Castlevania has had a, let's just say, difficult time going from 2D to 3D. And although the two Nintendo 64 titles were a little on the weird side, they were still pretty fun. But the first PS2 effort has got to be the worst Castlevania game I've ever played.

Gameplay
For some reason, Konami thought somewhere along the line, that changing this Castlevania game from an adventure game to a hack n' slash game(Think Dynasty Warriors here. No joke.). The gameplay has been dumbed down terribly. Instead of letting you figure out where to go on your own, they have arrows going in or out of the door to tell you if you're supposed to go that way or not. The combat in the game is no better, either. You have a weak attack and a strong attack. You're supposed to make combos out of 2 attacks (and a downward air-kick). This leads you to doing the same 3-5 hit combos over and over again. The relics you find give the combat a minor saving grace, but not by much. Also, no level-up system or interchangable weapons forces you to run around looking for Life Max Ups and Heart Max Ups...you get the idea.

Storyline
The storyline is the only reason to play this game. It tells the story of the Leon Belmont trying to save this girl he's engaged to. Eventually, he ends up in the castle. Since it's based in the 11th century, the game tells how the Belmonts got their whip, Vampirekiller. As well as how Dracula was born in the first place, and his true link with the Belmont Clan.

Graphics/Sound
The graphics are admittedly impressive consideriing it was on PS2. It looks good. The details are there, and the movements are pretty fluid, too. The cryptic soundtrack is nice, too. And it fits the mood of the castle well. Good graphics and good sound don't make up for crappy gameplay, though.

No disrespect to Konami, and especially no disrespect to that "Iga" guy or whatever his name is (The guy that worked on Symphony of the Night as his first project. I forgot his name), but they should be embarassed at what they've done here. Bottom line, if you really have to know how the whole Belmont-Dracula business began (I unfortunately did), then you'll have to play this. Otherwise, soak it in Holy Water, because it needs major purification here.