There's been much said about all the ways Symphony of the Night is fantastic. The satisfying progression, tasteful incorporation of 3D graphics with pixel-art, incredible soundtrack and campy gothic vibe are all deeply impressive. However, of the two classics that comprise the 'Metroidvania' namesake, I find this to be the weaker title by quite some distance. My brief review will thus focus on criticisms, but make no mistake that this is a great game for reasons you can find in the many 5-star reviews on this site.
The primary failure of Symphony of the Night is the balancing. While hilariously overpowered techniques can be fun, in Symphony being overpowered is the norm. Granting some exception to early potential deviations and a late-game boss, enemies rarely deal enough damage to pose a serious threat. While this arguably reflects the half-vampire nature of the protagonist, it sucks the tension out of combat and exploration. It also reduces the incentive to experiment with items and spells, as basic attacks will generally work just fine. Super Metroid managed to have a protagonist that felt powerful while scaling the threat appropriately, so there is no intrinsic reason character-appropriate game-feel and challenging gameplay could not coexist here.
How did this balancing issue materialise? The main culprit is the RPG-lite levelling system. The power gained through level-up is simply not well paced, leading to an inevitably overpowered player character. A simple solution would have been to remove levelling entirely, as equipment of varying stats are already present. Not only that, the other two variables, health and hearts, are also upgraded through pick-ups. Generally, I think this is the approach Metroidvanias should favour, as exploration should be the main form of gameplay incentivised.
This really is my only major criticism, though minor criticisms can be directed at backtracking and a lack of level design nuance compared to other Metroidvanias. I can honestly see a rebalanced version of this game making a far better impression on me, but I still love the game as-is for all its many successes. The cryptic means by which the true ending (and a huge chunk of the game) is hidden, now that's something I really loved, both here and whenever I see it replicated in games like Bloodborne and Hollow Knight. Definitely play this game if you get the chance, but be aware of its shortcomings.
The primary failure of Symphony of the Night is the balancing. While hilariously overpowered techniques can be fun, in Symphony being overpowered is the norm. Granting some exception to early potential deviations and a late-game boss, enemies rarely deal enough damage to pose a serious threat. While this arguably reflects the half-vampire nature of the protagonist, it sucks the tension out of combat and exploration. It also reduces the incentive to experiment with items and spells, as basic attacks will generally work just fine. Super Metroid managed to have a protagonist that felt powerful while scaling the threat appropriately, so there is no intrinsic reason character-appropriate game-feel and challenging gameplay could not coexist here.
How did this balancing issue materialise? The main culprit is the RPG-lite levelling system. The power gained through level-up is simply not well paced, leading to an inevitably overpowered player character. A simple solution would have been to remove levelling entirely, as equipment of varying stats are already present. Not only that, the other two variables, health and hearts, are also upgraded through pick-ups. Generally, I think this is the approach Metroidvanias should favour, as exploration should be the main form of gameplay incentivised.
This really is my only major criticism, though minor criticisms can be directed at backtracking and a lack of level design nuance compared to other Metroidvanias. I can honestly see a rebalanced version of this game making a far better impression on me, but I still love the game as-is for all its many successes. The cryptic means by which the true ending (and a huge chunk of the game) is hidden, now that's something I really loved, both here and whenever I see it replicated in games like Bloodborne and Hollow Knight. Definitely play this game if you get the chance, but be aware of its shortcomings.