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Incredible old-school 2-D gaming from Konami

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 11, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania: SOTN is an amazing game! Konami has put together this huge 2-D installment of the popular Castlevania game series. This game has beautiful graphics, great play control, a huge and interesting quest, and lots of replay value. Those who miss the old 2-D games of the past will love Castlevania:SOTN. Even if your new to video games and are used to 3-D, you will still enjoy this game. BUY IT!

wholly addictive

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 12, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Ignore the cheesy voice-overs at the beginning, and the highly confusing intro. This game has incredible gameplay (a la Dark Castle for the Mac), great music, and set design. I spent many, many hours on it. It just keeps getting better as you play it.

A must for Castlevania fans!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 12, 1999
Author: Amazon User

This game is large enough to keep you busy. It is not exactly easy but it's not impossible either. The music and graphics set the scene well. Anyone who is a fan of the old versions of Castlevania will love this game, too.

difficult but fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: November 12, 1999
Author: Amazon User

A great horror type game for those who are into monsters and wierd beasts.Although if has some difficult areas it it easy to use and hours of fun

Not what I expected

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 19
Date: November 20, 1999
Author: Amazon User

After reading dozens of highly favorable reviews for SOTN, I was ready to go out and buy it. I decided to rent it first, and I'm glad I did.

Anyone who has played a Castlevania game will be familiar with the theme. Walk and jump around in a 2D side-scrolling platform while incurring minimal damage from creepy looking enemies. And then there's the RPG-ish aspect of managing an inventory of magic, weapons, shields, etc.

I was disappointed with the graphics. To be fair, I got tired of the game quickly, so I'm sure I missed a lot of the later levels. But what I saw was pure vanilla; it reminded me a LOT of Castlevania IV for the SNES visually. And since the SNES version came out 7 or 8 years ago...well, let's just say I expected a lot more from the Playstation version.

Nothing exceptional about the controls. Character movements are responsive, and the item inventory screen is fairly intuitive.

Of course, there are cinematic scenes to help with the story, but it's pretty crude stuff. And the story doesn't make much sense at all. Don't get me started on the BAD, BAD voice acting!

The music is quite good, and helped establish a spooky ambiance. Some of the sound-effects are great, but others are lousy -- low sampling rates...and just plain cheesy.

Overall, I don't even think it was worth $5 for the rental, but at least I didn't end up buying it. Fans of the series obviously like this game, but as always, I'd recommend renting before buying.

Amazing, one of the best PSX title, if not...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: November 30, 1999
Author: Amazon User

...one of the best games ever! If you don't buy this you're just not a gamer. The side scrolling 2D graphics lack some parallax, but are very detailed and the color palette is really well chosen. Just remember bosses like Galamoth, or that giant corpse thing surrounded with flies, or the superb Cathedral... The soundtrack is also one of the best (Konami DOES have an incredible musical data), each track save two (including the out of place credits ending, but don't let it cloud your judgment, the game rules) fit each scene perfectly and are very memorable. The gameplay is also sleek, with lots of exploration- and never has a Castlevania character been so playable! Alucard can shift forms, cast spells, slash his sword swiftly and jump in a way so precise it'd make his predecessors squirm. Symphony of the Night is an instant classic, and sadly is probably the last 2D Castlevania... aka, quite possibly the last great Castlevania.

Addictive and fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 02, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Castlevania, Dracula's cursed home, has once again appeared in the world of the living, and this time a Belmont has summoned it into existence! Now it is up to you, Alucard, son of Dracula, to banish Dracula and his castle from our world once again.

This game is an instant classic. Hours of gameplay, hundreds of items, weapons, sheilds, and artifacts to find, many levels to explore and several bosses to fight. To the first-timer, this game is a challenging maze filled with creepy monsters and cryptic puzzles. Finding your way around is as fun as listening to the ultra-cheesy dialogue between the characters. The bosses will be tough, as you slowly discover their weaknesses and yours.

To the returning player, SOTN is a whole new challenge to find all the hidden items you were sure not to find (without looking thru strategy guides) the first time through. Secret weapons, newfound strategies, and magic spells will make the game a little easier, but much more fun.

I love the original Castlevania games, which is why I appreciated the 2D scrolling view so much more than the 3D environment of Castlevania 64. While SOTN may not be as challenging as C64, it is definatley more fun to play over and over again. This is the kind of game that you can play to death, and then forget about for months, but as soon as you see it played again or hear someone talk about it, you just have to start playing it again. In fact a friend just borrowed my copy, and as soon as I saw him playing it, I almost went out and bought myself another copy that day! Very addictive.

I would recommend this game over C64 any day of the week. You will not be disappointed.

A great sidescroller/Rpg!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 08, 1999
Author: Amazon User

This game blends sidescrolling gameplay, with the Experience points system, to create a new blend of Action/RPG.

First I'll talk about the graphics. This is a 2D game, however it still has wonderfully smooth graphics, and stunning special effects. Out of 10, on the graphics, i give them an 8.7

Next i'll discuss the storyline. The storline in this game may seem a little... done-it-before, but, it actually proves to be very interesting. As Alucard, you play Dracula's son. You must go through his whole castle, and destroy him. Along the way, you'll find tons of secrets, Cool spells, And hard bosses. For storyline, i give it a 9.0

Now for sound. The sound in this is defently the strongest part. The sound is simply the best music i've ever heard in a game soundtrack. It's better than FF7-surprising as it may seem. The only weak point, was the sub-standard voice acting, but hey, you'll live with it. For sound, i give this game a 9.9

Overall, this is one of the greatest games I've ever played period. It blends classic Sidescrolling adventure, with Rpg Gameplay. It's a superb blend indeed. It's also the longest game i've ever played... It outta take you about 90 hours to beat, with most of the secrets. If your a fan of good games in general, this game is for you.

An unbelievably overhyped game

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 29
Date: December 25, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I find it amazing that people believe this is one of the best games of all time. I've also heard people say that if you're not absolutely glued to your controller playing it for 100 hours straight, then you're not a "true" gamer. Give me a break! As 2D games go, Castlevania: SOTN is a very good looking and sounding game. I'll give it that. But the game, even with all its graphic splendor, is just not that much fun after the first few hours. It's just incredibly repetitive. Run into a room, kill some baddies, repeat. And the voice acting can be best described as "laughably lame." THIS is a classic? I had TONS more fun with Diablo. I'm not going to trash anyone who wants to spend dozens of hours playing this game, but I think your time is much better spent on one of the many incredible RPG's available on the Playstation, like Final Fantasy VII or VIII. For diehard Castlevania fans only.

Castlevania, Time to Battle the Forces of Evil!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 27, 1999
Author: Amazon User

In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night you are Alucard (notice Dracula spelled backwards) You are his son, an offspring of Dracula and a mortal woman. Castlevania has arisen once again from the mist and Alucard was awakened from his slumber. Now it is up to you to save the world. The graphics are the best to date for Castlevania. Solid side-scrolling game. Rich variety of weapons, armor and items. Beautiful musical score. The usual baddies along with many new ones and HUGE bosses. Very nice story-line, different from the normal Castlevania you are _____Belmont, save the world storyline. My only complaint is that you can beat the game rather quickly after your first time through. Still this is one of the best Castlevanias.

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