If it feels like you've played Castlevania: Harmony of Despair before, you're not alone. From the eerily familiar name to the hodgepodge of recognizable characters, there's a sense that you've been there and done that. Even the game's graphics and sound are reminiscent of recent installments. But don't let your eyes deceive you, because Konami is taking Castlevania in an entirely new direction.
At its core, Harmony of Despair is the combination of a classic 2D Castlevania game and a Diablo-style dungeon crawler. This is a six player game that rewards players for grinding through levels multiple times, picking up loot, earning more money and taking down bosses with friends. Don't come to this new Xbox Live Arcade game looking for a traditional single-player Castlevania adventure. What we're left with is an interesting experiment that mostly works.
The obvious change comes with multiplayer, something not normally equated with the Castlevania brand. This is a huge change that affects the way the developers tackled everything from level designs, to weapons to the many large bosses. While gamers can still beat each of the game's levels as a solo player, the game is really set up so that six players can work together to rid each chapter of evil.
Instead of a large world to open up and explore, Harmony of Despair features six bite-sized chapters. These six chapters feature a large map to navigate, tons of treasure chests to track down and a multi-part boss fight at the end. But don't feel like there's time to leisurely explore these labyrinthine levels, because players are always under the thumb of the time limit. Because these levels are so large, players will find themselves returning to the chapters over and over again looking for rare loot.
Right from the start gamers have the choice of five familiar characters: Alucard (Symphony of the Night), Soma Cruz (Aria of Sorrow), Shanoa (Order of Ecclesia), Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin (both from Portrait of Ruin). Each character uses different weapons, has different fighting styles and uses different special items. It's a lot of fun going through levels already played through with brand new characters; players will find that each of these fighters has a purpose.
I was impressed by the diversity of each chapter. Not only are the backgrounds wildly different from one level to the next, they also play out in surprising ways. In one level gamers are in an underground cavern fighting a boss that is literally half the size of the entire map. In the next chapter, players use paintings to teleport their way through a gigantic mansion. The game becomes only more impressive with each passing level.
Castlevania has always been one of those games in which players are asked to keep switching between the in-game map and the action. In Harmony of Despair, Konami has managed to incorporate this into the actual gameplay. At any time in the game, players can fill their widescreen TVs with the entire map while still hacking and slashing their way to the boss. Of course, players won't want to do this for long, because unless they have a 200 inch television, they're never going to be able to see their teeny tiny character. Thankfully, there's a happy medium between the map view and the traditional close up. Gamers can zoom out to see only a few screens at once, which allows them to better navigate their way through these challenging mazes.
These different camera angles also help gamers keep track of the other players in their room. Since the team must to work together, it's incredibly handy to be able to pinpoint a specific player at a moment's notice. This is especially true if a teammate gets killed. Instead of becoming a bored spectator, killed players are able to wander the map as a skeleton. Though skeletons can throw bones at enemies, they aren't much use until somebody finds and resurrects their body.
The multiplayer is the game's biggest pro and con. On one hand, having six players makes this game feel significantly different from the rest of the recent Castlevania adventures. I also like the dungeon crawler influence; it's an inspired gameplay decision. On the other hand, I'm not sure playing Castlevania with a bunch of other people is as much fun in practice as it is in theory. The levels are cool, but I prefer the exploration angle found in most games in the franchise. Plus, it's not always the easiest thing to get six players to work together against a common enemy.
It's also frustrating that the game doesn't scale the difficulty depending on how many players are present. Much like Lost Planet 2 and Monster Hunter Tri, Harmony of Despair expects gamers to have a bunch of friends with them. Playing the game solo is a special kind of frustration I don't wish on anybody. Don't get me wrong: It's still doable, but there are plenty of bosses and treasure chests specifically designed with six players in mind.
In a controversial decision, Konami has ditched the RPG-style experience system. Instead of leveling up, players earn more money and find rare items. Gamers' armor and weapons are the keys to this game, which I found a little disappointing. There were times I would come up with little to no worthwhile loot; adding numbers in the experience column would have given me at least some satisfaction.
While the overall structure in Harmony of Despair may be different, the look and gameplay remains largely untouched. Konami stayed true to the game's sprite-based style, giving us the highest res versions of characters and enemies we've come to love. One could argue this game doesn't look much different from the recent Nintendo DS installments, but that would be to completely miss the point. This entire game is built around embracing the look and style of the recent Castlevania games; it would have been foolish for them to re-imagine these famous characters and backgrounds. The entire game is about fan service, and anybody who loves this franchise will instantly recognize most of the elements in this XBLA release.
On top of the game's six levels, the best of the best can test their mettle on the Hard difficulty. If you think the single-player game is challenging on normal, wait until you have a fraction of the time and harder enemies. There's also a Survival Mode, an online battle to see who is the last man or woman standing. Between replaying levels and trying to earn all of the best equipment for their favorite character, players will definitely get their money's worth with Castlevania: Harmony of Despair.
Konami takes an interesting idea and makes it work. While it might disappoint some gamers looking for a more traditional Castlevania outing, those open to a new experience will have a lot of fun. Players looking for a quick and simple multiplayer dungeon crawler that combines the best elements of Castlevania into one $15 package; have I found the game for them. Those looking for a great single-player adventure game should look elsewhere.
