Symphony of the Night

There are few things I want to discuss but not enough time.  School, art comissions and band* have taken up alot of my time.  Despite this I still manage to find time to play some videogames at night (staying up until 3 am then having to wake up at 5:30 is generally not the best idea, but I managed to stay awake the entire day somehow.)

Anyways, I have been playing Castlevania : Symphony of the Night, it is simply a solid game.  It is the first Castlevania game to use and incorporate RPG elements, that being leveling up, upgrades, customizing equpiment, etc.  

I have played other RPG like Castlevania games like Aria of Sorrow and Order of Ecclessia and I know what to expect.  Not quite blown away by anything of this game, but is in my opinion alot more fun than the normal Castlevania games where you level to level beating a boss on the way.  Castlevania is just a fun game in general.

Overview

True to Metroidvania style gameplay, exploration is key and you will be looking at your map ALOT.  You play as Alucard (Dracual spelled backwards, zomg) Dracula's son, and you are trying to kill your father.  You hop into the castle and you're off to find Dracula with no sign or hint as to where you are supposed to go.  Somewhere, there is generally no right or  wrong place to go because each room has something important or helpful to offer whether it be a new weapon, armor, money, or a new ability.  

After mindlessly exploring for a while, you begin to get a basic idea as to where you are supposed to go, that place is usually the place you haven't gone to yet.  Here's the thing though, the places you haven't been to almost always aquire you to obtain a new ability to get there, such as turning into mist to get through iron bars or doubling jumping onto higher platforms.  

So it follows this basic formula

1) Run around/explore

2) Go to all rooms possible

3) Examine areas you cannot reach

4) Find ability/upgrade allowing you to reach these new places

All while killing monsters on the way.  The pacing is great and the seemingly repetitive formula always seems fresh.

Gameplay

The sheer number of weapons, armor, etc. in this game is staggering.  Items are basically everywhere and you need to learn how to use each one to the best of its ability.  The amount of secret rooms and passages is also amazing.  There are certain walls you can break open with your weapon that usually leads to more rooms with treasure at the end that is worth finding if you manage to find it.  An experienced gamer will know where to look for these passages, usually that little dead end that seems to be there for no reason (hit that dead end for safe measures.)  The size of the castle itself is the icing on top of all of this.  The castle is large, there is lots to explore, but it doesn't end ith just the castle.  There is an inverted castle, which is like a mirror othe castle that you can explore.  It's harder and more hardcare and awesome.  There is a ton to explore and a ton to do.

Controls for this game are solid.  With your basic Castlevania controls, attack, jump, crouch, run, up+attack for special.  You also have a second attack button, you may assign a weapon to each hand, it could be two swords, or a two-handed word, a sword and a shield, or a sword and a special weapon like a pentegram or shuriken.  This gameplay open for different play styles.  You also have your basic armor equipment, head gear, armor, etc.  this is self explanatory for anyone who has really ever played a game where you equip armor and weapons.  (If you do not understand, start playing different games and expand your variety of games.)

Presentation

The game has a great look and feel to it.  Each area has its own distinct atmosphere, be it a library or colosseum, you will always know your general location by looking at the enviroment.  The sprites in the game are smooth and well done.  Alucard's movements are all smooth along with the enemies causing the game to flow smooth as water.  Not much can be said about music because the ISO that I downloaded doesn't seem to have music, I have sound but there is an over all lack of music.  Despite this, I am a big Castlevania fan and have heard the songs and know what they are, it's pretty epic.  One thing they do in this game is that they keep 3D graphics to an absolute minimum, only about 2 enemies are 3D.  The only 3D is at the beginning of the game and that's just about it.  This is good because it seems that Konami didn't have too much experience with 3D rendering because the 3D intro of Dracula's castle looks incredibly sloppy.  Because they use almost no 3D and keep it to 2D they manage to make a beautiful 2D world.

Favorites

1)I love how Alucard can turn into a bat, wolf and mist in this game to reach different places.  Though I haven't found much use for the wolf form, mist and bat are lots of fun.  

2)I enjoyed how save points were well scattered through out the castle so you never had to go too far to save and stop playing.

3)Well placed warp points so back-tracking is much easier and faster taking you to general locations faster.

4)Weapon and play style variety.

All in all, Symphony of the Night is a one of the best Castlevania games to date.  It has spectacular visuals that always looks fresh.  The castle is huge and there is a ton to do, explore and collect.  Last and most importantly the gameplay is smooth and fun and is paced so very very well.

Gameplay : 10/10

Presentation : 9/10

Fun Factor : 9/10  <----That point in time when you can't figure out where to go gets to you just enough to get points deducted.

Overall: 14/15

*My school's band is one of the best in the state.  We are playing First Suite in E-Flat by Gustav Holst, Lux Aurumque by Eric Whitacre, and Galop by Dmitri Shostakovich