Castlevania Legends

Castlevania Legends is the third and final Castlevania title released for the original Game Boy. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1997 and in North America on March, 1997. Its original Japanese title is Demon Castle Dracula: Dark Night Prelude (悪魔城ドラキュラ漆黒たる前奏曲 Akumajō Dracula: Shikkoku Taru Zensōkyoku).

Location in the Castlevania chronology

Castlevania Legends takes place in the year 1450, some 26 years before the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. It replaced Castlevania III as the first game in the Castlevania chronology, introducing Sonia Belmont as the matriarch of the Belmont clan and naming her explicitly as the first Belmont to have actually destroyed Dracula. While it should be noted that Koji Igarashi, the current producer of the series, has retconned this game from the official storyline, many fans do not accept this revision and still consider this game part of the series canon.

Story

The beginning

So it was in 1450 that the Dark Lord, Dracula, reached the height of his power, having undertaken a dark transmigration from his human body which gave him the power to rule over all that was evil. He began to send out armies of the undead to conquer the nations of the world one by one.

However, in the province of Transylvania in Dracula's own homeland of Romania, there lived a girl named Sonia Belmont. From her earliest days, Sonia had been gifted with unusual supernatural powers, including the ability to see spiritual beings unnoticed by most. She was always taught that her powers must be used for good, and she was trained by her grandfather to fight with an heirloom whip.

At the age of 17, Sonia set out to find her true purpose. She met the enigmatic Alucard, the prodigal son of Dracula, who was just beginning his own campaign against his father's madness. The two remained with one another for some time, and it is suggested that they fell in love. However, Sonia learned of the full extent of Dracula's evil from Alucard when he told her of his plan to fight his father, and after a time she left him to find her own way to the Dark Lord's castle.

The battle against Dracula

Once Sonia arrived at the castle, she battled through an array of challenges until she reached the Clock Tower. Here she met Alucard, and the two were equally astonished to see each other. Alucard did not want Sonia to be involved in the battle against his father because he feared for her life, and because he felt it was his own duty to deal with the transgressions of his bloodline. However, Sonia's determination to fight on was ferocious, and Alucard could tell that she would not back down. So to assure himself, he challenged her to a battle. Once she had pushed him to his limit, he conceded that her power was greater than he had known, and bid her a final farewell. He then entered what may have been the first of his long periods of sleep.

Sonia went on to fight and defeat Dracula. As his monsterous dragon-like form began to burn away, he warned her that victory was not so simple, and that as long as there was evil in the world, he would continue to rise again and again. Sonia countered by stating that as long as the Belmont bloodline existed, Dracula would rise only to be defeated again.

Not long after, Sonia gave birth to her child, Trevor, rumored by some to be the son of Alucard. This is considered unlikely by many due to the basic incompatibility of Belmont and vampiric blood. It should be noted that the game itself never explicitly says that Alucard was the father of Trevor.

Sonia's sound defeat of Dracula created great fear amongst the people of Wallachia and Transylvania, and though they had been spared slavery and death, they chose to exile the Belmonts. The Belmonts left behind some of their kin to watch in secret for Dracula's return, and they would continue to answer the calling of their bloodline.

Game mechanics

Because this game uses the same engine employed in Castlevania Adventure and Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, Sonia controls almost exactly like her descendent Christopher Belmont, including her ability to shoot fireballs from the whip when at full power, and the ability to climb up and down ropes rather than using stairs.

The game has two difficulty levels, Normal and Light. In Light Mode, Sonia's whip is always at full power. In Normal Mode, she must collect crystals to power the whip up through three different levels.

Sonia displays many of the innate magical powers which also manifest in her descendents. The first of her powers is known as Burning Mode. Once per level and life, Sonia can enter Burning Mode (press both the A and B buttons simultaneously) to become completely invincible until a gauge at the bottom of the screen runs out. This technique is extremely useful against bosses.

Sonia can also unlock powerful Soul Weapon abilities by defeating boss creatures. Soul Weapons consume hearts and are chosen from a menu by pressing the Select button during normal play. Sonia's Soul Weapons are as follows:

Wind

Grants the ability to temporarily stop the movement of all enemies except bosses. Uses 5 hearts.

Ice

Completely restores Sonia's life gauge. Uses 20 hearts.

Flame

Unleashes a powerful burst of energy that harms all enemies on screen. Does not affect bosses. Uses 5 hearts.

Saint

Sends a wave of energy slicing through the air in front of Sonia. Uses 1 heart.

Magic

Completely destroys an enemy on screen, except for bosses. Uses 5 hearts.

Special items

Sonia cannot use the trademark subweapons of the Belmont family and their allies, but she can find all of the classic items hidden in various out-of-the-way locations in the game so that her descendents will be able to exploit their powers. The items Sonia can find include the Dagger, Cross, Holy Water, Axe, and Pocket Watch. If she finds them all, the game's full ending is revealed.