Castlevania: Curse of Darkness - Gameplay

Gameplay

Being a 3D game like Lament of Innocence before it, Curse of Darkness differs from its predecessor in a number of ways. It includes a more complex, action/adventure style of gameplay, much like Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow. Hector is not a member of the Belmont clan, so he does not use the "Vampire Killer" whip; instead he has the ability (much like Alucard and Soma Cruz) to equip a variety of different weapons ranging from swords (both one handed and two handed), spears, axes (also both one handed and two handed), brass knuckles and an extra type called special weapons (which varies from tonfas to gatling guns). However, there is an extra gameplay mode after finishing the game that allows players to play as Trevor Belmont, equipped with the "Vampire Killer" and the subweapons which are the knife, axe, holy water, cross, and stopwatch. The battle system is somewhat similar to that of Dynasty Warriors, whereas one button is used for standard combo attacks, and a secondary button is used for stronger "finishing attacks" after a singular standard attack or a combo of standard attacks. As the player acquires progressively stronger weapons throughout the game, the number of standard and finishing attacks the player can perform increases accordingly. Each different weapon type has a different set of combos that can be performed.

Departing from the central hub level layout of Lament of Innocence, wherein the player chooses from a number of distinct stages all accessible from a central hallway, Curse of Darkness features a more complete game world with a complete castle map as in Symphony of the Night. However, the game still uses the same map engine as Lament of Innocence, rather than the square-based grid of 2-D Castlevanias. Furthermore, a noticeable difference in level design is that much of the game does not take place in Dracula's castle, but rather exploring forests, mountains, temples, aqueducts, ruins, and villages in Europe. The player will be also aided by "Innocent Devils", which are demonic creatures developed by Hector himself through the Devil Forgery skill, in order to defeat enemies and solve puzzles within the game. They're similar to Alucard's Familiars in Symphony of the Night, however they level up and evolve together with Hector. The Innocent Devils (commonly referred as I.D.'s) come in 6 different types. Each I.D. gives specifics bonuses to Hector's stats.

• Fairy Type (Aids Hector with healing and can cure magical ailments.)
• Battle Type (The physically strongest of the I.D.'s. Has the most Heart points.)
• Bird Type (Flying I.D.'s that fight other airborne monsters.)
• Mage type (Attacks with long-distance magic.)
• Devil Type (The ultimate type of innocent devil.)
• Pumpkin Type (Add high bonuses to all stats, but possess no offensive skills)