So I beat Symphony of the Night for the first time ever this evening, and yeah, I kinda liked it....
45. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1): I originally started writing this review and upon finishing it I realized something; all the criticisms I had, which there were very few by the way, paled in comparison to everything incredible and wonderful there was about this game. Not only that, but my rating of how much I enjoyed Symphony of the Night didn't match up at all with how much I was praising and expressing my love for this game. I then went back, re-evaluated by score of Symphony of the Night and adjusted it with the following conclusions; Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is as close to perfect as any game could ever be, and is truly the pinnacle of 2D, side-scrolling action games. Yes, the game is near flawless, and any flaw it does have is so insignificant compared to the everything else it does so incredibly well that this game deserves 10/10's across the board, no questions asked!
Symphony of the Night's graphics and overall presentation are outstanding, and I dare say unrivaled when it comes to 2D Action Games, even to this day. Every character, every boss, every enemy, every castle section, every room of this game is filled with detail, character, presence, and individuality. Enemies and Bosses all behave differently, and are each memorable and distinct from one another. Each section of the castle feels very different than any other part, making discovery of a new section a treat in itself as you are immersed in its secrets and themes. Speaking of these sections of the castle, the art direction of each is incredible, offering hints of some sort of deeper history and adding to the lore that Symphony of the Night's actual plot only scratches the surface on. Not only that, but the art direction, enemies, and bosses that make up each section in Dracula's castle make them all very memorable which aids in memorizing where they're at relative to the rest of the cast. This is incredibly important because you'll be doing a lot of backtracking throughout the castle while playing through the game, but more on that soon. While there is reuse of various enemy types, the game changes things up so much that visually you are never board and constantly intrigued by everything Symphony of the Night treats your eyes too. The game has such an incredible horror, spooky atmosphere that makes playing it in October almost intoxicating.
As for Symphony of the Night's audio and sound, it too is an example of perfection rarely heard in most video game. The soundtrack is absolutely stunning, and there are very few tracks that don't leave an impression on you, or don't induce some excitement when visiting a specific area of the castle. Speaking of, each section of Dracula's castle has its own individual music and perfectly compliments the theme and action of those sections. This is a soundtrack you'd not only want to play around Halloween, but even to just jam out to in your car while driving to work on a random day in May. It's that good! Then there is the game's famously bad voice acting and dialogue. I am certainly not one of those people that automatically sees bad voice acting as blemish on quality; my favorite game series of all time is Shenmue after all. But the cheese and delivery of the voice acting isn't that different then acting in a lot of B horror films that are beloved by most fans of horror cinema. Symphony of the Nights voice acting is no different; it will charm you each time there is an interactive cut scene between Alucard, the main character, and any of the game's other voice acted protagonists and antagonists. Outside of that, the sound Fx are excellent and like everything else in this game they compliment the horror setting perfectly.
Last and certainly not least we have the gameplay, which is where Symphony of the Night arguably shines the brightest. Symphony of the Night offers up a non-linear gameplay style similar to Super Metroid that requires you to do a lot of exploring, backtracking, and returning to old areas once a new skill or item is acquired. While this might sound tedious, in execution it's very rewarding and fun as you'll constantly be wondering what's behind a certain door, or what is on a specific ledge that you're not able to reach yet since you do not have the skill yet to find out. And there are so, so many skills, abilities, and items in this game, all of which give you the tools you need to survive and progress despite whatever challenges you'll eventually encounter. Symphony of the Night also implements an RPG leveling system that allows Alucard to grow more powerful as you progress through the game. Unlike a lot of RPGs that require some amount of grinding occasionally to overpower a certain enemy or boss that blocks your progress, Symphony of the Night's leveling is very well paced and unless you are trying to avoid most enemies you will level up enough to where the game remains challenging, yet not so difficult that you're getting destroyed by a single hit from a boss or enemy. In terms of length, this game is huge! Without spoiling anything, half this game is potentially hidden if you don't acquire something specifically and use it in a specific situation. Obscuring half the game and it's true ending compliments the excellent gameplay even further, and adds value to this game rarely seen by any game of its time or even today. Overall the gameplay always allows you to succeed if you know what to use and how to use it in a certain situation, and also allows you to explore Dracula's castle deeper and deeper the more you learn and acquire.
Each of my reviews is weighted heavily by my own subjective enjoyment of each game since these are my reviews. To clarify this further, each review I do is judged on 30-points for the game's objective qualities, and then 20 more points to account for my subjective enjoyment, or lack thereof. The previous three paragraphs were discussing the objective parts of this game, and all are a glowing 10/10 in my book. As for my subjective enjoyment of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, I enjoyed it, like a REALLY enjoyed it, way more than I thought I would. I am writing this review as someone who beat this game for the first time 22-years after its initial release in 1997. Games that are capable of leaving this kind of impression so long after their initial release are truly rare, and I think more than any other marker this indicates a game that is truly special, and can truly be considered a masterpiece. I throughly agree with Symphony of the Night being considered a masterpiece, and I absolutely enjoyed this game with almost no interruption in that enjoyment from start to finish. There were several bosses and parts of the game I found annoying or slightly tedious, but these minor gripes and annoyances barely hold a candle to what was otherwise a fantastic experience! In fact, my experience with Castlevania was so incredible that I can confidently say it's one of the best games I've ever played, and it earns a definitive place in my top 10 games of all time. This is something that almost never happens as most games I play are either okay to above average, but not Symphony of the Night. I will say it once more; Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is an absolute masterpiece and its reputation as one of the best video games of all time on many different lists is well, well deserved. (10/12/19) [47/50]
