Masterpiece Symphony: A Look At Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 25 Years Later

Masterpiece Symphony: A Look At Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 25 Years Later
September 28, 2022
By Ryan Porzl

             

Like any long time series, Castlevania has had it's share of classics since the franchise debuted. However, as great as many of the best games of the series are, one game is usually considered head and shoulders above the rest and that game is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Released in 1997, the game changed the way we played Castlevania games, debuting the popular "Metroid-Vania" style while reintroducing classic characters from previous games such as Alucard, and having a different take on the Castlevania story as the concept of the vampire killing Belmont family took a back seat to a son who was determined to put an end to his vengeance obsessed father. With the 25 Anniversary having come back in March, I'll take a look at Symphony of the Night. This page does contain spoilers.

Note: I don't own the graphic.

Characters-

Alucard (Arukado in Japan)- The protagonist. Born Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes (Adorian Farenhaitsu Tsepesu in Japan), Alucard is the son of Count Dracula and a human woman named Lisa. Despite being the son of Dracula, he doesn't share his father's view of humanity and previously fought against him. 300 years before Symphony, Alucard fought alongside vampire hunter Trevor C. Belmont, sorceress Sypha Belnades, and pirate Grant DeNasty against Dracula in the year 1476 during the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse which resulted in the first time Dracula was slayed by the Belmonts and their allies. Due to having Dracula's bloodline, he decided to seal himself away in a deep sleep which he did for 321 years. He awakens in 1797 after sensing his father's return and no Belmont to counter him. As a result, he ventures into Castlevania in order to once again put an end to his father. The name "Alucard" is backwards for Dracula and symbolizes Alucard having opposite views of Dracula.

Count Dracula (Dorakyura in Japan) or Dracula Vlad Tepes (Dorakyura Vurado Tsepesu in Japan)- The antagonist. Dracula is the father of Alucard and had been waging war against humanity since the 15th Century after his wife Lisa was killed by humans only to be stopped time and time again by the Belmont family and their allies which includes Alucard. At the beginning of the game, Dracula was killed by Richter Belmont during the events of Rondo of Blood and is on the verge of resurrection again five years later resulting in his son awakening from his slumber to stop him.

Maria Renard (Maria Raneddo in Japan)- A powerful human who was abducted by Dracula in 1792 during Rondo of Blood only to be saved by Richter Belmont which resulted in her joining forces with him to stop Dracula. After Richter disappeared in 1796 and Castlevania returned the following year, Maria went to Castlevania certain she would find him there. She meets Alucard and assists him in his mission including a crucial moment that results in Alucard being able to save Richter.

Shaft (Shafuto in Japan)- A dark priest who resurrected Dracula in 1792 during Rondo of Blood and served him during those events before he and later Dracula were stopped by Richter Belmont. Somehow, he survived and by 1796, was able to abduct Richter and control him through a spell which would allow him to once again resurrect Dracula with seemingly nobody being able to stop him due to him controlling the most powerful vampire hunter.

Death (Shinigami in Japan)- The Grim Reaper himself. He's a divine being who's been a servant of Dracula for centuries and has gone to battle for him only to be defeated by the Belmonts. Death is the first to confront Alucard shortly after he enters Castlevania and offers him a chance to leave only to take Alucard's equipment when Alucard refuses.

Richter Belmont (Rihita Berumondo or Richter Belmondo in Japan)- A legendary and powerful vampire hunter and member of the Belmont family. Richter previously did battle with Dracula in 1792 during the events of Rondo of Blood and defeated him. By 1796, Richter would disappear one night when he was abducted by Shaft and was put under a spell allowing Shaft to control him. In 1797, Castlevania returned with Shaft using Richter to revive Dracula while also using him to prevent any intruders from stopping him.

Plot-

The game begins where Rondo of Blood ends in 1792 with Richter Belmont confronting Count Dracula in his throne room at Castlevania where the two fight but Richter is ultimately successful in slaying the Count. Four years later in 1796 during a full moon night, Richter mysteriously vanished. In 1797, Castlevania returns. Meanwhile, Alucard, the son of Dracula, who had sealed himself in eternal slumber after defeating his father 321 years before, awakens upon sensing the return of Castlevania and his inability to sense a Belmont to counter it. 

