A confession. I’ve been playing video games for a long time. Since the early 90’s. I have had a long and fruitful relationship with gaming and actually wish I had began writing, blogging and forming friendships in the gaming community earlier because I have enjoyed it immensely.
However, the downside to opening up about my gaming exploits is the occasional confessions of not playing a couple of classics that have been celebrated not only for years but for decades.
One of those games I have never played (but literally have had without a case since the early 2000’s) is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. A game you pretty much cannot go without seeing mentioned in pretty much every single, “Greatest Games of all time lists”.
So.. I decided to bust it out. Blow off the cobwebs and go beat the fuck out of Dracula.
But it didn’t work that way. No… not at all.
If you underestimate this game as a simple 2-D scroller this game will punish you. It’s dense, complicated, difficult and addicting.
In a time wheee it seems most indie developers are turning back the clock and pumping out beautiful and well written 2-D games, SotN couldn’t have aged better. The soundtrack is immaculate. The gameplay easy to pick up but deep enough to keep you engaged. I’m a grinder by nature from Final Fantasy but I have found it almost as rewarding SotN.
With a story that is deep and full of plot twists and crazy ass bosses this game is well worth looking into if you have missed it. I know it’s cult like status has inflated the prices on the hard copy these days but it’s been released on the Xbox 360, ps4, psp and android. And – there’s always emulators. It is absolutely worth the ass kicking it will give you.
Overall: 86% (BRONZE)
Year Released: 1997
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
System(s): PlayStation
Type of Third Person Game: Hack n’ Slash/ Metroidvania
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