Got it when it came out in the green-spine Greatest Hits series for $20, loved it, and haven't stopped playing it since. Definitely a desert-island top-10 pick.
I'm 40 also , and the SOTN, is one of my top 5, so many memories and good time. My #1 game is Bloodborne, Bloodborne is the game Miyazaki literally went inside my head and take everything I wanted as a game and created.
I'm almost 48 and never played any of them, probably won't have time to play them properly until I'm around 55. I've always known of them since the 80's but never got around to them because I used systems that they were never truly developed for.
The first time I played this game was from Dracula X Chronicles on PSP. After I unlocked the game it was very hard to go back to Rondo of Blood, but I didn’t mind at all. My first Metroid-vania was Aria of Sorrow so it was nice to see how Castlevania started evolving from there.
Yep, Castlevania is actually one of my favorite games of all time. It's at least in my top 5. I also bought it for my phone but man, the Touchscreen controller is so hard to use so I just gave up playing it on mobile
Little known thing about the Sword familiar, at a certain point leveling it up, it'll become an equipable item and it's quite strong. And it gets stronger leveling it to 99
I believe the most powerful weapon is to equipping the Alucard shield, and shield rod. When done correctly, it will combine all the shields abilities all-in-one! U will be invincible, gain energy and more. Depending how much magic he had and your abilities. All in all the game was a masterpiece! And for those of you that had a surround sound system, thundering subwoofers, 5.1 surround, 6.1 surround, play 42 band equalizer where you can adjust the frequency response to hear the low end bas subsonic, pretty much Taylor the sound to your desire! Words can't describe how magnificent the three dimensional sounds... And this includes every single game console!
In the inverted castle, there's an enemy in the library called the "schmoo", keep killing one till it drops one of the best weapons in the game: the crisaggream.
@@elleCX01 - That one, too. Lesser demons spawn like crazy in the inverted alchemy rooms, so there's a higher chance of getting the holbein dagger from slaying all of them.
Yeah I played this for the first time I think it was 2013. Was very impressed with it! Also I had already played all the gba and ds castevanias. So this being the first one and so good, really wowed me
Classic! My favorite thing about the castle is how it feels like a real place. Like, I can imagine each section as a real room in an ungodly big mansion. Not a lot of metroidvanias do that, instead often feeling like loosely connected biomes.
@@lh9591I mean, fusion was very intentionally designed to be linear and not have the same structure of previous games. The linearity works specifically for the atmosphere and narrative the game was going for. I get if you prefer other games in the series, I do too, but those things are important parts of how the game is designed, not mistakes, so fusion isn't a good game to demonstrate your point.
One of the most revered games of all time and it brings me so much happiness to see that you enjoyed this game as so many others have. Love your approach to this review with your attire, darker makeup, and a glass of wine to match the gothic theme. Your appreciation and attention to detail in video games is always a breath of fresh air compared to other UA-camr reviews(lol I wrote this just before you mention it at 11:00). Thank you for gracing us with this great review during the month of October!
@@Cannotbetamed1 I was waiting for the line, "What is a man?" and you throwing your wine glass at 1:17. That would have been awesome, but a waste of good wine.
@@Cannotbetamed1 I’m going to have to recommend it again, I will every year. The Historian, by Elisabeth Kostova. It is the law, the burning leaves smell and fog. Ooooooohh! Spooooky.
I first got a PS1 with this game in 1998... the first game that made me see how good gaming could be(I had a SNES with simple games like mario and fighting games) ... I was a really small child at the time; still I beat it and discovered the inverted castle. When I told people at school they didn't believe me and the next day: they were all like: "thank you so much".
*"What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!"* But enough talk! Another great review here, Pam! *Played and finished this game in 100% completion back in the summer of '98.* Nothing but good memories. ❤
@Nat20 Damage 200.6%. That last secret room in the clock tower was so frustrating, yet so satisfying when I got it. I just wish I still had that save file somewhere.
@@Cannotbetamed1 I’ve had this downloaded on my ps4 for more then a year. Just hadn’t gotten around to playing it. Almost forgot I had it. Thanks for reminding me Pam. I’m gonna start playing it this weekend. Symphony of the Night awaits!
@@davezanko9051 I remember getting that final 0.1% needed for the 200.6% completion and it ended up being the tiniest corner in a room already fully explored! Still such a great game though!
This game was the reason I bought a Playstation. It was October 24, 1997, a Friday, and my best friend walked home with me after school. It started snowing rather intensely, in what would turn out to be a historic blizzard. It was unsafe to drive, so they stayed the night and we watched movies. The next morning, we decided to go get a PSX and SotN... but first we had to dig out a path to the nearest driveable road. We shoveled nonstop for 5 hours, and then very, very carefully drove a perilous path to a nearby store which was, surprisingly, not closed. Then, prize in hand, we went back into the deep dark depths of the unfinished basement and played... passing the controller back and forth upon each death. We didn't see sunlight again until days later when the castle, and the snow, had been banished. ... and it still holds up surprisingly well today. Most other games of the time are pretty bad now, especially the early 3D titles, but SotN is kind of timeless.
@@Haywood-Jablomie more like copied many of the ideas like a "true" ending unlocked only doing some cryptic things, unlocking secondary characters, even had many of the same weapons and inventory. I liked them all, but SotN was lightning in a bottle, never thought the GBA or DS games were ever quite as good as this game, but they were still pretty good.
Wouldn’t say improve. All following games focused on particular systems. SOTN did not do this. Familiars, spells, special attacks with certain items, Shield rob, way more secrets and Easter eggs than any handheld games. Many sprites were even ripped for this game. None had better graphics because they were scaled down handhelds.
@@thomasbeall9069 yeah, I don't think the portables ever came close to matching SotN. I did like the plot twist in Aria of Sorrow and how it took Castlevania in a new direction with a new main character Soma Cruz for a couple of games. But SotN is the standard for Castlevania games and still to this day has to be in any conversation of greatest Metroidvanias of all time.
