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[MegaManTrigger]

It's not ripping it off, but what does bother me is how people coined the genre "Metroidvania", when in it's really "Metroid" only. Metroid style games, Castlevania did little for the genre (Even Castlevania 2 came out after Zelda 2, another game by Nintendo with similar characteristics to Metroid).

I'm not seeing the similarities aside from being sidescrollers. Also, I think you're downplaying what SOTN of the night did for the genre (RPG elements, more expansive world to explore in vs. Super Metroid's limited exploration). SOTN's design, like Super Metroid's has been reused and reinterpreted many times whether its in the Castlevania series, or indie games.

 

[FF Seraphim]

I have bought this game for every system I own. I think I bought it at least 4 times?
PS1, JPPS1, XBOX360, PSP physical, vita digital, ps3 ps1 classic.
Okay 6 times, I would buy it again if it came out on the PS4 or PC.
Top 5 games of all time for me.

 

[krizalidzero]

I'm not seeing the similarities aside from being sidescrollers. Also, I think you're downplaying what SOTN of the night did for the genre (RPG elements, more expansive world to explore in vs. Super Metroid's limited exploration). SOTN's design, like Super Metroid's has been reused and reinterpreted many times whether its in the Castlevania series, or indie games.

Overworld aside, which works well with an overhead view, Zelda 2, just like Metroid, has an expansive world with a lot of backtracking, and you need to discover items/get new skills to progress to new areas of the same map, plus dungeons are small mazes where it's hard to get lost. As for RPG elements, do you mean leveling? Items? Things Zelda 2 already had done? Metroid lacks only in the leveling side of things, IMO.

Plus, if you have the Metroid essence and add RPG elements... what's so "Vania" about it? Castlevania isn't even an RPG by definition, and it never had such elements until SOTN (discounting the additions Castlevania 2 had, which were already found in Metroid 1 and Zelda 2).

 

[MattKeil]

Not only do we get horribly cheesy (albeit charming) voice acting, we are introduced to Alucard, out to seek vengeance for his mother's demise.

We were introduced to Alucard in Castlevania 3, though.

 

[jblank83]

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is 20 years old!

I'm not that old. I'm not...

Anyway, Symphony of the Night is the game that kept me interested in 2d side scrollers during the N64/PS1/GBA era, not Mario, not Mega Man. It's a lovely little game that may not have perfect game balance but has so much interesting level design and engaging game mechanics. I think its successors are better (especially Aria), but it deserves all the accolades for taking "Metroidvania" to a new level.

 

[Family Fry]

Remember picking it up in a bargain bin in toys r us back in't day, £14.99 best game I've ever spent money on.

Criminal that it was in the bin, then again no one probably bought it back then in UK.
Speaking of which, I vividly remember a review in a magazine (maybe UK official ps1 mag) who slated it because it was a 2D PlayStation game. Think it may have been 7/10 score.

 

[Retro]

I'll just quote myself from a "What game do you consider perfect?" thread, because I've said all I'll ever need to say on the subject;

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Konami, 1997)

Platform: Playstation (also available on Sega Saturn, PSN and XBLA)
Director/Producer: Toru Hagihara
Concept Artist: Ayami Kojima
Writer: Koji Igarashi & Toshiharu Furukawa
Composer: Michiru Yamane​

Let's do the run-down;

Gorgeous 2-D sprites
In a time when everyone was foaming at the mouth about 3-D and polygons, Symphony of the Night (SotN) was mixing last-gen technique with next-gen power. The result is a game that oozes with charm. Every background and platform is filled with detail, a shocking contrast to contemporary games where detailed objects were flat textures. Alucard's cloak is a wonder to behold as it billows behind him as he jumps or steps forward, flutters as he walks, and comes to rest as he stops.

Enemies are just as animated, and the sheer variety of them is impressive.

Each weapon has different swing animations, some simply gorgeous to behold.

Best of all, SotN used the 3-D power of the Playstation to generate sprite scaling, particle effects and animated backgrounds; the best of both worlds.


Stellar Sound
Michiru Yamane's mix of gothic orchestra, metal and jazz is easily one of the best game scores of the 90s, if not ever. There are few tracks, if any, that sound strange or unfitting (yes, even "Wandering Ghosts," the dance mix-ish track heard in the Colosseum). The best of the score is downright haunting, and despite not remixing any previously-heard Castlevania tracks (which are legendary in their own right) the score seems to hit all the right notes and be decisively Castlevania.

