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.

I can definitely see why this game is hailed as a classic by many, that being said though there were many things about the game design that I found frustrating and hold the game back a lot. For one thing the game is really slow, Alucard cannot sprint or move faster than a walking speed at all and it just kind of slows down the pace of the game a lot, on top of that the controls are really stiff and unresponsive at times and that bogs down gameplay as well. Another gripe of mine is the difficulty, the game just feels unfair at times due to the enemy placement, literal death traps of rooms, and absurd amount of knockback and stun when you're hit by anything, it just makes the deaths feel unearned a lot of the time and it can be frustrating. Add onto this the fact that when you die you go back to the last place you saved and will have to slowly trudge back to where you were from that save room only for you to potentially die to the exact same things again and it's just not fun. And then there's the old metroidvania factor, and by that I mean the inevitability of getting lost, confused and frustrated by the way the game just drops you in and gives you no way at all to know if you're going the right way. The game doesn't even have a readily available map from the start, you have to buy it from a merchant if you want to have the slightest hint of where you're going. All these problems detract from the game for me and don't make it quite the masterpiece that many people make it out to be, but there are plenty of good aspects here as well. The 2D sprite artstyle looks really good and is very well detailed, the boss fights are pretty fun, the story and characters are interesting, the music goes hard, and for the most part the moment to moment gameplay is pretty fun. Despite all it's flaws I think Symphony of the Night is still a good game, just one that hasn't aged quite as gracefully as it's reputation.

Reviewing Castlevania Symphony of the Night is an interesting one because there is just nothing new I could possibly say about it really as a game that other far better writers with more analytical tendency's haven't covered in greater depth. The thing is though this was my first Castlevania, my first Metroidvania, and it had quite an impact on me.

I was about 20 when I first played Symphony of the Night. I'd never actually played a Castlevania game before but found the limited edition copy of this with artbook and soundtrack in a second hand store. The first thing that grabbed my attention when walking by was the amazing cover artwork by Ayami Kojima. I've always enjoyed gothic architecture, historical buildings, clothing and legends (of which vampires certainly is one of interest). Seeing that cover of a vampiric figure holding his sword upright with the moon, Castle and massive collar mixed with the slightly muted colour palette was extremely striking compared with many other drab or blocky covers in the store. The gothic atmosphere imparted in that one image left such an impression on me I had to have the game.

The artwork in the book in the back of the double CD case complimented the cover and after flipping through I popped the game in and away I went. I'm not sure what I fully expected but the hybrid mix of exploration with action RPG mechanics was a delight. It's a fairly standard affair now days, not only for the Castlevanias that came afterwards but for the dozens of indie games that have taken influence from it. The fact is though that back then this game was so influential that the genre is often simply named 'Metroidvania' partially after it. I'd never played anything like it at the time, and going back to it again over 20 years later for this digital rerelease I'm extremely pleased it's held up remarkably well on almost all fronts.

"It's strange... this castle is different than I remember it."

For those unaware, Symphony of the Night brings back Alucard the son of Dracula, a character from Castelvania III as the main character. It's a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood and Dracula's Castle has once again risen only a few years after fading away when Richter Belmont defeated Dracula..... Having actually played Rondo of Blood now a few weeks ago it makes the start all the more impactful as well as Maria's presence in the game and is a really interesting start set up literally playing against the final boss from the game before just as a prologue.

The castle itself is easy to navigate with a good map and yet it's littered with secrets as are the spells and weapons. Alucard has a variety of equipment that he can find and equip from swords, shields, hammers, cloaks etc. Additionally he can find spells and abilities for turning into a bat, a wolf or mist which help him to unlock further areas of the castle and traverse in a more fluid way. The amount of items and little easter eggs and secrets to find is quite impressive. On this playthrough trophy hunting I learned there was a sword that summons skeletons to briefly fight for you. Literally every time I play this I find something new. Playing through again after beating the game as a second character of Richter isn't something I'd tried before either and his completely different move set and abilities as a more traditional Classicvania character just add that much more life to a game.

"What is a man?! A miserable little pile of secrets!"

Great art and gameplay mechanics aside would be nothing however without Symphony of the Night's stellar audio. This particular version is the remaster based on Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. This is the redubbed and rewritten version over the original 1997 release and to be honest I prefer it. The voice acting is just way better but I appreciate that is entirely subjective and you may prefer the more over the top iconic dialogue. Regardless of the version you play though, the soundtrack is an absolute striker. I could choose almost any song from the soundtrack and it would be not only a great piece but also a perfect accompaniment to build that atmosphere.

I went into this because Castlevania Nocturne is coming soon on Netflix and it's been in my backlog to replay for sometime but I'm really glad I did. It's been some years since I last played it and it's great to not only see that it still holds up to the test of time competing with almost any Metroidvania in the genre but also that it can still surprise me with content I never knew about. Replaying some games with memories through rose tinted glasses vcan sometimes be a let down and are better left in memories, but not Symphony of the Night. This is a game that influenced a lot but taken just at it's own merit it's still a fantastic experience.

I still hate the clocktower though.

+ Gorgeous 2D sprites mixed with 3D rendering.
+ Iconic soundtrack.
+ Insanely good artwork and atmosphere.

- Some small sound popping and map issues due to emulation over the original release.

On a side note, for anyone interested in retro games or Castlevania I recommend this video and channel The Making of Castlevania Symphony of the Night and Dracula X by Strafefox.

There's not much I can say about a 26 year old beloved game that hasn't been said before but I had a great time playing this classic for the very first time.
Still, I had to start three playthroughs before realizing how much I like this game. The first two times I didn't get far and I think it has to do with the stiffness in the movement and just had to get used to it.
Even during my third playthrough it took a while for it all to really click, it all came together after I fought the doppleganger for the first time. At that point the Castle started to unfold itself for me and let me tell you this castle is pure joy to explore. It's filled with secrets and cool things to find. Once you start having good equipment and you get a bit OP, it becomes so much fun slashing your way through enemies while exploring. The upgrades to make the traversal easier are amazing. How is it that every metroidvania keeps using the double jump but none of them gave us the power to turn into a bat?? There are some low points with a difficulty spike (that was mostly my own fault) and the boss fights that aren't anything special, but everything else in the game outshine those things completely. Loved this game so much.

Having played the two grandfathers of the metroidvania genre with Super Metroid and SotN and through a good chunk of both series (mainly the Igavania's when it comes to Castlevania) I still prefer the structure and gameplay of the Metroid series but SotN placed itself above them all.

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.

Truly a pioneer in gaming, experiencing half of what coined the "Metroidvania" genre showed me just why the framework laid out in this game is still being built upon to this day. Symphony of the Night manages to weave together a great story, fun gameplay with a surprising amount of depth to it, exploration, replayability and boss variety into a game that still holds up extremely well to this day. I didn't expect something of this calibre but like I said already, there's a reason "Metroidvania" is a subgenre and games of its kind are still coming out to this day.

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.