Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Developer - Konami
Publisher - Konami
Players - 1
Extras - Memory card

The bit on the box

"The legend returns...Having been awoken from his eternal slumber by the reappearance of Castlevania, Alucard must once again face the evil minions of darkness. Use your vampire powers, along with weapons, potions and other magical relics to change the tide of battle. A mixture of platform and roleplaying action with many hidden areas and secrets. Can you discover them all?"

Graphics

Castlevania easily resembles the type of games that used to frequent the first generation consoles (SNES and megadrive) graphics-wise, and so should instantly appeal to anyone who has a retro craving. Those who prefer eye candy may be disappointed and choose not to buy this game, and that in my opinion would be a real shame. Everything is set out in a platform game environment with backdrops that, while well drawn, are designed for their practicality and not eye popping looks. The sprites that make up the main character and monsters are nothing special, and have average animation. Again however, if you own(ed) an older console you will appreciate why the graphics have been done in this fashion.

Sounds

The voice acting in Castlevania are quite simply terrible. Only Resident Evil can compete for the award of cheesy american translations, which is a pity because the script isn't too bad, just badly implemented. Speaking of the actors in Resident Evil, I'm sure the one who played Chris Redfield also plays Richter Belmont in this game, which may explain the below average theatrical skills. The sound effects consist mainly of ohs and ows and clangs and clings, pretty much what you'd expect from battling the denizens of evil in Castle Dracula. Where the game is really brilliant in sound though, is the music. The orchestral soundtrack mixed with modern beat is just superb to listen to, and really adds great atmosphere to the game.

Gameplay

This is what this game is all about, gameplay. The control system is simplicity itself and the special moves are easy to pull off, giving you an edge over your opposition (that's if you figure out the moves in the first place). The ace up the sleeve for Castlevania is that even though it closely resembles a platform game, and on the surface it is, it has an underlying RPG engine which handles hit points and magical power, inventory and weapons. This adds a HUGE amount of depth to the game and also widen the appeal to a larger audience of gameplayers. The game itself is very addictive when you start playing, but one downside is that when you get near the end sometimes you are too powerful for the final bosses. Luckily then Castlevania is a very large game with many hours of gameplay to enjoy.

I feel a verdict coming on

There will be too many people who will turn up a go at this fantastic title because they won't look past the retro style graphics. As I mentioned earlier this would be a great shame because as far as platformers go, none have more involvement and depth as this one. If you can ignore the acting, which is far and few between anyway, and look past the graphics then you will see Castlevania's true excellence. Admittedly this type of game may not be everyone's cup of tea, as some platform lovers will not like the RPG elements and vice versa. If you like a little of both though, then look no further, Castlevania is the game for you.

Review by D.R.T.Barrett