The castle is a sprawling labyrinth of passages, hallways, and secret areas that can take tens of hours to fully complete, and no option offered to the player should be overlooked. Movement in “Symphony Of The Night” is an absolute thrill, beginning with a walk, jump, and backwards dash eventually the player will find themself double-jumping, transforming into a bat to pass through tight spaces, and a mass of alternatives that are best reserved for personal discovery. More options are provided through a rudimentary levelling system, an in-game shop, and familiars that can assist in the player’s exploration. This risk-reward system extends to armor pieces, shields, and even the series staple secondary weapons, whilst the inclusion of button inputs to cast a variety of spells ensure that options are many.
The game then proceeds to reveal its all-new RPG elements, providing a multitude of armament options obtained through drops from monsters, each with their own stats and benefits, yet also with drawbacks such as differences in range. It is this early-game tease that provides immediate motivation to the player, showcasing what an endgame build could look like -with perseverance- before snatching those tools away cruelly. In a warped twist of the cinematic rags-to-riches trope, protagonist Alucard is stripped of his power and weaponry and left to fight tooth and nail to reclaim what was lost. The game focuses around the exploration of Castle Dracula, with the ultimate goal of slaying the tyrannical Count himself, yet this plot falls by the wayside when one becomes immersed in the traversal systems and progression epitomizing the metroidvania tag.
This game was released in 1997 for the Sony Playstation and the Sega Saturn, before eventually being ported to a wide array of platforms, and currently sits at a 93% on Metacritic. This being the case, a compelling argument can be made for those recently acquainted with the genre to revisit the classics of its ilk, perhaps beginning with Konami’s “Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night.” Contemporary titles such as “Hollow Knight” and “Metroid Dread” have ushered this particular sub-genre back into the public consciousness, whilst its influence can be traced into the Arkham games and Remedy’s sublime ray tracing showcase “Control”. In recent years, the term ‘metroidvania’ has enjoyed something of a resurgence.
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