One of the best two dimensional non linear action adventure map based platform games there is! And the boss battles are really impressive in this one, I love the ball of bodies!
Great job on how you put the video together with the music. It’s been over two decades since I last played it. Thanks for bringing back many great memories from 1997…
Brilliant video, put together with love and care and the game deserved a quality and honest review and you did it justice. Thank god you cannot be tamed.
If you can, try to find an original version for it. Ever since they remade it for newer consoles they updated the voice dialouge which is inferior to the original voices IMO
Ohh this brings back memories. Friend of mine showed it to me on his PS1, I borrowed and played it to completion on an emulator. Way back in 2000. Later I bought it on the PSP with the Rondo of Blood remake. I must have played it from start to finish about 5 times.
What amazing timing, I just started replaying this game a couple days ago as part of my Castlevaniathon for October. I love this fucking game so much, it's easily one of my favorite ever.
My fav thing about this video is that you came back to this game after all these years, having never really gotten into it during it's prime! Really shows how it held up over the years! Great video as always. This is easily in my top 10 favorite games!
Oh Pam. You really hit the nostalgia nerve with this one. The latter years of highschool for me was playing this gem, among others on the PS. The art is just something to behold. It's such a shame that the trend at the time with that tech were 3D games. I seriously feel that 32 bit 2D games didn't get their moment. Oh well, after watching this video I feel like playing SOTN with a nice glass sangria now.
I sat and watched my mate play this , each night he’d pop round and progress. I recall thinking we were nearing the end and he found some glasses and accessed the upside down castle
The OG Metroidvania. I always get my Castlevania on in the month of October. Shoutout to Interview with a Vampire. I highly recommend Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen as well! Like an retro-vampire Zelda with great writing/voice-acting. 👍
OG is 1986 Metroid or 1988 Castlevania 2 Simon's Quest, but this game is up there with one of the most refined and inventive games in the genre, along with Super Metroid.
Metroid is Metroidvania minus the “vania”, Simons Quest is Metroidvania minus the Metroid. SotN combined elements of both and is often considered the OG for that reason.
@Tom Ffrench Duck Tales was more like an action platformer. It requires you to nail jumps or instant death. Metroidvanias generally don't feature that as falling down a pit usually means a new area to explore.
I remember buying this when it came out back in the day, was just an impulse buy, had no idea if it was good or not. I was hooked on it for hours, everything in the game just meshed so well. Bought the soundtrack years later.
Love this game a lot, and I felt so happy playing Bloodstained since that game carries the same DNA with some interesting twists. Great job on the video! Hope you'll do Ecclessia someday.
The 8 bit bloodstained games are great. I couldn't even get into the 3d one enough to finish it more than one time and I didn't even finish everyrhing.
I had this game for the Saturn back in the day. I never played it much. I found a port for the Xbox 360 and downloaded it for the series x. I haven’t stopped playing it.
13:23 Everyone always talks about "Bloody Tears" or "Vampire Killer", but "Wandering Ghost" is by far my favorite song from any of the Castlevania games. You're the first person I've ever heard actually reference it, and I love you for that haha. I used to listen to it on loop for ages back in the day. That said, the entire soundtrack is far and away one of the best.
Now this is music to my ears as I’m in a Castlevania kick at the moment. SoTN is crazy expensive but it’s one of those titles I’ll be getting before the year is out.
Could get it cheap as a download on Xbox or PS4, I really wish the Castlevania Requiem on PS4 had a physical copy though as it has SotN and also has Dracula X Rondo of Blood PC Engine version, which never got a physical release in the US. Well unless you count the PSP remake which could unlock the original game. SotN is my fave exploration based Castlevania, Rondo of Blood is my favorite traditional action platformer Castlevania. Wish there was a physical copy of that two game collection.
@@TheGebs24 yeah, I have a physical copy (which I am NEVER selling) and I have purchased it on Xbox and PS4 as downloads to get all acheivements and trophys, but never got the full complete map, there is a trick to do it, I never bothered with. Its just one of those games I will revisit forever.
The inventory concern you brought up is partly solved in the Saturn version, you can equip single use items to the L Trigger. I wish they implemented this in the later versions with the couple of other Saturn additions. Alas, it was not to be so.
But Saturn has a loading pause before and after opening the main menu, and the map can only be viewed from the main menu. So depending on how you set up your emulator, it can be even more of a chore.
@@clessili This is no longer relevant. There are several patches that fix the problem with loading the pause menu and calling the map. For example, this one: ua-cam.com/video/kfRD7AfcSHU/v-deo.html
I remember getting this for my birthday the year it came out. I just moved and didn't have many friends, so Alucard and I spent a LOT of time together.
Oh my God this game!!! One of the 2 amazing games that created the term "metroidvania". I loved it. I have to note one thing here. Playing Dark Souls 1 and 3 recently, it kind of gave me the same sense Symphony of the Night did. Castlevania Symphony of the Night is surely one of the best games for the original PlayStation and one of the best games ever made. It has aged like fine wine over the years thanks to it's incredibly good pixel art, engaging gameplay, unbelievable soundtrack an innovative design for a Castlevania game. One of the best games ever. Thank you Pam for bringing it into attention for the newer players. Great review! (Trivia: Map exploration rating goes beyond 200%,.In the Saturn version you can also play as Maria Renard and Richter Belmont from the beginning of the game. Symphony of the Night is a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (released in Japan) for the NEC - PC Engine CD, which is also a great game with great attention to detail and super impressive soundtrack, considered by many the best classic Castlevania game)
The Souls games along with Bloodborne are probably the closest we're going to get to a 3D Symphony of the Night. The exploration and atmosphere are definitely there.
