03-13-2020, 12:26 PM
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Review
<div style="margin: 5px 5% 10px 5%;"><img src="https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night-review.jpg" width="820" height="615" title="" alt="" /></div><div><p><strong>S</strong><em>ymphony of the Night</em> launched on the original Sony PlayStation (PSX) in an era that seemed to hail the end of 2D games. With Mario gone three dimensional the previous year and the <em>Legend of Zelda</em> soon to make the switch, releasing a 2D platformer seemed incredibly shortsighted. But Konami knew exactly what they were doing.</p>
<p>Of course, <em>Symphony of the Night</em> quickly became a cult hit and is now a frequent contender for the top of <em>“greatest games of all time”</em> lists. It launched not one but two well-received trilogies on Nintendo handhelds and became grandfather to its very own subgenre: the ‘metroidvania’. As the indie revolution arrived, the freedom, creativity, and room for narrative that the metroidvania formula offered within a 2D space led to an explosion of games in this style.</p>
<p>Where would modern indies be without <em>Cave Story</em> and <em>Shadow Complex</em>?</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night-review.jpg" alt="Castlevania Symphony of the Night Maria" width="820" height="615"></p>
<p>Emerging from this indie scene, mobile gamers have seen some phenomenal ‘metroidvania’ and metroidvania-inspired titles. Underwater variant <em>Aquaria</em>, beautifully animated <em>Dust</em>, criminally underrated <em>Dandara</em>, rougeish <em>Dead Cells</em>, the fantastic mobile exclusive <em>Grimvalor</em> and even Apple Arcade game <em>Shinsekai</em>. The continuous, iterative gameplay of the genre makes it a great fit for hardcore gamers playing on mobile. It is now the perfect time to revisit the game that inspired them all: <em>Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.</em></p>
<p>Presumably as part of a promotion for the third season of the surprisingly good Netflix anime series, Konami has just dropped a mobile port of <em>Symphony</em> executed by the experts at Dotemu. The version hitting mobile is the same one that came with PSP title The <em>Dracula X Chronicles</em>. Compared to the PSX original, it has an ‘improved’ script and voice acting that loses some of the original’s b-movie jankiness (including the infamous line: <em>“What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!”</em>) Players who remember the original may be disappointed, but overall it’s for the best. You do also get the option to play as Richter or Maria from the start.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night-review-1.jpg" alt="Castlevania Symphony of the Night Cutscene" width="820" height="615"></p>
<p>Other differences from the classic are refined item menus that function with touch controls and higher-resolution text and (static) artwork. In terms of live assets, the game’s pixels are chunkier than the retro games that have lifted its style. Played on a larger screen, you may be surprised by how few tiny squares the original animators had to work with. That said, the animation holds up. It’s incredibly detailed and lifelike for the era, and a masterclass for today’s pixel artists.</p>
<p>Gamers without dedicated controllers will be stuck with on-screen controls, of course. These are not ideal – you have a simple touch pad rather than the more-intuitive swipe-anywhere controls used by games like <em>Dead Cells</em>. The jump button is easy to hit, but the various attack buttons are fiddly-er. There are a few allowances made to touch gamers: hotkeys are available for the spells and transformations, although one does wonder why it’s still d-pad-up+attack to use special weapons. The touch controls are also not customizable for sizing and position, which is a weird oversight for an experienced developer of emulated classic games to make.</p>
<p>The game works best with a dedicated controller, naturally. One bizarre choice is binding the map to a flick (in any direction) of the second analog stick, especially when L2 is just sitting there doing nothing.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night-review-2.jpg" alt="Castlevania Symphony of the Night Game Over" width="820" height="615"></p>
<p>But the game itself? It’s still incredibly good. You have a massive, varied castle map that’s literally twice as big as you think and packed with details that tell you a story without the need for lengthy cutscenes. It’s challenging, but not frustrating, with plenty of secrets for hardcore gamers. Combat, especially boss combat, requires thought, skill, and judicious use of your abilities. There’s some light RPG elements in building your stats and finding new equipment. Yes, there are ways to break the game and make Alucard incredibly overpowered, but honestly that’s part of the fun. This version is even enhanced with the ability to instantly continue from the last room you entered rather than get dragged back to the last save point. (If this gets you stuck in a tight spot, you can reload from the last hard save.)</p>
<p>At a mere three dollars at launch, this is definitely the cheapest <em>Symphony of the Night</em> has ever been, unless you fancy scouring garage sales for the original CD-ROM. Even with the poor on-screen controls, I’d say it’s worth trying at that price. If you missed the original, it’s a chance to experience one of the pillars of a now-trending genre. If you remember it fondly, that’s a small price to pay for the waves of nostalgia you’ll feel from hearing That Music and fighting That Boss again. If you do have a controller, you have no excuse. Get this game now. Maybe if enough people buy it, a port of <em>Rondo of Blood</em> will be just around the corner! </p>
</div>
https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/2020/03/...ht-review/
