Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

 PlayStation
  • Publisher: Konami
  • Release Date: Oct 2, 1997
User Score
9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 877 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 804 out of 877
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 877
  3. Negative: 46 out of 877
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  1. YorkMan
    Nov 24, 2015
    7
    SOTN is a great game, but it's far from perfect. I never understand review scores of 8+ for games which are great.... But clearly not worth such high ratings.
    Why is SOTN 'only' worth a 7? I'll explain.
    The game is a follow up to a Japanese only release on the PC-Engine CD format, a game that it borrows from extensively (right down to a great deal of enemy sprites which are just ported    SOTN is a great game, but it's far from perfect. I never understand review scores of 8+ for games which are great.... But clearly not worth such high ratings.
    Why is SOTN 'only' worth a 7? I'll explain.

    The game is a follow up to a Japanese only release on the PC-Engine CD format, a game that it borrows from extensively (right down to a great deal of enemy sprites which are just ported over intact), but changes from a defined 'level' system (a-b-c), to a more open world system. It's reminiscent of the Metroid games in that respect, which again, it borrows wholeheartedly from in gameplay terms.
    So essentially is a game with (slightly better than 16-bit) graphics, that rips off game structure, and whose designers couldn't be bothered to develop a new set of characters for.
    Now I know that some character designs do inhabit the 'world' of Castlevania (God damn Medusa Heads!!!) but to simply cut and paste from an older game is just lazy. It could have been so much more diverse and interesting.
    However, there are two MAJOR problems with the game that knock its rating down severely.
    The first is that the game is incredibly easy to 'break'. It's not as if the game is that difficult anyway, but certain combinations of the equipment you collect make the protagonist, Alucard, practically invincible. And I'm not talking about right at the end of the game, I'm talking about not that far in.
    The second is the utterly horrible American 'dub'. The graphical style of the game is clearly Japanese, from the in-game graphics as you play, to the static images/portraits in the menus, to the box art itself... But rather than release the game with a dual language/subtitles option, we had to endure some of the most cringe-worthy spoken dialogue ever put into a video game. It's almost if someone directing the 'rent a voice' actors was saying to them 'no, that's far to enigmatic and resonant, do it again and this time make yourself sound whiny and pathetic'. I never could understand that, but a Japanese language version has never been made 'officially' available in the West... For shame!    … Expand
  2. Alucart
    Jan 21, 2006
    5
    Played, finished it with the 197% completion rate, but never found it being an exciting game. Maybe it's because of the reason that I finished Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow not so long ago and they make this one to feel somewhat lacky, messy and boring. That, or this game is just over-rated. One thing is for sure (okay, two things): The voice acting is indeed Played, finished it with the 197% completion rate, but never found it being an exciting game. Maybe it's because of the reason that I finished Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow not so long ago and they make this one to feel somewhat lacky, messy and boring. That, or this game is just over-rated. One thing is for sure (okay, two things): The voice acting is indeed _horrible_ (it's a common fact) and the game's plot was really uninteresting (or badly attached in the game).… Expand
  3. Iluvatar21
    May 3, 2014
    7
    HOW I RATE: 10-9 score: perfect or near-perfect don't exist; 8 score: one of the best games ever. Top score; 7-6 score: great but not one of the best; 5-below score: serious flaws.
    ===========
    An incredible adventure. Very engaging and fun.
  4. camptownrangers
    May 30, 2015
    6
    It's a good game, just incredibly overrated. Aria/Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia are far better games and honestly make Symphony of the Night feel quite boring. At the end of the day there's nothing that SotN does that you won't find much better in the newer entries.

    That being said though, Richter mode in SotN is still loads of fun.
  5. eded9999
    May 21, 2023
    7
    I wanted to replay this to see how it has aged. Still a decent game, tho:
    >Lots of details and secrets that are up to the player to discover. There's no holding hand here.
    >Awesome soundtrack >Huge bestiary >That big "true ending" gimmick it's amazing, i remember that blow my mind when i play it for the first time. But some aspect have aged poorly, mainly: >The bosses, kind of    I wanted to replay this to see how it has aged. Still a decent game, tho:
    >Lots of details and secrets that are up to the player to discover. There's no holding hand here.
    >Awesome soundtrack
    >Huge bestiary
    >That big "true ending" gimmick it's amazing, i remember that blow my mind when i play it for the first time.

    But some aspect have aged poorly, mainly:
    >The bosses, kind of basic and limited, compared to modern metroidvanias, you can just face tank 90% of bosses
    >And the dumb/cringe dialogues.    … Expand
  6. Cancery1987
    May 2, 2023
    7
    This game fun but very easy, some weapon so imba and I hate loading time
    I think Aria of sorrow better
    Music 9/10
    Graphic 9/10
    Gameplay 8/10
    Bosses 6/10 (Very easy)
    No newgame+ or hardmode, Luck mode made game very easy
  7. GVB
    Dec 21, 2022
    7
    Ok, if Castlevania III was a step ahead in the Castlevania games, this is a game-changer. Maps, backtracking, level progression (Castlevania II also has one, but it was terrible), and characters with dialogueS, in plural. One of them even talk with you in more than three occasions!!! Ejem. But, seriously, is good and fun and not so hard as his predecessors.
  8. leofravoline
    May 10, 2022
    5
    Ele é até divertido, mas é um pouco limitado pelo seu tempo não por culpa dele, deveria ter um modo de acessibilidade que ao menos marcasse no mapa qual chave abre qual porta, ter que ficar zanzando pelos cenários procurando o caminho a seguir e dar de cara com vários becos sem saídas não é divertido.

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PS1 Game of 1997
2
#2 Most Discussed PS1 Game of 1997
1
#1 Most Shared PS1 Game of 1997

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. GMR Magazine
    90
    A certifiable classic. [Feb 2003, p.97]
  2. PSX Nation
    96
    Not to be missed.
    Read full review
  3. netjak
    95
    With at least four known endings, Symphony's already astounding replay value is entirely phenomenal.
See all critic reviews »