Great review Pam! I hope sometimes soon you'll also review Rondo of Blood. It has amazing music and a bunch of secrets (alternate route, alternate character, secret super attack, save all maidens sidequests, pay arena to view boss strats, etc.) that make it really special. SotN you don't casually sit down and beat in a single sitting, but Rondo is really fun to do just that once you get used to it.
@Tom Ffrench yeah, I just view it as two genres, the Metroidvania and the OG action platformer for Castlevania. Metroid has a similar issue in the Metroidvania is the OG games, but the FPS adventure games were the Prime series. Other M is sort of a 2.5 D mix of the two.
Back in the day we were peeling layers from the mansion with no real central place on the internet to discuss it. Was awesome just discussing it and figuring it out.
I exactly love the attention to details you mention! Makes it a pleasure to replay, keeps the brain from getting bored. Probably a necessity for a game like this
SoTN is the only non Mario or LoZ game that my wife ever beat 100%. She's still way better at it than me haha, it's definitely the best Castlevania in my opinion.
It was great and laid down the formula. I might argue that Dawn of Sorrow is better but SOTN is a landmark. The only Vania I would put over it is Super Vania IV
For what would be the first of many "Metroidvania" games, SOTN is a classic that holds up till this day. I've played many versions of the game, and I do enjoy them. I do wish IGA had recreated his own versions of the 2 new rooms, enemies and items for the PSP/PS4 that were released on the Saturn version. I could understand him not wanting to use those Saturn additions because they were design by a different team and he considers them inferior and not unifying with the rest of the game's aesthetics and looked out of place. But it would have made for the ultimate edition.
The insane attention to detail in all aspects of this game is what really made me fall in love with it. I remember how even years after playing through it multiple times, I could still find some new secret, item, or detail. The game isnt perfect, but it does perfectly sum up why the genera is now called metroidvania
The time, effort and energy that you put into each video us beyond me. Down to the smallest detail is great! This definitely one of my favorites to play.
SOtN was one of those "Threshold moments" in gaming for me. The music, the atmosphere, the gameplay all felt so epic in scale compared to the older 8bit games I knew. Alucard was such goals for me in high school, lol. I remember reading in a game magazine about Maria being playable in the Japanese version and was always mad about missing out on that!
I love how this is basically a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood, even though the gameplay and structure were big changes for the series. It's a direct point of transition between Classicvania and Modernvania. You can explain Castlevania just by citing these two games.
Great video, as usual. As for me, I prefer the Saturn version: 2 new areas, 3 selectable characters from the beginning, more items and, last but not least, the godspeed boots that make you complete the second castle faster. But on the PlayStation or on the Saturn, this game is an absolute masterpiece, a reference that brought something new in the industry: the superiority of a polished 2D game over a dull 3D game. And let me tell you this, my friends, at the time of the first PlayStation era, that was mindblowing!
I actually just completed all of the achievements on my Series X about a month ago (despite owning the original on PS1). Wishing I could continue playing this game, I went and purchased Bloodstained Ritual of the Night and have no regrets
I bought Symphony of the Night in october 1998, and I was mesmerized by that game! I spent entire days playing it, instead of doing my homework. Very nice review!
Very nice review as always Pam! I love that outfit and your makeup you chose for this video, very beautiful and classy with the glass of wine as well. SotN is just a fantasic game that I did discover early on when my friend who recommended the game to me gave me a copy of the ps1 game for my birthday. I do enjoy the later ports (even though that changed the voice acting) and added Maria as a playable character as well. I too enjoyed exploring every inch of both castles and felt very satisfied when opting to take on the strongest (But optional) boss in the game: Galamoth and winning that tough battle. I hope after watching this video, more gamers do play this game and enjoy what it has to offer because it does have the best strong points in a video game, with some minor nitpicks but nothing that ruins the experience. Im glad you gave this one another go and fully enjoyed your time with it 🙂
Yeah, he can be a bit tricky, even at a high level. I dont remember what level i was back then but I do recall having the following handy for the battle: Resist thunder items, plenty of healing items, and the Crissagrim weapon
For the clockwork room with medusa heads, wear the armor that prevents you from being turned to stone. Also use some magic to clear the other monsters. You will be less frustrated.
Great review. I still think this is the best game in the series. The quality of the graphics and detail could not be matched by future Castlevania games. Had a lot of fun playing this game.
I usually playthrough this game once every year or so, its simply up there as the best of the best in its genre along with Super Metroid. Recent years Hollow Knight, Ori 2, and the recent Metroid Dread have challenged those classics.
@@aegisreflector1239 never made it through the entire game. Luv the pixel art, but I think it tried too hard to be like a 2D Dark Souls but it never really hooked me. Maybe I need to try it again?
I think Hollow Knight and Blasphemous greatly surpassed both Super Metroid and SotN. That doesn't make the older games worse, they are still great, but these two are beyond everything.
@@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898 those games are more challenging, I didn't get too far into Blasphemous to really critique it other than it didn't hold my interest. HK is fantastic, but is kind of slower paced in its exploration than many other Metroidvanias. Overall though, Super Metroid is a shorter game, but wonderfully paced. It has moves/abilities that you learn as you go that require practice to master, example, wall jump was intentionally made difficult to do, so many gamers won't even know you can do it right away, where it works almost like a controller motion move during a timed jump. Also it essentially created the genre and still holds up. SotN really was inventive in creating multiple endings, unlocking extra gamplay/second map, had fantastic music. Everyone is entitled to their opinion what game sthey enjoy more, but independent of one's taste in games, Super Metroid and SotN are the queen and king of the genre in inventing much of how we play those type of games today.
I spent a year or 2 and about 100 hours trying to figure out how to get outside the castle! There was a pic of it on the back of the case or in a magazine! I became obsessed with it! Finally like 20 years later with YT! You can see how to do the glitch. I was stoked but at the same time!... soooo let down it was why I couldn't find it
I still remember that day when I rented the game thinking it was a classic linear Castlevania and being completely blown away! I had just made the switch from the terrible N64, and this game along with Mega Man X4, Alundra, Breath of Fire III and so many others proved to me that the PlayStation was the true followup to the SNES.
