This was a major a passion project I wanted to do for some time and it finally happened. Thank you all very much for all the support to make this a reality! If you enjoy this video, give it a like and comment below to assist us with the algorithm too! And Special thanks to @TryJapan for providing us with a ton of retro game store footage featuring Castlevania carts all around to use for this video.
This was fantastic, symphony of the night is one of the games I play over every year lol I can’t help it, a long with final fantasy tactics. Thank you for putting all this information together.
@TheObsessiveGamer You are in for a treat, the game was obviously heavily inspired by Castlevania before the DLC came out, there are a ton of references in the form of enemies, locations, names (character, stage, song names and some other things make references to Castlevania) So, now that they actually got the chance to work with the very thing that inspired them, they made an absolute bomb of a dlc, they know a LOT of obscure shit of the franchise, its honestly surreal, as a fan of the Vania series, i completely lost it when i heard that theme playing, i couldn't believe it when i saw all the things they added... Errm anyway you should really try it.
Robert Belgrade knocked it out of the park as Alucard. He sounded stiff and distant, which 100% tracks for the son of Dracula. He always felt stuck between two worlds, unable to relate to the mortality of humans or the cruelty of vampires.
I preferred the original over the new polished crap. The super hammy Dracula was the beat. Ooohh, how have I been so defeated? As the kids say, chefs kiss
Konami's attitude about this game being 2D illustrates well my frustrations with the mindset of the entire industry back then, I didn't look at 3D games in the same way as so many others like "This is the future, this is all that can exist now!" We missed out on so many great 2D games on the PlayStation and Saturn because of that crap. Both then and now, if a game is fun then I don't care what level or style of graphics are used.
It was a very bad mentality at the time. I am glad IGA stuck to his guns and didn't fold with the rest of the industry. SOTN still looks absolutely beautiful after all these years
Much of the "3D only" directive was coming from Sony themselves, especially SCEA (Sony Computer Entertainment of America) as they tried to discourage 2D development. I think the idea was that the international market didn't want 2D anymore - hence there are lots more 2d games released for the PS1 in Japan than there were internationally, and Konami themselves didn't exactly shy away from 2D in the PS1 era. In addition to SotN, they also made both PS1 Suikodens 2D, many many updates/expansions to the mentioned Tokimeki dating games 2d (and this is a hugely successful franchise in Japan), shooters like Salamander 2 and Gradius Gaiden, and many others.
I can distinctly remember a gaming magazine back in the day that insulted Symphony of the Night because it wasn't in 3D. I was around 8 or 9 at the time and I knew it was a load of garbage.
Honestly, IGA kind of ruined the game too, as he opposed the extra Sega Saturn content. Were I to buy up Konami, then not only would I have added it, but also made even MORE bosses, enemies, areas, and OSTs for the game, and added some more playable characters, including the Maria that was from Castlevania: The Bloodletting, Child Maria, Sony PlayStation Portable Maria, Sega Saturn Maria, the Castlevania: The Bloodletting version of Richter, the rival vampire hunter from Castlevania: The Bloodletting (I would have called him Gottfried Van Helsing), and an OC that is kind of like a super powerful Judeo-Christian type that isn't Roman Catholic, or a traditional type of Christian or Jew from any part of the political spectrum, but also has sass, sarcasm, wit, humor, and attitude.
@paxhumana2015 I agree, but I kind of understand why iga don't want anything to do with the Saturn content. The Saturn content is not something like what he would create, it was very different from what Sotn originally had, like the tree enemy for example, it was so out of place in the Sotn, or even Castlevania universe and very different
Yeah I get IGA not liking the Saturn additions for creative purposes but I do wish he at least would have redone the areas in his own style much as he redid playable Maria.
not only was Robert Belgrade the voice of O.D. in Bloodstained, but if you switch the voice language to Japanese, Alucard's Japanese VA plays the role as well, which was a nice touch.
Let us also not forget that the Carabosse Familiar that is in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is involved with an OST vocal track in that game as well, as Eastern cartoon/anime, Western cartoon/anime, and video game voicing veterans, Cristina Vee (Valenzuela), of Sailor Moon Crystal, and possibly of the Viz Media English dub of the 1990s version of Sailor Moon, sung on that track, as well as contributed to the enemy voices in the game, including those of the Carabosse. The vocal track, however, happens not in the same way, though (but you can still find places to sit in the game, as well as find evil chairs that can lead you to get hurt in places, or heal you if you get it as a familiar), rather, there is a place where there is a piano that you can get it in and let the fairy sing the whole song to get an Achievement/Trophy in the game. However, unfortunately, it is one of the more common errors in being unable to GET said trophy in the game, though.
I was surprised when i saw that this was a video made by a relative small channel, the editing it's on point and it shows that you made your fair share of research, keep it up, I'm glad the algorithm recommend it to me
Oh i wouldn't mind at all a 3d collection,specially the lament and curse of darkness ones,but who knows....after the succes of classic,advance and dominus ones.maybe..😁🦇
Anyone watch the Netflix Castlevania? And notice they put the Alucard Sword special attack in the show? The "down, down-forward, forward, square/circle" move. He teleports behind the enemy and slashes, then teleports back with a red aura/outline. They even did the red outline in the show.
What I really hope is that they release this eventually to newer systems, even PC, like they have almost all the other Castlevania games (collections I went out of my way to purchase). I still remember the shock when I discovered the whole second half of the game and the inverted castle for the first time. That was such an awesome moment to think you reached the end, only for the game to unveil that you were only done with act 1....
Well Castlevania Requiem is your solution if you want to play it on PS consoles, but otherwise i'm surprised they haven't even bothered porting it to anything else. Yeah that was an amazing feeling. I thought I was just unlocking the true ending but NOPE, here is a whole half of the other game. Crazy
Played sotn in its entirety. Solid good game. However if you’re to ask me what I remember most fondly about sotn, it will be the bgm “lost painting”. Yeap.
