul is later reincarnated as Lisa Fahrenheights (see Castlevania: Symphony of the Night).

Sara Trantoul: The fiancée of Leon Belmont. She is kidnapped by Walter Bernhard and bitten. Not wanting to become a vampire, she sacrifices herself to create the Vampire Killer whip.

Rinaldo Gandolfi: An alchemist whose daughter was taken and vampirised by Walter Bernhard. He now lives in a small hut in the Forest of Eternal Night. Rinaldo (whose surname may be inspired by the Tolkien character Gandalf) creates the Whip of Alchemy for Leon to use in Walter's castle. This whip is later fused with the soul of Sara Trantoul to create the Vampire Killer, which would be present, in one form or another, in every Castlevania game.

Joachim Armster: Another vampire who is kept prisoner by Walter in his castle. As well as being a boss, the game includes an unlockable secret mode where Joachim is a playable character.

Death: The Grim Reaper. He currently serves Walter Bernhard, keeping him alive, but only because Walter possesses the Ebony Stone. When the Crimson Stone is found to have been kept by Mathias, Death sacrifices Walter and gives his allegiance to the wielder of the more powerful Crimson Stone.

Gameplay

Equipment and items

Normally, Leon will use the Whip of Alchemy that Rinaldo gives him. Later on, after he conquers each elemental boss; namely Flame Elemental, Thunder Elemental and Frost Elemental, he will gain the special elemental whips from each of them. These elemental whips will provide special effects and be required for certain scenes. For instance, Frost Elemental Whip and Flame Elemental Whip are required to break the white giant figure in Anti-Soul lab stage to get an access to a secret room.

After the death of Sara, Leon will gain a new whip called Vampire Killer which is enhanced by Sara's soul. This whip is more destructive to vampires, and is required to kill Walter, the vampire master.

In addition, Leon is able to use the sub-weapons, the combination of special charms and orbs. It proves to be the alternative strong weapon to hunt down monsters and ghosts in the game. However, using sub-weapons absorbs hearts every time, unless Leon gains the special item nullifying the use of hearts.

Joachim, the additional playable character, uses his five flying swords as his weapon, just like when he appears as a boss fighting with Leon. His flying swords can alter into two styles; rotating around him or flying behind him. In the rotating configuration, the swords will slash out in sequence at the designated target(s) while they launch out as ranged projectiles when lined up behind Joachim. The attack button can be held down to power up a single slash or projectile.

Unlike Leon, he cannot use sub-weapons, and also cannot use potions or items selling from Rinaldo's shop. However Joachim has access to two magic attacks in the place of sub-weapons which depends on sword configuration. With the swords in rotation, they will spin around Joachim and slash surrounding enemies; when the swords are hovering there will instead be a kamehameha-type energy blast that can be swept clockwise and counterclockwise to damage enemies within range. While Joachim's magic gauge initially holds just enough for a single special attack, collecting MP Ups will eventually expand its capacity to three total; the magic gauge is filled by damaging opponents, in the manner of fighting games. A note of interest is that Joachim is invulnerable in the midst of the special attack animations, which helps when fighting the Forgotten One- hardly an easy task, made even more difficult by Joachim's inability to carry medical aid.

Another additional playable character is Pumpkin, who uses the whip in the same way as Leon. In addition to serving as a humorous counterpart for Leon, he comes with all whip and defensive skills prelearned, does more damage than Leon, and has his own unique pumpkin subweapon that can be powered with orbs gained from bosses as in Leon's game. When Pumpkin stands still for a long time, he will hum the tune of Joachim's theme song.

Graphics

Graphically, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is on par with other Playstation 2 titles. The graphics are rendered in 480i (progressive mode is not supported) and the animation runs at a fluid 60 frames per second.

Level design

The game follows the now traditional Metroidvania style of level design, except the maps in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence are on a horizontal rather than vertical plane. The maps are made up largely of identical rooms filled with monsters, with some branching paths leading to items. The dull level design of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is the most criticized part of the game in reviews.

Castle areas

The castle areas in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence:

Rinaldo's Shop - A small cottage outside the castle. Shop and home of Rinaldo Gandolfi
Castle Entrance - Includes a tutorial section as well as portals to other areas.
Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab - Location of the Golem and the Fire Elemental. A common choice as third level.
Garden Forgotten by Time - Location of Medusa and the Lightning Elemental. A common choice as second level.
House of Sacred Remains - Location of the Undead Parasite. A common choice as first level.
Dark Palace of Waterfalls - Location of Joachim Armster and the Ice Elemental. You also fight the Doppelgänger here. A common choice as fifth level.
Ghostly Theater - Location of the Succubus. A common choice as fourth level.
Prison of Eternal Torture - Prison of The Forgotten One.
Pagoda of the Misty Moon - Location of the Doppelanger, Walter Bernhard and Death.

Enemies

Bosses

Optional Bosses

The three elemental bosses are optional. They are not required to be defeated in order to win the game. However, the special elemental whip will be gained after conquering each of them accordingly. These elemental whips prove to have special attributions and required in certain scenes. It is recommended to conquer these elemental bosses. The Forgotten One is also an optional boss, and an orb is rewarded for its defeat.

Music

Michiru Yamane is the composer for Lament of Innocence's soundtrack. Yamane also scored Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Castlevania: Bloodlines. Yamane doesn't put out as much diversity as in her Symphony of the Night OST, but the styles are still similar. There are many classical influences in the compositions, sometimes fused with a type of powerful, dance-like beat, or slightly breakbeat-like backup, and choirs.

The only song in the game that has a rock guitar in it is Castlevania Reincarnation, a remix of Dracula's Castle and Black Banquet from Symphony of the Night.

Reaction

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence received mixed reviews from gaming critics. X-Play gave it a 3 out of 5 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 while IGN gave it an outstanding score of 9.0 (out of ten).

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