Overall 9.8 Graphics 9 Sound 9.3 Addictive 8.9 Story 7.8 Depth 9 Difficulty 6
10
My 50th review : Castlevania SotN -Vampire with holy spirit, hunting vampires endings
Castlevania games have always been about a human vampire hunter family called the Belmonts, and their struggle to (repeatedly) put to rest the vampire Dracula and his mutlitude of minions inside Drac's lair, the giant fortress Castlevania. Light horror elements are present in these games, as is your Belmont's traditional weapon -the whip. Simon Belmont (and other family) are iconic and beloved by fans of the Castlevania series. Sure, in the beginning, Simon isn't the fastest guy, but Konami
updated with the times and Richter Belmont is agile and has a dashing slide that helps him traverse ground faster as he explores and completes the castle in a linear fashion, like his forebearers! And of course, like any Castlevania, Richter has a whip! It just wouldn't be a Castlevania game without a whip!
Then this game happened. Belmont is a supporting character. You actually play as a vampire!? An nonlinear castle you can explore as you want? XP and gear to acquire? Familiars that help you? Wait he changes main weapons whenever he wants to? Where is the whip?? But despite the horror elements of Castlevania, one need not fear this game, for it is good. Really freaking good. And history was made as Castlevania players faces were rocked in this awesomeness.
I am not normally one to gush over games, I'll let my history speak for itself. And I will point out the flaws is this one. But this being a little milestone on my reviews, I wanted to treat myself by doing a really good game. I wanted to talk about one of the best Playstation games around and one of the best Castlevanias - to this date! Symphony of the Night (often abbreviated SotN) does pretty much everything right.
Yes, in this game (which still has Richter Belmont, though he's actually against you in this), you are Alucard, son of Dracula. Yes, his name is just Dracula spelled backwards. But this hero is trying to stop his father, just like the Belmonts. He uses swords, or canes or his fists, instead of whips. He also learns spells, picks up small creature allies that can open hidden doors or briefly fight enemies. And lastly, he can use his vampire powers to turn into a wolf, a bat, or a mist cloud to pass through bars and grates.
A vampire as a warrior of God. He doesn't use his fangs.
I did find the games portrayal of Alucard as a pious vampire an interesting idea, and despite being an evil creature, Dracula himself has a church in his castle and you can pray there. Alucard repeatedly denounces the abomination Dracula is several times, a dark creature whom exists to steal souls and cause suffering. You may play as a cursed man, who hates his tainted blood - but he will not bite any mortal in this game and seeks solitude to not bother mankind. His half-vampire status and powers against his kind reminds me of Vampire Hunter D, an anime about a similar subject.
Alucard can use the same sub-weapons as other Belmonts, namely; the holy-water, the flying cross, and some I haven't seen before, sacred ashes, a bible and a ring that causes holy lightning. This seems to suggest that Alucard himself is considered a hunter.
How does the game fits in with Castlevania games?
As mentioned a little above, the classic sub-weapons are here, the stopwatch, the ax - and some new ones.
SotN is so open and exploratory, yet this is not such a new thing to Castlevania. For instance, Castlevania II had the open world and special item gathering - it was flawed game overall, but attempted.
And our Vampire hero? Done before. Castlevania III was the first to introduce other heroes besides a Belmont to play as and whats this? Even Alucard was in Castlevania III (as a good guy, of course), although his character model looked a LOT different. So our hero has already been in Castlevania, he's just the main character for this one.
SotN references the last game, Rondo of Blood, making this entry seamless. It also has classic tunes remastered from previous games AND past bosses like the giant bat, Death, the mummy, and Medusa. This game started a line of DS Castlevania games in this theme of "Metroidvania". It may be quite different from earlier versions, but thats because this game is not a follower, its a leader of excellent Castlevania fun.
Richter!
While he plays a bad guy (sort of), and is a minor character in the story overall, there is also the hidden option to play as Richter himself in place of Alucard. This is great for anyone who wants to play a traditional Belmont. But this castle is clearly made for Alucard's unique skill sets and you see much less of it. Its funny, with playing as Richter like the old Castlevania games is just too limiting (he never changes his main weapon) and just showed me how much more fun Alucard is, he has spoiled us with all his abilities.
I have played a lot of this series, and the overall scores here will not disappoint.
Graphics: 9
The bevy of rooms and a ton of character designs, befit a monstrous castle and its demonic denizens. The skeletons, armor plated knights, mer-men, witches, and often HUGE, room filling bosses are fantastic. The cut-scene art by Ayami Kojima is fantastic, popping with color and detail. I love all the special effects and gorgeous backgrounds in this game as well, and so varied!
- The shadowy, invisible huntress, you can only see her by the sword hovering in the air until you hit her.
- A sentient, floating, glowing sword enemy surrounded by other blades it launches at you.
- Torches that drip oil. The lanterns that dimly set the dank, dungeon caves with a somber glow.
- The giant buzzing flies that zoom in and out of your screen when fighting a rotting boss!
- A hideous enemy that is LEGION, composed of many fallen foes
- A luminescent, giant skull that follows and taunts you over a moonlit, open ruin
- Elemental background effects , like fog or rain, when you climb the side tower
- A clockwork monster type that falls apart when killed, steam and gears escaping
- A haunted book enemy that looks 3-D when the pages open to attack you, and when defeated the pages fly out haphazardly
- In fact, nearly every enemy has a unique death animation, with light explosions, crumbling, fiery immolation and more...
The CG cut scenes are few and far between, but also not great, and probably weaker than other attempts by other developers at the time. In game graphics do get a bit pixelated in rare times. I was going to mark it down to maybe an 8, but honestly, look at that bullet list. That is just a small sample of the light effects, 3-d elements and in general clever design by the art team and programmers. This game tries so hard to do so much artistically, I cannot fault too much for having a few pixelated graphics on some rare close up enemies, as the PS1 had similar issues when this game out. This is not the best looking game ever, but it was the best looking Castlevania game at the time of its release.
Sound: 10
I love this soundtrack. Even my wife loves this soundtrack, and she's never played SotN. It is not, as the uninitiated might assume, a collection of spooky music. Its dramatic (Moonlight Nocturne - in the cg opening); chilling (Door to the Abyss), lonely (Crystal Teardrops, in the caverns), hopeful (Requiem for the gods, played in a church no less), creepy (Abandoned pit, which yes, it is). Symphony in the name is so appropriate as SotN brings a plethora of emotions in this soundtrack. The very first music you hear is called Prayer, and its clear, calming and uses a small choir - vocal only. Songs like Wood Carving Partita (played in the library) are full-on harpsichord compositions, beautiful and archaic as the dusty tomes in the library.
Modern drums and guitar are used for many tracks, so its not fixated on old sounding music. Take one of my favorites tracks from the 30 plus melodies - Wandering Ghosts. It starts out with some whispery, shivery melodies that sound like ghosts are about to pop out. Then it goes into a rhythm drum and guitar section thats sounds kind of like Santana playing in a haunted house. And you know what, it works. There are definitely some tracks I feel are weaker than others, but not a bad song to be found. With so many strong numbers in the musical score, I must also give this game a pass, even with its laughably bad voice acting.
But no review of sound would be complete without talking about the voice work...
Spoken Dialog Cheese scale --3 out of 5 golden gouda
Choice Cheesy line:"WHAT IS A MAN? ..... A MISERABLE LITTLE PILE OF SECRETS! BUT ENOUGH TALK! HAVE AT YOU!"
