Castlevania Judgment
The battle between good and evil continues with Castlevania Judgment, the first Castlevania title for the Wii. Castlevania Judgment brings together the many generations of heroic vampire hunters, including the fearsome Belmont clan, as well as Dracula’s most formidable allies, and pits them against one another in the first Castlevania fighting game ever created. Choose sides from a collection of 14 battle-tested warriors in a clash of epic proportions that will span the depths of time. Using the motion-sensing controls of the Nunchuk and Wii Remote, you can slash, stab and whip your way across a variety of stages and environmental elements with various surrounding objects as weapons. Select characters can also set traps and make use of monsters on the field to achieve victory in a clash of epic proportions. As an added bonus, you are also able to compete head-to-head using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and connect with Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on the Nintendo DS to unlock bonus gameplay content.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Truly Underrated!
Ok, now I’ve been playing this game for more than 20 hrs, and while I haven’t seen and learn all things this game has to offer, I can safely say this game is a LOT better than expected.
This is NOT a traditional fighter, and I agree with Igarashi (Castlevania creator), sometimes this feels more an action game than a fighter. Why? First of all you have to be aware of the environment, and not only the enemy, something similar to Smash Bros. Also, there are boxes or other object that you can break to grab an item, or you can throw it to your opponent. Some characters can even absorb energy through them and become more powerful, or put traps in them. All of this things give the game a bit more of strategy.
If you’re new to the series or to videogames in general, this is a good game to start. You learn about some of the most popular characters in the franchise, and this game is really easy to Pick Up’n Play game. However, like most games, it has some depth in it that will take practice to master.
I admit at first the controls felt weird and I had the feeling the gameplay would be shallow. But after learning and getting used to the mechanics this becomes a very enjoyable game. True, the characters don’t have a lot of special movements, but there are many ways you can chain combos, either with special attacks, jumping, guard crushing or subweapons. After training some hours I could do a good 20 hit combo with Simon =)
Just look in youtube, there are some really good videos there and crazy stuff, for example using the clock in the middle of a combo to freeze your opponent in mid-air and continue the combo.
One IMPORTANT thing to mention is that you have 3 different configurations for your control, so if you don’t like shaking the WiiMote, there’s the option to press a button instead. You can also play with the GameCube or Classic controller if you want. I find it more fun to play it with the WiiMote. If you have played Naruto Clash of Ninja with the WiiMote then you’ll not have any problem at all.
As I said earlier, this is Not a traditional fighter, is more like Power Stone, or if you haven’t played that game, imagine Smash Bros with Castlevania 3D. The fighting mechanics are really simple, just a few moves per character, but at the same time each character is different, so you have to learn to play with each one. Because of this it reminds me a bit to Street Fighter II, where those days every person could play those games but it had a lot of depth if you put time in it.
Overall, this is a fun and unique game, has an excellent music and some of the best graphics on Wii. The art style is impressive too, I agree it doesn’t feel Castlevania at all but still is cool. Has a lot of modes and things to unlock to keep you entertained and has Online too.
Is not perfect though, the game needs more polish in some areas like sound effects and I think some stages could be better. The camera is not as bad as people say, and in most part is the camera that gives the feel of an Action game instead of a fighter (sometimes I felt I was playing Castlevania 64), however it’s true is not perfect and needs some work. The online sometimes is laggy, and other times it works fine.
In the end, I really recommend this game. If you like the Castlevania games this has a lot of fan-service. If you like Non-Traditional fighters (Smash Bros or Dragon Ball Tenkaichi) or you are NEW to Fighting games, this is also a good option. And if you only like traditional fighters, this has a good amount of depth and is a completely new experience for you.
Good job Konami! Now, give us a Traditional Castlevania 3D for Wii…. but with Judgment Gameplay and that would be totally AWESOME!!!
1 Star Not a Castlevania Game!
Fans of the Castlevania series be warned, this is not a Castlevania game! This is just another Mortal Combat rip-off. The characters are designed to slightly resemble those from the Castlevania series.
If you are looking for a Castlevania game, you will be sorely disappointed, as I was.
P.S. Returning the game is not allowed once it is opened.
4 Stars Great fighter for the Wii
First of all you can’t compare fighting games from xbox or ps3 to Wii. So, from the perspective of a Wii console owner, this is a great buy if you enjoy fighting games and anime style characters.
Using the wii mote for attacks takes some getting used to, but if you actually do the three tutorials you’ll be just fine. I haven’t played the game using a classic controller.
The graphics are great (for Wii). Each character is fairly unique to play even though you use the same motions to trigger abilities for all characters. Makes switching around characters easier once you get the basic mechanics down. Each character’s special attacks can have different gameplay effects even though they are executed the same on the remote.
My only complaints are sometimes the camera angles briefly get in the way of the action. The AI for some characters seems more difficult than others. And it seems the CPU is able to block super finisher moves rather easily.
That being said, when you pull off a character’s super finisher move you’ll be smiling that you bought this game!
4 Stars Not a bad effort for third-party Wii exclusive
Sometimes, albeit not often, the Wii has decent, if not stellar, third party contributions.
and…
Sometimes reviews can be wrong.
Case in point: Castlevania Judgment. A combination slasher/fighter/action title that is unfortunately destined to be headed to a premature death in the bargain bin due to both the tsunami of software releases over the next few weeks and to its less than stellar review scores. A game that really doesn’t know what it’s supposed to be, but yet got beaten up in the mainstream press far more than it deserved. A game that, surprisingly, manages to look fairly good graphically for a non-Nintendo title - especially to those that dig its anime-inspired over-the-top art style. A game that controls just fine, provided you toss the waggle-stick aside and put your classic controller or GCN Controller/Wavebird to good use.
