Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

First Impressions / Setup: I played the US version of SotN on PS1, and this was my first playthrough. For its time, this game is incredible – I spent over 15 hours explored nearly all rooms (about 1,888 out of 1,890, 200,1%). I had already been backtracking across the castle a lot, which can get tedious – more on that later. You play as Alucard, trying to stop his father Dracula. The story is simple, and the voice acting is corny but legendary.

Combat / Gameplay: The combat and exploration are fantastic. The backtracking is a bit annoying – sometimes you have to run for 10 minutes just to reach a single room, and TP rooms are too few. Still, the enemy and weapon design is outstanding. Almost every enemy has drops or unique weapons, and there are multiple weapon categories, some with special skills. Certain weapon combos can make the game much easier, like Shield Rod + Alucard Shield or the Crissaegrim, which basically turns the game into an easy mode (not recommended if you want a challenge). Skill scrolls can also be bought in the shop, adding depth to gameplay.

Difficulty: The game is moderately difficult. Most normal enemies are manageable, but bosses like Beelzebub and Galamoth are tough, especially if you don’t know the mechanics or have underpowered gear. With proper items and knowledge, the game becomes easier, but without a guide, completing everything is very time-consuming. Reversed Castle is particularly punishing if you don’t have good/overpowered weapons. Overall, fair but can be frustrating.

Atmosphere / Immersion: The atmosphere is incredible. Every area of the castle is beautifully designed, and the music is phenomenal. Some tracks, especially in Reversed Castle, can get repetitive and annoying (that organ track…), but even the “annoying” tracks are catchy in their own way. Favorites of mine include Lost Painting and Wood Carving Partita. The gothic, mythological, and grotesque enemy designs make the castle feel alive and immersive.

Story / Replayability: Story is simple, but effective. There’s a bad ending and a good ending, depending on certain requirements. If you want to complete the game fully, a guide is almost necessary; otherwise, you’ll miss a lot of secrets. Backtracking and hidden rooms add replayability, but it’s time-consuming.

Conclusion / Personal Take: Castlevania: SotN is a PS1 masterpiece. Despite minor annoyances like backtracking and a few repetitive music tracks (even if repetitive still a masterpiece), the game excels in exploration, combat, weapons, and atmosphere. It’s creative, challenging, and rewards exploration. For fans of classic Metroidvanias, it’s a must-play just be prepared for a lot of running around and bring patience far ahead it's time though.

What works

• It’s a hell of a Metroidvania
• The RPG aspect offers an interesting extension of the usual power-up loop of the genre
• Music and visuals are stellar. This is some luxurious pixel art, especially with a good CRT filter. Played it on the Retroid Pocket 5 and it looks terrific.

What doesn’t

• The movement is a little sluggish compared to something like Metroid
• While I’m sure you can orient a play-through around them, I found the spells and many of the items to be fairly useless

It’s really not fair to stay stuff “doesn’t work” here though…this is a fantastic game.

Verdict

Considering I’m a massive Metroidvania fan, it being probably my favourite genre of game...I’ve somehow never played a Castlevania before this. I had a great time with this, and I definitely want to play the others in the series (particularly the GBA entries which, as I understand it, are most similar to this). There are so many secrets, and I can imagine that before widespread internet access this game was a source of so much playground chatter. Crazy that there is even more to do that I’m not going to pursue (e.g. Richter run).

I did spend an hour or so farming a Crissaegrim, and while it is super fun it really does break the game from that point on. I no longer had to employ any strategy at all, simply having > 600HP and mashing square was enough to beat any boss. I perhaps won’t do that if I ever replay this.

I can finally play my Switch 2 now lol.

This title is a genre-defining masterpiece that revolutionized the Castlevania series, departing from the linear level-based structure of its predecessors, it introduced a sprawling, interconnected castle map filled with secrets, RPG elements, and non-linear exploration, a blueprint for what would later be dubbed the "Metroidvania" genre. The protagonist this time is Alucard, Dracula’s son, navigating fluid combat, tight controls, and a richly gothic atmosphere enhanced by the unforgettable soundtrack. The game mixes platforming, item collection, and character progression seamlessly, while the English voice acting is famously campy, it adds to the game's charm.

