"Greatest game in the series and still one of the greatest games of today"
User Rating: 9.7 | Akumajou Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku (PSOne Books) PS
When you think of the Castlevania series, what comes to mind? To me its Belmonts, zombies, monsters and whips. Although these items except for the Belmont part are in hundreds of other games, so why does the Castlevania series stand out so much? Well I dug out SOTN one day to play it again and got into a frenzy. So I decided to write this long overdue review of this amazing game Symphony of the Night or SOTN takes place in a time of knights and castles with the castle of Castlevania at the top. This mystical castle appears once every century but it's plans are foiled by the Belmont clan. The game starts out as you playing as Richter Belmont at the spot where Dracula X ended (not the SNES version). After you beat Dracula you are then treated to a story scene and play as Alucard. Alucard is the son of Dracula. Born from a mortal woman he is a Dunpeal (not to be confused with D). Alucard handles similiar to the Belmonts except that instead of whips he uses swords and other weapons. Instead of being a game of beating levels and fighting bosses at the end of those levels, SOTN is more like an RPG in that you gain levels, your stats increase and you collect items. As you start the game you will notice the dark and moody enviorment of the castle. The begining part where you walk through the hallway in the dark is especially cool. Another awsome ascept of the game is the amazing sound. The music is some of the best ever in a game, but the sound effects are not as good but they get the job done. The voice acting, on the other hand is some of the worst ever followed by Resident Evil. Richter's over the top voice with Alucard's forever moody speech are quite bad, but that is one of ther reasons for the games memorable quotes. Althought the game does show its age I think it still looks good. I lust love all the gothic art work and character design. The boss pacing is also well done. Just after you are tired of fighting a ton of enemys you are treated to a boss battle. Castlevania is a huge and sprawling labrynith filled with many secrets. That said you will be doing a lot of backtracking which can get repetetive. I'am not saying that all this backtracking is bad since half way through the game you are given acces to a flipped inverted castle to explore. The frame rate is also well handeled except for a few minor slowdowns after defeating bosses. These are not really noticeable. SOTN is filled with amazing gameplay elements that make me proud to be a gamer. Except for a few minor flaws SOTN is hands down one of the best games of all time, I only wish I could review it sooner.