30:25 - "Mainly due to the Saturn's limitations" - There is a fanmade patch for this game which fixes transparencies, refines the map and fixes many other aspects which prove the Saturn itself was not the limiting factor, but rather the original developer's time/ability was.
Well by limitations in this case, I believe it wasn't so clear cut in make the transparencies doable but rather required extra work to work around it. Basically it had a harder architecture by comparison.
I remember first playing this game when i visited my older cousin, as I didn't have a psone. It was quite difficult back then, as i was quite a young kid. Many years later, I finished the game in full. Unfortunately, my cousin wasn't around anymore. I dont think he ever knew about the inverted castle or the rings in the clock tower, but I hope I'll get to tell him.
@@evilpac2327 heh always a nice feeling when you can beat a game as an adult you couldn't as a kid. Especially this game being a big maze for a kid. Hope you can amaze your cousin with that revelation of the inverted castle :)
Imagine If Toru Hagihara, Koji Igarashi and the entire programming team had had more time to polish these mechanics, or Konami had given them more budget, it would have been even bigger than it already is, While I enjoy the current game, I always, ALWAYS hear about what the game was like in Alpha or Beta and get that feeling that it could have been even more awesome than it already is.
Yeah like I would have really loved to see the others of the Dracula family like Elizabeth Bartley and Gilles De Rais like they wanted. If Succubus can have such a deep importance to her plot, the other two could be pretty wild too
@@jesusadrian759 Agreed! I do hope one day Konami decides to a defintiive verison whereby they take the Dracula X version and add in the Saturn additions too.
You're not wrong, HOWEVER I probably should have better explained that what Iga meant here was that he kept the X as he wanted to make it just look like a spinoff of Rondo of Blood rather than be a main entry. A way to justify the lack of a Belmont. Article here for the full quote: "www.pushsquare.com/news/2012/09/feature_the_making_of_castlevania_symphony_of_the_night"
I find it interesting that "ten" in Japanese is written as "十", very similar to the Roman number "X". So are both games count as the tenth installment?
Oddly enough, Dracula X japanese version for the Super Famicom is titled DraculaXX , which makes no sense, it's not a sequel to Rondo but a remake/remix , it's not the 20th Castlevania either, it's not even set in the 20th century ! I have no idea why they went with that
Good ending, when alucard has the glasses and frees richter, bad ending, when alucard doesn't have the glasses and kills richter and the "I hate richters" ending, when alucard has the glasses, knows that richter is possessed but kills him anyway.
@@BaneKing57 while yeah it does feel a bit out of place, I do still like that calm nature of it for a post-Dracula fight. A sort of "sun has vanquished this horrible night" kinda feel :P
For decades the only place I read any mention of the worst ending audio was the Castlevania dungeon website, which is and always has been a wonderful fan project and the best place for Castlevania fans. Glad to see it’s more widely known about now
@@TheObsessiveGamer not just any Aristocratic Vampire - an Aristocratic Vampire with huge, gigantic BALLZ. Seriously. The manliest Vampire in history. That Vampire Hunter D influence sure was good for the design choices.
@@arciks11 I had a lot of fun playing as Maria. Was nice to see her animals evolve along with her. Wish we'd get her again in a future title, even if it's just to catch a glimpse of her in old age.
Silent Hill fans will recognize Dracula's English voice actor as Michael Guinn, who also voiced Harry Mason in Silent Hill 1. I believe he worked as a voice director/acting coach for Konami at the time.
The original Alucard had black hair? He apparently has the power to do that when he seals his power. I am the Wind and Snake Eater has the same singer? The original English voice acting still sounds cheesy but I like it. The thing I really hate about the PSP version is that Symphony of the Night was not available right out of the box. This is odd since the PSP box advertises Symphony of the Night. You actually have to play a part of Rondo of Blood first and find a hidden item to unlock it which is kind of difficult. Maria did help make this easier and she wasn't too hard to unlock. The hard part is just figuring out how to unlock her.
@@zachtwilightwindwaker596 I mean Alucard I feel can flip his hair however he wished since he can transform, which would explain his black his in CV3. I didn't mind SOTN not being playable out of the box. It was afterall more a bonus to what was a remake of Rondo before playing it's sequel
@@TheObsessiveGamer Some people just want to play Symphony of the Night. I think other versions of the collection do have it playable out of the box (assuming if the game is physical).
@zachtwilightwindwaker596 well that's fair but I imagine they wanted people to play the Classicvania actually, otherwise people may just play SOTN and call it a day lol
Konami was scum for letting go of Iga and also Kojima. But now they seem to tease us alot for the future of Castlevania games and collections. Only Sony got the requiem collection but it would be nice of Konami would release a collection with Rondo with both original languages and both PS1 and Saturn versions all upscaled of course.
Well IGA left on his own tbf but yeah the point stands from their boneheaded decision. He has still expressed interest to make more CV games if Konami asked
@@TheObsessiveGamer Konami put IGA in a position where leaving was the only real option. Japanese companies don't fire people unless they prove negligent, so they make life difficult with reassignments and lower positions until the employee quits. Konami was really bad, since the programmers were outshining the company in popularity
I've really enjoyed this video chronicling the making of what is Castlevania's most famous game in the entire series, I will admit I never got fully into playing Symphony of the Night, but I do love Rondo of Blood that game slaps.
