10 Reasons Symphony of the Night Still is the Ultimate Metroidvania

When you’re talking about the hallowed halls of Metroidvania history, there are two titles that almost always come up as the foundation of the genre. One is the iconic SNES game Super Metroid and the other is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Both have had a lifespan well beyond most titles their age.

They also happen to be two of my favorite games ever in what I consider to be one of the greatest gaming families out there. While I rarely revisit titles, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night makes its way back into my rotation every couple of years. I just can’t quit it. I consider it to be a nearly perfect title that’s stood the test of time for a number of reasons. Let’s dive into just some of the things that make it such a perfect gaming experience.

10 Art Direction

Goth but Not Hot Topic Goth

Symphony of the Night came out during the PS1 era of home consoles. It was time when most games were going for a more polygonal, 3D rendered look. SotN instead kept it old-school by making a 32-bit pixelated masterpiece. Keeping the series 2D and pixelated made it feel like a natural continuity in the franchise.

The perfectly gothic atmosphere of Dracula’s castle and eerie features of the zombies and ghosts that dwelled in it are iconic in no small part to the game’s character designer, Ayami Kojima. Her baroque style artistry matches the game’s vibes and ties everything together.

9 An Iconic Soundtrack

Ecclectic And Tasteful

Composer Michiru Yamane really cranked up the heat when she made the soundtrack to Symphony of the Night. Its mix of classical composition and modern heavy metal guitar riffs that’s extremely complimentary to the game’s dark atmosphere.

The Prologue song from the OST is actually an excellent example of how intense and dynamic the songs can get. Another great example of the soundtrack’s dynamics is how Yamane takes a song like Marble Gallery, which has a very jazzy vibe with its percussive organ and driving bass line, and turns it into an orchestral theme with a choir later with Tower of Mist. It still to this day stands as one of the best game soundtracks of all time.

8 Alucard

The Day Walker

While Alucard may be one of the laziest named characters in all of gaming history, (it’s just “Dracula” spelled backwards!) he has become iconic to Castlevania fans. It’s true that most games in the series feature someone from the vampire hunting Belmont bloodline as the main protagonist, but Alucard had been playable in 1989’s Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse. This time, though, it was his turn to take a bite into being the main character.

Part of what makes the son of the prince of darkness perfect for taking out his old man is that he never feels less than extraordinary throughout the whole. Sure, you have to level up and learn new skills, but you already start out as a much, much paler version of Blade essentially; a human-vampire hybrid with supernatural skills that only grow stronger as you progress.

7 Exploration

It's A Big Castle

What good Metroidvania game doesn’t involve exploring and re-exploring every nook and cranny of a map? Dracula’s castle was vast and everything from the deepest, dankest sewers to the highest towers were ready for investigation.

Of course, as is custom in this genre, there were a number of areas that could not be reached without acquiring the right item or ability, making backtracking essential. SotN, in particular, did a great job of making the reward for finally figuring out how to do something to get that next area feel like a real ah-ha moment.

6 Amazing Boss Fights

Scary Monsters And Super Creeps

Castlevania has always been known as a game with plenty of big, bad monster bosses, but Symphony of the Night really took it up a notch. There was a new level of strategy and challenge that reflected the newer RPG elements of the game.

You may take on Dracula and even death itself in SotN, but I think Galamoth is a much better example of just how tough some of these boss brawls could get. It’s not uncommon to stumble upon areas or enemies that you’re not quite ready to take on, but this super-sized beast was tough even after I was fairly OP. That fight still stands out to me to this day as one of the few times I needed internet help to beat it.

5 RPG Elements

The Enjoyable Grind

This wasn’t the first Castlevania game to have RPG mechanics, but it did perfect them in a number of ways. Being able to swap out weapons, armor, and other trinkets to make an ideal build for whatever situation you found yourself in was a welcome addition.

On top of that, you now gained XP for taking out enemies, which meant you could now grind to get even more powerful if you were into that sort of thing. And how could you not love the cool rainbow effect on Alucard every time you leveled up?

4 Storytelling

Going Viral

“What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!” It’s a phrase that’s gone on to be synonymous with Symphony of the Night and a heavily used meme, helping to further cement the game’s legacy in pop culture. But beyond that, one line is one of the first truly fleshed-out stories in the Castlevania series.

In general, the series had a solid, if not straightforward legacy that the game was able to build upon, but the PS1 allowed for things like voice acting, which helped to enrich Alucard’s tale. The twist of having to face off against Richter Belmont in what many thought was the final battle was a brilliant piece of storytelling in and of itself since it flew in the face of everything Castlevania had established previously.

3 Combat Mechanics And Abilities

(In Matt Berry Voice) BAT!

Using the right gear in the right situations was key to getting through everything in SotN, but you had plenty of options to choose from at any given moment. You could do a sword and shield combo, dual wield daggers, or just straight up punch some medusa heads with brass knuckles.

Alucard was also able to master supernatural shape-changing abilities. In Castlevania 3, he was able to turn into a bat, but in SotN that was expanded upon by having him acquire additional wolf and mist forms as you progressed. It was similar to the way Samus would find things like the morph ball in Metroid to help unlock new areas. It was a far cry from the standard whips of past entries.

More Than Wall Meats

As any good fan would know, there’s bound to be a delicious looking turkey somewhere in the walls of Dracula’s castle. But that’s hardly a secret when compared to everything else that you could find buried in the nooks and crannies. For instance, if you used gravity boots to lift the librarian enough times, he’d hook you up with fancy secret gear.

It’s truly an investment to find every secret that there is to discover, but it’s an enjoyable one. I’ve played through SotN a number of times over the years and I always feel like I forgot or missed something along the way. Which is one of the reasons I keep coming back, but there was one big secret that, if missed, meant you really only played half the game…

1 An Upside Down Castle

Flipping The Script

Many people probably played all the way through SotN, killed Richter and thought that was that, but it was only the halfway mark. If you equipped the Holy Glasses before taking on Richter and took out the evil orb controlling him, your life was about to get flipped turned upside down quicker than the Fresh Prince’s.

If you wanted to get the real ending, you’d have to fight your way through the whole castle again, only this time the map was completely inverted vertically. It was devious and brilliant, and I don’t think there’s a more iconic moment in any Metroidvania before or since then.