This is the game that "Castlevania: The Adventure" should have been. With the exception of the maddeningly frustrating climbing/bat sections it is solid (unlike the broken mess of "Adventure") and in spots very fun. The problem and criticism surrounding this title comes when you realize that not only did this game have to directly follow two masterpieces of the series, "Belmont's Revenge" also on the original gameboy, and "Symphony of the Night" on the PSX. It pales in comparison to both of those titles in every category except story, where hands down it still beats "Revenge".

The Good- Excellent origin story for the series, much more interesting than the predictable yawn-fest of "Lament of Innocence". 80% solid gameplay -climbing sections with bats you can't really hit ruin the game for many. And it is one of the last "ClassicVanias" before the series went into a spiral of endlessly cloning SOTN or "MetroidVania" style gameplay in all 2D entries.

The Bad- The story is no longer canon (IGA, director of the series, really dropped the ball here as a proper remake of this game I cannot help but think would have been much more fun than "Lament"). The gameplay is not as finely tuned as most other Classic CV titles. Most of which benefit from masterfully crafted platforming and action. The backgrounds are dull, with largely empty backgrounds, average and below sprite work, and a mostly average soundtrack. Which gives the impression that the creators had a wonderful story and not the will to execute/tell it properly.
This is an impression a lot of people take at face value. But after considering it I think having to cram in the data for nintendos latest gimmick/SNES life-extender at the time - the super gameboy, more adequetly explains the sparseness in other areas of the game. It was only a grey original gameboy cartidge after all. Trying to stuff this new technology AND a game worthy of following up Belmont's Revenge into it was a lot to ask of the development team.
(Said super game boy "enhancements" consist of different solid colors for the stages and a castle-style border for the game when played on the super gameboy by the way.)

In any case, a mediocre game rests where, given the story, a masterpiece should be. And the series as a whole is less rich for it.

All in all I would rate this a slightly below average classic Castlevania (putting aside the story, which is excellent and far superior to the mold of just "Dracula has awoken (early) go kill him again." of most CV games) and a slightly above average action game for the gameboy.

This does not warrant the huge price tag attached to the game these days however, and to all but obsessive CV completests I would recommend the terrific "Belmont's Revenge" for your classic Castlevania on-the-go needs instead. That game usually costs about half as much and is just better overall.

Fairly short. Easier than Castlevania 1. Has checkpoints and a limited use invincibility. Very fun.

I got a chance to play this a few years back, and to be honest, I didnt like it. I felt the gameplay to be VERY SLUGGISH, and just outright boring.
I am not a HUGE fan of the Castlevania series, but I did LOVE SOTN. I thought that was a GREAT PS1 game. I felt Legends to be very shallow in most parts, but the game was not all that bad. I just wish that the programmers could of spent more time making the gameplay more exciting, but instead they didnt. Get this game if you are a fan of the series, but if you are not, then dont bother wastening your 20 bucks.

You play as a chick. Okay, that's the absolute best part of the game. The play-control is rather sluggish and the jumping, though more controllable, is too short. The game just seems too shallow. I hope Sonia returns in a game that can do her justice, after all, she IS the very first Belmont (according to Konami) generation-wise. ... or at least she was before she was declared non-canon. At least the music is good ... sort of. I mean it's not terrible. It's kind of catchy and does not make me want to rip my eardrums out ... or turn the volume off which would probably be a much better idea.

After doing some research, I can tell you that Sonia Belmont will almost definitely not make a return ever or at least as long as IGA is in charge. She's been stripped from the official time line.

Castlevania legends is again a very good game like all of its predesesors. I recommend it a lot!