This is one of those games that had some pretty unintentionally hilarious dialog in the original game. If you ever played Resdent Evil 1 for PS, you know what I'm talking about. Dracula is hammy, Alucard is quite monotone for most of the game, and despite other voice actror/actresses, its these two together that take the wheel, of cheese. Fortunately, dialog is pretty uncommon in this game, only at certain scenes (not on most bosses) and never lasting long, you could play hours without hearing it. There was a redub, rewriting lines and the pauses and wrong tone were erased. But I kind of like it cheesy. If you play the prologue and find the dialog irritates you, then stop immediately and try the redub version. There is nothing but questionable rhetoric and corny threats in the original.
Story: 7
This is an action game, so I wasn't expecting a lot of story, but it does clearly tell you your goal and plot ideas don't get confusing. At least the tone is clear, and there was never a 'HUH?' moment in this game, not that it wasn't trying, but it didn't lead its narrative astray.
You are going to find Dracula and stop his resurrection. You start off very strong, but quickly lose all your abilities and items thanks to Death, the grim reaper. Now reduced to level one, you must fight your way back to being able to handle a duel with Dracula. Along the way you meet this strange girl, Maria, who knows Richter Belmont is inside but is acting strangely, and wants your help to find him. If you meet him you meet him, you've got more important things to worry about.
You will also meet a friendly, if greedy, Librarian in the castle, he and Maria are the few NPCs who will try to help you. The Librarian functions as a shop, and a creature compendium which you can refresh your memory at what rare drops each regular monster has. The shop wares don't
update however, so he becomes less useful later. Maria's infrequent appearances are purely story driven, and anytime she is present you are closer and closer to the ending. There is more to the story with Dracula, whose resurrection you are trying to prevent. You also find out things are not what they seem, and things continue from there. Including seeing the castle from a very different perspective.
I do like the these minor allies as some friends are refreshing (why no priest?), but their dialog is often weak and Maria, as the sole 'female vampire hunter' in the game, represents badly. Shes always seen wearing little elfin shorts, no armor and no weapon. In a castle full of monsters. Its so illogical I'm glad shes not in many scenes. Alucard himself does get a bit of back story in the game, although its not much. His character is better suited to being mysterious, I guess.
Gameplay: 8
Speaking of abilities, the controls work well, and some double button presses (like using the shield rod) are used. Alucard walks a bit slow, and you might find yourself turning Alucard away from where you want to go and using his quick back-step instead. The cape flutters and hangs on the character believably, his shield raises to block attacks, all the buttons work like they should. The weapons all have different speeds and reach, a nice touch with such an assortment. Soon in the game Alucard gets a double jump and its awesome in how fast it is, creating speed lines, if he hits a ceiling he actually flips in midair (going probably 40mph mind you) and lands in a crouch upside down before falling. Alucard is just a cool hero. if not in a hurry to get anywhere.
All in all, I wish Alucard didn't have to walk backward to quickly get where he is going. He does have his shape shifting forms once you learn them, the bat, the wolf, and the mist. These are not equal however, the bat form is clearly the best, having range of movement and unique powers - and flying a bit of a necessity in the alternate stages. The mist cannot be hurt, and has an upgrade to wound enemies, but its so slow theres no point in using it as alternate transportation. The wolf form is one of the first you get, and its fast, however it takes a bit for it to get up to top speed, and often the stages don't have room to accommodate that. Also his attacks are fairly lame. I hardly ever used the wolf, and he could have really used some beefing up. Maybe a werewolf boss you have to fight canine to canine.
Besides the wolf, I had other hang ups with how the game uses some of its creative choices badly. The familiars you get are a mixed bag. They consist of a fairy; a gremlin, ghost and more, some kind of useless, all optional allies. The spells require you to learn them, and take button presses that can border on overly complicated. I hardly used them myself. Weapons can also have special moves, and this is fun to experiment and see, as most moves are merely holding a direction and seeing if it does something.
This is more a ingenious design choice, but its so well done it blends in great to the gameplay -the fast load times and the novel loading screens. I really like SotN has a small window of the game open when its loading the CD for a new zone, its done masterfully and tastefully. The loading is disguised with cherub carvings and a stone CD symbol etched onto the keystone (lol) and just has you walking Alucard to the short end of the window. On PS1 it takes only seconds and you're already back in the game.
Depth: 10
The vast terrain of the castle is inventive, often artistic, and explored in so many ways. The vast labyrinthine castle screams secrets, and SotN does not disappoint, there is lots to find. But there is another reason to revisit areas other than seeing the castle like some demented tour guide. Three words: Rare Loot Drops. Probably one of the first console games to fully use this idea, there are some rare items that give serious power to Alucard. There are even tricks you can do with the shields that make it worth saving a copy of each!
There were over a hundred items to get- ranging from one-use items; single and double-handed weapons, shields, boots, armor, pendants and other accessories, the list goes on and on. The exploratory nature of this game means you often can just go where you want, finding secrets or new levels all the time. I was excited the first time I found out what the rooms with the strange, stone keyholes were, teleporters, to make your way around this maze of connecting towers and ramparts. There are lots of bosses, none repeated, and so many things that are just done so well. Many of the rare weapons, the bat form with all its power ups, they are awesome.
So you're collecting your loot, killing the bosses and having a great old time. The upper area of Dracula's tower is all that is unexplored, and you saw it in the prologue, you know the big boss is there. Just when you think the game is coming to an end, the game throws a giant surprise at you. If you just go to Dracula's room and fight the boss normally, you will get the bad ending. There are not only multiple endings, you are actually only half done with the game. Another castle exists (no princess inside, Mario), a mirror of the first, but you play it in a surreal, really out of the box way. Thank goodness for mist and bat forms!
Difficulty: 6
With a decent memory and map skills, SotN is not especially hard. You can get lost in this as there is so much to do. If you are the type who forgets where you were in a game after a week, it might not be your cup of tea. Playing the game, the beginning might be one a bit rough, as you need gear, don't start with any relics and your life is low. Any items found are essential in the early stages. You will use the sub-weapons like the dagger and holy water more than you do towards the end, when they compete against spells and familiars that help you just as much. You will eventually float through most areas unscathed, but will occasionally run into magically or physically sealed barriers, and have to open those later to continue exploring the castle, a minor setback to your quest, if even that. You also can find rare items that almost trivialize the enemies, but this is more towards the endgame.
The bosses don't have many tricks up their sleeves, but all look fantastic, and are not just punching bag types. Perhaps in one death you will see how to tackle them, which is good because there is a lot of bosses, overall, and some are classic monsters like the mummy. There is an optional boss that is made to be harder, but overall I wished for more bosses in the second (hidden) half of the game. This is a bit of wishing thinking, as the game has many, many bosses already. I don't feel short-changed at all, I just loved what they brought I want more!
That is not to say the game can't be challenging at times. Areas like the clock tower with its large gears and Medusa heads can really bog Alucard if one can't dodge well or find decent gear. However this game's exploratory nature is also a bit to blame, as you could explore different areas and possibly get a better weapon than normal. The more you travel and know, the easier the game becomes. The optional castle feels at times too short, and I found myself breezing through most parts, I wish it was a lot harder.
Addictiveness: 10
Can I give an 11? This game is like video crack. The large areas to explore; the myriad of weapons to test out, the rare drops, the weird, sometimes ghastly foes, the hidden endings. There is so much to this game, it never feels to me like a grind or that you just want to kill this guy and get out. I loved exploring everything. Seeing what monsters could drop for me. Trying out the rare attacks. I've done it all. And will still fire up the game every couple months and do it all over again.
