Symphony of the Night might just be one of my favorite games of all time. It's so good, in fact, that it got me to totally re-evaluate my relationship with search-action games ("Metroidvanias" is you're a freak.) For the longest time I had convinced myself that it just wasn't my kind of game, and that impression wasn't unearned, but Symphony proved to me that I really just played a lot of crap.
For someone who is so married to the more linear, segmented stylings of previous Castlevanias, Symphony of the Night seems almost heretical in its design. My first playthrough as also admittedly rough as I committed to not using a guide at all. I got pretty lost, my build was all wrong, I had trouble with a bunch of the bosses in the late game, but I persevered... and came out the other end thinking this game was just "okay." But after jumping back in a few months later for a second run, my familiarity with the castle made for a much more enjoyable experience.
Part of my problem was that I tried to play it too close to a traditional Vania, sticking mostly to the familiar power-ups and not consciously trying comb for secrets. And sure, you can absolutely play Symphony that way, but you'd then be ignoring spells, familiars, and a wide variety of weapons. Not only is progression decidedly less linear than other titles in the series, but so is your relationship to the player character, Alucard. Each time I jump back in I try to build Alucard a bit different, focusing on different primary weapons and familiars, and playing around with equipment I may have disregarded in previous runs. It makes the game highly replayable.
My only real gripe is the inverted castle. The steps you take to get there are a little obtuse but admittedly fun to figure out, and the reveal itself is exciting. The castle and everything you thought you knew about it is now flipped on its head. On paper that sounds like a great way to ramp up the stakes and difficulty as the game enters its final stretch, but... it just drags. I've beaten Symphony a number of times and not once has the inverted castle ever felt like anything other than a slog.
That doesn't take away from the fact that Symphony of the Night is absolutely a game worth playing, and at this point you have some options for how to do that, but I would strongly encourage any that leaves the original translation intact. It's messy, but it's a big part of the appeal. It's not an incomprehensible disaster like some other botched translations of the era. If anything, it's just the right amount of corny. I love it and wouldn't take it any other way.
For someone who is so married to the more linear, segmented stylings of previous Castlevanias, Symphony of the Night seems almost heretical in its design. My first playthrough as also admittedly rough as I committed to not using a guide at all. I got pretty lost, my build was all wrong, I had trouble with a bunch of the bosses in the late game, but I persevered... and came out the other end thinking this game was just "okay." But after jumping back in a few months later for a second run, my familiarity with the castle made for a much more enjoyable experience.
Part of my problem was that I tried to play it too close to a traditional Vania, sticking mostly to the familiar power-ups and not consciously trying comb for secrets. And sure, you can absolutely play Symphony that way, but you'd then be ignoring spells, familiars, and a wide variety of weapons. Not only is progression decidedly less linear than other titles in the series, but so is your relationship to the player character, Alucard. Each time I jump back in I try to build Alucard a bit different, focusing on different primary weapons and familiars, and playing around with equipment I may have disregarded in previous runs. It makes the game highly replayable.
My only real gripe is the inverted castle. The steps you take to get there are a little obtuse but admittedly fun to figure out, and the reveal itself is exciting. The castle and everything you thought you knew about it is now flipped on its head. On paper that sounds like a great way to ramp up the stakes and difficulty as the game enters its final stretch, but... it just drags. I've beaten Symphony a number of times and not once has the inverted castle ever felt like anything other than a slog.
That doesn't take away from the fact that Symphony of the Night is absolutely a game worth playing, and at this point you have some options for how to do that, but I would strongly encourage any that leaves the original translation intact. It's messy, but it's a big part of the appeal. It's not an incomprehensible disaster like some other botched translations of the era. If anything, it's just the right amount of corny. I love it and wouldn't take it any other way.
2 Comments
To be fair I think that's pretty much my relationship to any game in this genre. My first run is always the least enjoyable.
SlasherMcGirk
2 years ago