As a result, he sets out to Castlevania in an attempt to put an end to his father. Early in his journey, he meets Death who asks him to leave and cease his attack but when Alucard refuses, Death strips him of his weapons and equipment before leaving. Alucard then journeys through Castlevania, acquiring weapons and items along the way. Eventually, he meets Maria Renard who came to Castlevania to find Richter who had been missing for a year. As Alucard continues to fight his way through the castle, he heads to the Coliseum where another human is. It turns out to be Richter Belmont but he claims he's the lord of castle before sending monsters after Alucard. Before he disappears, Alucard is able to scent his blood and realize to his shock that he's a Belmont. As the journey continues, Alucard meets Maria a few more times where he says Richter has become an enemy but she doesn't believe him at first. Some time later, the two meet again where Maria realizes Alucard is correct about Richter but is convinced he's being controlled. She gives Alucard holy glasses which are able to see past curses. With the glasses on, Alucard confronts Richter in the throne room and demands to know why a Belmont would plan Dracula's resurrection. Richter claims it's because Dracula only rises once a century and after slaying him, his and the Belmont family's role is over but if he can resurrect him then the battle can last for eternity. The two then briefly fight but during it, Alucard notices a green orb hovering over Richter thanks to the holy glasses. He attacks the orb before finally destroying it, revealing the Dark Priest Shaft, who not only survived the events of Rondo of Blood but was the one controlling Richter all along. Shaft acknowledges he's been defeated but Dracula's resurrection is at hand before teleporting away. Right as he does this, another Castlevania, this one upside down, comes from the skies. Feeling guilty and having regained his senses, Richter asks what he's done. Maria comes in and thanks Alucard for saving Richter. Upon hearing the name, Richter is shocked and wonders if Alucard is the same one who fought alongside Trevor Belmont 300 years ago. Alucard says there's no time for small talk and asks if the person controlling him is in the other castle. Richter believes so and with that, Alucard tells Maria to take Richter and leave while he'll finish this and teleports to the second castle. 

From here, Alucard fights his way through both castles, getting stronger, and learning new abilities along the way. He eventually confronts other powerful monsters as well as Death but eventually slays them all. Eventually, he heads to a secret area of the upside castle and confronts Shaft who introduces himself and reveals his plan which was to control Richter while he resurrected Dracula. Not only did Shaft get rid of the most powerful threat but Richter was by far the most powerful of the vampire hunters so he could also use him in the event any other hunter came to the castle as they would stand no chance against him. The two then fight but Alucard is able to kill Shaft, this time for good. As Shaft dies, Dracula shows up which forces father and son to collide. Despite the tough battle, Alucard emerges victorious and tells his father to not only die but trouble his mother's soul no more. In his dying words, he asks Alucard what his mother Lisa's final words were. Alucard says she told him "Do not hate humans. If you cannot live with them, then at least do them no harm. For theirs is a hard lot" and then says she told him to tell Dracula she'll always love him. Dracula asks Lisa for forgiveness and says farewell to Alucard before dying. Afterwards, Alucard escapes just as a bright light shines upon Castlevania and it disappears. Alucard meets Maria and Richter and talks briefly with them before leaving as he claims because of his cursed blood that he should disappear forever and that they will not meet again. As he leaves, Richter encourages Maria to follow him and that maybe she can help his soul. She thanks Richter and leaves to follow Alucard.

Gameplay-

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night would be the first Castlevania of it's time. Unlike most Castlevania's at that point which were side scrolling platformers with multiple levels and a linear style, Symphony uses a style similar to the Metroid series in that the game takes place in a giant area (specifically Castlevania) where you're limited in where you can explore at the beginning of the game. However, as Alucard gains new powers, techniques, and accessories, he's able to explore areas that would previously be inaccessible. Throughout Castlevania, there are boss battles scattered throughout both the regular castle and upside down castle. Whenever Alucard defeats one, they drop a potion which can restore him to full health. Symphony has a save feature which allows players to save their game in certain rooms that are also scattered across both castles. If Alucard dies then the game is over and the player returns to where they saved last. When the player saves their game, Alucard is restored to full health. There's also certain rooms that allow Alucard to teleport to different areas of the castle provided he's been in that specific teleportation room before. Because of all these features, many fans would coin this style used in Symphony of the Night and games like it as "Metroid-Vania".

Along with the Metroid-Vania style, Symphony of the Night would also incorporate RPG elements in the game such as hit points which are used for Alucard's life to using magic to buying, finding, and equipping various weapons, armors, and accessories to acquiring healing items to earning experience points by defeating enemies with enough allowing Alucard to gain a level and thus gets stronger to learning new skills. Alucard can also suffer status effects like getting poisoned which drains his health or briefly being petrified. Along the way, Alucard can learn new abilities including transforming into mist, a werewolf, and a bat which can help him gain access to certain areas.