This is amazing! I'm a huge Castlevania fan and loyalist who started playing with Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse, and went on to buy SOTN on its very release date. So I know a lot about the series. But your video showed me things I never knew! Thank you for this! You are awesome! 🙌👌💯
When you got to the music part and you mentioned Dracula's Castle, I was like "nooooo your video is gonna get copyright claimed!" but I don't think it played long enough lol. That extra cut area at the beginning of the castle was in a ROM hack that I have been playing through on my channel. I thought it was kind of odd and I wasn't sure if maybe the mod author just added it because of the difficulty, but it's cool to see that it was originally going to be in the game. Awesome video BTW, instant sub
@@HyperDefective heh yeah only a sample. Though Konami doesn't seem to be as stingy about copyrighted music as say Nintendo lol Is that ROM hack the definitive version of SOTN by chance? Been meaning to try it myself. And thanks dude! :)
@@TheObsessiveGamer Nope it's actually called Castlevania: SotN Reborn. It's insanely hard! I legitimately needed that save point at the beginning or I'd have to do the prologue again lol. Yeah Konami isn't nearly as bad as Nintendo (or Square Enix) when it comes to music. I just always get dinged for Dracula's Castle specifically (probably not even the actual copyright holder, you know how it goes)
24:49 Ahhh yes. The long, ancient battle brought back every century between the forces of overacting vs underacting. . After all Dracula went to Juilliard!!
I'm still pissed off at Konami. Apparently they had a meeting to port symphony of the night on the switch or on phones and they chose phones. Not only that but apparently Sony had a world in that as well. Almost every Castlevania is now on switch all that's left is SOTN the chronicle collection(s) rebirth and legends. All I hope is they release a collection like that on PC and switch. Also they got rid of a $5000 chest in a game that has the most expensive item in Castlevania history the duplicator. But I'm glad even after all these years SOTN is still being talked about and I'm glad to know more about a game that I love and is close to my heart.
Well, to be fair, Nintendo HAS been kind of an a s s h o l e when it comes to IP rights, as well as has also been lazy with its franchises more and more, even in Japan, plus Nintendo and Sony were SUPPOSED to make the PlayStation 1 together, so, yeah, they've had a lot of bad blood between them since that time.
@@Chernobog2 , well, in the Dominus Collection, they actually have a remastered, as well as remade, version of Haunted Castle, so Konami DID do THAT one little favor for us.
I feel like a minority as a huge fan of the new SotN voiceover. It's not only more faithful to the original, but it has also brought us the incredible "Nocturne" Fairy song English version, which is probably one of the best song translations I've heard.
me too. if the new VO was teh original, and then replaced with the actual original, people would be calling it "cringe" and "awful" i am sure. it's def nostalgia.
@@Miraihi i do love the new voice overs too, specifically for Dracula and Richter. Alucard however I feel was better with that thicker voice he originally had. Also Nocturnes English version is absolutely beautiful
As someone who played this game when it first came out, I actually kind of enjoyed the cheesy voice acting. It is the best kind of terrible acting: hammy when it needs to be, desperately trying to be deep with shallow dialogue - it's amazing.
Man... 1998 was without a doubt one of, if not my favorite year of gaming. i got more amazing games in 98 than i probably ever have. i was only 16, and i felt like i was in heaven. i could literally list 50 or more games i got that year, and 99% of them were absolutely amazing. i probably put over 2 or 3 THOUSAND hours into this game. alone!
This was really awesome, very well made! Nice job! The only two suggestions I'd make for how you can improve in the future would be to play snippets from songs starting at their iconic/memorable portions rather than playing the whole intro (like at 29:50) to give viewers a more accurate outlook of the song, and to not have other spoken words playing in the background while you're talking (like at 30:45) as that can confuse the viewer. Still, that's probably less than a minute of minor complaints out of a 30+ minute video! You've got talent, dude, and I hope to see what you can do again! Subscribed!
I got this game at the mall In the evening and while waiting for the bus, a guy trying to play 3 card monty and his friend robbed me at knife point. They took my wallet with $5. I had sotn in my back pack and $250+ that they neglected to take. I took the bus home. Didnt tell my parents what happened and played sotn all night. One of my favorite memories.
Thanks! I say nowadays it's best to get it in the Castlevania Requiem Collection. Gives full ease of access long with the most features such as a proper Maria mode and 4K resolution. It won't have the old school audio, but the new audio. That latter is more up to your taste haha.
Correction, it's not the normal Faerie familiar (green) that sings Nocturne, it's the Half Faerie (blue) which is the second Faerie familiar that is only available in the Japanese version of the PSX game. In the Saturn game you also need the sound card in order for her to sing. Just in case anyone was playing the English version of the PS game and was wondering why the Faerie isn't singing. I thought that bit can be a bit misleading. I believe it was "fixed" in subsequent releases of the game, although I haven't played them myself.
While I find it frustrating when people call SOTN overrated and just let that define their opinion of it, this video shows that there was a lot of legitimate thought and passion for the games that really justify the reputation this game has
@@JonathanJoestarJuicefestI'm currently playing through the Saturn version and what I would say is that the slowdown at times can really affect the gameplay at times. Otherwise I think it's a great version. Though saying that it has been a good few years since I played the PS1 version so it's hard to compare them that closely.
I mean, it's a great game, but I don't think it's unfair to call it overrated considering how much more attention it gets than Circle of the Moon and Aria of Sorrow - both of which are superior games, just delivered on a much more limited handheld system so lacking all the bells and whistles like voice acting, cutscenes, and CD audio. That's not even counting the classic Castlevanias, where I would argue that Castlevania 3 and Bloodlines offer the best overall gameplay of the entire series. I'd be more inclined to call Symphony the best overall multimedia experience of the series, but the reason it gets called overrated is because so many people sing its praises so highly, to the detriment of any of the other games.
It’s got some issues that I didn’t ever care about when i initially played it. Nowadays I feel like it’s a little too easy without some self imposed restrictions. It’s a classic game, influential and beautiful…I think it has its reputation for a good reason. Doesn’t mean there aren’t some issues that are legitimate. The Saturn version is very cool, but it’s the same fucking game so I don’t know why someone would think it’s somehow better than the ps1 version. Nothing about it outside of a couple items and features stand out to me as being super special. It’s essentially the same game, especially with the most recent hack rectifies a few of the Saturn’s versions original release issues.
With the 4 classic collections now done, several indie collabs like Vampire Survivors, and the resurrection of both Metal Gear and Silent Hill, I feel like some new Castlevania has to be coming. Since they dont seem to have an intenal 2D team, I assume they will outsource it, but I don't know who would be best. I kind of hope they don't go the obvious route of IntiCreates or WayForward. Maybe give MercurySteam a shot at a good 2D game after their success on Metroid.
