#25

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Originally released in 1997 on the PS1.)

I could not talk about my all time favorite rpgs without mentioning this beauty, now could I? SotN was the first Castlevania game to add rpg elements to the side scrolling atmosphere found in the series. Equipment and leveling found its way into Castlevania, and the series has never been the same. They found something real special with that combination and most of the games since have followed the trend.

SotN is a game that follows the story of the events after Richter Belmont defeats Dracula. All seems well until one day, Dracula's castle mysteriously reappears. Dracula's son, Alucard decides to investigate and with this you have the setting. The entire game is played within the confines of your father's multi-layered fortress and for the first game at least you only have control of Alucard. Alucard is very powerful and is instantly stripped of all his powers when he walks into the castle. He losses all of his equipment and starts at level 1. Inside you deal with all of your fathers most loyal servants and some of his more interesting choices of pets.

For its time, SotN was visually stunning. The backgrounds all gave off an eerie feel and the music set the mood perfectly. Every part of the castle is different and offers new challenges. It felt like you were in Transylvania climbing your way to the top of Lord Dracula's domain. Alucard is blessed with being a vampire and shares a lot of powerful abilities that were handed down from his not-so-dear father. Alucard actually dislikes his father and views him as a monster.

The entire game is played out in a 2D setting. You move left to right. There are steps that lead upward and holes that lead you into the lower areas. It is a classic side scroller to the definition.  The game itself is not too hard, but one can find certain early stages and monsters to be quite frustrating. In the later stages of the game, Alucard collects tons of trinkets and items to play with it is hard to fear death. You actually face the grim reaper who just so happens to be one of Dracula's most loyal of subjects. Shame that in this game, Death is less the impressive. Blame Alucard for being overpowered I suppose.

Konami always seem to find the niche that fans enjoy and crave more of. Not long after SotN's success did you see more games in the series follow this same design. Some people call it a mix between rpg and Metroid with Castlevania settings. These games are more commonly called Metroidvanias. Whatever you wish to call them I call them extremely fun to play and have bought every CV title that delivers this type of gameplay. They are fun, usually quick, and enjoyable to dive into.

I'm definitely glad the games I played as a kid have found there way into the new era of gaming.