The sound effects in the game are equally impressive; enemies scream and roar, weapons make a great deal of impressive swishes and slashes (especially the magic ones which sound practically explosive), and the environmental effects are fantastic.

One of the few downsides of the game, however, is on the audio side; the North American voice acting was rushed and as a result is quite awful. Attempts to improve it have not helped the situation.


Rewarding Gameplay
With the exception of his forward speed (which feels a little plodding by the end of the game), Alucard controls like a dream. Once you start gaining relics like the Leap Stone, Gravity Boots and the various Forms, you can literally flow through the game like a cloud of mist.

SotN also introduces RPG elements to the Castlevania universe, but it does so in a way that gets it right, just as RPGs were starting to really take off (Final Fantasy 7 was released a mere month before SotN). Few of the weapons just grant a straight statistical boost; most have unique attack shapes and styles, special attacks and effects. Leveling up feels smooth and natural, with no need for grinding.

However, apart from the voice acting, the only negative aspect of SotN is that once certain weapons are found, the game's difficulty level nosedives significantly.


Excellent Design
First, there's the whole second castle. Oh, you beat the game? Sorry, son, that's just the first half. Not only does the inverted castle show up and turn the game you thought you knew on its head (literally), but there's tons of optional areas and multiple endings to aim for.

All of the areas have a unique look with tons of charm, and though there are a few areas that feel like long hallways, the majority of the level design is fantastic. Backtracking is present to some degrees, but the addition of teleportation rooms eases this substantially. At no point does the game feel like a chore.

And of course, the little loving details are everywhere. Ever hit a Medusa head and randomly turn into a Gargoyle? Ever notice the eye following you in the Marble Gallery? Ever seen the mouse hanging out in the Outer Wall? Found some of the rarer, more impressive weapons (Runesword, Heaven Sword, Chakram, Marsil?) Unlocked all the spells? Ever done the Dual Heaven Sword trick? Found the Beryl Circlet? Gotten 200.6%? Every time I play this game, I see something new.


In Short...
Is it Perfect? nearly 15 years later, it's as close as any game I've ever played and remains my absolute favorite.
(Sorry for the lengthy post, but I've been waiting to write a love letter to this game for a while.)

Still my all-time favorite game, one I play every year (in autumn, closer to it's original North American release date and when I originally played it), and own multiple copies of (4 physical, 1 digital). Even my honest criticisms don't hold a lot of weight anymore; people have absolutely embraced the so-bad-it's-good ham factor of the voice acting, reaching meme status and getting quoted pretty regularly. And I find the lax difficulty (even when using the luck code and throwing the intro fight to reduce my stats to garbage tier) to be somewhat of a benefit too; you can pick SotN up and have a good time with it fairly easily, with even the roughest parts kept accessible if you know what tricks to use.

 

[AzureFlame]

A masterpiece, the ost is among the best in life.

 

[SparksterMeta0]

I remember going as far as the whole castle and, for some reason, stopped when it flipped over.

Still great game. Missed it on the PS1 but downloaded it on the 360.

 

[DanteRavenkin]

I still have a brand new, factory sealed copy of the Greatest Hits version of this. I loved SotN then and I still do to this day.

 

[Sheroking]

One of my favorite games of all time.

Might actually play it tonight...

 

[DaytimeWhiskey]

A masterpiece, the ost is among the best in life.

The inverted library is my jam! Calm yet eerie, and I love how it's filled with Wizard of Oz expies

 

[Enzo88]

In my personal top 10 ever, masterpiece...that soundtrack...

 

[Tiandrad]

Played this game for the first time 3 years ago, and it became one of my favorite games of all time. Here is to hoping Konami puts it on Switch.

 

[kess]

Konami will never make games like this again.

I used to ask myself this when SNK and Sega released barely anything of note after 2004, and now we're more than 10 years removed from that point.

Japanese game development was really incredible in the 90s, and it was a really special moment in time. Rondo of Blood still looks great, too. Passion and thoughtfulness in graphic design goes a long, long way.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

IIRC: Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka got his start doing some misc. sound & music on this game.
Neat to think in just two years he'd be getting much deserved recognition for SH.

