Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

"Gaming's Magnum Opus"

Vampire hunting has got to be a rough gig. The hours are terrible (can only work at night), the pay is terrible (you only get what you can loot off of monsters and corpses), and there is somebody always trying to separate your torso from your legs. Pretty much the only good thing about the job (besides its amazing dental coverage) is the fact that the really nasty vampires only get summoned every hundred years or so, giving you lots of off time to age, raise a family, play shuffleboard, and pass the duty on to your heirs. Thus, with Richter Belmont cleansing the world of Dracula four years earlier, he had assumed his job was essentially done and he would be able to soak in all of the vampire hunter groupies. Unfortunately, Dracula is starting to become more like the seasonal flu rather than a hundred year curse, and a mere four years after Belmont destroys his castle, it suddenly reappears (and in clear violation of Transylvania's zoning laws), complete with ominous fog, bloodthirsty monsters, and a waterpark (for the kids). It turns out to be extremely fortunate for us that Dracula cut his thousand year rest early to grace Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, because SotN is one of the best games to appear in the series and remains one of the best on the Playstation in general. With beautiful visuals, an amazing soundtrack, and genuinely fun gameplay, SotN is a joy to play and a game that every gamer should have in his or her collection.

In a departure from past Castlevania games, SotN does not focus on a member of the Belmont clan. Apparently, even legendary clans of vampire hunters must need a break every once and a while, because when the game starts Richter has gone missing. Thus, the task of investigating the castle falls upon Alucard, the son of Dracula and some human chick he met during his kinder, not enslave all of humanity days. While he is also a vampire, he appears to be a friendly vampire that isn't too focused on draining scantly clad women of their blood or dominating the human race. In addition to being a deeper character than the hulking he-men of the Belmont clan, he is also much more fun to play as. While SotN is basically an action/platforming game, there are numerous RPG elements integrated into the gameplay and the mixture makes the game very addictive. While Belmonts seem to be pretty big fans of whips and tend not to veer too far off from that well established weaponry, Alucard can find a variety of weapons scattered throughout the castle. Rather than being pigeonholed as a whip user like the Belmont clan or a dominatrix, Alucard can equip swords, rods, brass knuckles, javelins, and pretty much anything that you can think to use to skewer or bludgeon monsters. And Alucard isn't limited close range combat like most suckers, as he also has secondary weapons (like throwing knives or holy water) and magic at his disposal. All of this variety greatly increases the complexity of the combat and makes the gameplay so much more enjoyable than earlier Castlevania games. Combat is smooth and simple to control, although the more complex magic spells can be a pain to cast. With the straightforward controls and variety of playstyles, SotN is a blast to play and even routine monster slaying is thoroughly entertaining.

Alucard's impressive arsenal is not the only reason that SotN is so enjoyable. Not only can Alucard equip a variety of armor and accessories to boost his stats and make him look cooler, he also gains experience points by defeating the monsters calling Castlevania home. Additionally, by finding certain relics he can gain new skills (like the capacity to transform into different creatures), or even unlock certain familiars to battle alongside him. Thus, unlike most platform games or action titles, Alucard actually grows as he explores Castlevania, and the manner in which he grows depends heavily on how the game is played. Admittedly, the game does start a little slow. The first hour or so is fairly straightforward, and it isn't until you get past the first level or two that the game really picks up. Once the enemies start dropping better armor and weapons, Alucard starts learning magic, and you realize just how open-ended the gameplay is, SotN becomes so addictive that it is hard to put down. Combining these RPG elements with what would have otherwise been a solid action/platform title results with SotN having some of the most enjoyable and rewarding gameplay to ever be encountered in a game.

In addition to the many options you have in terms of gameplay, SotN gives just as many options in exploring the castle. Taking a page from the Metroid series and deviating from the style established by previous Castlevania titles, SotN allows for a very open-ended exploration of the castle. Certain paths will remain blocked until you find certain objects in the game, but for the most part Castlevania can be explored in a manner of your choosing. While the castle is divided into segments, the game plays more like one large level and any part of the castle can be revisited for further exploration. Also, there are so many secrets hidden in the castle that some locations are going to require multiple visits in order to uncover everything. Careful exploration will actually unlock an entire second half to the game, complete with new enemies and bosses. With all of the secrets hidden throughout the castle and the open-ended way in which you explore it, SotN's Castlevania stands as one of the best designed maps in all of gaming. While a minimalist playthrough might take as little as four hours, those looking to explore all 200.6% of the castle (Dracula isn't a huge fan of whole numbers, apparently) and obtain all of the secret items and weapons dropped by enemies are in for much more play time.

Exploring the castle never feels like a chore because the developers did a great job creating the perfect atmosphere to the game. While the castle is huge, there are multiple warps points scattered throughout it that ensures you won't have to trek from one end of the castle to the other in order to explore some room you missed the first time through. The soundtrack of SotN is one of the best in any game, and the haunting melodies that play during your adventure set the mood perfectly. Rarely does a soundtrack add so much to the experience, but in SotN the composer did an amazing job and each track that plays sounds so eerily appropriate. The sound effects are also top notch, and with effects ranging from the haunting yet playful giggle of the marionette to the blood curdling scream let out by the bloody zombie when you chop him in half, nearly every sound in the game contributes to the ambiance and intensifies the mood. The only thing holding back the sound are the character's voices, as the voice actors are all fairly terrible. The voice acting falls somewhere in between low budget horror and high budget porn, and the only good part about the voice acting is that there isn't much of it. Some actors and actresses are alright, and nothing is so bad that you're going to want to turn the game off, but most of the efforts are quotable for all of the wrong reasons.