Final Verdict: 10
I feel sound and addictiveness are on par for an 11, and honestly, with so much done right in this game - i can't find it in my heart to yank the final score down a tiny smidge for some cheesy dialog and a bit of scattered game play problems. (If it helps, I also thought the lame voice work in Resident Evil 1 was endearing). Nothing seems missing to me, there are things I could want more of (like a glutton), but I finished it and was beyond satisfied with the product overall. The game is over ten years old now, plenty of time to change my opinion on its faults, and I gleefully still play it. It was like the stars aligned for Konami. Castlevania meets Metroid, thy name is SotN, and it is beautiful.
Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 7 Depth 10 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 4.8/5
Submitted: 10-20-14
Updated: 10-20-14
Review Replies: 0
10
Castlevania Symphony of the Night Review Mynamescox44
Castlevania : Symphony of the Night is considered by many the best PlayStation 1 title of all time. It didn't necessarily do anything original, it just did everything well. It's no wonder the game is so well received when every aspect of the game shines so brightly. I only recently played this game for the first time, and it is definitely in my Top 5 PSX titles ever. I literally cannot think of a single complaint to have about the game. What will this review be? "A miserable little pile of secrets." :P
Graphics - The graphics are by no means state of the art. They were still very good for the time in the PlayStation's life span it was released. That being said, everything is animated beautifully. Alucard simply moving creates a ripple effect where his form slowly fades away behind him in shades. Alucard himself is well designed, and each item used for gear has it's own sprite during game play. This includes armor, his cloak, and weapons. There are also expendable sub-weapons which each have their own attack animations and look great. All the enemies are animated just as well. From every thing's color schemes to each individual attacks animation, they all look beautiful. Even small details like individual weapon appearances are easily distinguishable. The familiars you find (little minions that help you fight) look just as detailed and as beautiful as Alucard. The environments are spectacularly rendered, and everything inside the giant castle looks phenomenal. Even a simple flask on a table is incredibly detailed. The Graphics get a 10 / 10.
Sound - The sound is as well done as the graphics. The sound effects are phenomenal, and everything that pertains to them is pitch perfect. All the enemies sound great, and the sound effects for them dying are good too. I really like Alucard's voice when attacking. The voices of the familiars was a nice touch. The menus and picking up different items all have a unique sound to exemplify what it is you're getting. The voice acting leaves a little to be desired. It seems as if they were simply reading from a script, with no visual context of what they were reading. At least the emotions associated with each scene are pretty spot on, even if the voice acting isn't perfect. The background music is phenomenal in this game. All the tracks help amplify the dark atmosphere and are composed well. I really love the boss themes more than anything though. It's quite apparent they were masterfully crafted. The Sound gets a 9 / 10.
Addictiveness - This is one of the most addicting games I've ever played. Not only is it a 2D action title, it also has a huge amount of RPG elements to it. There's also a lot of ways to customize
how you go about fighting, allowing you to adapt your own style. If you like short swings with a high attack rate, you can use knuckles or daggers. Average range and attack rate, then go with the basic short sword. Want high damage but with a slower swing, then there's the 2 handed swords. Not only that, but there's a wide range of sub-weapons available for use as well, allowing further customization. You also level up based on EXP from killing enemies, which tie into your stats and max health, magic points, and "hearts" which are used as an item count for your sub-weapons. The combat is fun and fluid, and the bosses are the best part. They range in everything from size, attack list, movement and more. This applies to normal enemies as well, offering a wide array of foes. The biggest things that make it so addictive are the exploration and item collecting. Enemies randomly drop loot, which promotes the concept of "farming" to an extent, but not to the point it becomes the main focus of the game. The exploration pays off in a number of ways. First, finding certain items will allow you to explore required areas of the castle. Secondly, some of the best gear in the game is tucked away in back corners, forcing you to search for better gear instead of farming for it. Lastly, there is an alternate ending that can only be achieved only by exploring every nook and cranny the castle has to offer, but more on that later. For me, all these aspects are appealing. The Addictiveness gets a 10 / 10.
Story - The story of this game is fantastic. The slight drawback is it's only slightly presented through out the game, and a lot is given to you in the prologue. I love the fact the story picks up directly after the last title. Richter Belmont has slain Dracula. His castle should only appear once every century. Only a mere 4 or 5 years after Richter succeeded, he went missing, and the castle has re-appeared. These are the basics of how the story is set up. I don't want to give away any more than I need to though. It's an amazing story from start to finish, I just wish there was more presented midway than simple dialogue scenes. There are alternate endings though, so that's a big plus in my book. haven't actually finished the game as of right now, but I know there's at least a "good" and "bad" ending, if not a third option as well. The Story gets a 9 / 10.
Depth - This game is pretty darn deep. The castle itself is huge, offering A LOT to explore. Not only that, but a lot of progression requires backtracking. This is made simpler by having warp-ways in certain areas of the castle, but they can still be a hassle to get to depending how far in the castle you've gone. Other than exploration, the game offers quite a bit of other things to collect. You can always go for a perfect item list which takes a lot of effort to get. There's also the goal of mapping the entire castle, since it shows what areas you have visited and which ones haven't. And among these goals, last is the complete bestiary. There's also quite a bit of replay value here. Not only are certain items and such only unlockable after a completed play through, but there are also multiple endings. The way its set up is the "bad" ending takes place at the half-way mark of the game, and you must accomplish a hidden task to unlock the second half for the "good" ending. This way you don't necessarily have to replay the entire game to see both, which is a welcome change in my opinion, since there's no alternate choices to effect the outcome. There's a massive amount of content packed into this game, which is why my rating is so high. The Depth gets a 10 / 10.
Difficulty - The game overall isn't too difficult. There will be areas you struggle in, and most boss fights are challenging (and some downright annoying). I can think of a particular blob of bodies that gave me a fair bit of trouble because of how I'd go about fighting it. Other than those exceptions, the general enemies of the game are pretty easy to mow down. My main bit of advice would be, be wary of things in armor, or things that make you think "What the heck
is that thing?!?" when you see it. It's pretty obvious just seeing an enemy to know if it's a big threat or not. There are areas where flying enemies spawn in patterns, and approach from each side of the screen. These tend to show up when you must scale something, which make you not only watch your footing, but your surroundings as well. Being able to adapt different fighting styles depending on the enemy will make life much easier for you. Grinding some levels out early will also help for not only EXP, but money to use in the game's only store which is in a fixed location. The game could've been a little more balanced in the difficulty department, but it does a darn good job as is. The difficulty gets a 7 / 10.
This game is a Must-Play, regardless of your preferred genres or anything of the like.
I hope you enjoyed the review :)
Graphics 10 Sound 9 Addictive 10 Story 9 Depth 10 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 4.8/5
Submitted: 04-29-16
Review Replies: 0
9.8
The second direct sequel - Much better Tails the Fox
Castlevania Symphony of the Night is a classic and brilliant game; everyone loves it. I for one am unable to decide whether this is my favourite Castlevania game, and likely because I started playing Castlevania rather late. I first played this game through the PSN re-release and have played the crap out of it since. I also own the game in the PSP Dracula X Chronicles which has a 3D remake of Symphonies previous game, Rondo of Blood. There, I simply cannot decide my favourite between the two – they are both just so good.