MercurySteam honestly deserves another shot. They have learned alot now working on Metroid and if left unchained unlike back then where Konami wouldn't even let them use the iconic tracks, we could get one hell of a game... Bonus if they can get IGA to come as a freelancer (he has expressed interest)
MercurySteam already made one banger Castlevania game, that being Castlevania - Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate. I'd more than trust them with another shot.
Ah localizers, screweing us over since the 90's, the original conversation between Richter and Dracula was much more philosophic, the localizer literally called us dumb.
A few years ago I got to play SOTN on the iPad and I have to say it is a great Castelvania game. I’ve only played US: Castlevania I, II and Super Castlevania 4. Oh and Circle of the Moon on GBA. SOTN does live up to its reputation and the music is excellent. So much so that I use “wandering ghosts” as a test track for auditioning audiophile gear.
good video but could use better editing. when you mentioned a song in the saturn version, the music clip played from the beginning, not the main motiff, there were so many random stock videos for no reason other than to take up space, the backgrounds had a snes for some reason even though we are talking about a ps1/saturn/megadrive game, and just strange thins like that all throughout that felt off compared to the script.
@dkolendo no worries me. I appreciate critique (especially ones that aren't rude), it's how the channel has improved so much over the years haha. Glad you enjoyed it :)
Symphony of the Night remains a milestone title in gaming history. While it's far from my favourite Castlevania game, it's still a groundbreaking adventure that every metroidvania fan should give an honest shot. That said, I'm one of the few who acknowledge the memetic popularity of the PS1's english script, but despise the localization nonetheless. Compared to the original writing, it comes off as if Richter just waltzed into the castle to be a dick to Dracula, and Dracula was just strawmanning for the hell of it. The japanese dialogue is much more thoughtful, reflecting on the reason behind Richter and Dracula's meeting.
9:56 In other words he watched _Interview With a Vampire_ like most of the rest of the world and drew conspicuous inspiration from its blatant beautification themes.
SoTN is still my favorite metroidvania to this day. I can accept that other games have done it better mechanically and whatnot like Hollow Knight, but SoTN is just the whole bag IMO. It has great gameplay, incredible atmosphere, some of my favorite bosses in the metroidvania genre, great exploration, awesome soundtrack, etc. The only thing holding it back for me is how easy it is to break the game once you know what you're doing.
@@slappytheclown4 yeah honestly it is just such a perfect package. The atmosphere especially. I only feel that SOTN and Super Metroid have gotten that atmosphere perfect in their respective Metroidvania. Yeah I do wish it at least had a hard mode. Maybe one day a rerelease can give us that
I kind of blended the Japanese, Sony PlayStation Portable English, Sony PlayStation 1 English, and the Sega Saturn dialogue in with my own when it came to the dialogue of the story, and it came out really well.
Maria Renard: "Hmm, there's someone else that looks like another human...well, I HOPE that it is another human, anyway. Hello, good sir, but, out of curiosity, what are you doing here"? Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Oh, hello, lovely lady...you must be Maria Renard, am I correct"? Maria Renard: "You are indeed correct sir, but how did you know my name? Are you one of Dracula's lackeys"? Jacob "Jake" Cross: "I should hope not...I'm just another human that's stuck here in this castle, the same as yourself. However, to answer your question, I am from a future, and an alternate, Earth, where you, and your uncle, are legends that are told in stories, thus that is how I heard of your names". Maria Renard "Well, thanks for answering my question...anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting"? Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Well, I don't think that I legitimately had intended on meeting either one of you, unfortunately, but, since you want to know what I've been doing here, well, I have been stuck in the Principality of Walachia for the past five years, and Dracula still thinks that I not only trespassed here, but that I literally came to this world, and this time, by my own hand...how unfair, am I right"? Maria Renard: "Indeed...well, since you were here back then, did you run across another man"? Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Ah, you mean your uncle, Richter Belmont...is he missing? Maria Renard: "Wait, you know of him as well, let alone that he's also missing"? Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Remember, I'm from a future alternate Earth, right"? Maria Renard: "Oh, yes, and, yes, that is the one and the same person...now, have you seen him, Jacob"? Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Jake will do, but, well, to be honest, no, lovely lady, I haven't seen him, but, if I DO see him, then I'll be kind enough to tell him that his niece is looking for him. By the way, pink suits you better, though green looks nice on you too". Maria Renard: "Thanks, I think...anyway, I hope that you fare well, and we meet again". Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Likewise, fair princess". Maria Renard : (chuckles in a flirting way) "Oh, you...ah, right, sorry...well, let's hope that we find what we're looking for here". Jacob "Jake" Cross: "I do hope that she finds him, and that nothing went wrong with him. I would have been more willing to be in a mood of levity with her, but she wouldn't have taken to that well".
Amazing work here. You can feel you made the best out of every minute in this video. Really gonna ask myself if Konami is planning something in the Remake department here, the game deserves it. And please, please get rid of everything Blaustein localized. Kojima made the right move and demanded to dump this fellow after he butchered his script. Blausteins work is still way too present in most Konami related stuff, even the japanese stuff itself since he was also responsible for adapting the Silent Hill 2 script into english and before the Remake was available Silent Hill 2 was only available with an English dub worldwide (still think that was one of his very works where he did a decent job without butchering the original vision of the writers).
5:20 so basically they pulled the same idea that Nintendo did with Ocarina of Time where they also had an infamous sequel game for NES original to build upon what was good and refine it to make a good step forward for the franchise, alright. I didn't know or thought the same thing actually happened at Konami of all places. Wild stuff.
Short of the optimizations that were sorely needed on the Saturn, it is indeed the preferred version. There's quality of life improvement hacks these days that make it everything it should have been.