I never managed to beat this game when I first played it, because I thought it's map was very confusing, but after learning english I managed to trick myself into thinking that I beat it after reaching the half-way of the game. When I realized there would be a whole new game after the "credits", that is when I knew this video-game is one of the best of all time, and a truly unique experience, from start to finish, I can't recommend this enough as a must-play on all of the platforms it was released up until today.

One of the most striking aspects of this game is how it trusts the player like no other, the castle feels like a living, breathing place rather than a sequence of stages, rewarding curiosity with hidden rooms, powerful gear, and optional bosses that reshape how you approach the game. Mechanics like familiars, spellcasting, weapon variety, and equipment synergies add surprising depth, encouraging experimentation rather than a single “correct” playstyle. Even decades later, the game’s pacing feels modern, balancing moments of quiet exploration with intense combat.

Its legacy is one like no other, this title didn’t just reinvent the franchise, it helped define an entire subgenre that countless developers draw inspiration. From its pixel art that still holds up, to its haunting OST that elevates every hallway and boss encounter. Whether experienced for the first time or revisited after many years, it remains a benchmark for 2D action-adventure design and a timeless reminder of how bold creative risks can produce something truly unforgettable.

This game slaps. No other way of putting it.

This feels like what Simon's quest (this game is heavily referenced in the second half of the game. You collect the same organs to fight the final boss as you do in Simon's Quest) was trying to be. The main differences being good design and fluid controls. While a part of me misses Simon's controls from Castlevania 4 (8 directional striking), there's no denying that overall controls are more fluid and flashier this time around. You can only strike horizontally or diagonally down but you can also jump high, have spells and can choose among an impressively large arsenal of weapons. To be fair, most weapons are utterly useless (2 handed swords really suck which is a shame). Balance (in terms of power) between weapons and sub-weapons is extremely poor. The combat knife is just broken compared to all other weapons in the first half of the game. Being able to strike as fast as you can tap the attack button while moving is insane and unparalleled (until late game). I'd be curious which sub-weapons people thought were the best. The knives seemed the most broken since they are spammable, cost one heart and scale in damage. The cross also seemed absurdly powerful against certain bosses, able to one shot them.

Another flaw, in my opinion, is how some of the required upgrades are very hidden (having to wait in a room a certain amount of time for a statue to move seems a bit unfair for a required upgrade. But this is minor gripe). In general I don't have a problem with well hidden secrets, just kind of sucks when it's a requirement to beat the game.

The main innovation, excluding the Metroidvania level design, is in the relic system. These are items you pick up that give you a permanent buff. Such as one of three different forms (gas, bat and wolf), or double jumping. It's kind of disappointing how useless the wolf form is. The only use I found for it was dashing (once you pick up that specific upgrade) through some of the large hallways (Marble Gallery). Bat form is the most useful since it can even be used in boss fights and effectively opens up the whole map to you. Gas form is niche but has more uses than Wolf form (which has zero). Overall, it's a simple but effective system that gives you a constant sense of progression.

Progression is what this game gets right. You can level up to increase your HP and hearts. In addition, you can find items that increase health and hearts outside of leveling up. Thus, exploration (which is the main focus of this game) is heavily rewarded with a constant sense of progression. Whether that's finding a health/heart upgrade, new relic or new weapon (typically the most disappointing thing to find since most suck). The game also constantly challenges you to remember details and obstacles that may become relevant later once an upgrade is found. Thank God this game has a map... it doesn't color details for you to highlight specific obstacles, but it works. You can usually tell when there's something you missed. Though the map is dense and filled to the brim in secrets.

Boss fights also vary in difficulty. Some of this is due to the free form nature of exploration (where you have some flexibility in the order you fight certain bosses) and some of this is due to power spikes you get from finding certain weapons (I'm looking at you Crissaegrim. Dear God that sword is both awesome and extremely broken). One thing that feels consistently awesome is the design of the bosses in terms of aesthetics. The giant ball of corpses that hides a tentacle laser shooting monster has got to be one of the most memorable boss encounters I've had in any game.

And of course you have to talk about the late game twist/true ending where the entire Castle is flipped upside down. Resulting in one of gamings greatest twists of all time. It is awesome having all your power ups and given this twisted new version of the map to explore again. This time with significantly harder bosses and enemies. Of course once you get Crissaegrim, it does become kind of a joke. Still it is satisfying having the freedom to go anywhere you want. My only criticism of this section is how some bosses are just push overs and the item placement feels half-assed. You might go through an elaborate secret area (to be fair, you had already explored this in the first half) and all you get is a fire resistance potion... cool. Nevertheless it is still immensely satisfying getting 200% completion in this game.