The game originally came out on the PlayStation on the 1st of October, 1997 – a year after I was born. Back then I had never even heard of Castlevania, let alone this legend. I had a PlayStation a year after and still did not have this game. No, my first experience with Castlevania was with the GameBoy Advance game, Circle of the Moon (Although here in England it was just called Castlevania, and so was Lament of Innocence) and ever since then I was addicted to games that are similar but mainly I stuck to Castlevania.
This game starts off on the last stage of Rondo of Blood, likely to create ties between the two games. In this stage, like the final stage of nearly every other Castlevania game, is a bloody long staircase leading to the keep, where Dracula is sitting. One thing I have always found funny about the keep in Castlevania games is how it always seems to have a cross in one of the candles. It makes no sense considering that Dracula is unholy. (As if I know anything about religion.) I have always liked the consistency of the keep in games, how it is always the same shape, even if the castle is completely different. Anyway, I’m rambling without progressing.
The player character from Rondo of Blood that is played in this stage is Richter Belmont, and in this revamped final stage, he is given a few extra moves such as sliding, and spinning his whip (Which was done only once before in Super Castlevania IV) and also some fighting game-ish attacks. These abilities make the fight against Dracula (Which comes pretty much immediately) incredibly easy – and it is supposed to be. If you screw up the fight, then Maria Renard, also from Rondo of Blood will come in and basically win the fight for you by making you immortal. After this, the real game starts and you get to play as Dracula’s dhampir son, Alucard.
Alucard plays differently to what most expect in a Castlevania game. He is less rigid, and does not use a whip. Alucard also has a level and stats system, similar to an RPG game. Alucard starts off incredibly overpowered as everything he hits immediately dies and he takes minimal damage upon being hit. Alucard’s gear is actually all items that are equipped and this is one of the most prominent systems in the game. Throughout the castle, Alucard will find all kinds of weapons and armour which all have different strengths and abilities. Alucard also has an array of spells that he can cast at any time as long as you know the button commands. (And some of them are rather... commanding)
Alucard can transform into a wolf, a bat, and mist. These have to be unlocked and are required to get through the castle. They are simply controlled by the shoulder buttons. The wolf runs fast but does not serve much purpose. I found myself very rarely using the wolf and mostly using the bat, as anyone else will. The bat flies around at a constant drain of mana. The mist does the same, but cannot attack or be attacked. (It also only lasts for a second without a certain upgrade) The mist is only really useful for getting through grates at certain parts of the castle. In the late game, I found myself using the bat all the time since it is just the superior way to travel.
One of people’s main criticisms with this game is the voice acting. While I agree with it being cheesy, I feel that all voice acting should be cheesy as it always seems to improve people’s overall opinion of the game. (Resident Evil is another example) Now, the main reason for the voice acting being cheesy is likely the strange echo effect layered over. The PSP version seems to not have this and is significantly less cheesy – I don’t like that.
This was the first in a series of ‘Metroid-vania’ games. I had already played the first three Metroid games before and loved the exploration in those games (And yes, this is despite the fact that the first two Metroid games had no map) so I had assumed, especially considering Circle of the Moon was the first one I played, that all of the Castlevania games were like this. The map system in the game is almost exactly like the one in Metroid where a single colour shows off all of the rooms except for save points. I feel that adding the map and exploration was a great way to add life to what seemed a slowly dying series. (And this is despite Castlevania II being exploration based)
Symphony of the Night has a strange aura about it. All of the ideas are completely unoriginal, but because of the way it is all pieced together, it feels original. This is the first Castlevania game that lets you play through at your own pace and with your own play style. If you like grinding in games, you will be rewarded, and if you like to explore as much as possible, you will be rewarded. You can choose your own path (mostly) through the castle and you will manage to find an end to it all.
The above applies to equipment. You can fight however you want. Maybe you want support from spirits, or want to summon an army of monsters – all of this can be done. Maybe you want to have two swords quipped or a sword and shield. You can even use consumable items, such as bombs and shurikens to fight with. The same is also appropriate for armour. It is not as simple as ‘equip the one that gives the best defence’ but instead it is best to tailor your equipment based on the enemies that you are fighting. Maybe yellow medusa heads hit you a lot – get petrifaction resistant armour.
Through the castle, Alucard will collect relics which grant him passive abilities. There are relics that offer him required abilities such as a double jump, those that give him the form changing abilities, those that summon familiars to fight with him, and those that are not required but give a small help such as showing the damage you do to an enemy or its name. These abilities are all free for his mana bar, and besides the familiars (as only one of those can be kept on at a time) should always be left on.
Alucard’s spells are a large help when it comes to combat. He has spells that let him teleport, heal off blood, and some special attacks based on what form he is in. These all require pressing specific d-pad combinations and then pressing the attack button. All of these spells use up some MP but usually make fight easier assuming that you can pull off the button combination – and some of them are bloody hard to pull off. When a spell has been done for the first time then it is added to the spells section of the pause menu which shows the button combinations, the names of the spells and the cost of mana, though they do not usually use much and become negligible in the later parts of the game.
The candles, like all of the earlier games (Except Castlevania II for some reason) are strewn all about the castle and are in every room except for boss rooms and save rooms. The candles will contain hearts, which act as ammunition for the sub weapons. The sub weapons are also found in specific candles and remembering which ones and what they do will be a huge help when it comes to boss battles. The sub weapons are also no longer locked to quantity as now as many as you can press the button for can be used. (Except for the cross) The sub weapons are mostly standard but a few extra ones have been added to the mix, and these are as follows: The Aguen allows Alucard to strike with repeated bolts of lightning as long as the button is mashed, and Bibuti, which is ash that seems to do damage. The Bibuti to me is a bit useless – I would stick with the classic weapons. Speaking of classic weapons, the dagger is finally made useful as it can be thrown in rapid succession instead of being limited to three slow throws. However, my favourite sub weapon in this game is the cross – it spins around Alucard several times, rising as it does. (It’s not so much a cross when it does this, but more a crucifix, and it comes with a free Jesus)
In the library area of the castle, the only shopkeeper in the game is found: the Master Librarian. He will sell each kind of item besides sub weapons. (Hint, you MUST buy the jewel of open from him) An important item that he sells is maps of the castle – these show a part of the castle on the map screen but in a faded colour. He will sell all sorts of weapons and armour. A lot of the equipment that he sells is exclusive to his shop but usually not worth buying as better equipment can be found by killing enemies and finding more rooms in the castle.
The game has incredibly beautiful 2D graphics in which every character is beautifully animated with special effects used commonly and effectively. Alucard and some enemies have an after image effect which trails and creates a brilliant illusion making it look like there is more motion than there actually is. Alucard has several idle animations and changes his standing pose depending on what he is standing on. He has an attack animation for several types of weapons and has a damage effect for each element that can hit him. His death animation consists of him floating in the air spinning with blood spouting out in every direction. (Sounds weird, but it works somehow) Even some enemies have different death animations. Organic enemies shoot off blood when hit (which heals Alucard if he has the Dark Metamorphosis spell active) and spectral enemies seem to just fly off screen.
Every area has its own little graphical quirks that makes it more interesting and unique from the rest of the castle. The castle keep has a 3D clock tower in the background; the marble gallery has a floating eye (likely because the peeping eyes have absolutely no place in this game) and the lightning at the entrance. Every area has several background layers and incredible levels of detail and many details that you will miss just because you are not looking for them. There are constant secret references to the previous games in the backgrounds and the layout is all logical.
