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Castlevania Judgment[1] (悪魔城ドラキュラ ジャッジメント Akumajō Dracula Judgment?) is the first Castlevania game on the Nintendo Wii, and is also the first in the series to be a one-on-one versus 3D fighting game. It was released in November 2008 in the United States, January 2009 in Japan, and March 2009 in Europe.

Plot[]

See also: Judgment Timeline

IGA: "So as many of you know, the Castlevania timeline goes over 1000 years", "And there is a character trying to destroy that timeline. Due to magic forces, a variety of characters from different eras are brought together."

Galamoth plots to send the Time Reaper from 10,000 years in the future into the past to destroy his rival Dracula, and change history. Aeon discovers this and pulls together champions from different eras of history into a time rift, in order to find a chosen one capable of destroying the Time Reaper.

In this world, a battle has been raging between vampire hunters and their prey for ages. Thirteen people from around the world have been called into an alternate dimension through a gap in time. A mysterious man named Aeon appears before the thirteen and tells them "if you pass the trial, you can have your wish..." The trial is a battle between those assembled. But what will they gain if they pass the trial? And how do they escape from the time gap? An epic, era-spanning battle of destiny is about to begin![2]

Like most traditional fighting games, there is a story surrounding each character.

Characters[]

Main article: Castlevania Judgment/Gallery
Playable Characters
Warriors of the Light
Image Name Game(s) Super Finishing Move
Shimon 1280 1024
Simon Belmont
(The wielder of the Holy Whip)
Castlevania, Simon's Quest, etc. Vampire Killer (Simon Ver.)
Ralph 1280 1024
Trevor Belmont
(The man who defeated Dracula for the first time)
Dracula's Curse, Curse of Darkness Vampire Killer (Trevor Ver.)
Grant 1280 1024
Grant Danasty
(The most agile man in Valachia)
Dracula's Curse Million Edge
Sypha 1280 1024
Sypha Belnades
(A witch who made deals with spirits)
Dracula's Curse Disintegrate
Maria 1280 1024
Maria Renard
(A girl with mastery over animals)
Rondo of Blood, Symphony of the Night, etc. Group Cooperation
Eric 1280 1024
Eric Lecarde
(A boy entrusted with the devil's spear)
Bloodlines, Portrait of Ruin Alucard Spear
Shanoa 1280 1024
Shanoa
(Glyph Master who was deprived of her memory and emotions)
Order of Ecclesia Storm Glyph
Warriors of the Night
Image Name Game(s) Super Finishing Move
Alucard 1280 1024
Alucard
(The half vampire son of Dracula)
Dracula's Curse, Symphony of the Night, etc. Inferno Blade
Carmilla 1280 1024
Carmilla
(A female vampire who loves to bathe in blood)
Simon's Quest, etc. Heaven's Gate
Golem 1280 1024
Golem
(An artificial being that has an unnatural soul)
Rondo of Blood, etc. Thunder Beam
Cornell 1280 1024
Cornell
(A beast man who is under an ancient curse)
Legacy of Darkness Blue Crescent Moon
Death 1280 1024
Death
(A god who swears his allegiance to Dracula)
Almost all games Hell's Gate
Dracula 1280 1024
Dracula
(The Lord of Darkness)
Almost all games Demonic Megiddo
Aeon 1280 1024
Aeon
(The Guardian of Time)
Judgment 13th Hour Lament


Gameplay[]

Castlevania Judgment is a 3D fighting game, complete with sub-weapons, Hearts and generation bending characters. Players move the Wiimote to perform combos. They may also hold down the B, Z or C buttons to use different combos. To make sure players can't win by simply "chopping" the Wiimotes and nunchuck, players are able to dodge with the nunchuck as well as block with the Z button. Players can perform powerful but slow "unblockables" to break guards as well as chain these into combos along with the B and Z button combos. Characters can use hearts to power up sub-weapons as well as use a magic bar on the bottom of the bar to fuel special abilities (e.g. Cornell's rage mode or Golem's roll) as well as super attacks.

Modes[]

The game features several modes:

Connecting Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia to Judgement unlocks

  • Hard Mode level cap raises to 255 in Order of Ecclesia
  • Queen of Hearts item in Order of Ecclesia
  • Aeon and Shanoa in Judgement
  • New accessories in Judgement

Sub-weapons[]

Each character has four sub-weapons which they can use, in addition to the Stopwatch. Sub-weapons are selected at the beginning of matches, but can be changed randomly with the Swap Sub-Weapon item. Obtaining a Rapidshot II or Rapidshot III allows the player to use it twice or three times in succession. Charging the sub-weapon button before releasing it causes a more powerful attack to be released, which consumes more Hearts.

