Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Review (PSN)

I’m a huge fan of Konami games, and one of my all time favorite game series is the ‘Castlevania’ series …

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, for me, was the cornerstone that would define the series in the years that followed. Castlevania: SotN actually follows the aftermath of the story behind the NES classic ‘Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse’. This was the first Castlevania released in the U.S. to introduce multiple main playable characters, including ‘Alucard’ which is the main character in ‘Castlevania: SotN’. At the end of ‘Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse’, Alucard vows to end his cursed bloodline by entering into an eternal slumber. This is where ‘Castlevania: SotN’ picks up … The storyline continues with Dracula’s resurrection, and the awakening of Alucard as a result. Alucard once again joins the fight to end his Father’s evil reign of terror …

I’m glad to say that the PSN/XBLA version of ‘Castlevania: SotN’ stays true to it’s original source, unlike some games that tend to get diluted in the translation process. The dialogue was kept intact from the Original Playstation’s version of the game. I have to mention that, because the PSP had a recent version released for it’s console as a hidden game in ‘Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles’, which lost the original character dialogue. It’s truly sad when a great game is altered, and ruined in translation for a different console.

The game is in fullscreen, and has a rich quality about it similar, yet more vibrant than the Playstation original. They also kept all of the hidden secrets, and characters accesible in the game through the same unlocking methods as the original version. Castlevania: SotN also has an ambient, well orchestrated, and symphonic music soundtrack that brings the game to life. With a darkly, beautiful soundtrack and breathtaking 2D visuals it’s no wonder that the creators titled it Castlevania: ‘Symphony’ of the Night.

Castlevania: SotN is one of those gaming gems with a great soundtrack, story, and visuals that will keep fans of the series wanting for more. I thoroughly enjoyed playing the game again, and beating it all over again. I also liked the fact that they kept the ending song. I remember constantly beating the game just to listen to it. I’m truly glad they decided to bring this PlayStation classic back, and I’m sure many others will enjoy it as well!