 

[snow in jamaica]

next year it can drink

but not if daddy drac has anything to say about it!!

 

[Sir Ilpalazzo]

IIRC: Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka got his start doing some misc. sound & music on this game.
Neat to think in just two years he'd be getting much deserved recognition for SH.

I don't know if he worked on this, but he did work on Contra: Hard Corps years prior, so at the very latest he started on that.

 

[MulderYuffie]

Wow what a great game time sure does fly.

 

[D.Lo]

Well Akumajou Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight is 20 years old, but the cheesy voice acting mentioned in the OP is not, Symphony of the Night was released late in 1997 everywhere else.

Also agreed with others, Metroidvania = Castlevania games using Super Metroid's formula. Metroid should get sole naming rights for the genre, all SoTN added was item and stat bloat.

Played it through again a couple of years ago and concluded it's a beautifully presented, detail packed, dull game with pretty poor overall game design.

I wrote up my review here
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=996500&page=1

 

[ronaldthump]

Starts out so strong and only goes up from there.

Truly a classic.

such a great game. Love SOTN. when you get to the end or what you think is the end to only reach the half way mark. Man, did my jaw drop

 

[Aquillion]

I love the game, but did it really reinvent a genre? All it did was add exp and loot to the metroid formula.

In addition to what others have said about its importance to its own genre, you have to realize that the "throw in RPG mechanics" thing was much newer back when it came out. (There were a few other games that experimented with the idea - River City Ransom, System Shock, etc - but it was mostly new and unusual.)

Nowadays almost every game has RPG mechanics somewhere in it, to the point where we don't really think about it. But I would argue that SotN was one of the major turning points that helped the idea take off.

 

[cartman414]

Or even further to Vampire Killer on the MSX in parts, yes.

But the OP claim was that SOTN specifically "reinventing a genre", and as good as the game is (and it is fantastic), I'm not seeing that. Redefined the series, sure.

But not necessarily for the best. Rondo of Blood, its precursor and last original old-school 'vania, is still the best in the series in my book, with enough nonlinear trappings to mix things up.

I would have preferred if Symphony was more a branch than a fork in the road, so we'd also be getting new Classicvanias that built upon Rondo and its predecessors.

Best game ever? Best game ever.





<------

Overly large map is overly large.

I don't think the difference between the structure of Metroid and SotN is particularly huge. SotN ultimately has more customization (and exposes more stats to the player, but this is pretty minor), where the character upgrades in Metroid are simply more controlled.

Super Metroid has a far better sense of doling out shortcuts to the player.

SoTN is without a doubt the best game of the PS1, and one of the most enduring and ageless of its generation. Decidedly the best in the franchise, and better than all of IGA's posterior clones put together.

Yeah, a couple of its followups do kick SotN's ass in terms of map design cruft, a huge flaw.

 

[ReyVGM]

I take issue with this since at no point did I call it a knock off, and at many points I've called it a fantastic game, both in this thread and in many castlevania threads, as I am a massive fan of both this game and the whole 2D series (except mirror of fate).

But "reinventing a genre" is a big statement.

The fact that most indie games copy Super Metroid, and NOT SotN is pretty much proof that SotN did not reinvent the genre. It reinvented the Castlevania series, yes. It added a lot to the Metroid-like genre, yes. But a reinvention? Nah.

 

[D.Lo]

But not necessarily for the best. Rondo of Blood, its precursor and last original old-school 'vania, is still the best in the series in my book, with enough nonlinear trappings to mix things up.

It's not just that it killed Classivania (and it actually didn't either, it was Igarashi's annual GBA/DS games that kind of made the Castlevania = Metroid clone 'the new normal').

It's that the RPG levelling was diametrically opposed to the Metroid structure, and breaks the game. It's vastly too easy after 30 minutes of play, and the items have almost zero integration with the actual game progression.

But then I personally think stat levelling (and large numbers of storable heath/weapon/defensive items) in action games is the worst standard feature in gaming, it's pointless to get more powerful just by playing more. You should have to get good to beat a boss, not just mindlessly kill 200 more skeletons.

 

[A-V-B]

IIRC: Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka got his start doing some misc. sound & music on this game.
Neat to think in just two years he'd be getting much deserved recognition for SH.

IIRC his job was programming the drums. You can hear it on a track or two where the drum composition kinda sounds like Theme of Laura.

