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36 of 36 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent side-scroller actionSep 17, 2003
By Yossarian
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night harkens back to the early and great Castlevanias of the old NES, but with vastly updated graphics, gameplay, and even ambiance. Sure, it's still a 2-D scroller where you roam around and jump around on platforms and what not, but it's at the top of the heap. The game starts somewhat oddly with you as a vampire hunter facing off against Dracula in a fairly wacky fight that always reminds me of a pro wrestling match. You beat Dracula, at which point time warps ahead and you switch to Alucard, Dracula's remorseful son (spell Alucard backwards..yah, clever) who brings the fight to Dracula's vast and labyrinthe castle in an effort to do away with his evil sire for all time. At first I was put off by what I thought was a bizarre and inelegant introduction (the human vampire hunter is a character from one of the mediocre middle Castlevania games, and is very unwieldy) but it turns out the manner in which you use him to defeat Dracula "historically" in the plot affects Alucard's starting abilities. Meaning if you beat up on Drakula with magic, Alucard later favors magic. Ditto for melee combat.Anyway, the game is lush and filled with endless amounts of loot. Any monster has a chance to drop rare goodies when slain (based on Alucard's Luck stat), fake walls crumble to reveal hidden platemail, accidentally-tripped switches open bookcases or trapdoors, and zillions of types of monsters appear from all over the place. The music is great and quite haunting, and the game's RPG and money system are quite well developed. Alucard has quick "combo" spells you can use while fighting, and many of the weapons, shields, and armors he finds have their own effects which have to be discovered in game play. I've located weapons that let Alucard teleport, summon the undead to fight for him, call lightning, ice, or fire, or even waves of holy light down on his foes. Everything from helms to circlets to rings to boots can be worn, and Alucard eventually even develops the ability to transform into traditional vampire modes. Dissipate into a swirling cloud of mist and waft through a ceiling vent to escape your enemies, turn into a wolf and charge through crowds of zombies, or transform into a bat and fly around breathing fire on everyone. Lastly Alucard collects various magical relics throughout the game, that do everything from let him breathe underwater to have permament familiars that float around with him on screen and help him out (the dancing runesword is not to be missed). As an example of the thought put into this game, your familiars themselves even gain experience and go up levels, growing both stronger and smarter over time. For example, the runesword familiar at first just kinda floats along behind you, lethargically swinging at things long after they took a bite out of you. But after a while it turns into a gleaming heat seeking weapon of vengeance, mercilessly smiting anything the second it shows up on screen. At one point I turned Alucard into mist and just drifted around while the sword familiar took out a boss for me. This game also has more items and secrets in it than your average Final Fantasy, and is more addictive. It is also one of the least frustrating games you can find; you can save as often as you want in save rooms you find on your map (in a coffin, natch), heal yourself easily, and as a vampire you're more than a match for the sluggish beasts you meet early on. The challenge of the game comes from an easy balance of combat and puzzle solving, rather than a heavy reliance on one or the other. Lastly, and most entertainingly, the bosses in this game are amazing. Unlike earlier side scrollers where the game progressed through 'levels', in Symphony of the Night you simply roam around an enormous, maze-like castle. You never know when suddenly a steel grate will drop behind you and you'll find yourself trapped in a fight with, oh, a grotesque giant mummy suspended on steel hooks that takes up 6 screens worth of animation. That's just the sort of thing that's worth the price of admission.
22 of 24 found the following review helpful:
Amazing! That's all I can say.Aug 25, 2002
By Ben Rowland
This is the first game I wanted to buy when I got my Playstation, sadly, it is super rare and took my 6 months to find used. This is probably the rarest Playstation game, which is sad, because it is also one of the best. It combines classic Castlevania gameplay with RPG elements, such as the use of magic, and level points system, and a deeper storyline. Also adding to the depth is the use of money, relics that give special abilities, and a wider variety of weapons. The ability to equip weapons of your choice is a first for the series. By far the coolest is the ability to transform, you can be a bat, a wolf, or fog (!). The main character is Alucard (spell it backwards), who older gamers might remember from Castlevania 3 for NES. You meed a wide array of characters, some good, some bad, throughout your journey through Dracula's castle. The object of the game: same as the rest-find and destroy Dracula and end the vampire bloodline. The graphics are classic 2-D, which might turn off some gamers hoping for something more like Castlevania 64 (which was fully-rendered 3-D). Despite the 2-D, the control and character movement is greatly enhanced thanks to better animation and smooth controls. Castlevania games always had great music, and SOTN is among the best in that department. Each score perfectly matches the given environment, with beautifuly orchestrated melodies. Don't let the old-school look discourage you, this is an amazing game. Calling Castlevania: SOTN simply a nastalgia trip, while true in my case, would degrade the value of the game. It is an excellent and addictive game that satisfies on almost every level. It ranks among the best games for the Playstation, and you sould expect to pay a hefty price for a copy. It is now super-rare.