All I remember about this period in gaming is when a 2d game came out, it felt special. It was all the rage to go 3d back then, but there were games like this, Tomba, Silhouette Mirage, Heart of Darkness, In the Hunt, Strider 2, Mega Man X4 keeping the spirit alive on Ps1.
Even though it’s not a popular thing to say but I wish the Saturn version would be remade and pushed out to modern consoles (yes I know there’s computer roms) since it had the extra areas and real castlevania music, yes the original soundtrack is fine but I would omit some songs in favor of the classics from castlevania 1-X.
I still dream getting rushed inverted castle other polish and all the cut content hinted through Saturn's sound test, like Alucard's room or unused endings picked up for the next port/remake.. While we actually never even got an official Saturn exclusive stuff on all later ports.
Kojima-sama and Yamane-sama deserve many kisses 😘 for their extraordinary work. To me, SotN is what made me love the Castlevania series. An extra kiss 😘 to Nakamura too for I Am The Wind!
@@ggarzagarcia He didn't take them. He left on his own. Kojima was a freelancer always, so she never was an employee of Konami, so she could be hired by anyone. Yamane however left on her own to become a freelancer at a different point. Both Kojima and Yamane are called by Konami at times to make new art and music actually which happened for Castlevania Grimoire of Souls. Meanwhile Iga also hired them to work on Bloodstained. Basically everyones a freelancer now haha
@@javiervasquez625 He has expressed interest in it, so I would hope Konami asks him one day. I know he at least left on good terms and not on bitter ones like Hideo Kojima did.
The Saturn version with the patch by Team Meduza to fix all of the stupid things that KCEN messed up is the definitive version of the game hands down in my eyes. The PS1 version feels empty and unfinished going back to it. There was no issue with "limitations", they just didn't do it right from the get go.
Vampire Killer for the MSX2 PC featured unlocking rooms using colored keys. Earlier by a few months. But it wasn’t on the NES Cartridge system, so I can’t blame you for not knowing about that one. Vampire Killer also had Dracula transform into a painting on the wall in his boss battle
This was a major a passion project I wanted to do for some time and it finally happened. Thank you all very much for all the support to make this a reality!
If you enjoy this video, give it a like and comment below to assist us with the algorithm too!
And Special thanks to @TryJapan for providing us with a ton of retro game store footage featuring Castlevania carts all around to use for this video.
Wrong
This was fantastic, symphony of the night is one of the games I play over every year lol I can’t help it, a long with final fantasy tactics. Thank you for putting all this information together.
The fact that Vampire Survivors actually referenced that CD thing is amazing.
oh it does?? I really should play it!
How? I haven't found it yet
That whole dlc was such a beautiful love letter to the franchise.
Even had deep cut characters like Sonia Belmont.
@@SleepyMook Wow even the decanonized character? I really gotta check it out
@TheObsessiveGamer
You are in for a treat, the game was obviously heavily inspired by Castlevania before the DLC came out, there are a ton of references in the form of enemies, locations, names (character, stage, song names and some other things make references to Castlevania)
So, now that they actually got the chance to work with the very thing that inspired them, they made an absolute bomb of a dlc, they know a LOT of obscure shit of the franchise, its honestly surreal, as a fan of the Vania series, i completely lost it when i heard that theme playing, i couldn't believe it when i saw all the things they added...
Errm anyway you should really try it.
Robert Belgrade knocked it out of the park as Alucard. He sounded stiff and distant, which 100% tracks for the son of Dracula. He always felt stuck between two worlds, unable to relate to the mortality of humans or the cruelty of vampires.
Honestly this. Nothing against current Alucard but the deep voice that Belgrade provided was perfect...and even sounded aristocratic as he should
I preferred the original over the new polished crap. The super hammy Dracula was the beat. Ooohh, how have I been so defeated? As the kids say, chefs kiss
@@cwad737Or when the succubus dies it sounds like she's badly faking an orgasm?😂
Nah, sotn's original dub sucked.
Wow. Excellently worded…
Konami's attitude about this game being 2D illustrates well my frustrations with the mindset of the entire industry back then, I didn't look at 3D games in the same way as so many others like "This is the future, this is all that can exist now!" We missed out on so many great 2D games on the PlayStation and Saturn because of that crap. Both then and now, if a game is fun then I don't care what level or style of graphics are used.
It was a very bad mentality at the time. I am glad IGA stuck to his guns and didn't fold with the rest of the industry. SOTN still looks absolutely beautiful after all these years
I agree wholeheartedly.
Much of the "3D only" directive was coming from Sony themselves, especially SCEA (Sony Computer Entertainment of America) as they tried to discourage 2D development. I think the idea was that the international market didn't want 2D anymore - hence there are lots more 2d games released for the PS1 in Japan than there were internationally, and Konami themselves didn't exactly shy away from 2D in the PS1 era. In addition to SotN, they also made both PS1 Suikodens 2D, many many updates/expansions to the mentioned Tokimeki dating games 2d (and this is a hugely successful franchise in Japan), shooters like Salamander 2 and Gradius Gaiden, and many others.
I can distinctly remember a gaming magazine back in the day that insulted Symphony of the Night because it wasn't in 3D. I was around 8 or 9 at the time and I knew it was a load of garbage.
Thats still the mentality now with so many people obsessed with "hyper realistic graphics"
The audacity of Konami to decide what is interesting and not, and cutting IGA is forever one of the dumbest moves they could've taken
Honestly, IGA kind of ruined the game too, as he opposed the extra Sega Saturn content. Were I to buy up Konami, then not only would I have added it, but also made even MORE bosses, enemies, areas, and OSTs for the game, and added some more playable characters, including the Maria that was from Castlevania: The Bloodletting, Child Maria, Sony PlayStation Portable Maria, Sega Saturn Maria, the Castlevania: The Bloodletting version of Richter, the rival vampire hunter from Castlevania: The Bloodletting (I would have called him Gottfried Van Helsing), and an OC that is kind of like a super powerful Judeo-Christian type that isn't Roman Catholic, or a traditional type of Christian or Jew from any part of the political spectrum, but also has sass, sarcasm, wit, humor, and attitude.
