"A prime example of how to make a great game."

While I’m always happy to see game companies trying new and innovative things, I’m also of the opinion that some game series should stick with what brought them success. Konami has tried to bring Castlevania into the world of polygons on the N64, and I can’t say I like that one too much. If Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is the last 2D incarnation of Konami’s vampire-hunting games, then it’s going out on a high note, because this is a fantastic game that lives up to its pedigree.

Symphony of the Night actually starts with a flashback to the battle of Richter Belmont and Dracula from five years ago, and you do actually get to control Richter in this battle (but you can’t lose, even if you try). After this prelude, the action switches to Alucard, the son of Dracula, who has revived himself following a century of slumber, in order to investigate the mysterious reappearance of Dracula’s castle and the disappearance of Richter Belmont. From there on, it’s time to beat the crap out of all kinds of supernatural and occult baddies on the way to finding out what exactly is going on. The story for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is actually pretty interesting and not as cut-and-dried as is usual for this series, and it contains some surprises.

I know that about a million people have made this comparison all ready, but I’m going to make it, too. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a lot like Super Metroid in its design. As with planet SR388 in Super Metroid, the castle isn’t really broken up into separate levels, though there are designations for the various areas of the place to keep you from getting totally confused. There is a certain amount of freedom as far as what section of the castle you want to explore, but there are limitations that have to be overcome by finding items and learning new abilities. There are plenty of paths that are in plain sight that you simply can’t take because of some obstruction that you can’t get past yet. This does lead to backtracking, but the game does an excellent job of keeping this from being a tedious chore by using well-placed shortcuts, just another part of the brilliant level design in the game.

There are numerous kinds of items for Alucard to pick up in the game, including weapons, potions, food, and armor. Many of the special weapons, the ones that are powered by collected hearts, from previous Castlevania games return here, and Konami has added a few new ones, too. I was happy to see that the holy water was a lot more effective here than in recent Castlevania games, but the boomerang is missing in action (except for the prelude with Richter). There is an extremely powerful cross weapon, but it uses a whopping 100 hearts, making it pretty inappropriate for most situations. Fortunately, if you don’t like the new special weapon you’ve picked up, the one you gave up is dropped a couple of steps from Alucard, so you can just go back over and grab that one. That will keep you from ever having to carry the pathetic dagger for too long.

Alucard doesn’t power-up his weapons as in previous Castlevania games; instead, he picks up new ones that are either hidden or surrendered by defeated enemies. Most of Alucard’s weapons are swords, though he does have some clubs and maces, too, and there’s always the option to use his bare fists (but only do that if you’re looking for a real challenge). Except for the larger swords, the weapons in the game only require one free hand to wield, so Alucard can use the other one to hold a shield or whatever else you want (potions, another weapon, etc.). Controlling Alucard can be tricky if you’re swapping weapons routinely, since some weapons are slower than others, and all of them have different ranges. Still, it’s pretty manageable once you’re into the flow of the game, though I did find it disconcerting at first not to be using a whip like the Belmont clan.

In addition to powering up through new weaponry, Symphony of the Night has implemented an RPG experience points system. Alucard gains experience for every enemy he defeats, and you can keep up with how far away he is from leveling up at all times. That makes it a good idea to go ahead and face most every enemy in your way instead of running for cover. I think the game uses this system well, because I didn’t find myself just running around gaining experience for hours at a time, as is the case with most RPGs. The only times you might need to do that is if you’ve encountered a boss character that’s clobbering you.

While the experience points help Alucard get buff, they don’t give him new abilities. That’s where the relics come in. Relics give Alucard all kinds of powers, from rather aesthetic things like showing the name of whatever enemy he’s currently pounding on, to making it possible for Alucard to transform into a bat. Some relics give Alucard some company in the form of familiars, helpers who tag along behind Alucard and strike whatever’s near it. These familiars also level up in much the same way as Alucard, making them stronger with use. If you level up the bat familiar enough, a second bat familiar will appear whenever Alucard takes the form of a bat. If this weren’t enough, Konami also added spells for Alucard that are pulled off by performing Street Fighter-like moves on the controller. A couple of these are genuinely useful maneuvers, but some consume too much magic to be worthwhile.

Accompanying Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s superb gameplay and design are some of the finest 2D graphics you’ll ever see. This game is a sumptuous visual feast, with beautiful backgrounds, large and detailed enemies (OK, so most of these aren’t exactly beautiful, but they sure do look cool), and plenty of special effects. The game is a lot more colorful than you might think a dismal castle would be, and it’s well-lit. Everything is animated well, and I can only remember a couple of instances of slowdown in the entire game. Heck, the drawings in the manual are better than in any of the previous Castlevania games’ manuals.

When you consider the previous games in the series, if the graphics had been anything short of breathtaking, it would have been a big disappointment. That also goes for the music, and somehow Konami has done it once again. The soundtrack for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is excellent. There’s a mix of familiar motifs from previous games, orchestral scores, and even some of Konami’s own style of 80s rock & roll. Amazingly (or not so amazingly since they seem to keep doing it), it all fits together perfectly. The sound effects in the game are also first-rate stuff, filled with a range of weapon noises and monster cries. There’s also a bit of voice acting in the game during the scenes that tell the story, and it’s also great. I was sort of reminded of the fine voice work in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (another vampire game, hmmm).

Is there anything wrong with the game? Well, the challenge factor isn’t terribly high. In fact, the game is pretty easy if you find all the best weapons and items, and the bosses aren’t that tough. Even when they are a problem, you can usually just try a different combination of weapons, shields, or armor to fix that. The game is pretty big, and there are lots of secrets to find, so that’s probably the biggest challenge in the game. To be quite honest, I haven’t played a really tough Castlevania game since the Game Boy ones, but that hasn’t stopped me from getting them and playing through them over and over. You can make the game harder by purposefully avoiding key power-ups and weapons, so it’s really up to you. I guess the only other complaint I have is that Alucard jumps back a little too far whenever he takes a hit, but that’s being picky.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a brilliant game. Is it the best Castlevania ever? That’s a tough call that I’m not prepared to make yet. Someday I might sit down and meticulously compare the good points of all of them, but not today. I’ll just say that this is a terrific game that every self-respecting PSX owner should have.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/19/00, Updated 12/19/00