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.
- 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.