Amongst every Igavania released, Symphony of the Night feels especially unique, and it's not just because it was the first of its kind. Something I've always lamented is how these 2D Castlevania titles would later be relegated to handheld, with the small amount of space constraining and limiting what these games are capable of. As much as I like Aria of Sorrow, and as much as it makes sense to take advantage of the handheld market, SotN was a clear-cut example that you could do a lot of shit on a 660MB disc that you simply couldn't fit on a cartridge. If Aria of Sorrow's development was focused on cramming the most amount of content within the smallest amount of space, Symphony of the Night is about cramming the most amount of content, just because you can.
I love these sorts of games where you get the feeling there wasn't really much of a plan behind anything, the developers just threw in whatever they wanted, just for the hell of it. SotN has all these very little unnecessary and pointless details going for it, but these are the details that make up much of the game's heart, and add further layers to its mystery-based exploration. These are the things you find out about and share with your friends, like one mentor passing their knowledge to the next. Much of the game's excitement lies not in what items you discover, but what you do with those items, and the multiple hidden effects they may hide. Experimentation, and the surprise of what that experimentation may bring is the true essence of the game, the chaos that keeps it alive, and the gift that keeps on giving.
Another thing that a handheld title wouldn't be able to do, is voice acting. Look, we could go on another several dozen years of our life until the rebirth of Count Dracula, making fun of the "What is a man!" opening exchange between Richter and the aforementioned. But I'm not indulging in that take tonight. This scene isn't poorly acted, nor poorly written, it is exactly as it should be. It's a dramatic stage play, a theater performance spoken in verbose back-and-forths. It's dripping in over-the-top delivery, for sure, but what more could you imagine for Dracula, a character whose presence in theatre has been popularized for over a century? Castlevania's gothic aesthetics aren't for the sake of scaring you, they're there to add a sense of drama, elegance, and beauty to the nightmare that resides within. To have characters use flowery language, I believe was just one part of that goal.
Alucard's voice especially, is one that deserved more than just one game. Throughout SotN, you feel practically unstoppable. You're in a power play, enemies fall, explode, and scream as they evaporate before you, towering monstrosities collapse into pieces, your quest to reach Dracula is determined and persistent. And Robelt Belgrade, Alucard's VA, encapsulates his cool and collected aura - yet threatening at the same time - in just a few unrelenting words when he's warned to cease his assault on the castle. "I will not."
There's silent protagonists. And there's characters that talk a whole lot. Alucard is one of those special in-between cases where his dialogue is rare, but every bit of it enhances his no-nonsense personality in both story, and gameplay. The voice delivery is focused, undeterred, he has a duty to fulfill, and anybody who stops him, dies. Much of that is reflected by his effortless counquering of the castle's many dangers, actions speaking louder than words throughout. Here, less is more. Less adds to Alucard's mystery, less adds to his otherwordly nature, to his silent destructive rampage. And finally, less ensures that when Alucard DOES speak, it is an earned insight into a character who feels so much cooler than you could ever hope to be.
It is something that I hope more developers can understand in the modern age. That even though we have the space for hundreds of thousands of dialogue lines to have our characters talk as much as we want, there is an incredible magic in making that dialogue a reward, rather than an expectancy around every corner.
That's honestly all I wanted to go in-depth on for this review. I mean, the game is good, I don't think you need me to clarify that! I love the soundtrack too, "Wandering Ghosts" is up there as one of my top Castlevania songs, if not the best one. The one missing star is because of the Inverted Castle, as you may expect. Even though it hides the true final boss within, I've done playthroughs of the game where all I do is explore the normal castle, and stop at the bad ending. The Inverted Castle often does not count as "the 2nd half of the game" in my head, it is so shockingly undifferentiated from the regular castle, that it feels more like playing a hard mode. But even then, the new tougher bosses it tries introducing are completely worthless, seeing as you're so overpowered by that point, you can take most of them out in less than 5 seconds.