Alucard, himself, also goes through several changes since his last appearance in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. In Dracula's Curse, Alucard had slick black hair and dressed like a typical vampire while in Symphony of the Night, he has his long flowing white hair and dresses more like a style from the 18th century which became his signature look. In Dracula's Curse, Alucard's attack was shooting fireballs out of his cape whereas here he can equip various weapons though swords are both his default weapon when the game starts and the type of weapon his mostly equips during the game. Despite the changes, Alucard is once again able to turn into a bat and fly around (though he has to learn this technique instead of starting with it) but can also later change into mist and a werewolf.

Despite the differences, the game does incorporate elements from classic games. Like early Castlevania games, Alucard (as well as Richter and Maria) will get a potion type item to restore them to full health once they beat a boss (this is also the only way for Richter and Maria can gain levels). The characters can also use subweapons such as throwing daggers, throwing axes, crosses, holy water, etc. They also can use these items via hearts which they can get along with different subweapons by hitting candles. They can only use one subweapon at a time but like Rondo of Blood, if they grab a subweapon, their previous subweapon will fall to the floor and give the player a few seconds to decide if they want it back or not before disappearing. Richter and Maria have the same life bar from Rondo while Richter is capable of doing backflips if the player taps the jump button twice along with item crashes all from Rondo of Blood. The game is also in a 2D format despite 3D games popping more often by 1997.

The game also borrows elements from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest in the RPG elements like gaining levels and buying items as well as the nonlinear style of gameplay and various endings. Like Simon's Quest, Symphony of the Night had both a bad and good ending depending on the fight with Richter. The bad ending comes if the player kills Richter in battle while the good ending sees the player break Shaft's hold on him thus saving him instead of killing him, do the upside down castle, and defeat Shaft and Dracula.

If the player beats the game once, they are giving the chance to play as Richter provided they start a new save file and name it "RICHTER". As mentioned above, Richter plays the same as he did at the beginning of the game and in Rondo of Blood except he's also capable of running if the player taps the forward button twice, as well as a jump kick, and a jumping uppercut which he was unable to do in Rondo and which allow him to gain access to certain areas. While Richter has enough skills to advance in the castle, he can't equip items or new weapons or use healing items like Alucard and can only regain health by either saving or defeating a boss. Defeating a boss also increases his life bar. Another difference is that the final boss for Richter is Shaft instead of Count Dracula. Maria is also a playable character but only for the Sega Saturn, PSP, and Castlevania Requiem versions. Like Richter, Maria is unlocked if the player wins the game and starts a new game and names the file "MARIA". Unlike Richter, Maria plays differently than Rondo as she is older, her attacks are punches and kicks instead of doves, and she uses the same subweapons as Alucard and Richter instead of animals.

Behind the Scenes-
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was directed, produced, co-programmed, and co-written by Toru Hagihara. Hagihara previously directed and programmed Castlevania: Rondo of Blood while also serving as a programmer for Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge and Skate or Die: Bad n' Rad as well as the bug checker for The Adventures of Bayou Billy. Koji Igarashi was the other co-programmer. Igarashi previously was a programmer for Gradius II and got Special Thanks credit for Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. He later went on to contribute to every Castlevania game beginning with 1997's Symphony of the Night and ending with 2010's Harmony of Despair. The other co-writer is Toshiharu Furukawa who previous provided support for Snatcher, served as a character designer for Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, and did graphics for Castlevania Chronicles. A co-artist is Nobuya Nakazato who previously worked as a bug checker for The Adventures of Bayou Billy, a graphic designer for Castlevania: The Adventure, and directed Contra III: The Alien Wars and Rocket Knight Adventures. The composer was Michiru Yamane who previously co-composed Rocket Knight Adventures and Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 while composing for Castlevania: Bloodlines. She later co-composed many more Castlevania games up until 2008's Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. 

Development for Symphony of the Night began as early as 1994 for a game that was to be on the short lived Sega 32X add-on which was to be called Castlevania: The Bloodletting. However, the game was ultimately cancelled when the decision was made by Konami to focus more effort on the debuting Sony Playstation. Work on The Bloodletting would eventually be altered to make Symphony of the Night.