Perhaps we’ll never know why Iga decided to make this game rather than a true-blue 2D Castlevania title for Wii, and those who were expecting something like that are of course going to be extremely disappointed with Judgment. That being said, though, there’s a lot to like here. Far more than the reviews would have you believe. So I suppose the best way to handle a review of this game into the genres which it represents, and then dealing with the typical criteria of graphics, sound, and control.
As a fighter, Castlevania Judgment is: 2.5/5
Unbalanced and toned down for the Wii audience. There are some technical moves to pull off here, but it’s a very mash-friendly fighting game with a few exceptionally overpowered characters. The subweapons aren’t all that useful, and “super attacks” (that are activated with a push of the X button on the GCN controller when the super meter is full) can drain an opponent of 75%+ of a life bar. There aren’t that many characters to choose from, and the hazards in the environments feel like an afterthought (remember Mace: The Dark Age on N64? Yeah, kinda like that). I can’t help but feel that this game wasn’t meant to be a balanced fighter. All that said, it’s still leaps and bounds ahead of Namco’s sophomore Wii effort Soulcalibur Legends… then again, just about ANYTHING would have been better than Soulcalibur Legends.
As a third-person action game, Castlevania Judgment is: 3.5/5
More or less, if you liked the 3D titles in the Castlevania series… Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness, this game plays like a jacked-up version of the boss fights from those games. The controls are a bit different, and due to the emphasis on 1 on 1 fighting, obviously there are differences in how the game “feels”, but its action roots are certainly apparent. I can’t help but wonder if the game began life as a new 3D Castlevania on the Wii. Thanks, but no thanks. I actually prefer Judgment’s current gameplay when compared to to running through empty corridor after empty corridor with little scenery, stopping to fight some guys, and then do the whole thing over again. Though all of these issues could have been avoided if they would have just released a real 2D Castlevania on the Wii… Judgment isn’t bad, it just isn’t that great either.
As a Wii game, Castlevania Judgment is: 4/5
I’ll be the first to admit - I popped this game into my Wii expecting it to suck hard. Really hard.
After reading the reviews I wanted to remove it from my Gamefly queue to avoid wasting both my time and theirs. I was completely expecting a Castlevania-flavored Soulcalibur Legends style turd to be squeezed out by Konami to capitalize on the waggle craze. Thus I can’t help but give it points for being BETTER than completely horrible. And that’s a sad thing, but a true one. As a fighting fan, and a Castlevania fan, I’m having a good time with this game. I know it’s shallow, and I know I’ll probably be returning it in a few days, but for the moment, it’s a lot of fun. The online is smooth and doesn’t require friend codes, and the graphics are beautiful (especially with the anti-jaggie filter turned on) for a Wii game. Lots of particle effects, very little slowdown. The development team had love for this game. I don’t think they had as much time as they would have liked to work on this title, but what’s there is solid. And that alone is worth a rating boost, because this is one of the few third-party efforts not in the “Bratz Babiez Partyz Fashionz Dolphinz Happy Fun Ninjabreadz Manz” line of titles that sadly continue to sell to the idiot masses.
Note to the Hardcore:
As I said above, and I can’t emphasize this enough: DO NOT PLAY WITH WAGGLE TURNED ON. It’s just as broken as Soulcalibur Legends or Bleach, probably moreso. There’s nothing I hate more than a Wii fighting game that forces waggle for every attack - it’s just stupid, and I know most of you agree.
Treat this as a fanservice game, a “popcorn game” that won’t have much longevity but will be fun in short bursts or to pull out at parties. It’s very simplistic.
As far as how it plays (with existing games for reference)… it’s two parts Destrega and one part Power Stone, coated with a thin Castlevania shell sprinkled with bits of Mace: The Dark Age. I know Destrega and Mace are pretty obscure games nowadays, but they contained several elements that made their way into Judgment: simple controls, over-the-top moves, half-baked environmental hazards, and 1 on 1 versus gameplay. In fact, Mace and Destrega keep coming up in my mind as I play Judgment. Since I liked both of those games back in the day, I don’t have a ton of complaints. It’s a light snack of a game in-between rich, calorie-laden first-party Nintendo goodness. That being said, it’s also one of the best non-Capcom third-party efforts on the system so far. That’s intended as a compliment to Konami… I’m not saying rush out to the store and buy it, but definitely give it a shot. Chances are you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
More rants at:
http://angstygaijin.blogspot.com
4 Stars Kudos to Konami, a bold new fighter is born!
It’s hard to find fault here, everything it does, it does admirably.
Cool sexy characters, easy to learn - difficult to master gameplay, fun minigames, unlockables, online multiplayer, fan service with a smile…
Check. Check. Checkity-check-check!
It’s pretty, silky smooth, and deliciously dark.
Konami should be commended, I never would have thought a fighter based on Castlevania would be such a great fit. I want more.
One thing, though. As others have mentioned, use the classic controller, or better yet, the Gamecube controller. This is one you don’t want to use the Wiimote on. Trust me.
Ignore the haters who don’t even own Wiis. They’re disturbed with the success of the system, for some strange reason. If you own a Wii, and even remotely like fighters, or Castlevania, or just dark subject matter in your games, here is your next purchase.
Filed under: Nintendo Wii Games