"Konami did the right thing with this one."

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night stands as a milestone for the Playstation. Since the system was released, observers doubted that the platform could support any type of decent 2D game with its ''3D-centric'' hardware. However, Konami proved the world wrong with this game. It is easily among the best of the 2D-style games released in the 32-bit era. It brings the aging franchise to new heights and succeeds in all areas.

The game revives an old hero from the series: not a Belmont, but Alucard, Dracula's son from the massively popular NES title Castlevania 3. After playing through the final battle as Richter Belmont (culled from Dracula X for the SNES), the game's intro tells a story of the sudden reappearance of Castlevania, an unprecedented event that speaks of evil, rot, and chaos. It also appears that Richter Belmont, who just recently destroyed Dracula has disappeared after being seen near the evil edifice. Alucard, who has lain dormant for an eternity in an attempt to refrain from taking human life, has risen in order to investigate this sudden resurgence of his father's evil power.

The story has even a few more layers than that, which is a marvel considering that the game is not a true adventure or RPG effort. This depth is complemented by the gorgeous aesthetics of Castlevania: SOTN. The castle has never looked do detailed or scary. Crumbling starcases no longer crackle with the standard NES three frames of animation. Everything chips away piece by piece as you walk into Castlevania, and this effect is fantastic. The castle walls are stained and dreary, and the torn tapestries and barred windows all reek of attention to detail. There are sections of the game that are absolutely masterpieces of gothic repsresentation, like the high arches of the Library and the ornate carpets adorning the hallways. Alucard looks like an elven hero, with his long silver hair, lithe frame, and smoothly animated stride. He can stab with a sword, swing a cane, throw a dagger, and cast magical spells, among other things. The enemies, ranging from the classic skeletons and zombies to the sinister horse-riding Valhalla Knights are varied and well drawn and animated. One can really appreciate the efforts Konami went to in making SOTN the pinnacle of the series.

The music is just as nicely done. The Library is backed by a harpsichord and violins, creating an elegant classical track that fits the refined atmosphere of books and glowing torches. Other areas like the Clock Tower have screeching heavy metal-style guitars in the background, fitting the more upbeat and challenging pace of the environments perfectly. You can hear lightning crackle in the background as it flashes through the windows.

You can also hear the gentle swish of the water as an oarsman rows you across an underground lake. Details like this just aren't in many games- and it helps to make Castlevania a special effort. You can hear a hollow clinking sound as bones fly and fall to the ground (after destroying a skeleton, natch). The only real soft point in the game's audio department is the voice acting. In just a few places throughout your quest, Alucard and other characters (like Death and Richter Belmont) speak in real-time voice acting to each other. Normally these details are a nice feature, but the voice acting is cheesy and the voices don't fit the characters. This drags down the game a little but you can't fault Konami for trying.

The game plays differently than other Castlevanias of the past. It is more Metroid than Mario with a whip. Alucard wanders about the castle, filling out a map that would make Samus green with envy and searching for weapons, items and magical scrolls that will strengthen him in his quest. There are no straightforward stages here; you may travel back and forth as needed in order to explore every corner for things that may help you in your quest. Along the way, Alucard must combat enemies and many Boss characters. You can collect items that raise your max HP (yes, the game uses HP rather than Energy Bars for this one!) or the number of Hearts you may carry to wield special weapons. It is great that the game uses a new type of life measure but maintains the same way of using special weapons as previous Castlevanias. By straddling the tried and true formulas of the past and the innovation of adding adventure and RPG elements, Konami hit upon a winning combination. Alucard can also cast spells, ranging from healing spells (that drain life from monsters, true to the vampire style) to attack magic. These spells, special weapons, and regular attacks already combine to form a deep action game. But there's more; Alucard can also change shape into a Wolf, a Bat and a Mist in order to traverse more of the varied obstacles scattered throughout Castlevania. Everything about the gameplay is fantastic and adds a lot to the whole effort. The whole game is just a tight, complete package. Many people have compared it to Super Metroid in its basic scope and style, and this is pretty accurate (and quite a complement, I must say!).

The controls of SOTN make the gameplay work. Alucard jumps, dashes, flies, and floats with the greatest of ease, and fact that the square and circle buttons correspond with actions for the left and right hand is logical and well thought-out. Alucard can change into one of his three animal shapes at the push of a button, and it was great that Konami made use of all of the L and R buttons. Not enough games make proper enough use of complex gameplay like SOTN, and more should.

The game has tons of depth as I said before, and you will be chewing at this one for a while. SOTN is easily larger than Super Metroid or any other Castlevania game by a country mile. Since there are countless secret areas and items, it is doubtful you can totally figure this game out on the first try. Also, since there is a huge secret in the game that basically doubles the length of your quest, you will be at this game for hours on end and never get enough of it. It is clear that this game was done with the enjoyment of game fans on the developers' minds. Even the story twists and turns gently throughout the game, and it is deeper and more engrossing than any Castlevania game by far.

Overall Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is one of the best games out for the Playstation. It has very few weak points and everything is done so that the game is special and an unforgettable experience. I had tons of fun playing through this one and anyone who is at least a marginal fan of the series will too.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/13/00, Updated 06/13/00