Subweapons
Character Axe Dagger Cross Holy Water Jagged Earth Gravity Circle Gale Force Bat Swarm Poisonous Blow
Simon
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Trevor
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Eric
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Alucard
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Grant
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
Cornell
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Maria
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Sypha
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
Shanoa
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Aeon
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Golem
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
Carmilla
No
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Death
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Dracula
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes

Stages[]

The game has ten locations in which you can fight. They are:

Development[]

Shortly after a patent for the game Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for the Nintendo DS was found, a patent for another game called "Castlevania: Judgment" was found. In late 2007, IGA had indicated that the next game Konami was planning on releasing after their third Dual Screen game would be a next gen game. At that time Konami was leaning toward making the game an Xbox 360 exclusive game due to the success of that platform in the United States. However, the July issue of Nintendo Power revealed that Castlevania Judgment was a fighting game for the Wii, with character design by Takeshi Obata, famous for his work in Hikaru No Go and Death Note. About the decision to make a fighting game, Igarashi says: "I guess some fans may worry about the game quality, but I am confident that we can achieve a very high-quality game. I think that fans...will see that it stays true to the Castlevania series. Even though this is a fighting game I can guarantee that it will be fun."

When the game was first announced, six characters were confirmed: Simon Belmont, Dracula, Death, Alucard, Maria and Shanoa. Other playable characters include recurring enemies and bosses of the Castlevania franchise, and a new exclusive character named Aeon.

Other non-playable characters roam the games stages, serving as obstacles that can be eliminated to replenish energy. These characters include common Castlevania enemies such as Zombies and Minotaurs.

Criticism and reception[]

The largest forms of criticism for Castlevania Judgment are that it is a fighting game and thus rather disconnected from the rest of the series; secondly, the character designs are quite different from the franchise's standards. Addressing the second, the nebulous 'Castlevania feel' –a factor hard to quantify or describe– is often deemed absent, with most character designs showing heavy leanings toward a style most commonly seen in contemporary generic anime (with character designs from this installment also appearing generally incongruous with established appearances from other games). Another commonly cited disappointment with this installment are the stock 'fighting game' character motivations and interactions (Maria's fixation on breasts, for example, and the cliché love triangle plotline among the Castlevania III crew), and also several characters being rendered out of character (such as Eric Lecarde being made into a smug and arrogant child, and Sypha Belnades being made into a single-minded character in her attempt at eliminating children of the night regardless of whether they are on her side).[citation needed]

However, it still stands to reason that playing a long adventure game on Wii using the motion controls would be very tiring - Koji Igarashi himself admits that precise movements while wagging the Wiimote might require a superhuman degree of coordination. The Wiimote can still be used as usual, with the player able to control Alucard's sword and other weapons by swinging the Wiimote. Other control schemes are available in the form of the classic controller and GameCube controller.

While many people have issues with the gameplay itself, most praise the remixes in the game. Some fans have also called it an "over hated" game, praising the fresh breath of air it brought to the series.

Review scores[]

  • 1UP.com: D-
  • IGN: 7.5/10
  • Nintendo World Report: 7/10
  • Nintendo Power: 7/10
  • X-Play: 1/5
  • GameRankings: 51%
  • Metacritic: 49%
  • Game Informer: 5/10
  • GameSpy: 1.5/5
  • GamePro: 1.5/5
  • G4: 1/5
  • Official Nintendo Magazine: 68%

Related products[]

Related guides[]

Related games[]

Related music albums[]

Referenced news articles[]

References[]

  1. Written as "Castlevania Judgment" in the instruction booklet and other documentations of the game - straightforward and without a colon to separate the subtitle.
  2. Castlevania Judgment instruction booklet, page 1.

External links[]

Castlevania Judgment
Playable Characters
Warriors of the Light
SimonMariaTrevorSyphaEricShanoaGrant
Warriors of the Night
AlucardCornellCarmillaGolemDeathDraculaAeon
Enemies
ZombieMermanMinotaurIron GladiatorGiant SquidGiant FishTime Reaper
Mentioned only
Galamoth
Areas
Abbey RuinsAlchemy LaboratoryCastle GateCathedralClock TowerCrystal CavernDimensional Rift
Ghost ShipThrone RoomTorture Chamber
Music
Darkness of FearCastlevania Judgment Original Soundtrack
Guides
Ultimate Judge Guidebook
Archives
BestiaryInventoryTimelineTrue Story Mode
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