Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Review (Xbox 360)

The 2D side-scroller became popular in an era when there wasn’t much choice of software for the gamer. Technology limitations forced people to game on two axes, with a movable background to denote larger settings.

As processing power and programming skill increased- but still before the 3D era side-scrollers became quite wonderful representations of video gaming. In fact, there are many video game critics that still have 2D scollers in their all-time lists.

The advent of 3D gaming pretty much put the side-scrollers on the shelf, but there were a few companies that still embraced the genre through console releases. One of these companies was Konami, whose Japanese roots kept most of the trends from the Far East fresh in the minds of Western gamers.

The trend of never letting the 2D side-scroller perish can be seen in Japanese companies like SNK and Capcom, but Konami and their Castlevania series really epitomizes this feeling. Born on 8-bit hardware, the Castlevania series is still growing strong thanks to the demand for visually simple games that run well on powerful handhelds.

Another great re-launching pad for Konami’s Castlevania titles is Xbox Live Arcade, which really seems to be going head to head with the Wii with its recent arcade and old console ROM lineup. Microsoft’s latest title is Konami’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which many consider one of the finest achievements of the original Playstation system.

You’ll begin your Castlevania: Symphony of the Night quest where predecessor Dracula X left off - a final boss battle featuring Richter (the headliner in a few other Castlevania titles) battling Count Dracula. Once Richter defeats the count, the story behind Castlevania: Symphony of the Night finally begins with the aid of decent cut-scene visuals, on-screen text and dialogue. Set four years after the count’s defeat, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night reveals Richter as the new high priest of Castlevania. This doesn’t sit too well with the Count’s son Alucard, who eventually comes to life as your friendly neighborhood player character.

Earlier fans of the Castlevania series that didn’t have a chance to check out Castlevania: Symphony of the Night or Dawn of Sorrow will notice the major transformation of the franchise right away. The control scheme of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is indicative of the PSOne controller functionality. Jumps are completely pressure-sensitive, the use of a shield and a back dash move join jump/attack on the face button bank, and vampiric item use can be controlled through the shoulder buttons (a combo of shoulder and trigger in the 360 controller’s case).

The ability to view the map with a quick tap of a shoulder button (left trigger for us) illustrates the fundamental structural change of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as compared to its predecessors: not all pathways lead to an end. Yes, the notion of open-ended style gameplay in the Castlevania universe begins with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which makes for a much more enticing, adventure-style experience. You’ll sometimes have to backtrack to get where you really need to go (although it’s frustrating fighting the same enemies again), and not all pathways are paved with goodwill and good intentions.

Konami’s decision to make Castlevania: Symphony of the Night more open-ended was directly related to the introduction of RPG-style elements. Running about Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s world will reveal weapons, spells, equipment, and other items (such as a full compliment of relics which affect the world around Alucard) which can be equipped, dropped and summoned like your favorite role player. Each item has a certain RPG attribute, too. The system is a bit simpler that your typical RPG game, but the balancing of inventory definitely plays a role here in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Hit and magic points are gained and taken away, yet the heart system still determines the overall wherewithal of your hero. You’ll also notice from the Next button PC rap sheet that your hero levels up throughout his journey, in standard areas such as strength, intuition and good ‘ol luck. The player card also shows a tab entitled the Familiars, which are essentially helper entities that can attack at Alucard’s whim. Bats, demons, swords, ghosts and imps can all be summoned, while at the same time ranking up to make them more powerful.

The RPG elements and solid control scheme come together as a very enticing side-scrolling package. The cutscenes are old-school of course, but there is voice acting and some semblance of a plot for those into all things Transylvanian. However, stealing the thunder of Konami’s wholesale gameplay changes is the sprite art that really showcases this genre. These Kojima-designed characters are some of the best you will find in the land of sprites. The backgrounds are just as fancy, and help to achieve an eerie feel that only the scariest of modern games can match. You’ll also be met with particle effects that surely inspired many of today’s top artists, and animation sets that could make the mo-cap machine worker feel a bit guilty. There are early attempts at 3D here that somehow work, too. Your coffin of savedom spins ‘round in three dimensions, and there is a depth-of-field effect on distant items that is being helped along with the Z axis. 2D and 3D somehow come together to create an artistic interpretation of that time just before 3D ruled the roost.

The soundtrack is just as impressive as the visual feast, and that’s saying a lot for 1997. Budgets couldn’t call upon a philharmonic, so a Roland had to suffice. Oh, how the keyboard suffices in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night! Makes sense really – put the word “symphony” in your game title and you should probably attempt to create some aural magic on that silvery surface. Yeah, the voice acting is as hokey as you’d expect, but the sound effects are as solid as that Snake dude from another chapter in Konami’s past

With a mixture of open-ended gameplay elements, more advanced controls, and a gripping story, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is the epitome of the side-scrolling genre. What’s more ironic about Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s prowess is the era in which it was released. 3D was burgeoning, but the strength of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night came through loud and clear to PSOne owners, just as it will come across to XBLA subscribers nearly ten years after its original release.