"Red, red wine... stay close to me, don't let me be alone, it's tearing apart my blue blue heart." I remember seeing Alucard very elegant compared to other vampire killers; also discovered the Dark Metamorphosis just by moving back and forth without having any clue about it, later on I realized you can unlock these magics since the beginning, and that they are registered in the menu . I didn't like entirely the Coyote-Wolf shape (I wanted something more aggressive), but I keep great memories of the game in the overall. I cannot believe SOTN is that old. Cheers!
This game, and super Metroid at the time they came out,way ahead of their time, plus alot of bad stuff in my life when playing these games, along with other games, just to name a couple, resident evil and the Japan sotn for Sega Saturn, love them so much, and I did finish Metroid dread, it would be great if u review that game, ty .
As a child, i always wanted to play this game. I got the chance many years later and i never imagined i would be completing it 200.6% multiple times. Never getting tired of it.
Great review Pam. I always play Castlevania SOTN when I have the free time. How about reviewing Akumajou Dracula X Chi No Rondo (Castlevania Rondo of Blood)? The game that started Castlevania SOTN.
I might have told you about the time, I bought SotN in a bargain bin aty local mall in 2004. Still couldn't not believe it. Just wished that we could have a localized version of the Japanese version that was released on the Sega saturn here. It contained more content.
"What IS a *man*?! ...a miserable pile of secrets!" *Smash glass* "BUT ENOUGH TALK!! HAVE AT YOU!!!!"
Goth Pam is an instant click. And SOTN is such a masterpiece that I have to watch.
That thumbnail tho…
I'm a little surprised you didn't begin with "I'm a simple man..."
I love Pam's Goth drip.
Thirsty
I won’t lie, you are pretty much correct.
Speaking about the soundtrack, there's a secret bonus track you can listen to if you put the game disk in a regular CD player.
"As you can see, this is a PlayStation black disc..." -Alucard: ua-cam.com/video/QeM7paJ17YM/v-deo.html
The other tracks contain data so dont play them... but you probably wont listen to me anyway
will you?
a lot of PS 1 games had hidden music tracks too.
Whoa dude
The first time I played this game was 15+ years after it came out and it was still one of the best games I had/have ever played.
Got it when it came out in the green-spine Greatest Hits series for $20, loved it, and haven't stopped playing it since. Definitely a desert-island top-10 pick.
just bought it on ps5's spring sale for 3 dollars and i am finally accepting that i need sleep at 5 am with the castle inverted. i love it.
I'm 41, played a shitload of great games, from Wolf3D to Demon's Souls Remake, SOTN is in my top 5 games of all time
Am 40 now. i play this game back in 1998, i remember i complete the game about 50 times.....
Nice :) good Taste! It's still One of the best rpg's ever made!
I'm 40 also , and the SOTN, is one of my top 5, so many memories and good time.
My #1 game is Bloodborne, Bloodborne is the game Miyazaki literally went inside my head and take everything I wanted as a game and created.
I'm almost 48 and never played any of them, probably won't have time to play them properly until I'm around 55.
I've always known of them since the 80's but never got around to them because I used systems that they were never truly developed for.
It's also in my top 5. But not #1 (that goes to Xenogears).
The first time I played this game was from Dracula X Chronicles on PSP. After I unlocked the game it was very hard to go back to Rondo of Blood, but I didn’t mind at all. My first Metroid-vania was Aria of Sorrow so it was nice to see how Castlevania started evolving from there.
The greatest Castlevania ever. No matter what's going on in my life, I always find time to revisit this game. I even have it on both my phones.
You need 2 phones? Lol 😆👍
Yep, Castlevania is actually one of my favorite games of all time. It's at least in my top 5. I also bought it for my phone but man, the Touchscreen controller is so hard to use so I just gave up playing it on mobile
How is the mobile port? Are you able to use a controller with it?
@@agreedboarart3188 if their is a way, I couldn't find how to use it..and the Touchscreen controls made the game unplayable for me
@@ZamWeazle yeah dude, battery life is a b****!
I absolutely love that outfit! This game is too effin awesome. The music, finding items, boss fights...the spells it just can't get much more perfect
Little known thing about the Sword familiar, at a certain point leveling it up, it'll become an equipable item and it's quite strong. And it gets stronger leveling it to 99
Not to mention the super powerful Sword Brothers spell....
I believe the most powerful weapon is to equipping the Alucard shield, and shield rod. When done correctly, it will combine all the shields abilities all-in-one! U will be invincible, gain energy and more. Depending how much magic he had and your abilities. All in all the game was a masterpiece! And for those of you that had a surround sound system, thundering subwoofers, 5.1 surround, 6.1 surround, play 42 band equalizer where you can adjust the frequency response to hear the low end bas subsonic, pretty much Taylor the sound to your desire! Words can't describe how magnificent the three dimensional sounds...
And this includes every single game console!
In the inverted castle, there's an enemy in the library called the "schmoo", keep killing one till it drops one of the best weapons in the game: the crisaggream.
Yes!!
It’s so damn satisfying to shred enemies with the Crissaegrim!
@@newavejunkie especially when you get 2!
Or... you can get the hobein dagger from the Lesser Demons instead for a budget crissaegrim
@@elleCX01 - That one, too. Lesser demons spawn like crazy in the inverted alchemy rooms, so there's a higher chance of getting the holbein dagger from slaying all of them.
It's kinda amazing how good this pixel art still looks and animates today.
Yeah I played this for the first time I think it was 2013. Was very impressed with it! Also I had already played all the gba and ds castevanias. So this being the first one and so good, really wowed me
This game isn't just a Metroidvania. This is the game that spawned the term Metroidvania.
