Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

"SOTN still amazing"

A lot of people have fathers that are rather, angry. Now, try having Dracula as your father, in the humble abode that is Castlevania. In Symphony of the Night you play as Alucard, the son of Dracula; a cool character or a clever word play, you decide.

Depending on how familiar you are with the Castlevania series, you may or may not know this was the first of the series to use RPG and free-roam elements. Though the game still stays true to its 2D Action-Adventure roots. This specific Castlevania first appeared on the PS1, and has had many rehashes since then, this being the newest and most graphically enhanced, though a rare Japanese version had a little bit more content. Now aside from the SOTN remakes, there are the Nintendo Handheld games, which basically reused the same enemies, graphics, and game style. Of course all the things in the game were still in their hand-drawn gothic style glory, but you still notice the similarities, like enemies, and a majority of Castlevania's areas.

For gameplay Castlevania has always been good for it, even when it can be a little hard or irritating at times (Medusa Heads anyone?) but still, the formula works; and in usual Konami fashion, if it isn't broken, don't fix it! For controls, A is used to jump, X and B are for your sword and shield, or two weapons for the Dual Wielders out there. Y does a useful back-dash move, L for the map, R/LB/RB transforms Alucard into multiple things, but who likes spoilers? Start is for the traditional Pause menu, while Back puts you into an Equip/Stats Menu. Oh and Left control stick moves your character around!

Beyond the game-controls, the games loaded with content! Many bosses, weapons, clothes, power-ups, and secrets! Not to mention the game has a really good story worth paying attention to! In an XBLA game too!

With two characters, castles, and loads of customization to your character, the game screams replayability! Not to mention the killer soundtrack, and a newly added leader board. Achievements on the game are pretty good, you're not expected to be a master of the game to get most of them, but you do have to invest some time into it. For 800 points you're wise not to pass this game up, as its one of the best the XBLA has to offer.

-Great Amount of Content
-Cool Enemies
-Pleases Fans of Many Genres
-“You've played one Castlevania, you've played them all.”

Final Score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/02/07

Game Release: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (US, 03/21/07)