@paxhumana2015 I agree, but I kind of understand why iga don't want anything to do with the Saturn content. The Saturn content is not something like what he would create, it was very different from what Sotn originally had, like the tree enemy for example, it was so out of place in the Sotn, or even Castlevania universe and very different
Yeah I get IGA not liking the Saturn additions for creative purposes but I do wish he at least would have redone the areas in his own style much as he redid playable Maria.
IGA cutting Sonia out of the timeline, is just as bad.
Alucard: _"I'm interested in this."_
Librarian of Dracula's Castle: _"Hehe, Thank You!"_
HAHAHAHA!!!! CLASSIC! 🤣💯
And so with that influence he became OD and ran a library in Bloodstained :P
not only was Robert Belgrade the voice of O.D. in Bloodstained, but if you switch the voice language to Japanese, Alucard's Japanese VA plays the role as well, which was a nice touch.
Let us also not forget that the Carabosse Familiar that is in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is involved with an OST vocal track in that game as well, as Eastern cartoon/anime, Western cartoon/anime, and video game voicing veterans, Cristina Vee (Valenzuela), of Sailor Moon Crystal, and possibly of the Viz Media English dub of the 1990s version of Sailor Moon, sung on that track, as well as contributed to the enemy voices in the game, including those of the Carabosse. The vocal track, however, happens not in the same way, though (but you can still find places to sit in the game, as well as find evil chairs that can lead you to get hurt in places, or heal you if you get it as a familiar), rather, there is a place where there is a piano that you can get it in and let the fairy sing the whole song to get an Achievement/Trophy in the game. However, unfortunately, it is one of the more common errors in being unable to GET said trophy in the game, though.
Haha yeah I remember that being announced during the Kickstarter. IGA really brought the whole gang back
I was surprised when i saw that this was a video made by a relative small channel, the editing it's on point and it shows that you made your fair share of research, keep it up, I'm glad the algorithm recommend it to me
Thanks man! We try to keep quality as high as possible regardless of the audience, which I am glad this video's reach was good
@@TheObsessiveGamerI came here to say the same thing and you have my support as well!
Dracula retorts: "and what is a man, a miserable pile of secrets". Amazing video
"but enough talk, have at you!" Thank you man :)
After the dominus collection,hope we get a collection with rondo and symphony on steam..
I'm still surprised we haven't gotten those.
I'd rather we get a 3D collection as we've never had a single one of those be rereleased.
Oh i wouldn't mind at all a 3d collection,specially the lament and curse of darkness ones,but who knows....after the succes of classic,advance and dominus ones.maybe..😁🦇
@@ChrrolloDIgood.
@@ChrrolloDIThey should sneak in the PSP Chronicles remake too.
Great insight! And hey, I’m glad my footage could come in handy!
Appreciate it man! Couldn't have done it without you! :)
Anyone watch the Netflix Castlevania? And notice they put the Alucard Sword special attack in the show? The "down, down-forward, forward, square/circle" move. He teleports behind the enemy and slashes, then teleports back with a red aura/outline. They even did the red outline in the show.
@@KalebWR honestly loved how they made Alucard fight in season 4. Down to him even having his shield
Its wild to see a documentary feature my work on in translating the SotN manga in english 😅😅😅
Where can I read your translation of the SOTN Manga?
Robert Belgrade's voice is amazing. Its deep, somber voice fits Alucard like a glove. Great video from one of my fav VGs!
What I really hope is that they release this eventually to newer systems, even PC, like they have almost all the other Castlevania games (collections I went out of my way to purchase). I still remember the shock when I discovered the whole second half of the game and the inverted castle for the first time. That was such an awesome moment to think you reached the end, only for the game to unveil that you were only done with act 1....
Well Castlevania Requiem is your solution if you want to play it on PS consoles, but otherwise i'm surprised they haven't even bothered porting it to anything else.
Yeah that was an amazing feeling. I thought I was just unlocking the true ending but NOPE, here is a whole half of the other game. Crazy
SOTN is one of my favorite game ever.
Great video dude, thanks for the video.
Thank you! It's truly one of my favorites too. This was a passion project
Wow that is a ton of research and content! Thanks so much!
Thank you very much! :)
Played sotn in its entirety. Solid good game. However if you’re to ask me what I remember most fondly about sotn, it will be the bgm “lost painting”. Yeap.
30:25 - "Mainly due to the Saturn's limitations" - There is a fanmade patch for this game which fixes transparencies, refines the map and fixes many other aspects which prove the Saturn itself was not the limiting factor, but rather the original developer's time/ability was.
Well by limitations in this case, I believe it wasn't so clear cut in make the transparencies doable but rather required extra work to work around it. Basically it had a harder architecture by comparison.
Yes exactly, that Team Meduza patch is phenomenal. Easily the definitive version of the game for me and maybe Saturn owners.
I remember first playing this game when i visited my older cousin, as I didn't have a psone. It was quite difficult back then, as i was quite a young kid.
Many years later, I finished the game in full. Unfortunately, my cousin wasn't around anymore. I dont think he ever knew about the inverted castle or the rings in the clock tower, but I hope I'll get to tell him.
@@evilpac2327 heh always a nice feeling when you can beat a game as an adult you couldn't as a kid. Especially this game being a big maze for a kid.
Hope you can amaze your cousin with that revelation of the inverted castle :)
Imagine If Toru Hagihara, Koji Igarashi and the entire programming team had had more time to polish these mechanics, or Konami had given them more budget, it would have been even bigger than it already is, While I enjoy the current game, I always, ALWAYS hear about what the game was like in Alpha or Beta and get that feeling that it could have been even more awesome than it already is.
Yeah like I would have really loved to see the others of the Dracula family like Elizabeth Bartley and Gilles De Rais like they wanted. If Succubus can have such a deep importance to her plot, the other two could be pretty wild too
@@TheObsessiveGamer Although it hurts me not to see them, With what we have, the game is fantastic as it is.