<div style="margin: 5px 5% 10px 5%;"><img src="https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night-review.jpg" width="820" height="615" title="" alt="" /></div><div><p><strong>S</strong><em>ymphony of the Night</em> launched on the original Sony PlayStation (PSX) in an era that seemed to hail the end of 2D games. With Mario gone three dimensional the previous year and the <em>Legend of Zelda</em> soon to make the switch, releasing a 2D platformer seemed incredibly shortsighted. But Konami knew exactly what they were doing.</p>
<p>Of course, <em>Symphony of the Night</em> quickly became a cult hit and is now a frequent contender for the top of <em>“greatest games of all time”</em> lists. It launched not one but two well-received trilogies on Nintendo handhelds and became grandfather to its very own subgenre: the ‘metroidvania’. As the indie revolution arrived, the freedom, creativity, and room for narrative that the metroidvania formula offered within a 2D space led to an explosion of games in this style.</p>
<p>Where would modern indies be without <em>Cave Story</em> and <em>Shadow Complex</em>?</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night-review.jpg" alt="Castlevania Symphony of the Night Maria" width="820" height="615"></p>
<p>Emerging from this indie scene, mobile gamers have seen some phenomenal ‘metroidvania’ and metroidvania-inspired titles. Underwater variant <em>Aquaria</em>, beautifully animated <em>Dust</em>, criminally underrated <em>Dandara</em>, rougeish <em>Dead Cells</em>, the fantastic mobile exclusive <em>Grimvalor</em> and even Apple Arcade game <em>Shinsekai</em>. The continuous, iterative gameplay of the genre makes it a great fit for hardcore gamers playing on mobile. It is now the perfect time to revisit the game that inspired them all: <em>Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.</em></p>
<p>Presumably as part of a promotion for the third season of the surprisingly good Netflix anime series, Konami has just dropped a mobile port of <em>Symphony</em> executed by the experts at Dotemu. The version hitting mobile is the same one that came with PSP title The <em>Dracula X Chronicles</em>. Compared to the PSX original, it has an ‘improved’ script and voice acting that loses some of the original’s b-movie jankiness (including the infamous line: <em>“What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!”</em>) Players who remember the original may be disappointed, but overall it’s for the best. You do also get the option to play as Richter or Maria from the start.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night-review-1.jpg" alt="Castlevania Symphony of the Night Cutscene" width="820" height="615"></p>
<p>Other differences from the classic are refined item menus that function with touch controls and higher-resolution text and (static) artwork. In terms of live assets, the game’s pixels are chunkier than the retro games that have lifted its style. Played on a larger screen, you may be surprised by how few tiny squares the original animators had to work with. That said, the animation holds up. It’s incredibly detailed and lifelike for the era, and a masterclass for today’s pixel artists.</p>
<p>Gamers without dedicated controllers will be stuck with on-screen controls, of course. These are not ideal – you have a simple touch pad rather than the more-intuitive swipe-anywhere controls used by games like <em>Dead Cells</em>. The jump button is easy to hit, but the various attack buttons are fiddly-er. There are a few allowances made to touch gamers: hotkeys are available for the spells and transformations, although one does wonder why it’s still d-pad-up+attack to use special weapons. The touch controls are also not customizable for sizing and position, which is a weird oversight for an experienced developer of emulated classic games to make.</p>
<p>The game works best with a dedicated controller, naturally. One bizarre choice is binding the map to a flick (in any direction) of the second analog stick, especially when L2 is just sitting there doing nothing.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/castlevania-symphony-of-the-night-review-2.jpg" alt="Castlevania Symphony of the Night Game Over" width="820" height="615"></p>
<p>But the game itself? It’s still incredibly good. You have a massive, varied castle map that’s literally twice as big as you think and packed with details that tell you a story without the need for lengthy cutscenes. It’s challenging, but not frustrating, with plenty of secrets for hardcore gamers. Combat, especially boss combat, requires thought, skill, and judicious use of your abilities. There’s some light RPG elements in building your stats and finding new equipment. Yes, there are ways to break the game and make Alucard incredibly overpowered, but honestly that’s part of the fun. This version is even enhanced with the ability to instantly continue from the last room you entered rather than get dragged back to the last save point. (If this gets you stuck in a tight spot, you can reload from the last hard save.)</p>
<p>At a mere three dollars at launch, this is definitely the cheapest <em>Symphony of the Night</em> has ever been, unless you fancy scouring garage sales for the original CD-ROM. Even with the poor on-screen controls, I’d say it’s worth trying at that price. If you missed the original, it’s a chance to experience one of the pillars of a now-trending genre. If you remember it fondly, that’s a small price to pay for the waves of nostalgia you’ll feel from hearing That Music and fighting That Boss again. If you do have a controller, you have no excuse. Get this game now. Maybe if enough people buy it, a port of <em>Rondo of Blood</em> will be just around the corner! </p>
</div>
https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/2020/03/...ht-review/