Review: Castlevania Harmony of Despair

Castlevania is a series that has its highs and lows. It’s been around since the mid ’80s in one form or another with varying success across different platforms. We’ve seen sidescrollers, third person adventure titles, and sadly, even a fighter. Some of the attempts have been good, others forgettable. Now we see yet another incarnation of Castlevania, a multiplayer version.

Konami is testing the waters of Xbox Live Arcade with the downloadable title Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. While appears to be a simple old school sidescroller, Konami has taken the game down a different path. Some will like it, others will hate it, and some will ask “What happened to the Castlevania I remembered!”

The Story

What? There’s a story here? If there is, Konami sure doesn’t want to share it. You’re thrown right into the game with no mention of who you are, where you came from, or what you’re trying to accomplish. All you get is a quick intro cinematic (if you can call it that) at the start of each level showing you the final boss and where you can find it on the map.

The Gameplay

The game is laid out in six different chapters or levels. Each level is basically a large number of rooms which are all connected to each other in one way or another. It’s essentially a large maze. Your objective is to find and kill the boss while gathering loot along the way all within a set time limit.

The rooms are filled with enemies, traps, and treasures. Many classic enemies from previous Castlevania games appear along with some familiar backdrops (once again from previous games). While you can go through each level slaughtering enemies in an attempt to get to the boss, you can take detours and search out treasure. Some of the treasure chests contain money, others weapons. Whether or not you track down the treasure or go straight to the boss is completely up to you but chances are you’ll want to seek out the chests. This is really the only way to level up your character. The weapons and armor you find can be equipped to help you fight the bosses. Money found can also be used to purchase equipment between levels.

You can zoom out to reveal the entire map at any time. Although it's difficult to see, you can play in this mode.

An interesting feature in this game has to be your point of view. You can change your view on the fly. You can play with a fairly tight view like you would in any normal sidescroller, or you can choose to pull back and look at the entire map all at once. The image above gives you an idea of what I’m talking about. The action doesn’t stop when you pull out. In fact you can continue to play while fully zoomed out. It’s an interesting option to give the player, even though it’s used sparingly. You’ll mainly use this to help navigate the castle. Just be warned that playing while fully zoomed out proves to be nearly impossible. The game is tough enough as it is without having to squint to see what the heck is going on.

MultiPlayer Mode

This may be the saving grace for many fans. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair lets up to six people play at the same time. Each of the six characters (all from previous games) have their own abilities and can be controlled by your online friends.

You have six friends, right?

While you can play the entire game by yourself, teaming up with friends definitely adds to the enjoyment. Some rooms can only be accessed with the help of friends and teaming up will net you more loot in the end. However that being said, the difficulty level goes up when you add more players into the fray. The more players you add to the game, the more health the bosses acquire. It’s actually easier to defeat some of them with as little as two or three players, rather than bringing a whole crew along for the ride.

The Graphics and Music

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair looks like some of the classic Castlevania adventures. True it has been given a splash of HD to liven up the graphics, but it’s by no means anything to write home about. If anything it does give you a bit of a retro throwback feel.

The music seems adequate enough. If you’ve ever played a Castlevania game in the past you’ll know exactly what to expect here.

The Downsides

While there are only six levels in the game, you’ll find your self playing them over and over again. Not for fun mind you, but because you must. Once you run out of health the game is over and you start back again at the beginning of that chapter. Each level can take up to 30 minutes to complete. Mix in the high difficulty of this game and at times it feels like a bit of a grind. You’ll be playing each level at least two to three times before advancing. The first play through will be to scout out the castle. The second will be to try and grab loot and reach the boss. You’ll no doubt die the first time so you’ll play through a few more times trying to defeat the boss. That is the vicious cycle you’ll experience in Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. The game is tough and you’ll need plenty of loot and money to upgrade your characters to continue to advance.

This level looks familiar. Oh right, it's because I had to play it a million times!

The other issue is the learning curve. You are not given any tutorial on how to play the game. I spent the first 10 minutes trying to figure out how to change the camera view so I wasn’t a speck of sand on the screen. Only later did I discover pressing the right analog stick changed your view. If only I had known.

Last but not least, I do have to mention the grind factor. The fact that you have to play the same level again and again just to get enough gold to purchase equipment so you’re strong enough to defeat future bosses–it starts to get old after you’ve played the same level for 2 hours straight.

The Bottom Line

While Castlevania: Harmony of Despair looks like other 2D Castlevania titles, there’s no denying the departure Konami has taken with this title. While the single player experience is decent (albeit difficult), multiplayer does show promise. Unfortunately it’s the sharp learning curve that will throw many gamers off. If you like the Castlevania franchise and are looking for a unique XBLA experience it’s definitely worth checking out. But if you’re looking for classic Castlevania no ifs, ands, or buts then look elsewhere. This game may be too much of a departure for you.

The Good

Interesting level design
Characters can be upgraded
Multiplayer Castlevania!

The Bad

No tutorial
High difficulty
Be prepared to play the same level over and over again