The visuals also complement the game very nicely, and both the locations and enemies in the SotN are extremely well designed. Released at a time when most games were transitioning to the technology available and embracing 3-D, SotN kept the appearance old school and most of the game appears in 2-D with only 3-D effects on some of the backgrounds. While this might sound off-putting, the graphics in the game are amazing and everything in the game is so well designed in 2-D that I never even considered transitioning the game to 3-D would make it any better. The backgrounds are all vibrant and the attention to detail makes each and every location in SotN memorable. Certain areas are replete in Gothic architecture, while others are adorned with skeletons and caskets. Minor touches to the backgrounds really helps contribute to the atmosphere in each area, and while the background in some adjacent rooms does look similar, they vary wildly from area to area, ensuring that each part of the castle is unique and instantly identifiable.

While the areas are all very nicely designed, the enemies look even better. These are all meticulously drawn and extremely striking, and form quite the rogues gallery for Alucard to battle. Even the minor enemies that populate the halls of the castle are very thoughtfully rendered, and some are more memorable than bosses in other games. Enemies vary from the expected batch of axe armors, bats, and Medusa heads to new enemies such as a distorted version of the scarecrow that consists of a man impaled on a spike, possessed mannequins that swirl their heads around and giggle before floating towards you, and the legendary Cthulhu. SotN also features some of the best boss battles in the series. Bosses range from a giant mass of corpses, to Beelzebub (a giant corpse suspended by hooks that summons bees and maggots), to the mighty Galamoth, a giant horse creature that takes up two entire screens. Not only are the bosses unique and wonderfully drawn, the battles against them are genuinely fun and enjoyable, and overall they provide a very memorable experience.

Yet, despite the beautiful visuals and sound, the enthralling gameplay, and the memorable levels and enemies, SotN is not entirely perfect. While the difficultly for most of the game is nice, the game does get a little too easy once you start finding some of the more powerful weapons. There are too many ways to exploit enemies as you power Alucard up to a behemoth, but this is only a problem if you allow it to become one. Using some of the more powerful weapons is fun, but it can completely destroy any challenge in the game. Even without these uber weapons, the game tends to be a little on the easy side and enemies later in the game tend to do disproportionately low amounts of damage, but there is still enough of a challenge to prevent it from becoming boring. The only major disappointment is the last couple of bosses, who are far easier than most of the other bosses in the game. The game could have gone out on a stronger note, but this wouldn't have been so apparent if the rest of the game wasn't so good.

Beyond that, most of the problems in SotN are either relatively minor or forgivable. The story is minimal and without much depth, but there are a couple of interesting segments in the game. However, the script and dialogue are pretty bad (think B-movie bad), and some of the conversations are pretty cringeworthy. Had a real story been included or the difficultly improved, SotN would have been pretty much perfect. However, the game is so enjoyable to play that the lack of a story won't be something you think much about until after you beat the game. Beyond that, some of the magic moves can be difficult to pull off, and the secondary weapon attack is too easy to accidentally use. However, all of these complaints are rather nitpicky, and the fact that I have so little to criticize about the game that these are the most prominent issues speaks volumes for the quality of SotN.

While the Playstation's heyday has come and gone, SotN remains one of the most entertaining titles the system ever produced. RPG elements infused in the gameplay of a solid action/platforming game make SotN incredibly fun to play and hard to put down. Gameplay is addictive, and not only is it enjoyable fighting the demons of Castlevania, but working to get some of the best weapons from enemies and searching every room in the castle for secrets is something that will take up hours of your time. The sound and visuals are both amazing, and both contribute to setting a very memorable atmosphere and mood throughout SotN. While there are a couple of minor issues, and the game is a little bit easier than I would have liked, SotN does so many things so very right that it is hard to fault the game too much. SotN is one of those rare games that remains just as fun today as it was when it was released. Vampire hunting might be a tough gig, but SotN makes it look so damn enjoyable.

Symphony of the Night (THE GOOD):
+Amazing soundtrack that complements the atmosphere in the game
+Nice 2-D visuals and very well designed enemies
+An enormous amount of equipment available in the game leads to high degree of customization
+Very open-ended style of exploration with tons of secrets to find
+RPG elements nicely sprinkled into the gameplay
+The mood and atmosphere in SotN are top notch

Orchestra of the Damned (THE BAD):
-A little on the easy side, especially with some of the more powerful weapons
-A couple of minor control issues might make it a little difficult to pull off some moves
-Very minimal story in the game and the dialogue is embarrassingly bad

Midnight Karaoke (THE UGLY): Dracula's diagnosis of the human condition. What is a man you ask? A MISERABLE PILE OF SECRETS! Really, Dracula? That's the best you could come up with? Somebody is just clearly upset that they weren't invited to the Transylvania Christmas party. Humans might be secret piles, but at least we have souls and can go out in the daytime. Jerk.

THE VERDICT: 9.00/10.00

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/19/09, Updated 06/26/09

Game Release: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (US, 10/02/97)