There's a lot of things I like and dislike about this game.
Starting with the positives, the atmosphere is definitely a highlight. The areas are very distinct and memorable with incredible art direction and some of the best music the series has to offer. The map is also very open so you always have a lot of options on where to go and ultimately get what you need to defeat Dracula. All of this comes together to make the act of exploring very immersive and engaging alongside a moderately fun combat system.
The addition of RPG elements to Super Metroid's formula is a little hit or miss. On one side, having a lot of different equipments for Alucard makes the experience very customizable. On the other, however, it introduces a lot of the same problems RPGs tend to have, which is inconsistent difficulty.
In terms of combat, the general enemy placement starts pretty well made but goes to shit on the inverted castle. There's some areas that have so many enemies that it'd make any classicvania blush. However, due to the RPG elements, I almost never took meaningful damage and it was just a nuisance holding me back from exploring.
And then there's the story. I really liked what they added for Alucard and Dracula's relationship but the way they handled Richter feels insulting. I don't believe anyone with the will necessary to face Dracula's castle and eventually defeat the vampire would be succetible to mind control and ESPECIALLY not to Shaft, the guy he defeated TWICE in Rondo of Blood. As for Maria, she's pretty much there only because of fanservice. She helped defeat Dracula at such a young age and the game wants me to believe that, even with the holy glasses, she wouldn't be able to save Richter? That's just lame to make Alucard being the only protagonist more plausible.
In conclusion, it's a game with a lot of merits that drops the ball in a lot of places that I don't think quite lives up to the legacy of being a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood.

First time playing the game after hearing so much about it. I went in as blind as I could, after finishing Rondo of Blood. I have to say it really lives up to its name. I can see that other games have picked up SotN's legacy and and built on it.
First of all the art style and the atmosphere of most of its areas are gorgeous and unique. You can understand instantly where you are on the map.The castle felt like a living and place and I enjoyed exploring every inch of it. Mechanically, Alucard's control is so much smoother than Richter's, even compared to this-games-Richter, but especially compared to its prequel. I could really feel the difference between a vampire and a human. I also liked the Rpg elements, although some weapons felt game breaking easy. I also liked how the bosses developed over the year, having a little bit more complex movesets.
Some cons are the outdated menu, although I get that its ok for its time. Also, ever if the soundtrack overall was really good, some tracks felt out-of- touch with some areas.
All in all it is an excellent game and I recommend to everyone to at least try it once, if not finishing it.

The Good:
- Gorgeous soundtrack
- Great visuals
- Fun combat
- An impressive map design

The Ok:
- Some unintuitive progression

The Bad:
- Not much

Conclusion:
Symphony of the Night is astounding in a lot of ways. It’s almost funny how the two pioneers in the metroidvania subgenre are still considered by many to be the best in their respective series. Here, it’s easy to see why. First and foremost, the music is simply sublime. The various tracks range from catchy, to hauntingly beautiful, to just plain haunting, all within a few rooms. It’s a very impressive feat of composition, and it certainly befits the title. The visuals are also almost all excellent, with some great character designs and environments. The 3D cutscenes do look pretty bad, but I’m sure they were impressive for the time. Gameplay is also mostly a lot of fun. It instantly nails that progression sense that you get out of any good metroidvania, and the abilities you unlock are consistent and fun. The combat is varied (with many different weapons, sub weapons, and spells), and it rewards exploration greatly. The only major critique I have rests upon some unintuitive progression. There are some moments that I don’t think I would have ever figured out without the help of the internet (like how the different statues move in the clock room), and that’s not a good thing in a game like this. Those moments were few and far between, but they did happen. Still, I can forgive that when the rest of the game is this good.

Side Note: This didn't affect the score I gave it, but this specific version of SotN (Castlevania Requiem) is an insanely low-effort port. This is especially true when compared to the more recent Castlevania Advance collection, which featured save states, rewind, an art gallery, and more. Here we get none of that, and the menus could really do with updating. It's still perfectly playable, but it's the bare minimum, as a port of an old game goes.

One of the best MetroidVanias of all time. Shocker, the best Castlevania game gets a 5 star from me.

I love this game so much. This was the start of my love for Castlevania. Now this is not a perfect game. Especially this version of the game. It does not have the original meme worthy voice acting. So that is a downgrade. But my review is based on SotN as a whole. not just this version.

Exploring and traversal are top notch. It controls like a dream. It looks beautiful. Enemy design, character design, setting, vibes, are all fantastic.

All the music in this series are certified bangers. It's such a joy to play this game and hum along with. Some of my favorite music in gaming.

Difficulty wise it's easy. A great introduction to Castlevania and metroidvanias. It has a very nice steady difficulty with no major curves. You will still die a lot. You will still struggle with bosses but after a few tries, it won't be hard. One time did I get frustrated and that was a very late game boss which is optional.

A few complaints, puzzles are cryptic. Getting the true ending is cryptic. A few areas are hard to get to with no way of knowing how to get to them. Even at the end. A bonus mode, Richter Mode, would be fun if not for the button combos that do not work well. Like stupidly high skill kinda combos.

The story is fine. It is there. You don't play these for story. But it is one of the better stories in the series. Plenty of plot twists.

Seriously though, one of my favorite games of all time. I look forward to playing it again. I highly recommend to any anyone interested in CV or Metroidvanias.

100% of trophies earned (platinum trophy for the Requiem collection); 200.6% map exploration, complete bestiary, Richter mode completed. It's taken far too long for me to make time to play this defining game in the 'Metroidvania' genre but I'm pleased to find that it's just as good as its reputation suggests. While Super Metroid and Hollow Knight remain a step above, Symphony of the Night is otherwise right up amongst the best of the genre. With the core gameplay involving exploring a large interconnected castle, level design is clearly crucial and the game excels on that front, with a wide variety of interesting settings; the game's 'twist' then really highlights the care and attention put in here. Combat is fairly simple, but responsive and satisfying, with an impressive range of different weapons, alongside a handful of magic spells that help to bring some layers of complexity. Rounding out the package are detailed pixelart that holds up to this day and a deservedly classic musical score.