This game is fantastic. I don't think it's better or worse than Castlevania 4. They are so fundamentally different that it's hard to compare them. Regardless, both are great and worth your time.

There are times when a game is just the game for its time. Symphony of the Night came out in an era where games were transitioning to 3D. 2D's and pixel-art's days were supposedly numbered. If that era was coming to an end, Symphony of the Night's team decided it was going to end with an exclamation point rather than a period. It would not go gentle into the night, but go out with a game that was lovingly crafted by some of the finest talent of the 2D era using the full power of the 32-bit consoles at their disposal. SotN is that one-of-a-kind once-in-an-era game, the culmination of all the experience the gaming industry had acquired over the previous decade and a half of making video games. Fusing Castlevania with Metroid and Legend of Zelda style non-linear gameplay, this game inaugurated the designation "Metroidvania".

This may all sound like hyperbole, but believe me, SotN is a game that everyone should play, even today. It is a highly accessible game, easy to get into, ridiculously fun, and an aesthetic feast of pixel art and fantastic music. The castle design is unrivaled, it has a sense of place and atmosphere that is remarkable for a 2D pixel art game. Even the story could be said to seek to rescue the older era of video games, if you consider Richter Belmont the embodiment of Castlevania's past, but the good ending will only be available to those who seek it out, it won't be handed to you on a silver platter.

If I have one gripe about this game, it is a gripe that is common to many non-linear games: uneven difficulty at times. With good equipment and enough levels up, the game can quickly become trivially easy.

Lastly, in terms of versions the OG Playstation is without a doubt the definitive version. But, that isn't to say that the Saturn should be discounted. It has its charm, if a few rough edges that the new additions don't really make up for. But, it is a serviceable, but slightly inferior port. Any student of gaming history or lover of video games owes it to themselves to try this fantastic game.

“What hath night to do with sleep?”
― John Milton, Paradise Lost

Happy Halloween, NPC’s.

I thought it’d be appropriate to review a horror game today and since I haven’t played too many of those (I’m well-red not well-played), it was easy to choose which one. I’ve been wanting to talk about this game for a while.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a highly acclaimed 2D action-RPG from a pre-castrated Konami. Oh it’s also considered the best in the series and one of the greatest games OAT (“of all time”). I’d consider that to be because of its ingenuity, its innovation that forced new blood into its franchise, its genteel, non-linear gameplay, and its subtle use of minimal 3D PlayStation visuals to accentuate its flawless pixel art aesthetic.

Symphony takes place in the 1700’s, in the Transylvanian countryside of Romania. That of course means Dracula. If you didn’t already know or haven’t already guessed, the Castlevania series is based on such folklore and legend. The opening cinematic, in all of its PS One glory, reveals the imposing edifice of Dracula’s ancient castle, its black spires stabbing at the thunderous heavens like the angry, cyclopean fists of Babel’s rebellious lot. Sorry. Waxed Lovecraftian a bit there.

Richter of the family of Belmont, a descendant of Simon Belmont from the earlier Castlevania games, ascends the winding stairs of the castle. He confronts its vampiric lord, Count Dracula himself. They share a bit of corny (and cornily delivered) dialogue and then the vampire hunter finally lays the Count to rest. This matches up with the end of Symphony’s prequel, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (Dracula X). Spoilers, I guess?

Only a few years after the death of his nemesis, Richter mysteriously disappears.

Click here for the full review... https://thewellredmage.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/ca...

Beautifully crafted, Symphony of the Night has to be one of the best action-rpgs, better yet, Playstation 1 titles i've ever played. As an exploration based game, it got to be kind of hard to figure out where to go at first, so I did use a guide. But once I familiarized myself with Dracula's dark castle I was able to really envision the different sections of the castle as one huge building to explore.

Beat this game at 11:42:00, with %178.

1001 Games - #333

Pros: excellent level design, RPG elements work well, great music & artwork, "Inverted Castle" prevents game from being too short

Cons: questionable voice acting/translation, can easily become overpowered

Recommendation: an incredible game. It takes the Super Metroid formula and flawlessly adds RPG elements to it. A huge castle to explore (twice!) and plenty of hidden secrets keep this game entertaining for a long time. Started the Metroidvania approach, which have nearly all become some of my favourite games.