 

[Mr_Antimatter]

The fact that most indie games copy Super Metroid, and NOT SotN is pretty much proof that SotN did not reinvent the genre. It reinvented the Castlevania series, yes. It added a lot to the Metroid-like genre, yes. But a reinvention? Nah.

Metroid is the easier thing to clone. SoTN requires a huge amount of RPG systems to be included, and tons more items.

I'd argue that it also has more replayability, due to the shear amount of items, and the encouragement of farming for this or that rare weapon.

 

[dogen]

Also agreed with others, Metroidvania = Castlevania games using Super Metroid's formula. Metroid should get sole naming rights for the genre, all SoTN added was item and stat bloat.

Played it through again a couple of years ago and concluded it's a beautifully presented, detail packed, dull game with pretty poor overall game design.

I agree. The presentation blew me away on the first play through but it had already started to get a old probably 1/2 way through the normal castle.

I don't know if I'll ever play it again because it's just not that exciting.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

One of the GOATS. Sure, it copied Super Metroid in many ways, but it also bested it in nearly every way. Sadly, the Igavanias that followed, while all quite good, never managed to eclipse this game. Maybe Bloodstained will...

 

[dogen]

One of the GOATS. Sure, it copied Super Metroid in many ways, but it also bested it in nearly every way. Sadly, the Igavanias that followed, while all quite good, never managed to eclipse this game. Maybe Bloodstained will...

The game feels like it has no direction and has lots of superfluous features. I'm not the biggest fan of super metroid, but this game feels like it was designed by an amateur in comparison.

 

[Heero5]

My favorite game of all time! True classic!

 

[D.Lo]

The game feels like it has no direction and lots of superfluous features. I'm not the biggest fan of super metroid, but this game feels like it was designed by an amateur in comparison.

yeah so much about it feels like 'extended development time' where every single idea made it in. It's packed full of content, at the expense of cohesiveness and solid game design.

Some people like the inverted castle, '"it doubles the game". But it's actually garbage, likely added because they had some extra bosses left with nowhere to put them. It's terrible to navigate and all of the Metroid design is gone because you already have all powers like flight and mist.

 

[kubev]

Nowadays almost every game has RPG mechanics somewhere in it, to the point where we don't really think about it. But I would argue that SotN was one of the major turning points that helped the idea take off.

Yeah, it's not as though other games (even Simon's Quest) in various action genres didn't already use RPG mechanics, but SotN definitely placed an emphasis on it. A lot of people consider SotN's implementation of leveling to be flawed, but I disagree. It did what it was supposed to do in that it made the same easier. I've played through the game in excess of a hundred times, and I don't really do a lot of leveling. Depending on the order in which I explore certain parts of the game, it can still be pretty challenging. I don't understand why certain people are being so dismissive of just how important the implementation of RPG elements was to SotN and how much it *did* influence this genre (or sub-genre).

That said, the more I play it, the more I do realize some of the game's flaws. Perhaps it's because I regularly sequence-break so early on in SotN, but I do think that the order in which the game doles out relics if you take what I'd consider to be the default path through the first castle is kind of torturous once you know what sort of relics you get as you progress. At the same time, though, I feel like that order is kind of important, because each area of the castle really does feel unique...more so if you play through each area from a certain starting point. For example, entering the Royal Chapel from the Marble Gallery and playing through that way really makes the Royal Chapel interesting, albeit a bit tedious, since going up those stairs near the beginning really changes up your play style if you're lacking certain relics. If you enter from Castle Keep or from the Coliseum, however, then I think you lose a lot of the impact that those stairs would have on your play style.

 

[chekhonte]

I could really go for this game being rebuilt for modern screens. I don't want a true remake just touched up so it looks good on a wide screen.

I could also go for a master quest like thing where everything is switched around but keeping, more or less, the original artwork.

 

[Demicore]

My favorite game of all time. Still play it at least once a year.

 

[Marvie_3]

Amazing game

 

[Hellshingu]

Just started a play through (number ???) this week as I found out I was able to download it on my X1 and it gives me a reason to turn it on. Truly one of my favorite games ever and one game I try to play somehow once a year. This is one of those games I think everybody should play at least once.