Classic! My favorite thing about the castle is how it feels like a real place. Like, I can imagine each section as a real room in an ungodly big mansion. Not a lot of metroidvanias do that, instead often feeling like loosely connected biomes.
Yes! It’s more cohesive than other games like this for sure.
And in some cases, literal manufactured biomes, like in Metroid Fusion.
Doesn’t have that fluid connectivity like Super Metroid.
@@lh9591I mean, fusion was very intentionally designed to be linear and not have the same structure of previous games. The linearity works specifically for the atmosphere and narrative the game was going for.
I get if you prefer other games in the series, I do too, but those things are important parts of how the game is designed, not mistakes, so fusion isn't a good game to demonstrate your point.
Greatest game ever made by humans.
How do you know it was made by humans?
Nope. It's made by bloodsuckers.
It's complete 🗑
I disagree. Fallout New Vegas is the greatest game ever made
@@Yes_Fantasy_419 Nah. Not even the best Fallout.
One of the most revered games of all time and it brings me so much happiness to see that you enjoyed this game as so many others have. Love your approach to this review with your attire, darker makeup, and a glass of wine to match the gothic theme. Your appreciation and attention to detail in video games is always a breath of fresh air compared to other UA-camr reviews(lol I wrote this just before you mention it at 11:00). Thank you for gracing us with this great review during the month of October!
So glad you enjoyed it
@@Cannotbetamed1 I was waiting for the line, "What is a man?" and you throwing your wine glass at 1:17. That would have been awesome, but a waste of good wine.
OH SHIT IT'S MISTER BELMONT
@@Cannotbetamed1 I’m going to have to recommend it again, I will every year.
The Historian, by Elisabeth Kostova.
It is the law, the burning leaves smell and fog. Ooooooohh! Spooooky.
Hey Rich, wheres the party ? 😄
I first got a PS1 with this game in 1998... the first game that made me see how good gaming could be(I had a SNES with simple games like mario and fighting games) ... I was a really small child at the time; still I beat it and discovered the inverted castle. When I told people at school they didn't believe me and the next day: they were all like: "thank you so much".
*"What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets!"*
But enough talk! Another great review here, Pam!
*Played and finished this game in 100% completion back in the summer of '98.*
Nothing but good memories. ❤
@Nat20 Damage 200.6%. That last secret room in the clock tower was so frustrating, yet so satisfying when I got it. I just wish I still had that save file somewhere.
Thanks!
@@Cannotbetamed1 I’ve had this downloaded on my ps4 for more then a year. Just hadn’t gotten around to playing it. Almost forgot I had it. Thanks for reminding me Pam. I’m gonna start playing it this weekend. Symphony of the Night awaits!
@@davezanko9051 I remember getting that final 0.1% needed for the 200.6% completion and it ended up being the tiniest corner in a room already fully explored! Still such a great game though!
Exactly
FunFact: Richter is voiced by Chris Redfield's VA from RE1
I knew that voice sounded familiar.
Literally one of my absolute faves. I replay it annually and Michiru Yamane’s score is just *chef’s kiss* Thanks for giving the game some love.
That light from the wine glass is hypnotizing.
Epic thumbnail! So badass. Never played SotN but it’s high on the list for sure.
Happy early birthday !!!
Thank you! And yes, happy early birthday.
@@Cannotbetamed1 thanks Pam!
Pam's talking about the masterpiece that is SOTN? This is gonna be good!
This game was the reason I bought a Playstation. It was October 24, 1997, a Friday, and my best friend walked home with me after school. It started snowing rather intensely, in what would turn out to be a historic blizzard. It was unsafe to drive, so they stayed the night and we watched movies. The next morning, we decided to go get a PSX and SotN... but first we had to dig out a path to the nearest driveable road. We shoveled nonstop for 5 hours, and then very, very carefully drove a perilous path to a nearby store which was, surprisingly, not closed. Then, prize in hand, we went back into the deep dark depths of the unfinished basement and played... passing the controller back and forth upon each death. We didn't see sunlight again until days later when the castle, and the snow, had been banished.
... and it still holds up surprisingly well today. Most other games of the time are pretty bad now, especially the early 3D titles, but SotN is kind of timeless.
Great rpg elements , great item system , and possibly the greatest soundtrack of all time
I prefer the GBA and DS games because most of them expanded and improved on this game. But SOTN is still super great
@@Haywood-Jablomie more like copied many of the ideas like a "true" ending unlocked only doing some cryptic things, unlocking secondary characters, even had many of the same weapons and inventory. I liked them all, but SotN was lightning in a bottle, never thought the GBA or DS games were ever quite as good as this game, but they were still pretty good.
Wouldn’t say improve. All following games focused on particular systems. SOTN did not do this. Familiars, spells, special attacks with certain items, Shield rob, way more secrets and Easter eggs than any handheld games. Many sprites were even ripped for this game. None had better graphics because they were scaled down handhelds.
@@thomasbeall9069 yeah, I don't think the portables ever came close to matching SotN. I did like the plot twist in Aria of Sorrow and how it took Castlevania in a new direction with a new main character Soma Cruz for a couple of games. But SotN is the standard for Castlevania games and still to this day has to be in any conversation of greatest Metroidvanias of all time.
Pam is beautifully dressed and you know what that means.... VAMPIRES!
She can bite me anytime
Teal'c: "Indeed"
@@makaveli4205 What makes you think she hasn’t!!!
All hail Count Von Pamula.
I echo basically everything here. Wonderful game, and I am glad you went in on the appropriate look for the video. Very Halloween-season vampire.
I remember playing through this classic over Christmas'97
One of the best two dimensional non linear action adventure map based platform games there is! And the boss battles are really impressive in this one, I love the ball of bodies!
The bosses are so good. I also love that big zombie guy hanging from the ceiling.
