Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Review

Alucard has several abilities including magic spells, the traditional subweapons and multiple throwing items and melee weapons. You gain experience from every kill increasing maximum HP, MP and Heart capacity for subweapons when you level up. Enemies drop items or money that can be used to buy new items, weapons, armor, maps and tactics to use against enemies. Relics can also be obtained which give powers to transform into a wolf, a bat, or a cloud of mist. Relics also offer the ability to summon familiars, display enemy information and help Alucard access new areas by double jump and surviving in water. Alucard also has a quick back dash activated by the push of a button.

The castle itself is immense with many environments including a colosseum, various towers, a library and catacombs. Once the castle is completed with the right

Seems like it would be easier to fight with your head on your shoulders?	Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is one of the most heralded Castlevania in the series, with good reason. Appearing on all time Top 10 lists everywhere, this game truly is one of the best. Following in the steps of the original Metroid playing style, there is a large map where new items must be used to access previously unopenable areas. There are many secret areas, tons of weapons, huge bosses, a large variety of enemies and great play control to get through it all.. At the beginning of the game you are thrust as Richter Belmont into a boss fight with Dracula. The scene fades to Maria Renard wanting to find out what happened to Richter after he won because he has disappeared. She begins petitioning Alucard to help her find him. Through the rest of the game, you play as Alucard, Dracula's son, which if you haven't noticed by now, Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards.
Alucard has several abilities including magic spells, the traditional subweapons and multiple throwing items and melee weapons. You gain experience from every kill increasing maximum HP, MP and Heart capacity for subweapons when you level up. Enemies drop items or money that can be used to buy new items, weapons, armor, maps and tactics to use against enemies. Relics can also be obtained which give powers to transform into a wolf, a bat, or a cloud of mist. Relics also offer the ability to summon familiars, display enemy information and help Alucard access new areas by double jump and surviving in water. Alucard also has a quick back dash activated by the push of a button. The castle itself is immense with many environments including a colosseum, various towers, a library and catacombs. Once the castle is completed with the right	From underground chambers to stained glass cathedrals.
series of events the castle can be inverted and gone through again with harder enemies, new environments and more vicious bosses which also leads to the better ending. On March 21, 2007 Symphony of the Night became downloadable through Xbox 360 and the Live Marketplace for 800 points (about $10.) This new version offers widescreen capability and enhanced or original graphics. Using my video capture card you will have to look closely to see the difference between the original and enhanced pictured below. It's mainly just smoothed-in textures and bolder colors. Hopefully you can at least tell that the original is on the top.
I play this game through about once a year. It's a great action game with a lot of things to collect and places to explore. If you haven't had a chance to play this game, find a way to do it.