A model to all hand-held Castlevania games in recent years.
In Symphony of The Night you play as Alucard, who is Dracula´s son and he has turned his back on his father and wants to stand against everything that Dracula represents. Hence the name Alucard, which is Dracula spelled backwards. For some reason his father´s castle has risen again and Alucard wants to know why. When he first enters the castle Death shows up and steals all of his items. From that point onward it´s up to you as Alucard to explore the castle and find out its secrets.
Graphics have aged, but that distinctive gothic Castlevania feel is still present. Unfortunately Alucard is a big character on the screen, which makes him an easier target to hit. Music is the best part of the game, but the musical score is not as sharp and great as it will be in later games of this series. Still it´s a pleasure to just stand still and listen for a while, when you enter into a new area of the castle.
Gameplay is the same as in all 2D Castlevania games. You explore the castle, collect items and weapons and fight some cool bosses on the way. Story is told through text, but there´s also a voice acting component involved. At first it feels a little weird, but you´ll get used to it fast.
There are two not so great things here: first there are no warp points so it might take you some time just to walk from one point of the castle to the next, where your next objective will be. Second thing is that every time Alucard takes a hit he flies quite a distance backwards and this makes controlling him a little difficult at times.
If you are a fan of the Castlevania series I strongly recommend you to download this game from the Xbox Live Arcade.