i played it again recently, first time since i transcribed all the game's text (which since then has been lost, sadly)aye, I need to dust off the old Ninty-64 again.
for me, this game holds up so well that it's amazing. contrary to what people say, i never had a problem with the camera and actually found it to be more versatile than cameras in similar, more recent games. also the epilogue is fantastic. after all this time, i had forgotten that(click to show/hide)
Did you guys ever finish it, or did Uzo just say, "Fuck this game forever"?
There's no denying that of all the 3D Castlevanias, the N64 ones still captured the spirit and gameplay of the originals the best. (Although the actual best 3D Castlevania is called Bloodborne.)
SOTN and the other IGA games kinda rendered platforming as something you do rather than a gameplay aspect requiring skill. Bloodborne is a pretty perfect, modernized translation of those games. It's not Castlevania, no, but it's the closest anybody has ever gotten. The N64 CVs made a strong attempt for the late '90s, but I don't know how well that style of 3D gameplay would work now—the gaming climate may not allow it (given how poorly Yooka-Laylee tried to recreate that era).
It's hard to think of combat that could be done differently from Bloodborne for a CV game; after all, several of the classic CVs required a certain level of strategy in fighting an enemy, backing off when needed and knowing when to attack, and the dodging you do in Bloodborne is a good 3D representation of that. It also isn't a combo-fest button masher, so it's far more authentic to CV than either the PS2 or LOS games.
MediEvil, as you said, is probably one of the closest examples to similar gameplay to the N64 games from that same era. And having just beaten it for the first time recently, I can attest to it being far more troubled in play mechanics than either of the CV64 games. Perhaps one game near that style that Konami could have emulated a little was Soul Reaver, which had tighter platforming and camera controls.
I'd love to see some good action platformers come out. I think the problem isn't so much that people don't want them, but that designers today don't know how to make them. I haven't spent enough time with Yooka-Laylee to say for certain if it's a dud, but one thing is apparent is it's nothing like the games that it emulates. This could be due to the designers and programmers not having made a game like that in such a long time, or younger members not having the necessary skill, and/or down to the director never having directed a game before (despite being a longtime programmer at Rare) and perhaps he wasn't the visionary to lead the team.
I'm super excited for Mario Odyssey, though. Galaxy 1 brought 3D platforming back in a new, refreshing way, and I think Odyssey will do the same.
If a new 3D CV got made, I wouldn't want it to follow the Bloodborne gameplay either; that's strictly a Souls thing, and I don't want another CV that's just "this game with a coat of paint" like LOS was. But unless another good attempt comes out, I consider Bloodborne to be as close to what a 3D CV should look like. Especially when taking in the branching area designs, the gothic art direction, and monster lore.