@@jesusadrian759 Agreed! I do hope one day Konami decides to a defintiive verison whereby they take the Dracula X version and add in the Saturn additions too.
6:50 its called Akumajo Dracula X to signify that its a sequel to rondo of blood, which was also had Akumajo Dracula X name in japan
You're not wrong, HOWEVER I probably should have better explained that what Iga meant here was that he kept the X as he wanted to make it just look like a spinoff of Rondo of Blood rather than be a main entry. A way to justify the lack of a Belmont.
Article here for the full quote: "www.pushsquare.com/news/2012/09/feature_the_making_of_castlevania_symphony_of_the_night"
I find it interesting that "ten" in Japanese is written as "十", very similar to the Roman number "X".
So are both games count as the tenth installment?
Oddly enough, Dracula X japanese version for the Super Famicom is titled DraculaXX , which makes no sense, it's not a sequel to Rondo but a remake/remix , it's not the 20th Castlevania either, it's not even set in the 20th century ! I have no idea why they went with that
Good ending, when alucard has the glasses and frees richter, bad ending, when alucard doesn't have the glasses and kills richter and the "I hate richters" ending, when alucard has the glasses, knows that richter is possessed but kills him anyway.
I unironically love “I am the wind”
I am the wind seemed out of place for the game. It almost felt like they were trying to end the game like a 90s American movie
@@BaneKing57 while yeah it does feel a bit out of place, I do still like that calm nature of it for a post-Dracula fight. A sort of "sun has vanquished this horrible night" kinda feel :P
the sound track of SOTN is just so good.
Got this game for xmas 1997. Best game i ever got for my ps1
It's just so unique. The franchise never had such a unique soundtrack ever again it feels. Got back to remixing alot more after
For decades the only place I read any mention of the worst ending audio was the Castlevania dungeon website, which is and always has been a wonderful fan project and the best place for Castlevania fans. Glad to see it’s more widely known about now
Oh I remember that site. Use to go in it all the time. I am too quite surprised by how little know about this ending
The original English voices were amazing.
I absolutely those voices. Alucard actually sounds like an aristocratical vampire. Way more so than his current VA
@@TheObsessiveGamer not just any Aristocratic Vampire - an Aristocratic Vampire with huge, gigantic BALLZ.
Seriously. The manliest Vampire in history. That Vampire Hunter D influence sure was good for the design choices.
What? They so bad its good I guess
Alucard was good. Everyone else, not so much. The Japanese voices are better imo. And I almost always prefer English dub.
I think you are thinking of the voice actors for the Legacy of Kain, not the symphony of the night.
Loved it, this game really gets me nostalgic. Thanks for adding sources too!
@@GakuKodori wow someone who actually checked for sources haha too many have wandered the source of my stuff when it is literally right there lol
I remember finding the version where I could play as Maria on emulator. Fun times.
So likely the PSP version. Saturn is also a posibility but Saturn's emulation tends to be abit sketchy.
@@arciks11 I had a lot of fun playing as Maria. Was nice to see her animals evolve along with her. Wish we'd get her again in a future title, even if it's just to catch a glimpse of her in old age.
Was this PSP or Saturn version you played?
@@TheObsessiveGamer If I remember it correctly, it was an emulated Saturn version.
Silent Hill fans will recognize Dracula's English voice actor as Michael Guinn, who also voiced Harry Mason in Silent Hill 1. I believe he worked as a voice director/acting coach for Konami at the time.
His range is pretty nuts really. Going from someone like Dracula to superdad Harry Mason. Wish he stayed in the industry
And Richter had Chris Redfield voice.
@carlosaugustodinizgarcia3526 I feel so bad for what happened to the VA :( he never got to see how much of a legend his role became
The original Alucard had black hair? He apparently has the power to do that when he seals his power.
I am the Wind and Snake Eater has the same singer?
The original English voice acting still sounds cheesy but I like it.
The thing I really hate about the PSP version is that Symphony of the Night was not available right out of the box. This is odd since the PSP box advertises Symphony of the Night. You actually have to play a part of Rondo of Blood first and find a hidden item to unlock it which is kind of difficult. Maria did help make this easier and she wasn't too hard to unlock. The hard part is just figuring out how to unlock her.
Wtf does cheesy even mean ? Give an example.
@@MiguelAviles175 The intro dialogue in Symphony of the Night. That's not exactly good acting.
@@zachtwilightwindwaker596 I mean Alucard I feel can flip his hair however he wished since he can transform, which would explain his black his in CV3.
I didn't mind SOTN not being playable out of the box. It was afterall more a bonus to what was a remake of Rondo before playing it's sequel
@@TheObsessiveGamer Some people just want to play Symphony of the Night. I think other versions of the collection do have it playable out of the box (assuming if the game is physical).
@zachtwilightwindwaker596 well that's fair but I imagine they wanted people to play the Classicvania actually, otherwise people may just play SOTN and call it a day lol
Konami was scum for letting go of Iga and also Kojima. But now they seem to tease us alot for the future of Castlevania games and collections. Only Sony got the requiem collection but it would be nice of Konami would release a collection with Rondo with both original languages and both PS1 and Saturn versions all upscaled of course.
Well IGA left on his own tbf but yeah the point stands from their boneheaded decision. He has still expressed interest to make more CV games if Konami asked
@@TheObsessiveGamer Konami put IGA in a position where leaving was the only real option. Japanese companies don't fire people unless they prove negligent, so they make life difficult with reassignments and lower positions until the employee quits. Konami was really bad, since the programmers were outshining the company in popularity
I've really enjoyed this video chronicling the making of what is Castlevania's most famous game in the entire series, I will admit I never got fully into playing Symphony of the Night, but I do love Rondo of Blood that game slaps.
Glad you enjoyed! Would love to make a Rondo of Blood video too in the future if I can get enough info on its development
@@TheObsessiveGamer Oh sweet.
I actually learned quite a bit from this episode. Great Work!