The bosses look brilliant, even better than the regular enemies (as they should) and have a different animation for each attack. Some of the bosses are huge, bigger than the screen (one of them bigger than two screens) and they really show their might. Most of the bosses are intimidating and take skill to beat. Each boss has its own strategy and is rarely a slugfest. Some of the bosses actually consist of multiple sprites (Beelzebub being a great example) which are all individually animated adding a ton of life to the undead. The death animation for each boss is brilliantly overdramatic and fits well considering the large battle that had gone on previously. The game has many bosses and each one different from the next. Unfortunately, not many of the bosses have anything to do with developing the story.
When you are done with the castle, you will find that you are not quite done yet. By doing specific things (that I will not spoil) before you get to the boss at the top then you will have access to the reverse castle. The reverse castle is exactly what it sounds like: It is the regular castle, but upside down. This sounds lazy, but despite all of the same graphics, the layout of how you have to jump around is completely different and so is the assortment of enemies. In the reverse castle, you are not trying to get to the top, because technically you are already there (except it is now the bottom) but instead you are trying to get to the centre. The fight in the reverse castle is much harder with significantly stronger enemies and harder bosses. For every boss in the regular castle, there is one in the reverse castle.
Symphony of the Night has what is perhaps the greatest soundtrack of a PlayStation game and each track stands out on its own. I absolutely had to listen to this games soundtrack on its own because it is so well made and just... brilliant. Even when compared to other Castlevania games, each one known well for its soundtrack, this one stands out as one of the best. Each area in the castle has its own theme and there are several boss themes as well. The soundtrack spans several genres and fits in every situation that it is used – even the stranger sounding tracks fit in somehow. It truly is a masterpiece of game music. There is only one bad thing about it: in the reverse castle, as some of the songs are used in multiple areas which makes it feel a little duller as you have heard that song before.
The majority of enemies have their own sound effects, each boss has several, and some are even voiced during the battle. This adds a lot of life to a game already full of it. Alucard has at least 20 different sounds that will be used with different attacks and upon getting hit. The amount of different sound effects that this game has are stunning and even today some games do not have as much detail in sound effects. The game is even fully voiced for conversations between characters.
Once you beat the game, you will be presented with another challenge which will make you want to beat it again as you get to go through it as Richter Belmont. Richter does not have any of the RPG systems that Alucard has and cannot level up. He has to rely on save points for healing and pure skill for fighting. This is a massive challenge and if perfect for those who thought that the initial game was too easy. With this the player will have to conserve all of their hearts for when they are needed and try to dodge every attack that comes. There is also the ability to play the game as an Axe Armour, but it is not really worth it. (That’s all I am saying about that)
Castlevania Symphony of the Night is a masterpiece without any doubt. I can’t imagine how Konami managed to make this (especially considering that they were beginning the development of Castlevania 64) with such brilliance. There is so much depth to this game and after 20 plays you will still have not found everything that there is to find. There is a problem with them making a game so good: they can’t make one better. Konami have come close with brilliance in their games, but have never beaten the amazing game that this is. Despite me saying this, I am still not sure if this is my favourite Castlevania game, and will likely never be able to decide my favourite.
This is a must for anyone. That’s it. Everyone should play this. I love this game, and anyone else will too.
Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 8 Story 9 Depth 10 Difficulty 4
Review Rating: 4.8/5
Submitted: 05-01-13
Updated: 05-01-13
Review Replies: 1
9.4
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Review sunkenship124
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a game that changed how the Castlevania series would play for a long time. It's the only Castlevania game I have ever completed( not 200.6% though), and probably one of the best games in the PlayStation library. I am no authority on video games, despite my love for them, so take this from the perspective of someone who plays a lot of games but knows that they aren't the best at them.
Story: I gave this a 7 because, while there's a lot of it, some parts could have been better. The game starts at the final part of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood( what's a rondo?), here you play as Richter Belmont, a member of the legendary Belmont clan. I won't tell you about their history because I hope to whatever deity you believe or don't believe in, that you at least know who Simon Belmont is. Anyway, you go and fight Dracula and the less damage & time you take will boost your stats when you really start the game. When you beat Count Vlad Tepes Dracula( he is Vlad the Impaler now) you have a nice scene of text to read that gives you some important information of what happened after the fight. When you start the real game, you play as Alucard, the half-man, half-vampire son of Count Dracula. Your goal is to stop Castlevania by going through the entire castle and stop whoever is in charge.
Graphics: I personally don't care about graphics, but Alucard is just gorgeous. His sprite is highly detailed and his animations are very fluid. The enemies are unique and interesting. Don't get me started on the backgrounds, they are so detailed that one room has a floating eyeball looking right at you and you probably wouldn't notice it. This game sets a perfect mood for it's areas by making sure that no two sections of the castle look alike.
Sound: Like all Konami games, the music is nothing to ignore. Castlevania games live off of using music and level design to create an experience like none other. Unfortunately in the English version of this game, the iconic "Vampire Killer" & "Bloody Tears" themes are nowhere to be found, I personally have found other tunes in the game to become classics themselves. Most of the tracks are made of classical type music & metal. This doesn't sound like a good combo, but it works very well. A few themes genuinely made me feel nervous, which is obviously what the composers were going for. The voice acting at best, is very mediocre. The best voice actor in the game is the guy who plays Alucard and even then he speaks in a monotone voice.
Depth: This game focuses more on exploration than anything, even to the point that they give you a Metroid-like map system. You can level up Alucard and collect different items and potions to boost your stats. Mixing and matching different armor and weapons make this game very interesting to play, as you can beat it with all of the worst items, or plow through enough resources to make you feel warm and safe. The castle is very big and unless you know what you're doing, you will get lost. Some parts require backtracking or leveling up in order to stand a chance against what this game throws at you. My goal was to just beat the game, which I did( my percentage was around 184-187%) using a walkthrough when I needed it. That being said, you could play through this game multiple times and still find new ways to challenge yourself.
Addictiveness: Most of what I said above applies to this section too. Not only can you play the game many ways, but when you beat it, you can start a new game and input "RICHTER" to play through the whole game as Richter Belmont. Alucard doesn't control half bad as well. He has magic and swords. You also have a cape( cloak) that you can swap out for other ones( my favorite is Josephs Cloak because you can change its color). When you beat a boss you either get a lifebar upgrade or a relic. Leveling up feels satisfying because when you do, everything freezes and Alucard glows. Getting 200.6% completion is another reason why people will come back to this game. Some parts require using a trick to leave an area to save your progress.
Difficulty: I had a hard time rating this because once you have the right items, you basically can plow through the rest of the game with little to no effort. Like I mentioned before though, is that you can make the game more challenging( or frustrating) by choosing not to use certain items. Some bosses are weak against certain weapons like if you use a holy weapon on an undead boss, you can deal more damage. Some weapons will do absolutely no damage whatsoever( I learned this the hard way), you can tell by the color of the damage counter when you attack them( red means you're hurting them and blue means you're an idiot). If you want the best ending, you need to have 196.0% completion when you beat the game, which can be very frustrating if you are a completionist( I am not).
This has hopefully been very informative and entertaining to read. Overall I would say that if you haven't at least tried it go get the demo on PlayStation Network or Xbox Live. This is something that everyone should play once in their life. It is on my personal list of "Greatest Games of All Time".