@@Cannotbetamed1 the one with those giant disgusting flies? That boss probably gave me the most trouble, until I grinded.
@@Cannotbetamed1 Beelzebub: Lord of the Flies.
ahhh 22 years playing this game and I just dont get tired. Great review :)
Thanks
I only played this game for the first time about 3 years ago. And it was still one of the best games I've ever played.
Great job on how you put the video together with the music. It’s been over two decades since I last played it. Thanks for bringing back many great memories from 1997…
Brilliant video, put together with love and care and the game deserved a quality and honest review and you did it justice. Thank god you cannot be tamed.
I still go back to this every now and then.
Always love me some game-appropriate dressup, lipstick and all, very fitting.
And to a great game to boot.
Check her Vampire Masquerade Bloodlines review. 😉
Great review. I got the game on my PS4. You made me want to replay it!
I almost feel bad for not playing this yet. Gotta change that soon!
Awesome review!
Thanks!
If you can, try to find an original version for it. Ever since they remade it for newer consoles they updated the voice dialouge which is inferior to the original voices IMO
@@LeeEverett1 Ah I see! I do have the original version on the PS1, hooked up with an RGB cable. Looks so good!
Ohh this brings back memories. Friend of mine showed it to me on his PS1, I borrowed and played it to completion on an emulator. Way back in 2000. Later I bought it on the PSP with the Rondo of Blood remake. I must have played it from start to finish about 5 times.
What amazing timing, I just started replaying this game a couple days ago as part of my Castlevaniathon for October. I love this fucking game so much, it's easily one of my favorite ever.
My fav thing about this video is that you came back to this game after all these years, having never really gotten into it during it's prime! Really shows how it held up over the years! Great video as always. This is easily in my top 10 favorite games!
Oh Pam. You really hit the nostalgia nerve with this one. The latter years of highschool for me was playing this gem, among others on the PS. The art is just something to behold. It's such a shame that the trend at the time with that tech were 3D games. I seriously feel that 32 bit 2D games didn't get their moment.
Oh well, after watching this video I feel like playing SOTN with a nice glass sangria now.
You do look like someone who plays with themselves, a lot.
I guess you'd know.
I sat and watched my mate play this , each night he’d pop round and progress. I recall thinking we were nearing the end and he found some glasses and accessed the upside down castle
The OG Metroidvania. I always get my Castlevania on in the month of October. Shoutout to Interview with a Vampire. I highly recommend Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen as well! Like an retro-vampire Zelda with great writing/voice-acting. 👍
OG is 1986 Metroid or 1988 Castlevania 2 Simon's Quest, but this game is up there with one of the most refined and inventive games in the genre, along with Super Metroid.
Love me some Blood Omen!
Metroid is Metroidvania minus the “vania”, Simons Quest is Metroidvania minus the Metroid. SotN combined elements of both and is often considered the OG for that reason.
@Tom Ffrench Duck Tales was more like an action platformer. It requires you to nail jumps or instant death. Metroidvanias generally don't feature that as falling down a pit usually means a new area to explore.
The large skeleton biting sound is still the greatest video game sound effect ever.
I remember buying this when it came out back in the day, was just an impulse buy, had no idea if it was good or not. I was hooked on it for hours, everything in the game just meshed so well. Bought the soundtrack years later.
I bought it for just being a castlevania game and it soon became my favorite.
I remember playing this game for the first time and was blown away. The score for this game is amazing and is in my top 5 video game scores.
Love this game a lot, and I felt so happy playing Bloodstained since that game carries the same DNA with some interesting twists. Great job on the video! Hope you'll do Ecclessia someday.
The 8 bit bloodstained games are great. I couldn't even get into the 3d one enough to finish it more than one time and I didn't even finish everyrhing.
@@cuylshepherdton7437 Haha you suck! Ritual Of The Night is hundred times better than that Curse Of THe Moon bullshit!
I had this game for the Saturn back in the day. I never played it much. I found a port for the Xbox 360 and downloaded it for the series x. I haven’t stopped playing it.
13:23 Everyone always talks about "Bloody Tears" or "Vampire Killer", but "Wandering Ghost" is by far my favorite song from any of the Castlevania games. You're the first person I've ever heard actually reference it, and I love you for that haha. I used to listen to it on loop for ages back in the day. That said, the entire soundtrack is far and away one of the best.
Have you heard "Slash", and not Opus 13 that always gets labeled as Slash
Wandering Ghost is my favorate track, i have it stored on my playlist. It's Jazzy,Smooth and very dancable.
Now this is music to my ears as I’m in a Castlevania kick at the moment. SoTN is crazy expensive but it’s one of those titles I’ll be getting before the year is out.
I hope you have good luck finding a copy for a decent price!
Could get it cheap as a download on Xbox or PS4, I really wish the Castlevania Requiem on PS4 had a physical copy though as it has SotN and also has Dracula X Rondo of Blood PC Engine version, which never got a physical release in the US. Well unless you count the PSP remake which could unlock the original game. SotN is my fave exploration based Castlevania, Rondo of Blood is my favorite traditional action platformer Castlevania. Wish there was a physical copy of that two game collection.
@@hepwo91222 Yeah you’re right but I’m the kind of girl who is a collector is physical games. I know it’s weird right?! Lol
@@TheGebs24 yeah, I have a physical copy (which I am NEVER selling) and I have purchased it on Xbox and PS4 as downloads to get all acheivements and trophys, but never got the full complete map, there is a trick to do it, I never bothered with. Its just one of those games I will revisit forever.
The inventory concern you brought up is partly solved in the Saturn version, you can equip single use items to the L Trigger. I wish they implemented this in the later versions with the couple of other Saturn additions. Alas, it was not to be so.
So you recommend the Saturn version over the PlayStation for new players ? :)
While the game aged well overall, there’s quality of life improves that could be utilized. Hopefully the game gets a solid remaster at some point.
