Castlevania Legends
Developer(s)	KCE Nagoya
Publisher(s)	Konami
Release date(s)	November 27, 1997 March 11, 1998
Genre(s)	Action adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults)
Platform(s)	Game Boy
Media	2-megabit cartridge

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 11, 1998. Its original Japanese title is Akumajō Dracula Shikkoku Taru Zensōkyoku (悪魔城ドラキュラ漆黒たる前奏曲, Akumajō Dorakyura Shikkoku Taru Zensōkyoku^?, lit. "Demon Castle Dracula: Dark Night Prelude"). Image File history File links Cvlegends. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... Konami Corporation (コナミ) TYO: 9766 (NYSE: KNM) (SGX: K20) is a leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling computer and video games. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Konami Corporation (コナミ) TYO: 9766 (NYSE: KNM) (SGX: K20) is a leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling computer and video games. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan_(bordered). ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... See also: 1996 in video gaming, other events of 1997, 1998 in video gaming, history of video games Events 3rd annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo) October 4 - Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997) dies after a double car accident. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). ... 1998 1998 in games 1997 in video gaming 1999 in video gaming Notable events of 1998 in video gaming. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Action-adventure games (British English: arcade adventure) are video games that combine elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines, and online privacy principles for computer and video games and other entertainment software in the United States and Canada (officially adopted by individual provinces 2004-2005). ... For the entire Game Boy series of handheld consoles, see Game Boy line. ... The Megabit is a unit of information storage, abbreviated Mbit or sometimes Mb. ... In various types of electronic equipment, a cartridge can refer one method of adding different functionality or content (e. ... Castlevania is a video game series, created and developed by Konami. ... The Game Boy ) line is a line of battery-powered handheld game consoles sold by Nintendo. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Storyline

In 1450, 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. Dracula ) is a fictional vampire from the multi-platform Castlevania video game series. ...

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. Map of Romania with Transylvania in yellow Transylvania (Romanian: or Transilvania; Hungarian: ; German: ; Serbian: / Transilvanija or Ердељ / Erdelj) is a historical region in central and western Romania. ... Sonia Belmont of Castlevania Legends Sonia Belmont is the star of the Castlevania game Castlevania Legends. ...

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. Alucard Ţepeş from Castlevania Alucard Ţepeş is the name of the son of Dracula in the Castlevania video game series. ...

Once Sonia arrived at the castle, she battled through an array of challenges until she reached the castle's throne room. 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, believed by many Castlevania fans to be Trevor Belmont. Trevor is also rumored to be the son of Alucard, though 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, or that the child was, in fact, Trevor. This article or section may need to be cleaned up and rewritten because it describes a work of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. ...

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. Map of Romania with Wallachia in yellow. ...

Gameplay

Because this game uses the same engine employed in Castlevania: The Adventure and Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, Sonia controls almost exactly like 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.

The first of Sonia's 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.

Sonia cannot use the trademark sub-weapons 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. 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.

The game has five normal stages, which consist of the Graveyard, Castle Halls, Clocktower, Castle Keep, and Inner Den. There is an additional bonus stage, the Dungeons, which is hidden in the game. Bosses of the stages include the Creatures Bat, Death Dragon, Grim Reaper, Alucard, and Dracula.

Music

Most of the music of Castlevania Legends was newly composed. However, the first stage notably has a modified version of Bloody Tears as its background music, and the final battle's background music begins with a quote from Vampire Killer. Bloody Tears is the name of a traditional tune in the Castlevania series. ... Vampire Killer is the name of a traditional tune heard in the Castlevania series. ...

Trivia

• The US version uses passwords to save your games progress while the Japanese release uses a battery backup.
• This is the only Castlevania game released for Game Boy that did not receive any kind of re-release. ^{[citation needed]}

External links

• The Lost Castlevania Legend - A site dedicated to Castlevania Legends and its main protagonist, Sonia Belmont.
• Message board