The third and final Game Boy game, Castlevania Legends is an attempt by Konami to tell the true origin of the Belmont family and their first battle against Dracula. The story is arguably the strongest part of the game, but it has some unique gameplay elements.

As far as where it ranks in the Castlevania library? It’s easily one of the better games in the franchise. Being released late into the Game Boy’s lifespan, there are some technical setbacks that keep it from achieving legitimate greatness. Castlevania Legends looks great on a Super Game Boy, though.

Castlevania Legends stars Sonia Belmont, the first (and only) female Belmont

Castlevania Legends starts out with a text crawl about a young woman named Sonia Belmont and how she is on a quest to defeat the ultimate evil…problematic protagonist tropes in Castlevania! And Count Dracula.

Joking aside, it is great to see a female protagonist in the series and be the (at the time) first Belmont to defeat the Count. The game also does not harp on the fact that she’s a woman either. And for longtime fans of the franchise, Alucard also makes an appearance.

Sidebar: there is a fan theory going around about the ending (scroll to #4, but spoiler warning), that could have been fodder for future titles.

How’s the rest of Castlevania Legends?

Castlevania Legends is quite a lot of fun to play. Controls are simple and responsive and luckily, the slowdown is minimal. The whip-based combat is back, as is the ability to upgrade it to shoot fire out of it.

One of Sonia’s abilities is the ability to absorb the souls of bosses, called Soul Weapons. The Soul Weapons allow her to heal herself, increase attack power, or hit every enemy on screen. Sonia can also enter Burning Mode where, at the cost of some hearts, she can become indestructible and have can deal heavy damage. Combined with these abilities, Sonia is a total badass. It also makes the game much easier than most.

On the other hand, the game’s graphics are very “meh”. Backgrounds aren’t as detailed as they were in Belmont’s Revenge. Playing it on the Super Game Boy is needed because at least some color is given to the game.

It doesn’t help the levels aren’t super well-designed either. While the branching paths are a nice addition, there just isn’t much worth exploring when it all looks the same after a while.

Castlevania Legends stands as a solid 3-star entry to the long-running series about killing Dracula. Sonia Belmont’s abilities are truly unique amongst her successors, and it’s a shame she never returned for a sequel. As far as action handheld games go, you can do a whole lot worse than Castlevania Legends.