But Saturn has a loading pause before and after opening the main menu, and the map can only be viewed from the main menu. So depending on how you set up your emulator, it can be even more of a chore.
@@67fabs No, more for experienced fans.
@@clessili This is no longer relevant. There are several patches that fix the problem with loading the pause menu and calling the map. For example, this one:
ua-cam.com/video/kfRD7AfcSHU/v-deo.html
I remember getting this for my birthday the year it came out. I just moved and didn't have many friends, so Alucard and I spent a LOT of time together.
☺👍
He's a great pal!
Oh my God this game!!! One of the 2 amazing games that created the term "metroidvania". I loved it. I have to note one thing here. Playing Dark Souls 1 and 3 recently, it kind of gave me the same sense Symphony of the Night did. Castlevania Symphony of the Night is surely one of the best games for the original PlayStation and one of the best games ever made. It has aged like fine wine over the years thanks to it's incredibly good pixel art, engaging gameplay, unbelievable soundtrack an innovative design for a Castlevania game. One of the best games ever. Thank you Pam for bringing it into attention for the newer players. Great review! (Trivia: Map exploration rating goes beyond 200%,.In the Saturn version you can also play as Maria Renard and Richter Belmont from the beginning of the game. Symphony of the Night is a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (released in Japan) for the NEC - PC Engine CD, which is also a great game with great attention to detail and super impressive soundtrack, considered by many the best classic Castlevania game)
The Souls games along with Bloodborne are probably the closest we're going to get to a 3D Symphony of the Night. The exploration and atmosphere are definitely there.
Oh man, the commentary on the wolf form. I cannot. I LOL'd so hard. As always, excellent video!
Thanks!
Great review Pam! I hope sometimes soon you'll also review Rondo of Blood. It has amazing music and a bunch of secrets (alternate route, alternate character, secret super attack, save all maidens sidequests, pay arena to view boss strats, etc.) that make it really special. SotN you don't casually sit down and beat in a single sitting, but Rondo is really fun to do just that once you get used to it.
I replay this once every 3-4 years or so never gets old
Yup. This is the quintessential Castlevania game. Definitely in my top 15 games from the 90's.
probably top 15 games of all time for me, maybe top 5 from the 90's along with Super Metroid, SF2, Zelda OOT, DKC2
@Tom Ffrench yeah, I just view it as two genres, the Metroidvania and the OG action platformer for Castlevania. Metroid has a similar issue in the Metroidvania is the OG games, but the FPS adventure games were the Prime series. Other M is sort of a 2.5 D mix of the two.
Back in the day we were peeling layers from the mansion with no real central place on the internet to discuss it. Was awesome just discussing it and figuring it out.
While all other 1997 games are ignored these days, this gem stood the test of time. It's like a fine wine.
this and FFVII
I exactly love the attention to details you mention! Makes it a pleasure to replay, keeps the brain from getting bored. Probably a necessity for a game like this
SoTN is the only non Mario or LoZ game that my wife ever beat 100%. She's still way better at it than me haha, it's definitely the best Castlevania in my opinion.
But did she beat it at 200%?
🤔 I Vonder Vhy ?
It was great and laid down the formula. I might argue that Dawn of Sorrow is better but SOTN is a landmark. The only Vania I would put over it is Super Vania IV
I really like your channel’s energy and writing. The glass of wine was a perfect cherry on top.
Thank you
For what would be the first of many "Metroidvania" games, SOTN is a classic that holds up till this day. I've played many versions of the game, and I do enjoy them. I do wish IGA had recreated his own versions of the 2 new rooms, enemies and items for the PSP/PS4 that were released on the Saturn version. I could understand him not wanting to use those Saturn additions because they were design by a different team and he considers them inferior and not unifying with the rest of the game's aesthetics and looked out of place. But it would have made for the ultimate edition.
This is one of the greatest games ever made. I try to play through this game at least once every other year.
A true masterpiece. Really cool to play Rondo of Blood first and follow through with this one, which is a direct sequel.
One of my favorite games! Thank you pam!
Thank you ma'am. It may have been years in the making but we knew eventually you would review the greatest metroidvania ever made.
The insane attention to detail in all aspects of this game is what really made me fall in love with it. I remember how even years after playing through it multiple times, I could still find some new secret, item, or detail. The game isnt perfect, but it does perfectly sum up why the genera is now called metroidvania
The time, effort and energy that you put into each video us beyond me. Down to the smallest detail is great! This definitely one of my favorites to play.
Thanks so much
Granfaloon and Beelzebub are the 2 gnarly boss battles. They look insane!
One of the greatest game ever made. Crystal teardrop, the best track in my opinion.
I was just watching your metroidvania ranking and this video get posted, nice, one of my favorite games ever
SOtN was one of those "Threshold moments" in gaming for me. The music, the atmosphere, the gameplay all felt so epic in scale compared to the older 8bit games I knew. Alucard was such goals for me in high school, lol. I remember reading in a game magazine about Maria being playable in the Japanese version and was always mad about missing out on that!
For the knock back, there's an item in the game that stops it from happening, you see your shadow getting knocked back.
I love how this is basically a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood, even though the gameplay and structure were big changes for the series. It's a direct point of transition between Classicvania and Modernvania. You can explain Castlevania just by citing these two games.
I'm at a loss of words, you're elegant way of description and true nature are just super fun to click on your channel.
Awesome review btw
Thank you so much
Their are some good Castlevania games on game boy advance. This is one of the best. I like your makeup.
Thanks!
Pam you put in a ton of effort on these videos and it shows. Thanks!
Great video, as usual. As for me, I prefer the Saturn version: 2 new areas, 3 selectable characters from the beginning, more items and, last but not least, the godspeed boots that make you complete the second castle faster. But on the PlayStation or on the Saturn, this game is an absolute masterpiece, a reference that brought something new in the industry: the superiority of a polished 2D game over a dull 3D game. And let me tell you this, my friends, at the time of the first PlayStation era, that was mindblowing!
