Symphony of the Night
| Castlevania: Symphony of the Night | |
|---|---|
European box art
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| Developer(s) | Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Director(s) | Toru Hagihara Koji Igarashi |
| Producer(s) | Toru Hagihara |
| Artist(s) | Ayami Kojima |
| Writer(s) | Koji Igarashi Toshiharu Furukawa |
| Composer(s) | Michiru Yamane |
| Series | Castlevania |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Platform-adventure (Metroidvania), action role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 93.41% (PS) 89.58% (X360) |
| Metacritic | 93 / 100 (PS) 89 / 100 (X360) |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| 1UP.com | A (PS) |
| AllGame |
  (PS) (X360) |
| CVG |
(PS) |
| Edge | 8 / 10 (PS) |
| EGM | 9.25 / 10 (PS) |
| Eurogamer | 9 / 10 (X360) |
| Game Informer | 9.5 / 10 (PS) |
| GamePro |
(PS) |
| Game Revolution | B+ (PS) |
| GameSpot | 8.9 / 10 (PS) 8.5 / 10 (X360) |
| IGN | 9 / 10 (PS, X360) |
| OPM (US) | 5 / 5 (PS) |
| OXM (UK) | 9 / 10 (X360) |
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a platform-adventure action role-playing game developed and published by Konami in 1997 for the PlayStation. It was directed and produced by Toru Hagihara, with Koji Igarashi acting as assistant director. It is the direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood taking place four years later. It features Dracula's dhampir son Alucard as the protagonist rising from his slumber to explore the Dracula's castle which has re-appeared after Richter Belmont has vanished. It marks a break from previous games in the series, introducing exploration, non-linear level design and role-playing elements.
Initially, the game was unsuccessful – particularly in the United States where it was meagerly publicized – but thanks to praise by critics, it gained sales through word-of-mouth and became a hit. It has been re-released on several consoles and is considered a sleeper hit, a cult classic, and one of the best video games ever made.
Symphony of the Night uses 2-dimensional side-scrolling gameplay. The objective is exploring Dracula's castle to defeat Richter Belmont, who says he's lord of Castle Dracula. Canonically, Richter was the hero of the events that took place in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. The game is non-linear, but most of the castle is inaccessible until various items are collected, including Shapeshifting into a bat, wolf, or mist. As the player uncovers more of the castle, a map is updated to show progress.
While protagonists in previous Castlevania games typically used a whip (), the player can find weapons ranging from swords to nunchaku and expendable items such as bombs or javelins. He can also obtain health restoratives, equipment and items that boost his attributes; these are located on an inventory. Relics found throughout the castle provide Alucard with abilities, such as the ability to double jump. A bestiary kept by the castle's librarian, who also functions as a shopkeeper, shows the monsters encountered by the player and the items they drop when defeated.
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Wikipedia