Graphics 9 Sound 9 Addictive 8 Story 7 Depth 8 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 3.9/5
Submitted: 02-15-14
Review Replies: 0
9.7
Castlevania symphony of the night (nocturne in the moonlight)) kanta
Well then Castlevania Symphony of the Night, the follow up the Castlevania Rondo of Blood...on the PC engine*sigh*.
I'm having a bit of a problem as of this review my plugin isn't working is says "you need the newest plugin" even though I have 2.11 version.
Let's start with the story. Story: Four years after Dracula was defeated by Richter Belmont, Castlevania materializes out of thin air Alucard from Castlevaina 3 is woken from his slumber to put an end to this madness. After encountering Maria Renard,Alucard makes this his mission to put an end to his father and find Richter but he turned to the dark side. After informing Maria she insists that Richter is under a spell and pleads for Alucard to snap him out of it. After receiving special equipment that lets you see the evil that is controlling Richter, and is revealed to be the dead priest Shaft (you dig?). Shaft summons a second castle, ONLY UPSIDE DOWN OH NO. Now Alucard has to explore is inverted mess to stop the resurrection of Count Dracula.
Enough of the story. Graphics 8: Sweet mother (it's almost Mother's day) of Alucard is game looks amazing this game also has a Sega Saturn version but only in Japan and some effects don't look as great as the PlayStation version and I know the reason but you'll have to find that out on your own.
Sound 8:I love this soundtrack to death (ha ha pun) excluding the Final Toccata but the other music in the inverted castle is Lost Paintings witch (another enemy pun) is amazing as well as the Prologue,still not my favorite soundtrack ever that honour belongs to Xenoblade Chronicles.
Addictiveness 9:I can't really tell you how many times I would have finished this game many times if this was earlier on vizzed probably twenty or even how old Porky is in Mother 3 or sixty times the length of Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch.
Depth 7: This game lets you got anywhere in the castle as long as you have the upgrades to access certain areas of the castle like the leap stone or an upgrade that causes item out of candles to materialize and some disgustingly overpowered gear like the ring of Varda, on my personal file I have two ring of Varda's plus the Crissagrim two in fact skeletons yes they blend.Try the Shield rod and Alucard shield and I'll be there to pick your jaw from the floor.
Difficulty 5: In the beginning there will be a few enemies and bosses that will give you a run for your money but when you get some decent equipment the game challenge starts dropping like a stack of domino's if you know what enemy drops great equipment.
Game play:This a action Rpg,it's simple stuff but the more enemies you kill the stronger and tougher Alucard becomes. He has spells,weapons with different properties,classic subwepons and transformtions.Alucard just might be the most versatile protagonist I have the joy of controlling. The bosses and enemies are from older games or entirely new bosses or being reused from Rondo of Blood and are give a set amount of exp and have a set amount of health. Also money can drop from candles and enemies and can be used in the Long Libray and the Long Liberian will give you items to help..defeat...his..m-master. Why would he sell stuff to defeat his master,Alucard persuade him by saying,'You will not be left unrewarded
Notes: I like Robert Bell Grotty being the voice actor of Alucard, it's not perfect but he can sound awesome at time like when he says this to boss in his(Alucards) nightmare "Demon death is too good for you"
Last score 9.7: This game is very similar to Super Metroid and the term Metroidvania was born,if you know a game that is comparable to this other that Xenoblade Chronicles please let me know 'cause
Graphics 8 Sound 8 Addictive 9 Story 8 Depth 7 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 3.7/5
Submitted: 03-10-15
Updated: 03-10-15
Review Replies: 1
9.7
Castlevania symphony of the night (nocturne in the moonlight)) kanta
Well then Castlevania Symphony of the Night, the follow up the Castlevania Rondo of Blood...on the PC engine*sigh*.
I'm having a bit of a problem as of this review my plugin isn't working is says "you need the newest plugin" even though I have 2.11 version.
Let's start with the story. Story: Four years after Dracula was defeated by Richter Belmont, Castlevania materializes out of thin air Alucard from Castlevaina 3 is woken from his slumber to put an end to this madness. After encountering Maria Renard,Alucard makes this his mission to put an end to his father and find Richter but he turned to the dark side. After informing Maria she insists that Richter is under a spell and pleads for Alucard to snap him out of it. After receiving special equipment that lets you see the evil that is controlling Richter, and is revealed to be the dead priest Shaft (you dig?). Shaft summons a second castle, ONLY UPSIDE DOWN OH NO. Now Alucard has to explore is inverted mess to stop the resurrection of Count Dracula.
Enough of the story. Graphics 8: Sweet mother (it's almost Mother's day) of Alucard is game looks amazing this game also has a Sega Saturn version but only in Japan and some effects don't look as great as the PlayStation version and I know the reason but you'll have to find that out on your own.
Sound 8:I love this soundtrack to death (ha ha pun) excluding the Final Toccata but the other music in the inverted castle is Lost Paintings witch (another enemy pun) is amazing as well as the Prologue,still not my favorite soundtrack ever that honour belongs to Xenoblade Chronicles.
Addictiveness 9:I can't really tell you how many times I would have finished this game many times if this was earlier on vizzed probably twenty or even how old Porky is in Mother 3 or sixty times the length of Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch.
Depth 7: This game lets you got anywhere in the castle as long as you have the upgrades to access certain areas of the castle like the leap stone or an upgrade that causes item out of candles to materialize and some disgustingly overpowered gear like the ring of Varda, on my personal file I have two ring of Varda's plus the Crissagrim two in fact skeletons yes they blend.Try the Shield rod and Alucard shield and I'll be there to pick your jaw from the floor.
Difficulty 5: In the beginning there will be a few enemies and bosses that will give you a run for your money but when you get some decent equipment the game challenge starts dropping like a stack of domino's if you know what enemy drops great equipment.
Game play:This a action Rpg,it's simple stuff but the more enemies you kill the stronger and tougher Alucard becomes. He has spells,weapons with different properties,classic subwepons and transformtions.Alucard just might be the most versatile protagonist I have the joy of controlling. The bosses and enemies are from older games or entirely new bosses or being reused from Rondo of Blood and are give a set amount of exp and have a set amount of health. Also money can drop from candles and enemies and can be used in the Long Libray and the Long Liberian will give you items to help..defeat...his..m-master. Why would he sell stuff to defeat his master,Alucard persuade him by saying,'You will not be left unrewarded
Notes: I like Robert Bell Grotty being the voice actor of Alucard, it's not perfect but he can sound awesome at time like when he says this to boss in his(Alucards) nightmare "Demon death is too good for you"
Last score 9.7: This game is very similar to Super Metroid and the term Metroidvania was born,if you know a game that is comparable to this other that Xenoblade Chronicles please let me know 'cause
I like this game a lot
Graphics 8 Sound 8 Addictive 9 Story 8 Depth 7 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 3.2/5
Submitted: 03-10-15
Updated: 03-10-15
Review Replies: 1
9.5
BUT ENOUGH TALK, time fur dinner ThanatosUnraveld
A long time ago in a castle far, far away there once lived a big nosed man named Alucard, he was bored of sitting around and drinking tap water so what did he do? Well he stared in Castlevania 3 Dracula's Curse of course, but that wasn't enough but he wasted his 'free trip every 300 years' card for that time so he went back to the tap water life. But now he finally has a chance to go on a trip so he decided to go home and visit good old daddy poo Dracula (YES MY FAN FICTION IS NOW COMPLETED) but ya its Castlevania Symphony of the Night. I'm not gonna lie it wasn't until the good ol summer of 2013 that I got this game on Playstation Network along with Parasite Eve man good times.................... so I didn't have a childhood to look back on for this game so I think I can give this game a bit more 'truthful' look at as I wont over look the stuff that people who enjoyed this game as a child can, nor will I pick every little thing apart. But enough of talking about this game and me (new sit com) lets get on with it, YES GET ON WITH IT (if you get that reference.............. then you are one with the stars).