 

[hertog]

Never played it until this January. I bought it during a psn sale to play on the Vita. Absolutely loved it, I was afraid that the current 2d indie games would make SOTN look dated. But it's animation, soundtrack and pure gaming goodness puts it in a league of it's own.
What the fuck happened to you Konami?

 

[FoxSpirit]

I feel what SotN really nrought to the table were two things: itemisation and NPCs. Now, Zelda 2 had that too but that was not a Metroid style game.
Metroidvania was initially not a genre name but rather the nickname of SotN. But after it all games that went into Metroid style had itemisation and a story told through NPCs.

Imo the best Metroid style game came just out recently, Hollow Knight. It's called a Metroidvania because NPCs tell the story and you have loadout customisation. And I'm okay with the moniker even if there is no RPG leveling.

If anything, leveling and item farming are the two weaknesses of the original SotN, replacing interesting exploration and encounters with tedium. I loved the game when it came out and played all IGAvanias but am happy the genre has not adopted those systems.

Happy birthday Symphony of the Night, you were my gateway to my favourite genre

P.S.: buy Hollow Knight ;-)

 

[Starsunder]

In the running for my favorite game of all time.

Absolutely amazing in all areas, from graphics to gameplay, music (Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, this fucking *music*), to the insane amount of tiny details (one of my favs being he column in the Castle Keep that's got a face carved into it, and come to find out, it's actually TWO faces....seriously, look at it upside down).

Subsequent games may have individual components that are arguably better (although not graphics or music), but SotN is still king in my book.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Well I started my first real playtrough of the game via Dracula X Chronicles. Beat the Hippogryph boss and got double jump. I'm not quite sure what the wolf form is supposed to be good at, the damage at least sucks. I assume it can fit some places you normally cant since you can't crawl.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Top 5 game of all time IMO

 

[GOOCHY]

Top 5 game of all time IMO

Agreed. It's easily in my top 5, probably the top spot depending on my mood. It's a wonderful, wonderful game. I finish it at least once a year.

PS4 needs a Castlevania Collection something fierce. How is it that there is a Megaman Collection but no Castlevania Collection?

 

[Marz]

Agreed. It's easily in my top 5, probably the top spot depending on my mood. It's a wonderful, wonderful game. I finish it at least once a year.

PS4 needs a Castlevania Collection something fierce. How is it that there is a Megaman Collection but no Castlevania Collection?

Cuz Konami

 

[SolidSnakex]

Cuz Konami

Yeah, there's really no excuse to not have Castlevania and Contra collections available. Even with Konami quite obviously pulling back from AAA developer, with those games you're just talking about emulation and maybe throwing in some extras like art, music and behind the scenes footage.

 

[CadetMahoney]

One of the best games I played back in the day, but I wouldn't replay it nowadays.

Just can't be bothered.

 

[TyrantGuardian]

Ah, the GOAT. Unfortunately nothing in the genre has come even close since even though SotN has a massive amount of flaws. For every bad thing in the game there are three that just floor everything else in the genre. I never get tired of replaying it. I need to get into self-imposed hard runs at some point as my biggest complaint truly is the lack of difficulty.

 

[Nardonicus]

My favorite game of all time.

Bloodborne has crept up on it for me recently but SOTN still the king. I replay it about once a year. I could talk and write about it for hours.

Alucard is just so fun to control. Wonderful and rewarding exploration of a beautiful gothic castle. The music. Enemy variety and sweet exploding death animations.

God I love it so much. Hope it comes out on the Switch. I will rebuy it for every system I own.

 

[purpleblastoise]

I heard somebody say that the two hand system in this game lead to a lot of combat depth. I never knew this when I played it and just had a shield in the other hand. Is there more depth and can someone explain why or point me to a video showing so.

 

[Peltz]

It's not my favorite game by any means... the level design is kinda bad actually.

But I love the spritework, music, and overall feel of the controls a lot. I just wish it had a more tightly designed environment.

Edit:

Well Akumajou Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight is 20 years old, but the cheesy voice acting mentioned in the OP is not, Symphony of the Night was released late in 1997 everywhere else.

Also agreed with others, Metroidvania = Castlevania games using Super Metroid's formula. Metroid should get sole naming rights for the genre, all SoTN added was item and stat bloat.

Played it through again a couple of years ago and concluded it's a beautifully presented, detail packed, dull game with pretty poor overall game design.

I wrote up my review here
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=996500&page=1

Yea, this is actually a great read.