Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

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Jolly Morning. I have been spending some good times on playing Symphony of the Night. Considering how much I loved the Castlevania DS games, it's pretty cool to play the game that inspired them, and to see where most of the enemy mobs are from. Saying this, you will see many a familiar mobs and see where the DSvanias got their inspiration from.

 

Without spoilering the fun, I hit the halfway mark last night. I am Level 27 on my Alucard and kicking all sorts of ass. As DSvania vets know, you will have plenty of new abilities to unlock, that will in turn let you find more hidden and inaccessible areas. The Gear selection is pretty nice, as are the familiars. Your familiars will level up when you have them out during kills, and they get better as they level up as well.

 

There are a few means to get this game now, as the original was a PSx title. It is available on XBLA, Sega Saturn (extra content, JP only release), and it is an unlockable in the Dracula X Chronicles on PSP. The changes are pretty minor and can be found on Wikipedia SotN page. I decided to play the PSx version on my PSP, as that felt the most natural for the original release feel.

 

The only issue I have found on the PSx version, is using the Scorpion teleporter, and entering the Eastern side of the castle. For whatever reason, coming out of the door into the tower there will sometimes lock up the system. If you move fast enough out of the door, you can dodge the lockup, but it's still ghetto. :frl: Also a minor issue, but the background music seems to randomly not play. Sound effects are 100% fine, but the music thing is weird.

 

Besides that glitch, that I mitigate by using save points, I love this game. Highly advised, especially if you have rocked the 3 DSvania releases to completion and hunger for more adventure. I also actually have this on my Xbox, but the 4/3 gameplay with a background just didn't work for me. Having Symphony of the Night in a mobile format makes it feel right to me. :yar:

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Clear save @ 199.7%. 17 hours on my PSP run. :ninjawub: :cookie: