A landmark for the Castlevania series!
GAMEPLAY ~
This game was the fist of a number of Vania titles that fused the action of classic Castlevania with gameplay similar to Metroid. An it came of beautiful! The main character is fully customizable with Weapon / Shield choice (equipped on either hand) armors and accessories. There is also the classic usage of sub-weapons and relics give Alucard more abilities to explore the castle fully. The controls flow nicely and can be adjusted to your liking. Everything is in the right place for this game!
Than there is leveling! This wasn't the first Vania game to experiment with leveling (play CV2) but it does it so much better. The only problem with the leveling is you needed to keep fighting stronger enemies as you progress to level up faster. Not that much of a problem, but still not that best way to approach it. The map was huge and you end up exploring it in two different fashions and that is the real premise of the game! Exploration!
STORY ~
You are Alucard, son of Dracula (Alucard is Dracula backwards... but we all knew that... right?) anyway, After Dracula's final bout with R.Belmont he is thought to be deceased. But low and behold he is on the verge of being reborn. So Alucard takes to his fathers castle with the hopes of finally laying him to rest and defeat his own personal demons along the way... it's something like that... play the game.
GRAPHICS ~
The graphics were above all other Vania titles, but character design still doesn’t surprise. The biggest surprise was the castle layout. As usual it's a castle you must explore, but the difference is that you can explore both regular and inverted! This lead to new enemies, new ways of travel and a shiite load of bigger bosses. The enemies were creative, but not overpowering, there was just alot to them to decimate. With destructible walls leading to secret areas and the overall beauty that is the background images (mixed with some 3D effects) defiantly puts this game in it's own league! Areas like the coliseum and catacombs just looked awesome! Eye candy at it's best!
SOUND ~
The music was brilliantly composed and arranged for each area that you explore. Than rearranged for the inverted castle areas. The voice-overs were alright but the worst was the ending them. I didn't just play through a dark atmospheric game to have Kenny G playing during the end credits! This was lame Konami! Very off set and very, very weak. Totally ruined the victory mood! Anyway, the SFX were nice with sword swings and bat noises. Overall, the music was good and better than most other Vania titles.
REPLAYABILITY ~
This game had a bit to go back and do. Besides completing the map and getting 200% (both sides) there was relic hunting as well as a side-quest featuring Richter Belmont as a playable character exploring the same game you just completed. There is also 4 endings you can experience throughout the game. The only thing I had a problem with was the lack of portable enemy listings. Besides that, there is enough to go back on and to experience again if needed.
OVERALL ~
This is a must have Vania title for anyone’s collection. It is just brilliantly created and intelligently produced. One of the greatest PSX titles to date! If you find it used, buy it! An if you want to experience what this game perfect again, play some of the GBA titles, you won't be disappointed, SoTN is there forefather!