Symphony of the Night fails to correctly balance its challenge to remain actually challenging, and the Inverted Castle is just a total wash, such a wash that I don't even want to play through it most of the time. But the 1st castle is the peak of Igavania exploration, and remains a ton of fun to go through each and every single time, with lots of varied equipment, weaponry, spells, and other surprises to see. But most importantly, this is the most atmospheric that Castlevania has ever been. A GBA or DS title can only be what its specs allow it to be. Symphony of the Night creates the illusion that it can be anything it wants to be. Anything, and everything that you won't be able to predict. That's the sort of appeal that carries it for many.
I love these sorts of games where you get the feeling there wasn't really much of a plan behind anything, the developers just threw in whatever they wanted, just for the hell of it. SotN has all these very little unnecessary and pointless details going for it, but these are the details that make up much of the game's heart, and add further layers to its mystery-based exploration. These are the things you find out about and share with your friends, like one mentor passing their knowledge to the next. Much of the game's excitement lies not in what items you discover, but what you do with those items, and the multiple hidden effects they may hide. Experimentation, and the surprise of what that experimentation may bring is the true essence of the game, the chaos that keeps it alive, and the gift that keeps on giving.
Another thing that a handheld title wouldn't be able to do, is voice acting. Look, we could go on another several dozen years of our life until the rebirth of Count Dracula, making fun of the "What is a man!" opening exchange between Richter and the aforementioned. But I'm not indulging in that take tonight. This scene isn't poorly acted, nor poorly written, it is exactly as it should be. It's a dramatic stage play, a theater performance spoken in verbose back-and-forths. It's dripping in over-the-top delivery, for sure, but what more could you imagine for Dracula, a character whose presence in theatre has been popularized for over a century? Castlevania's gothic aesthetics aren't for the sake of scaring you, they're there to add a sense of drama, elegance, and beauty to the nightmare that resides within. To have characters use flowery language, I believe was just one part of that goal.
Alucard's voice especially, is one that deserved more than just one game. Throughout SotN, you feel practically unstoppable. You're in a power play, enemies fall, explode, and scream as they evaporate before you, towering monstrosities collapse into pieces, your quest to reach Dracula is determined and persistent. And Robelt Belgrade, Alucard's VA, encapsulates his cool and collected aura - yet threatening at the same time - in just a few unrelenting words when he's warned to cease his assault on the castle. "I will not."
There's silent protagonists. And there's characters that talk a whole lot. Alucard is one of those special in-between cases where his dialogue is rare, but every bit of it enhances his no-nonsense personality in both story, and gameplay. The voice delivery is focused, undeterred, he has a duty to fulfill, and anybody who stops him, dies. Much of that is reflected by his effortless counquering of the castle's many dangers, actions speaking louder than words throughout. Here, less is more. Less adds to Alucard's mystery, less adds to his otherwordly nature, to his silent destructive rampage. And finally, less ensures that when Alucard DOES speak, it is an earned insight into a character who feels so much cooler than you could ever hope to be.
It is something that I hope more developers can understand in the modern age. That even though we have the space for hundreds of thousands of dialogue lines to have our characters talk as much as we want, there is an incredible magic in making that dialogue a reward, rather than an expectancy around every corner.
That's honestly all I wanted to go in-depth on for this review. I mean, the game is good, I don't think you need me to clarify that! I love the soundtrack too, "Wandering Ghosts" is up there as one of my top Castlevania songs, if not the best one. The one missing star is because of the Inverted Castle, as you may expect. Even though it hides the true final boss within, I've done playthroughs of the game where all I do is explore the normal castle, and stop at the bad ending. The Inverted Castle often does not count as "the 2nd half of the game" in my head, it is so shockingly undifferentiated from the regular castle, that it feels more like playing a hard mode. But even then, the new tougher bosses it tries introducing are completely worthless, seeing as you're so overpowered by that point, you can take most of them out in less than 5 seconds.
Symphony of the Night fails to correctly balance its challenge to remain actually challenging, and the Inverted Castle is just a total wash, such a wash that I don't even want to play through it most of the time. But the 1st castle is the peak of Igavania exploration, and remains a ton of fun to go through each and every single time, with lots of varied equipment, weaponry, spells, and other surprises to see. But most importantly, this is the most atmospheric that Castlevania has ever been. A GBA or DS title can only be what its specs allow it to be. Symphony of the Night creates the illusion that it can be anything it wants to be. Anything, and everything that you won't be able to predict. That's the sort of appeal that carries it for many.