Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness · Nintendo 64

Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness Recompiled

Platform
Nintendo 64
Project
cvlod_recomp
Status
In Progress
Last update
· v0.2.27
Runs on
PC
Game version needed
Not stated in README

cvlod_recomp recompiles Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness for the Nintendo 64 into a native executable with N64Recomp. It is In Progress at release v0.2.27: the README's stated goal is to reach and stabilize real gameplay, while keeping enough telemetry to diagnose the crashes that remain.

How to play

  1. Dump your own Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness cartridge to a ROM.
  2. Download the Windows or macOS build from a tagged GitHub release and extract the whole folder.
  3. Place your ROM next to the program as rom.z64 and start it.

Game version you need

Not stated in the cvlod_recomp README.

Hardware & system

No minimum stated in the README. Runs on: PC.

Versions, platforms & known issues

ProjectTypeReleaseStatusRuns onGame versionLast update
cvlod_recompBuilt with N64Recomp. Pre-1.0 release. Recompilation v0.2.27 In Progress PC Not stated Sep 28, 2026

Related links

About the game

Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness cover art

Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness is a video game that was developed and published by Konami for the Nintendo 64. It was first released in North America on November 30, 1999 and is a prequel and expanded version to the first Castlevania game on the Nintendo 64, but also contains a remake of the original game with improved graphics, added villains (Spider Queen, Medusa), and alternate versions of some levels (Forest of Silence, Tower of Science, Tower of Execution, Clock Tower).

Original platform
Nintendo 64
First released
Dec 8, 1999
Release · Europe
Mar 3, 2000
Release · Japan
Dec 25, 1999
Release · North America
Dec 8, 1999
Developer
Konami
Series
Castlevania
Genre
Platform, Puzzle, Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Adventure
Themes
Action, Horror
Modes
Single player
Perspective
First person, Third person
Rating
ESRB T · PEGI 12
Story (via IGDB, in English)

Set in the year 1844, the game stars the man-beast Cornell in his quest to prevent his adoptive sister, Ada, from being used as a sacrifice to resurrect Dracula. The game opens as Cornell arrives at his village, which has been burned to the ground by Dracula's minions. He finds Ada's pendant in a doorway and follows her scent to Dracula's castle. During the course of the game, Cornell comes upon a grand estate owned by the Oldrey family: J.A. Oldrey, the master of the Villa, Mary, his wife, and Henry, their son. Gilles de Rais and Actrise have turned Oldrey Senior into a vampire. At Mary's request, Cornell guides Henry to safety. Later in life, Henry returns to Castlevania to save kidnapped children. Throughout the game, Cornell encounters his rival and fellow man-beast, Ortega. Ortega has allied himself with Dracula to finally beat Cornell in combat, turning into a chimera like creature. They eventually battle near the end of the game, just before Cornell defeats Dracula and saves his sister. He only accomplishes the latter by sacrificing his man-wolf powers. Unbeknownst to the hero, acquiring this power was the true aim of the dark forces, as it was the perfect sacrifice (not Ada, as Cornell had assumed) to resurrect Dracula at his full power.

Artwork

Screenshots

Gameplay Video

Game details, cover art and screenshots from IGDB via LizardByte GameDB, retrieved Oct 18, 2026. Images are © their respective owners.

About this project

The macOS build is Apple Silicon only, ad-hoc signed, and links against Homebrew's SDL2 and FreeType, which may need installing first. On Windows, keep the DLLs next to the executable. Testers are asked to pin the top-level repository commit, which records the exact submodule versions, and to clone a release tag recursively rather than use GitHub's auto-generated source archive, which leaves out the submodules. Primary builds reuse the Zelda64Recompiled menu framework.

FAQ

Is Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness playable through the recomp?

It is In Progress. The project is working to reach and stabilize real gameplay, and expects crashes; it is not a finished port.

Where does the ROM go?

Next to the program, named rom.z64. On macOS the app looks beside the .app bundle first.

Does Recompedia provide the game, ROM or BIOS?

No. Recompedia does not host or link to ROMs, ISOs, BIOS files or game assets. cvlod_recomp ships no game code or data either; it needs a ROM dumped from a cartridge made from a copy of the game you own.