Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

"A revolution for Castlevania"

Wow, Symphony of Night. Such a great game!

Whether you knew this or not, Symphony of the night was a revolution for Castlevania games, it started the now famous RPG system. So, are you a fan of old Castlevania games? A bit scared to try something new? Well maybe this review will change your mind, as Symphony of the Night is a game that you will truly regret missing out on!

Story 9/10

Wow, a Castlevania game with a good story! There isn't much dialogue in this one, but it gets the story across just fine. The game takes place after Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss (SNES) and you play as Alucard, son of Dracula. Alucard appeared previously in Castlevania 3 (NES). The game starts with you controlling Richter (from Vampire's Kiss) and playing though the final stage of Vampires Kiss, right up until you defeat Dracula. Alucard then takes over as the main character and sets out to destroy Dracula's Castle four years later. Early on in his quest Alucard meets up with Maria, whom is returning from Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss. At some point in the game, you'll end up fighting a certain set of classic Castlevania characters that any one who ever played Castlevania would instantly remember.

I can't tell you much more without spoiling the story, so I guess you'll just have to play it yourself.

Gameplay 10/10

This is truly the highlight of the game. This game is an action packed, side scrolling 2D platformer. In this game, the main character, Alucard, can use a huge variety of weapons, such as swords, rods, maces, two handed swords, knives, etc., and you can switch weapons at any time. Another interesting feature is the level up system found in many RPGs. Fight enemies, level up, get stronger, simple right?

There is also a large amount of bosses, and each of them drop various power-ups to help you on your quest. Also, there are now two, that's right, two castles to explore! Excited yet? Well there's more. In this game, you collect different relics that will give you different abilities such as seeing the name of the enemy, showing the number of damage points you're dealing, allowing a double jump, etc.

As you'd expect, the use of sub-weapons from the previous Castlevania titles is still in there, and as usual you need hearts to use sub-weapons. Unfortunately, the "Item Crash" ability has been partially removed. While playing as Alucard, you cannot use Item Crash, however, while playing as Richter Belmont you can use the Item Crash whenever you want.

This game also introduces the use of "Familiars", guardian spirits who will follow you and protect you after being summoned.

In Symphony of the Night, the bags of money you collect do not give you points, in fact you use them to buy equipment, items, maps, and spells from a Merchant. Other things you can purchase include Boss Strategies and a customizable cape!

Other notable features include the use of various types of shields (used to block only projectiles), and the ability to cast magical spells by inputting various button combinations. MP (Magic Points) were also introduced in this game, which are used to cast spells.

Sound 8/10

Don't get me wrong, the music in this game is very good! The reason I gave it an 8 was because I didn't think the music was scary enough. Or maybe it's because the tunes weren't very memorable? In any case, the sound in this game is very good, though if you're into Metal like myself, this certainly won't be your highlight of the game. Also, to date, this is the only 2D Castlevania to feature voice acting. (which was very well done by the way)

The dialogue in the game is so well put together, and there are so many memorable quotes. The characters speak as if they're actually from the 1700s.

The sound effects are just awesome. They are very realistic, and each monster usually has their own death sound effect, most of which are either very funny or very cool. The sound effects are definitely a major highlight of this game.

Graphics 10/10

In my honest opinion, there is no 2D Castlevania game which beats this game graphic-wise, and the graphics in this are just beautiful. Some of the sprites used in this game are taken directly from other games, such as Vampire's Kiss, however you wouldn't be able to notice this if I hadn't told you, because they blend in so well!

The attack animations are very cool, and the fire and explosions in this game are very well animated.

Some of the backgrounds are 3D, and I hate seeing 2D sprites in a 3D world, but they really blended 2D and 3D very nicely in this game. Very well done Konami!

Difficulty 10/10

Symphony of the Night is neither too hard nor too easy. Chances are you'll die a few times on your first run-through, but you'll get the hang of it sooner or later. Naturally the difficulty will steadily increase as you progress through the game, and it does get quite difficult near the end.

Some of the secret areas can be tough to find, and some of the hard bosses are optional, so you could avoid hunting for secrets and avoid those bosses all together if you find the game too hard.

I think this game could be picked up and played by people of all ages, whether you're new to the series or not, just as long as this isn't your first platform game ever played.

Level Design 10/10

The level design in this game truly is something. You'll rarely find yourself getting lost in this castle, as every room is unique. The backgrounds are also the best backgrounds you'll ever see in a 2D platform game. Yes, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night truly is a great visual experience.

The areas are also designed very well. Platforms are place in the perfect positions, enemies are placed perfectly, though sometimes in annoying places. The one disappointing thing about the level design is that every once in a while, you'll find yourself walking down a really long hallway, fighting the same enemy over and over until you're halfway down the hall, then you'll fight another enemy over and over until you reach the exit.

Replay Value 9/10

The replay value in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is very good because after you've completed the game, you can start over using Richter Belmont, the main character from Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss instead of the usual Alucard. Playing as Richter is a lot different, and it feels like a whole new game, so you'll definitely play through Symphony of the Night at least twice.

Another reason to play through the game again is the amount of secret area scattered throughout the game. Chances are you won't complete the game 200% the first time through, (yes, it goes up to 200) so you may want to play through again to try to find all of the areas and see the secret ending.

And what if you got 200% on your first run through and only saw the secret ending? Well, you missed you chance at seeing the other three endings, you you could start a new game and check those out if you wanted.

Overall 9.3/10

Rent or buy?

I doubt you'll find this in any rental store, but if you do you should check it out.
However, if you ever find it for sale, buy it right away, you will not regret it!

I'd say you could find this for a pretty cheap price (probably around 15-20 USD) on E-Bay, so if you don't have this classic gem, pick it up right away!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/02/06