So this is a Playstation 1 game so its gotta have 3D Graphics right, welp guess what this game is all in 2D (well there is some sudo 3D parts like the that one bookshelf in the Long Library and I know that stuff along with the scrolling backgrounds have a name for it but I cant remember #GOOGLE), and you know this was a game system known for 3D so if it does 2D then it must do it amazingly and you know what? It does and it does it so greatly every sprite looks really really good and Alucard himself moves better then any Belmont/ his NES sprite could ever dream of moving. So Alucard looks smexy like he always does (he really needs to call me back I asked him to dinner last week) and the enemies look great too (but not as good as my Alucard) there is a nice large handful of enemies that roam in and out of the castle and ALOT of them look different so you never really know what you are going to go up against when you so somewhere new. And even though this game takes place in a castle that doesn't mean a bats hind ears in the long run because every area (minus the hallway loading screen area thing between any two areas man that place is redundant) has its own look and feel so each area pops out and sticks with you, and sense the castle is the main point of everything it might as well look elegant and (minus the underground caves and the catacombs) everything looks elegant and 'royal' (because you know man bat Dracula cant BE royal blood he drinks it) but I question why there is so many gash darn stairs. And later on during the second half the castle kind of.............. changes (ya lets put it that way) some (a lot do actually) areas look different so you know that someone really took all there time and effort in making all these areas that you slowly trot (or back dash) through. Sadly not everything is perfect in this game some enemies (like the Medusa heads, but then again they are 'different' but you get my point) look the same or with things like the hunchbacks (or flea men) they don't really have that many different animations but that is a small cry of problems compared to everything else in the game, so with all of that the Graphics get a almost perfect 9 out of 10.
Its a Castlevania game so you just know the Sound is going to be good, but in this game its not good its goooooooooooooood (mmmmmmmmmmmmhm ish dat guud) it seems like they knew this game was gonna rock so they gave the music a very special treatment. So that soundtrack anyone whose played this game knows that its go cat flippin good and its so good I mean.............. its gooooooooooooooood (sounding a bit redundant are we?), but not only does this game have new music but if your playing the X Box live/ Sega Saturn which gets such awesome remixes like the Bloody Tears remix (which at some points of reminds me of Mayas them from Persona 2.) And some more awesome remixes like...................... ok that's the only one that comes to mind (I swear I'm not a imcompintent reviewer) BUT there are some awesome tracks that are new to this game tracks like: Alchemists Laboratory, Wood Craving Partita (MAN I LOVE THAT SONG!!!!!!!) Lost Paintings (loooooooove that track), The Cursed Prison, Beginning Techno Goth, Beginning Jazz. Heck I even like I am the Wind (not sure why some people hate that song), but there is one song that I CAN NOT STAND IN ALL OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!! And it is the stupid Final Toccata its in the second half of the game and it feels like its in every other area during that time, it seems like the music team was like: well guess why did you tell us you where doing new music for the second half of the game, oh look some song we never used hmm.......... ill go kick this bear and every I get mauled we will make a song that shows how much I hate our fans and over use the song. But I really do love all the music that I talked about above, and I do like more but not enough to give mention to in here, so what about all those sound effects well most of them are really good like the sound that Alucard makes when he swings his weapons.But every time he gets hit he sounds like he got shot (with meh love arrows) and I don't know why but the sounds the toads and frogs make really stand out to me and the fleaman for the P.T.S.D reasons............and why is it that when I hear Alucard take damage from water (stupid weakness by the way) I expect to see Vamp from Metal Gear Solid 2 to start running on the water above me? And every time I get a max hp or max hearts up my heart grows 3 sizes bigger when I hear that sound jingle. But a awesome full set of songs (minus one) and some pretty nice sound effects (Vamp costs extra) so its gets a Sound score of a perfect 10/10 AWESOME!
SOTN (symphony of the Night acronym form) is the game that made the Metroidvania a thang (WORD BRO!) so just take can make it and Addictive(ness) to two groups of people Castlevania fans and Metroid fans. And if you are a collection type then you could get some jollys out of collecting a lot of (needed) stuff and some (not needed) stuff (aka hp and heart ups, bestiary, and what not) but you really naturally find a lot of them so if your a person who savors the kill (aka STABBING A BOTTLE!!!!!!!!) then your not going to get much please from finding something that you can get by moving slightly to he left and slashing a wall to get to. If you are someone who likes the feeling of getting progressively stronger in a game then this game is GREAT for that (I personally am one of those people and it feels so good), or if your someone who wants to do a low level/ low item run then this is also a great game to do it on as well. And if you are a fan of map completion (oh you must be a weird person............. what NO I'm tots not into that kind of thing............ ok I am) then you will get your belly full of in SOTN (just trust me there is a lot of map to complete) and it also changes the ending so you have a advantage in that area too. Any fan of 2D platformers might find this game fun as it is kind of a platformer, there is a lot of jumping....... on platforms......... in 2D.......... yep so hip hip (OW I BROKE MY HIP) hurray? If you like EPIC MUSIC then you will love this game (didn't know this game has epic music well then you should of read my Sound section) sense you know there is a lot of really epic music in this game. And if you are a fan of glitching a game out then you will also REALLY like this game (once again something I totally don't do............ ok I suck at lying) there is a lot of awesome glitches like keeping all your starting items, getting stuff early, clipping through walls, going to areas your not meant to all that shibang. You would also like this game if your a big fan of Dracula moves, or a big fan of Alucard (notice me Alucard Senpai!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) So ya this game could be Addictive to a large group of people and for that it gets a cool 8 out of 10.
So how bout dat Story? Well its interesting enough to keep you intrigued so hare's part of it: After the events that happened in Castlevania Rondo of Blood all was fine as it normally is when ever the bad guy is beaten, BUT one day Richter Belmont (the other Senpai who killed Dracula) when missing. And in the world of who knows where Alucard broke his huge nose and took a dirt nap for a bit then woke up and went to get his mail back from his good ol' daddies house and so does Maria (a girl from the last game) who is now like 16 and wants to find out what happened to Richter. So the plot is a bit more deeper and what not with this new plot of trying to find a Belmont instead of playing as one which could make for some interesting reasons as to why he is gone and what happened to him which they do give but.............. its nothing to interesting. And it also seems like Maria has no real plot importance for 97% of the plot she has her moment in the sun ONCE but she doesn't really do a whole lot in the grand adventure she just runs around the castle and.......... don't know (sniffs fairy dust I guess.) And what is Alucard true meaning for going into the castle, he goes to stop his father but his father isn't in the castle when he gets to so why did he go, why didn't he go any other times but decided to go now did he HAVE to
sleep 300 years? The plot adds a lot more to itself in terms of a Castlevania game and tries to tell a story but it does fall in some categories but the Story still gets a 6 out of 10.
