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 Through the magic of the Ancients, the man-beast warriors have obtained a physical body of near immortality, and power that surpasses that of a wild beast. Even in their human forms, they are a power to be reckoned with.
The man-beasts, choosing to live in harmony with the humans, sealed away their enormous magical powers to prevent them from being used. However, through severe ascetic training, Cornell acquired the art of releasing the sealed man-wolf power.
Returning to his village after a year of ascetic training, Cornell finds the village engulfed in flame, and his only living blood relative, his sister Ada, kidnapped by evil spirits. Using his man-wolf's acute sense of smell to track the scent of his sister's blood, Cornell begins his long journey to rescue Ada. He tracks her scent to the location of Dracula's castle. Orega his friend and rival confirm that Ada has been taken inside to be a sacrifice to Dracula's return. Cornell enters in search of his sister.
 Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness was a continuation of Konami's first attempt (Castlevania 64, also published in 1999) to create a 3D Castlevania. It is officially referred to as a "Special Edition" of the original game, and more fully realizes the game designers' vision. For example, Cornell was present in early development media and press information for Castlevania 64, but was ultimately removed before the game's release. But did it surpass the original game? Rather than try and improve upon the original ^$ title, they decided to take a prequel status to the game. This was kind of fun in a way, as it did add more story and history to ^$, as well as make certain things within both games make more sense. Otherwise the similarities were unjustly critisized by most people, and Legacy of Darkness combined with 64 were widely regarded as Castlevania's downfall on major platforms until Lamment of Innocence 4 years later.
At first Legacy of Darkness may appear entirely the same to a casual observer due to aesthetic similarities to the first game. However, Legacy's primary focus is on a new story in which Cornell explores new levels. even the levels from 64 are so drastically changed, that it is almost completely "new", even if the textures are similar from game to game. Old levels that have not been drastically changed are given different means of navigating through them, and come with different puzzles to solve.
Carrie and Reinhardt's quests are a secondary focus, and can only be unlocked after completing both Cornell and Henry's quests. Carrie and Reinhardt's quests lack the voice acting and original level designs present in Castlevania 64, instead adopting the new designs. Their quests also feature new bosses. It was kind of a nice addition, that gave more gameplay time to this title.
Legacy of Darkness is a massive improvement to Castlevania 64. It would have certainly done better to be released alone rather than with 64 anywhere around it. But like 64, it was still met with some very harsh criticism. And some believe this is due to both these games coming on the heels of the ever popular Symphony of the Night. It would be some 4 years before there was Castlevania success on a console again. All in all though these are not terrible games. If you are bored, give Legacy a try. You will find it to be more fun than the reviews say it is.
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Castlevania