13 of 14 found the following review helpful:
The start of the Gameboy games legacy...Dec 04, 2005
By Carmilla
This game, which started the trend of all those terrific Gameboy Castlevanias, like Dawn of Sorrow, is an awesome play and a top 10 of just about everyones Playstation game list.
First off, this game is huge. You have to play through this game twice to get the entire experience and real ending to this game. It has a second quest, much like the old school Ghosts and Goblins, if you can remember that game... but with its own unique invereted way.
The amount of items you can gather and collect in this game is staggering too. There are numerous swords and spells to pick up and just about every weapon has its own special abilities which adds a lot to this game. Because of that no weapon seems the same.
And the relics just plain old rock. They give you abilities like changing into bats, wolves, mist forms, and allowing you to do super jumps and double jumps to unlock new areas.
Also, the hundreds of different bosses and enemies are all interesting to hunt down and slaughter. Especially the cool looking bosses, which can sometimes span an entire couple of screens...
Though this game is extremely rare to try to get a hold of now, if youre a Playstation gamer or action fan then you owe it to yourself to pick this up. Its one of the most complete and enjoyable action/adventure games of the last ten years.
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
Amazing, one of the best PSX title, if not...Nov 30, 1999
...one of the best games ever! If you don't buy this you're just not a gamer. The side scrolling 2D graphics lack some parallax, but are very detailed and the color palette is really well chosen. Just remember bosses like Galamoth, or that giant corpse thing surrounded with flies, or the superb Cathedral... The soundtrack is also one of the best (Konami DOES have an incredible musical data), each track save two (including the out of place credits ending, but don't let it cloud your judgment, the game rules) fit each scene perfectly and are very memorable. The gameplay is also sleek, with lots of exploration- and never has a Castlevania character been so playable! Alucard can shift forms, cast spells, slash his sword swiftly and jump in a way so precise it'd make his predecessors squirm. Symphony of the Night is an instant classic, and sadly is probably the last 2D Castlevania... aka, quite possibly the last great Castlevania.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Best castlevania game ever (maybe best PSX game too)Apr 28, 2002
By Craig Schenker
This is one of the most fun games i have ever played. SotN, while a 2-D platformer, is one of the most indepth and epic games for the PSX. The story is a little basic, but it has some wicked twists that add to the fun. Basically, you play as Alucard, son of Dracula, and you try to find out what happened to the vampire-hunter Richter Belmont, who dissapeared when Drac's castle appeared from nowhere. Alucard uses a sword instead to the classic Belmont whips. Also, in addition to weapons, you can equip Alucard with armor, headwear, cloaks, necklaces, etc. that you collect throughout the game. Oh, and there are literally hundreds upon hundreds of items and weapons to collect. Also, Alucard can use a few magic spells which are executed through D-pad combinations. The classic 'heart' weapons are back, along with a few new additions. They include the Cross, spears, lightning, axes, time stopper, holy book, and a couple others. You collect a number of relics throughout the game as well, which adds to the spectacular gameplay. The enemies are well-made, and the bosses are amazing! Some of coolest bosses i've eer seen (the catacombs boss of the upside down castle is incredibly hard if yu don't no how to beat him.) As far as grapics go, they are beautiful and lush. The sounds is superb, especially the incredible scores. Controling Alucard is a charm, from using 'heart' weapons to pulling magic attacks. One of the best games ever made.
Grapics-4.5
Sound-5.0 Control-5.0
Gameplay-5.0
Replay-4.5
Difficulty-easy to medium
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based on 138 reviews
