Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Review by: Tails the Fox - 9.8/10
The second direct sequel - Much better
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 Depth
10 Story
9 Difficulty
4
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