The Depth of SOTN could be measured by how big the castle in (I should get out my handy dandy measuring wand) yes its big and long. So now that we know that we can use all that we know to explain just how much this game has to offer and its like I said before ALOT, weather you be trying to get one of the many hp or hearts max up or just trying to complete the map, you'll be spending a lot of time just wondering around in game looking for your specific thing. There is also a bestiary that you can complete for....... no reason really just to say you killed every enemy in the game, a lot of good that's for right? And you know you just do the really boring thing of collecting all the weapons and armors in the game, once again not worth it but hey doesn't it fell good to waste your time killing a crap ton of enemies only to waste even more time trying to find a specific weapon in the menu screen? NO, well then at least I tried right and like previously stated you could do map completion which makes it so that you are one step closer to getting the best ending (so you can get that slight tingle in your body when Alucard notices your presences.) And after you beat the game normally you can go back and replay it as someone special or if you are playing the Sega Saturn version you could play it as the dearly beloved (if you get that reference then COOL STORY BRO) and then someone else who you know just rocks (or so they say cuz you know the PSN version is just the PS 1 version.) But there really isn't any side quests (not sure how they would be done in this game but hey just saying) so its not like you could meet any interesting secondary characters or tackle any optional bosses,or get SUPER rare items. So even though they didn't have like one thing that they could of had in this game its still a REALLY deep game (which I think is cool for a PS 1 game) and because of that it gets a really long and Depth worthy (I swear that makes sense) 9 out of 10.
The earlier Castlevania title where kind of known to have really high Difficulty and SOTN kind of follows under the same philosophy I guess? But this is also one of those games that is kind of how hard you make it, so its possible to make this game more easier then sliding butter down a fishes face. Your not going to know what this weapons does or how awesome this armor is or that if you break this wall then you can get this special sword that is worth a bit of use so its gonna be a lot harder then any of your other playthroughs, but its not going be be 'drop the game and not play it for three months' kind of hard. And with a bit of map and enemy knowledge this game can be VEY VERY easy like borderline mind numbing kind of easy, like that butter you wanted to slide down that cactus's face (fish what fish?) just opened itself up and willing done its job for you. The biggest source of difficulty in this game on subsequent playtrhough is probably trying to remember where to go next and the Medusa Heads (KEEP THEM AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and going with the Medusa heads I really, really, REALLY hate the Clock tower, (heres a little heads up on it i guess a.k.a a rant) so if you want to get to a special place in the clock tower then you have to hit some cogs till they clock and all the time blue and the ANNOYING yellow ones are flying across the gosh darn screen, and if you want the best ending then you will have to do it all again later on and then all the Medusa heads turn to yellow ones so you will getting petrified every two seconds. But hey if you get the mirror cuirass then its no problem, no problem at all................... and that's the thing with this game there are a lot of hard areas that can be a push over if you have the right items or equipment or just over powered by that point. That is until the game gets like 17 times more harder when you have to re explore the castle, you know the point in the game where the enemies will actually hurt you, (and oh boy they will hurt you trust me) but then again they are so strong that they give off a crap ton of experience making level grind a breeze (I'm looking at you Guardian) so its kind of a mute point I guess. So after your like 3rd playthrough the only real challenge you will be getting is if you do a low leveled run or if you try limiting yourself in some kind of way, but anyways I will give the Difficulty a ~5 out of 10 could be easier or harder its just all what the player wants it to be.
SOOOOOOOOOO that is the masterpiece that is Castlevania Symphony of the Night one really game on the PS 1, I can easily recommend this to anyone who wants to try a old school 2D game but are afraid of the hardness that is Castlevania 1 and 3. This game is also really fun to replay again and again (I mean its not like I've beaten this game 4 more times in just this year alone) and I'm sure once you start to play it you will agree with me on that statement too. I don't really know what else to say without being redundant, but if you haven't played this game then really do yourself a favor and play it, I mean its been re released on every modern day system so what's your excuse GO PLAY IT! Ill give the Overall rating a 9.5 out of 10.
P.S. Alucard please answer my calls I mean I've only called you 14 times within writing this review.
Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 8 Story 6 Depth 9 Difficulty 5
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 05-15-15
Review Replies: 1
10
Probably my favorite game on the PS1 osazemccurley
Ok ok ok, So I screwed up and plagiarized a walkthrough for this game, well today I'm not doing that, nor plagiarizing anybodies work, ever. again. So heres my thought on Castlevania: Symphony of the night. Lets look into a little backstory into the game, and see what made it such a huge hit
When Symphony of the Night came out it was unlike any Castlevania game that had been released. The closest Castlevania to Symphony in America would be Castlevania II. In Japan, another title, Vampire Killer, also shared elements of gameplay with the game (And it was released on PC!!! Would you believe that or WHAT?). All of that is to say that Symphony is a game that focuses heavily on exploration. The classic side-scrolling of Castlevania is still there, but with a emphasis on a Metroidy gameplay, Hence the name "Metroidvania" came to fruition!
Alucard is able to explore the whole of the castle, looking for new powers and new ways to get through the various sections of the demon fortress. Since death is a real D-bag, he has fight his way through, gaining back his spells, bat powers, wolf powers, and everything else a Emo, Teenage vampire person would need.
Along with collecting powers and items to aid in his exploration, Alucard will also be collecting new weapons, armor, food, and more. Enemies will drop stuff, and others are hidden in the various places of the castle (You know, Pork in the wall! So delicious!!!). Depending on how you prefer to fight, there are swords, knives, objects you can throw in the faces of evil, power fists... a full, long, complex assortment for Alucard's armory. Just about any guy will find something they will want to use and use it on a regular basis.
Adding to the depth is also an RPG system. As Alucard fights his way through the castle, killing enemies, he'll gain levels which will increase his health, strength, magic, luck, and all the other stats you'd expect from an RPG. The RPG system adds just enough of a twist to the standard Metroid formula to make the game a whole lot better!
What sucks is that the RPG system can be a little Op, It gives the game some real depth, yes, BUT it makes literally half the game WAY to easy. Seriously, if you grind enough the game will seem so easy it'll make you want to stop playing, its possible to become SO powerful you can beat like every boss in just about 10 seconds!!!
That said, once the game is beaten, You can play as Richter! (So you wont get bored anytime soon!) He is WAY less powerful than Alucard, he can't get more equipment, he has a permanent life bar, and he doesn't get to use magic (Aw...) It pretty much becomes a real Castlevania game at that point, Making the game a lot harder. If your looking for a real challenge, play as him.
Late-game play issues aside, there's a lot to love about Symphony. Along with a great game that you can sink hours into (on one playthrough), the presentation of the game is top notch. As with Rondo of Blood, the CD-format benefits the music of Symphony. The game sports a lovely, symphonic production. Honestly, it's one of the prettiest soundtracks for a Castlevania game, before or since. This is aided by several stand-out tracks that help to drive the suite: "Dracula's Castle", "Requiem of the Gods", "The Tragic Prince", and "Lost Painting". The soundrack is by far, one of the best ever to come out of a video game.
The game is also a sight to behold. The expanded capabilities of the PlayStation allowed the game to really push what sprites could do. Just the simple effects, like when Alucard walks, and after-images of him fade out behind him. Large-scale bosses that fill the screen in details. This is a game that proved sprites are a viable format, and it's hard to think of another game, 2D or 3D that's quite as pretty to look at. Too bad Konami decided to screw us all over with their planned EROTIC Castlevania game, Seriously did any of you guys see that monstrosity?!?!
All in all, This is one amazing game that every gamer needs to try in their lifetime, Its hailed as one of the best Castlevania games to date, and oh boy it IS! Give this one a try any day, because it will never let you down.
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 8 Depth 10 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 2.7/5
Submitted: 04-16-16
Review Replies: 1
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