Castlevania Requiem Is A Sloppy, Barebones Revival Of Two Great Games

A few weeks back I laid out my frustrations with the fact that the version of Symphony of the Night included in Konami's Castlevania Requiem collection on PS4 was to be based on the PSP version of the game, which notably changes the script and voice overs. I also made it clear that, despite my disappointment over losing some of the game's original charm, I was still looking forward to having Symphony of the Night on PS4.

Well, I have the game now, and I'm back again to whine about the little things. But before I do, let's talk about why I'm willing to get up in arms about seemingly insignificant details. Both games in Castlevania Requiem--Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood--have delighted players for decades, myself included. It wasn't until years after its release that I got to sample Rondo of Blood due to it being a Japan-only release, but Symphony of the Night was a day-one purchase in 1997 that immediately rekindled my love for Castlevania.

Sure, the old games were good, but Alucard's smooth moves put every stiffly animated Belmont to shame. Dracula's castle was bigger than ever and full of gruesome touches aplenty, and my word, it could even turn upside down for a new, more difficult second half of the game that you could easily miss if not for word-of-mouth hints or strategy guides. Castlevania was fresh and exciting again and hardly anyone saw it coming. Symphony of the Night is still excellent; it is one of the few timeless games in existence. No matter where you play Symphony of the Night today, you're bound to have a great experience, and that remains true for the new PS4 release.

So what's my beef? It's simple: the rare opportunity to resurface Symphony of the Night and repay the community's love for the game was completely wasted. While I'd like to sit here and tell you that every retro revival should live up to the likes of Digital Eclipse's Mega Man Legacy Collection, I realize that detail-oriented and preservation-focused bundles are the exception, not the rule. I do, however, expect that even a company as unpredictable as Konami could muster the funds and the energy to give Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood some kind of special treatment.

Castlevania Requiem is nothing more than an emulated version of the PSP release, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. It may not even be that, because the main course of that release, the 2.5D remake of Rondo of Blood, is nowhere to be found, so far as I can see--there's always a chance it could unlock after I beat one or both games in Requiem, I suppose. We reached out to Konami for confirmation, but have not heard back as of time of publication.

So instead of what may not be there, let's talk about what's been added: trophies and video options! On PSP, you could only decide if the games were rendered in their native resolution--which left borders on all sides of the PSP display--or if they were scaled to fill out the vertical space. For Requiem, in addition to simple scaling, you can also simulate scanlines, enable a smoothing filter, or activate an interlaced mode.

Now, scanlines and the smoothing filter are fine--to each their own, but I'll keep my pixels, thank you very much. The interlaced option, however, makes no sense whatsoever and will only serve to confuse new players, if not also give them headaches as the screen endlessly flickers and shimmers. Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night were designed in 240p. Whatever effect is intended to be emulated via the interlace option has no relation to what it was like to play these games when they were released. Authenticity aside, it's simply painful to look at.

So far as I can tell the only other things added to this release are the perfectly fine main menu and the horribly garish artwork on the game selection screen that makes it almost impossible to determine which game you're playing. It couldn't be more confusing and is a clear sign of apathy or ignorance. Or both.

Do I sound frustrated? Well, I am! I can understand why a company might want to do a simple reissue and leave it at that, but Requiem is a perplexing port of a game with ridiculous ingredients thrown in for no good reason whatsoever. Sure, I'll play the hell out of Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood on PS4. I'm already stoked to have an excuse to do so. I won't, however, commend Requiem for anything other than making that possible. Konami proudly claimed this was "no simple port" in a tweet a few weeks ago. It's complicated, for sure, though probably not in the way the publisher intended.