Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

PlayStation (Konami 1997)

The big G-S-G-S-G

General opinion: As good as platform action gets
Story: Well, perhaps the one weak point
Graphics: Cool
Sound: Great
Gameplay: Good

Total:

The Review

Castlevania is one of the greatest classics of video game history. I've never been a huge fan of the early games of the series, though. The controls were rather stiff, and the games rather too tough for my taste. However, when the series reached the PlayStation, it had evolved into one of the greatest platform games ever made.

Symphony of the Night carries on from Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo for the PC Engine. (The western world only saw a much changed and watered down SNES version of this game. See my review of Chi no Rondo for more information.) It's hero, Richter Belmont, an heir of a legendary family of vampire hunters, has vanished four years after the events of the game (set in the late 18th century, though that hardly matters). Dracula's castle, said to appear in the mortal world only once a century, mysteriously reappears again. Dracula's half mortal son, Alucard (first introduced in Castlevania III), awakens from an eternal sleep, disturbed by the evil brewing in the land. He decides to put an end to his father's reign of evil for good. In the castle he meets Maria (also a main character from Chi no Rondo), who is looking for Richter, certain he is somewhere in the castle... And that's about as far as the story goes: find out what's going on in the castle and put an end to the evil forces at play. There is a little more story and character interaction than in previous titles, but plot is still not a main focus.

The gameplay basics are the same as in all the previous Castlevania's. You roam the gothic castle killing monsters. (Just about all the classic monsters from the series, from bone-hurling skeletons to Axe Knights and Medusa Heads, abound in the game, along with a good assortment of new, imaginative fiends.) You collect secondary weapons (all the classic weapons are there, axe, holy water etc., plus one or two new ones), which are powered by hearts you collect by smashing candles and the like. However, this game is much, much more than the classic Castlevanias. It has been changed from a straightforward old-school platformer into a sophisticated action/RPG game. You are no longer limited to one main weapon, but find/buy better weapons, along with other equipment (armour, shields etc.), as you go along. In addition, you get experience from killing monsters, increasing your hitpoints and stats as you gain levels, just like any RPG game.

The structure of the game has changed radically as well. The classic Castlevanias, like any oldschool platform games, were very straightforward, linear games. In Symphony of the Night you can explore the maze-like castle more or less freely (though you may need to find certain items before you can reach certain areas). Exploration, discovering all the areas and the tons of weapons and other items hidden in them, has become a central feature. The game is very much like a fantasy version of the Metroid series in this respect. You can even save your progress in save rooms scattered around the castle, just as in Metroid games. There is much to explore. The castle is huge, with many very different areas. And when you've been through them all, you get to go through the castle a second time... with a twist. All in all, the game will keep you occupied for a good 15+ hours, first time round. (Well, took me that, anyway.) There's plenty of bosses, too. All are fun and some look very impressive. And once you've beaten the game, you can replay it as Richter, in a more oldschool Castlevania style (and with even less plot to get in the way)...

The style of the game does cause some minor problems, though. Difficulty is one. Depending on where you are in the game, how much experience and equipment you've got and what order you go through areas, the game (and bosses in particular) can be rather tough or ridiculously easy... Also, there is one strange structural feature: you can actually "beat" the game, see the end credits and all, without having even played through half of it! You need to use the right items in the right places to get to the second half of the game, and I just wonder if many people have thought the game really ended at that, rather lame, "ending".

With the increased power of the PlayStation, the technical presentation of the game has naturally improved as well. Graphics, though they may look a little dated today, are awesome. And, as games today tend to go for 3D graphics, this game remains one of the best looking 2D platform games ever made. The backgrounds are detailed and beautiful (not to mention the cool parallel scrolling effects). Characters and monsters are well drawn and animated. Music has always been one thing that the series has excelled at (producing some of the best video game tunes ever heard), and indeed the music of this game is excellent as well. Just like the game itself, the music adopts a new, more complex style. Because of this there are perhaps not as many really memorable, catchy tunes in the game, but I'm not complaining... The soundtrack is incredibly varied, ranging from rock to jazz to classical. The dialogue (of which there admittedly is not much), is all voice acted. Regrettably, the voice acting is far from the best that's been heard. I would even say it's borderline lame. I would expect that the original Japanese version would be better, but I have never heard it...

All in all, I can't imagine a 2D platform action/RPG being much better. The graphics are great, gameplay smooth and the atmosphere great. It manages to retain the features of the classic Castlevanias and to be much more at the same time. A touch more plot would have been nice, and the difficulty could have been slightly more balanced, but this game is still loads of fun. I might almost go as far as to say this is the best 2D action game ever made (although I admit my knowlegdge of this field is hardly very wide). Popful Mail still remains my favourite in the genre, though, if only for the plot and dialogue... Later Castlevania titles on portable consoles have all been influenced by this game. However, Castlevania titles for home consoles have since gone 3D, which, in my opinion, causes the games to lose some of the charm and tradition of the series. We can only hope that we will yet see a traditional 2D title that would make use of the improved capabilities of modern consoles. Now wouldn't that be cool?

Ben B. Bainton, 3 September 2005