Castlevania Judgment (Wii) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
564A playthrough of Konami's 2008 versus-fighting game for the Nintendo Wii, Castlevania Judgment.
This video shows two different playthroughs of the story mode, both played on the normal difficulty level, followed by a compilation of all of the finishing moves:
2:10 Playthrough with Simon Belmont
22:38 Playthrough with Carmilla
43:24 All 14 characters' finishing moves back-to-back
Castlevania Judgment was completely and utterly destroyed by critics when it was originally released back in 2008. Considering its shoddy motion controls and the unfavorable comparisons made to its competition at retail (Super Smash Bros. Brawl), it's not surprising that it was dismissed so easily. However, it isn't by any means an awful game. It has got its issues like many fighters, but if you're a Castlevania fan and are willing to dig a bit beyond the surface, there's a fun fighting game here.
Castlevania Judgment was developed by Eighting, who developed Tatsunoko vs. Capcom and the Bloody Roar series, and co-developed Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with Capcom. They've seen a great deal of success with their fighting games - and with those on the Wii. So, while CVJ nowhere near tops that list of accomplishments, it's quite functional, and has more depth than you might expect based on the reviews it received.
The game pulls together characters from several Castlevania titles, with most coming from the classic 8 and 16-bit entries. I picked Simon and Carmilla because of my love for CV2: Simon's Quest, but fighters are also taken from the original game, Dracula's Curse, Rondo of Blood, Bloodlines, Legacy of Darkness, and Order of Ecclesia. The only real dud here is the sole original character, Aeon. He's lame. He comes across as a reject anime character more than a Castlevania hero/villain, and he sticks out badly in an otherwise awesome roster. And Sephiroth... uhh, I mean Alucard, in particular, is a standout.
For as much as people have maligned the game's looks, I love the aesthetic. Granted, it's a Wii title, and the graphics did look quite dated when the game was released in 2008. At its best, it's only running at 480p at 30fps, and there are ugly aliasing issues. The character designs are mostly cool, though. A few look stupid (why does Grant Danasty look like he just came out of a hospital's burn ward?), but most of them play up the 80s metal music video vibe, wearing bright and garish things covered in lace-up stitching, spikes, metal hoops, and shoulder pads.
It reminds me of a video from Ozzy or GWAR. Sure, it's excessive and tacky, but so was the era that spawned the series on the NES. But why does Dracula have gilded pudding cups welded to his outfit? And holy hell, Carmilla, those are some mammoth mammaries! She looks like she just stepped out of Rumble Roses. And like she would suffer from crippling back aches.
BTW, did anyone else notice that the clock tower gear stage was lifted almost directly from the ending of the 70s Lupin the 3rd movie? Actually, much of Castlevania's imagery (even in the first game) looks to be "inspired" by it.
The music holds up its end nicely, with a load of wailing guitar remixes of classic Castlevania tunes - there aren't many duds at all, and you'll likely recognize every tune. The voice work is a bit groan inducing, but then, isn't it typically that way in fighting games?
The fighting system works perfectly well, though it's a bit shallow. It reminds me a great deal of Final Fantasy Dissidia. There is a full complement of special moves and a combo system that includes things like guard crushes and cancels to chain together fun beat down sequences. The finishing moves are also usually flashy and cool - some of them are absolutely awesome: Dracula's Demonic Megiddo looks cool as anything despite it's ridiculous and nonsensical name, Carmilla's iron maiden/boob spectacle draw a lot of attention, and Simon/Trevor's finals, complete with glowing jacket crosses, all are satisfyingly over-the-top and ridiculous. It all controls easily as long as you are using a classic or GameCube controller - don't bother with the motion controls, though. They're a complete mess of inaccurate waggle gestures designed specifically to piss you off (or so it would seem).
It lacks the depth of the competitively played fighters, but I do think that Castlevania Judgment gets a bad rap. Igarashi did a respectable job here if you enjoy fighters and Castlevania. He just had the misfortune to have it launch in direct competition with Smash Bros. Oops.
I really like this game, and I hope you enjoy the video!
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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