While Hagihara was the director of the game, he was promoted to Head of Division while working on Symphony and as a result, asked Igarashi to serve as assistant director. Under Igarashi, the game would add the RPG elements which was due to the fact he thought earlier Castlevania games were a bit challenging for regular or unskilled gamers. By adding the RPG elements, it allowed players to get stronger by gaining levels and acquiring new techniques and weapons which made Symphony of the Night a bit easier for inexperienced or new gamers. The Metroid-Vania style was created to create a longer game. A big motivation for this was the fact the developers had seen older Castlevania games in the bargain bins of Japanese stores and felt the traditional action game was too short and offered almost no replay value after beating it. Since the open world/exploration style was in use for Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Igarashi used the critical reaction to that game to justify the Metroid-Vania/open world to Konami who approved. Igarashi specifically wanted to create a game that gamers could play for a long time but thought regular action games were too short which is how the Metroid-Vania style and exploration came about which also added replay value. Igarashi was inspired by the Legend of Zelda games which also usually allowed backtracking and exploration as well as the fact the castle would mostly be inaccessible until the player acquired the necessary techniques or items necessary to make the castle more accessible as the game went on. While the game retained some of the hack n' slash of previous games, the exploration was also to encourage exploring the whole castle by rewarding the player.

Release-

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was released on March 20, 1997 as Akumajo Dorakyura Ekkusu: Gekka no Yasukyoku (Demon Castle Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight) in Japan, on October 2, 1997 in North America, and November 1, 1997 in PAL regions on the Sony Playstation. The game would be met with critical acclaim. Metacritic scored it 93/100, 1Up.com scored it a A, both Computers and Video Games and Official U.S. Playstation Magazine scored it a perfect 5/5, Edge scored it 8/10, both IGN and Eurogamers scored it a 9/10, GameFan scored it 294/300, Famitsu scored it 30/40, Game Informer scored it 9.5/10, GameRevolution scored it a B+, Hyper scored it 82%, GameSpot scored it 8.9/10, and Next Generation scored it 4/5 stars. Symphony would win two awards at Electronic Gaming Monthly's Editors Choice Awards, winning in the Playstation Game of the Year and Side-Scrolling Game of the Year while it was runner up in two other categories in Best Music (losing to PaRappa the Rapper) and Game of the Year (losing to Goldeneye 007). The game would also be nominated for Console Adventure Game of the Year at the first annual Academy of Interactive Arts and Science Awards. EGM would also name it Best Sequel on their annual Buyer's Guide. Playstation Magazine would name it the 1997 Game of the Year on their top ten list of best games of the year. Initially, sales for Symphony of the Night would be lackluster, especially in America, until they eventually picked up thanks to praise from critics and positive word of mouth which resulted in 477,304 units being sold in the United States which is more than the 225,862 units sold in Japan which resulted in a combined 703,166 units between the two countries. The game has become so loved that the original Playstation release has been considered a collector's item among hardcore gamers.

The main consensus between the critics was that the massive open world, soundtrack, and RPG elements without compromising the gameplay were praised and the highlights of the game though some of the critics weren't high on the voice acting, though the original dialogue would become memorable and be parodied over the decades. The game was also praised for it's use of 2D graphics despite 2D games being considered outdated at the time and giving way to 3D games though Entertainment Weekly weren't high on it like others. GameSpot considered it one of the greatest games ever released and proved the 2D video games were far from dead. Next Generation considered it "spectacular" and that it had "classic written all over it". Computers and Video Games considered it to have an "Old-Skool style" but that it felt like "the freshest thing of the year". IGN described the music as "sometimes daunting, sometimes rousing and always doing what music should - enhancing the action".

Since it's release, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night has been on many "greatest" lists. EGM listed is at #12 of their list of the Best Consoles Games of All Time in 1997 and #4 on their list on the "100 Greatest Games of All Time", while being the highest ranked Playstation 1 game. In 2006, it was ranked #16 of GameSpot's Top 100 Games of All Time list. Gamezone have considered it the greatest Castlevania of all time. In 2009, Edge ranked it #35 on their list of "The 100 Best Games To Play Today". In 2012, GamesRadar would consider it the second greatest Playstation 1 game of all time. behind only Metal Gear Solid.

Aftermath-

Symphony of the Night has been re-released many times over the past 25 years. The first would be on the Sega Saturn in 1998 exclusive to Japan which featured a new Maria boss fight and the option to play as her. The game was then re-released worldwide on the X-Box 360 in 2007. Then it was re-released on the PSP as a unlocked bonus for the Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles in 2008/2009 which featured new dialogue and voice acting as well as the Maria stuff from the Saturn version. Then it was re-released in 2018 along with Rondo of Blood on the Playstation 4 as part of the Castlevania: Requiem package. In 2020, it was ported to the Android and iOS phones.

The success of Symphony of the Night saw the Metroid-Vania style be incorporated into many more future Castlevania games, mostly for the portable systems such as the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS including Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia. Alucard, Maria, and Count Dracula would also be playable characters in the Castlevania: Judgment fighting game while Richter would be playable in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate game. Alucard would later appear as a supporting character in the Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow games usually under the alias Genya Arikado.