YMMV / Castlevania Legends

• Base-Breaking Character: Sonia is an incredibly divisive figure in the fandom. Some love her for her unique abilities, her relationship with Alucard, being the (heavily implied) mother of Trevor, and being the only female Belmont in the series thus far. Others dislike her for all stated reasons, as well as for being non-canon as confirmed by Word of God.
• Critical Backlash: The general stance nowadays is that Legends was unfairly criticized back at the time of its release thanks to the fact that this game came out months after Symphony of the Night and its status as a medium transfer to a portable console kinda destroyed the chances of people liking this game back then. Present day, the story is considered pretty good, the gameplay is at least passable, and the music is different but still good. Even if a player does not like the game, they will at least admit it does not deserve the hate it originally got.
• Fanon: Many people believe that the father of Sonia's child was supposed to be Alucard. While there's no hard proof in-game, only an alleged confirmation by the game developers from an issue of Famitsu 64+ (as reported here), the two seem to be close and speak to each other affectionately, and in the best ending Sonia's child (commonly theorized to be Trevor due to the chronology) is stated to "carry on the fate and tragedy of the Belmont family, and the bloodline of dark ways." As for the dialogue:
  Alucard: "Please understand. I am the only one who can make amends for the sins committed by my father, and there is no reason for you to get involved in this battle. Sonia, I could not bear to lose you, too. Now, turn back!"
  (They fight, and then later...)
  Sonia: "Alucard. I'm so sorry."
  Alucard: "Do not trouble yourself about it, Sonia. Now, I must sleep. I fear we shall not meet again. Farewell, my beloved, my beautiful vampire hunter."
  Sonia: "Alucard! Alucard, I will never forget you. Farewell, dear Alucard."
• Scrappy Mechanic: The trap rooms. Some odd-looking candles, when hit, throws Sonia into a pit where she has to fight off multiple monsters before she can escape. The problem is that clearing the trap rooms offer no sort of reward, making it a large waste of time.
• Sequel Difficulty Drop: Sonia's Super Mode and various magical powers, along with the fact that her whip does not degrade to a weaker form upon taking damage, makes this game much easier than the previous two games. Don't let that fool you into thinking the game isn't still hard; it's just less hellish.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Legends has the reveal that Sonia was, at the very least, intimate with Alucard and pregnant with what is likely his child, thus tying the Belmonts with him and Dracula by proxy. The reaction toward this lore assertation was — and still is — mixed, but the idea of Alucard being Trevor Belmont's father did open the door for further possibilities. Not only did Sonia never appear again because her planned second game, Castlevania: Resurrection, was cancelled, but Legends itself became Canon Discontinuity when Castlevania: Lament of Innocence was released as the true origin story of the series, moving Sonia out of continuity without ever introducing an equivalent to replace her. As the main continuity was put to rest after the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow reboot, it's unlikely this plot will be revisited ever again. (Ironically, said reboot would go on to also tie Dracula and the Belmonts together in blood, through Trevor and Alucard even, although in this case by making them the same person.)

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