Thanks for reviewing my favorite game ever. Always glad to see another hunter's opinion on the hunt for Dracula.
I actually just completed all of the achievements on my Series X about a month ago (despite owning the original on PS1). Wishing I could continue playing this game, I went and purchased Bloodstained Ritual of the Night and have no regrets
I bought Symphony of the Night in october 1998, and I was mesmerized by that game! I spent entire days playing it, instead of doing my homework.
Very nice review!
The soundtrack is amazing! 🎶♥️
One of your best reviews yet Pam. Keep them coming; loved the format on this one. You can tell that you enjoyed making this video. Loved it!
Thank you!
Very nice review as always Pam! I love that outfit and your makeup you chose for this video, very beautiful and classy with the glass of wine as well. SotN is just a fantasic game that I did discover early on when my friend who recommended the game to me gave me a copy of the ps1 game for my birthday. I do enjoy the later ports (even though that changed the voice acting) and added Maria as a playable character as well. I too enjoyed exploring every inch of both castles and felt very satisfied when opting to take on the strongest (But optional) boss in the game: Galamoth and winning that tough battle. I hope after watching this video, more gamers do play this game and enjoy what it has to offer because it does have the best strong points in a video game, with some minor nitpicks but nothing that ruins the experience. Im glad you gave this one another go and fully enjoyed your time with it 🙂
Galamoth was really tough. It took me a few tries to get that one:
Yeah, he can be a bit tricky, even at a high level. I dont remember what level i was back then but I do recall having the following handy for the battle: Resist thunder items, plenty of healing items, and the Crissagrim weapon
For the clockwork room with medusa heads, wear the armor that prevents you from being turned to stone. Also use some magic to clear the other monsters. You will be less frustrated.
Great review. I still think this is the best game in the series. The quality of the graphics and detail could not be matched by future Castlevania games. Had a lot of fun playing this game.
I am a simple man. I see Pam in my feed talking SoTN, I click the like button.
I usually playthrough this game once every year or so, its simply up there as the best of the best in its genre along with Super Metroid. Recent years Hollow Knight, Ori 2, and the recent Metroid Dread have challenged those classics.
What about blasphemous?
@@aegisreflector1239 never made it through the entire game. Luv the pixel art, but I think it tried too hard to be like a 2D Dark Souls but it never really hooked me. Maybe I need to try it again?
I think Hollow Knight and Blasphemous greatly surpassed both Super Metroid and SotN. That doesn't make the older games worse, they are still great, but these two are beyond everything.
@@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898 those games are more challenging, I didn't get too far into Blasphemous to really critique it other than it didn't hold my interest. HK is fantastic, but is kind of slower paced in its exploration than many other Metroidvanias. Overall though, Super Metroid is a shorter game, but wonderfully paced. It has moves/abilities that you learn as you go that require practice to master, example, wall jump was intentionally made difficult to do, so many gamers won't even know you can do it right away, where it works almost like a controller motion move during a timed jump. Also it essentially created the genre and still holds up. SotN really was inventive in creating multiple endings, unlocking extra gamplay/second map, had fantastic music. Everyone is entitled to their opinion what game sthey enjoy more, but independent of one's taste in games, Super Metroid and SotN are the queen and king of the genre in inventing much of how we play those type of games today.
I spent a year or 2 and about 100 hours trying to figure out how to get outside the castle! There was a pic of it on the back of the case or in a magazine! I became obsessed with it!
Finally like 20 years later with YT!
You can see how to do the glitch. I was stoked but at the same time!... soooo let down it was why I couldn't find it
You so need a "what we play in the shadows" series where you play through all...ok, some, of the Castlevanias.
What stuck out for me the most about this game is how freaking OP Maria was.
I still remember that day when I rented the game thinking it was a classic linear Castlevania and being completely blown away!
I had just made the switch from the terrible N64, and this game along with Mega Man X4, Alundra, Breath of Fire III and so many others proved to me that the PlayStation was the true followup to the SNES.
"Red, red wine... stay close to me, don't let me be alone, it's tearing apart my blue blue heart." I remember seeing Alucard very elegant compared to other vampire killers; also discovered the Dark Metamorphosis just by moving back and forth without having any clue about it, later on I realized you can unlock these magics since the beginning, and that they are registered in the menu . I didn't like entirely the Coyote-Wolf shape (I wanted something more aggressive), but I keep great memories of the game in the overall. I cannot believe SOTN is that old. Cheers!
This game, and super Metroid at the time they came out,way ahead of their time, plus alot of bad stuff in my life when playing these games, along with other games, just to name a couple, resident evil and the Japan sotn for Sega Saturn, love them so much, and I did finish Metroid dread, it would be great if u review that game, ty .
Thank you for this beautiful love letter to SotN. I played it many years ago and your review made me remember exactly why I liked it so much.
You're welcome :)
No game is perfect, but this is about as close as it gets. Happy Halloween.
As a child, i always wanted to play this game. I got the chance many years later and i never imagined i would be completing it 200.6% multiple times. Never getting tired of it.
Great review Pam. I always play Castlevania SOTN when I have the free time. How about reviewing Akumajou Dracula X Chi No Rondo (Castlevania Rondo of Blood)? The game that started Castlevania SOTN.
1:15 Wow! I totally remember imagining Tom Cruise as Alucard and Brad Pitt as Richter in a hypothetical live action Castlevania movie as a kid.
I might have told you about the time, I bought SotN in a bargain bin aty local mall in 2004. Still couldn't not believe it. Just wished that we could have a localized version of the Japanese version that was released on the Sega saturn here. It contained more content.
I bought the mobile version, its the most complete version so far, but with bad control
I've been playing this for the first time and it's been so good. Thank you!