Good that they didn't include the worst ending. The script alone was spine-chilling, the audios were even scarier.
This being the ultimate "you suck" ending is hilarious though considering Konami had something this depressive with Silent Hill shortly after lol
Love this documentary! I think at this point the voice acting has become one of those nostalgic things that most of us cherish.
Don't forget, that Alucard is basically D from Vampire Hunter D.
Yeah pretty much lol
My thoughts exactly
So much love was put into this video, Bless You
@@Sin606 thank you very much! :)
Excellent video. Good lord I felt every moment in my soul. I kept WONDERING what happened to "I am the Wind" because my copy didn't have it!
Thank you! I wrote this with my soul haha it was a shame they removed it from later versions. It needs more recognition
This is amazing! I'm a huge Castlevania fan and loyalist who started playing with Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse, and went on to buy SOTN on its very release date. So I know a lot about the series.
But your video showed me things I never knew! Thank you for this! You are awesome! 🙌👌💯
Thank you! As a major CV fan myself it's wonderful seeing people such as yourself here too :) and even learning more haha
@@TheObsessiveGamer Totally! Cheers to that! 😄🍻
When you got to the music part and you mentioned Dracula's Castle, I was like "nooooo your video is gonna get copyright claimed!" but I don't think it played long enough lol. That extra cut area at the beginning of the castle was in a ROM hack that I have been playing through on my channel. I thought it was kind of odd and I wasn't sure if maybe the mod author just added it because of the difficulty, but it's cool to see that it was originally going to be in the game. Awesome video BTW, instant sub
@@HyperDefective heh yeah only a sample. Though Konami doesn't seem to be as stingy about copyrighted music as say Nintendo lol
Is that ROM hack the definitive version of SOTN by chance? Been meaning to try it myself.
And thanks dude! :)
@@TheObsessiveGamer Nope it's actually called Castlevania: SotN Reborn. It's insanely hard! I legitimately needed that save point at the beginning or I'd have to do the prologue again lol.
Yeah Konami isn't nearly as bad as Nintendo (or Square Enix) when it comes to music. I just always get dinged for Dracula's Castle specifically (probably not even the actual copyright holder, you know how it goes)
24:49 Ahhh yes.
The long, ancient battle brought back every century between the forces of overacting vs underacting.
.
After all Dracula went to Juilliard!!
@@Archetype_Angel until they were recast into just normal acting vs normal acting with a university degrees years later lol
I'm still pissed off at Konami. Apparently they had a meeting to port symphony of the night on the switch or on phones and they chose phones. Not only that but apparently Sony had a world in that as well. Almost every Castlevania is now on switch all that's left is SOTN the chronicle collection(s) rebirth and legends. All I hope is they release a collection like that on PC and switch.
Also they got rid of a $5000 chest in a game that has the most expensive item in Castlevania history the duplicator.
But I'm glad even after all these years SOTN is still being talked about and I'm glad to know more about a game that I love and is close to my heart.
... Legends is on nso. The only vanias switch doesn't have is rondo, symphony, and the N64 games.
@@tcrpgfanthey also need Chronicles, the PS2 games, the Lords of Shadow games, Adventure REbirth, and a few oddities like The Arcade
Well, to be fair, Nintendo HAS been kind of an a
s
s
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e when it comes to IP rights, as well as has also been lazy with its franchises more and more, even in Japan, plus Nintendo and Sony were SUPPOSED to make the PlayStation 1 together, so, yeah, they've had a lot of bad blood between them since that time.
@@Chernobog2 , well, in the Dominus Collection, they actually have a remastered, as well as remade, version of Haunted Castle, so Konami DID do THAT one little favor for us.
@@A.E.S.R damn they actually considered a Switch port?? Man that's a real shame...I hope it comes to Switch 2 at least
I feel like a minority as a huge fan of the new SotN voiceover. It's not only more faithful to the original, but it has also brought us the incredible "Nocturne" Fairy song English version, which is probably one of the best song translations I've heard.
me too. if the new VO was teh original, and then replaced with the actual original, people would be calling it "cringe" and "awful" i am sure. it's def nostalgia.
@@Miraihi i do love the new voice overs too, specifically for Dracula and Richter. Alucard however I feel was better with that thicker voice he originally had.
Also Nocturnes English version is absolutely beautiful
As someone who played this game when it first came out, I actually kind of enjoyed the cheesy voice acting. It is the best kind of terrible acting: hammy when it needs to be, desperately trying to be deep with shallow dialogue - it's amazing.
Man... 1998 was without a doubt one of, if not my favorite year of gaming. i got more amazing games in 98 than i probably ever have. i was only 16, and i felt like i was in heaven. i could literally list 50 or more games i got that year, and 99% of them were absolutely amazing. i probably put over 2 or 3 THOUSAND hours into this game. alone!
1998 still hasn't been topped. I still can't believe how everyone pretty much gave it their all in the same year. RE2, OOT, SOTN, etc
I'm a simple gal. I see a SotN video on UA-cam and I watch.
Thank you for a fantastic video!!
Thank you :)
This was really awesome, very well made! Nice job! The only two suggestions I'd make for how you can improve in the future would be to play snippets from songs starting at their iconic/memorable portions rather than playing the whole intro (like at 29:50) to give viewers a more accurate outlook of the song, and to not have other spoken words playing in the background while you're talking (like at 30:45) as that can confuse the viewer. Still, that's probably less than a minute of minor complaints out of a 30+ minute video! You've got talent, dude, and I hope to see what you can do again! Subscribed!
I got this game at the mall In the evening and while waiting for the bus, a guy trying to play 3 card monty and his friend robbed me at knife point. They took my wallet with $5. I had sotn in my back pack and $250+ that they neglected to take. I took the bus home. Didnt tell my parents what happened and played sotn all night. One of my favorite memories.
If they redo Simon's Quest or the adventure of link it ought to be in the style of symphony
@@KBXband turning it into a proper modern Metroidvania would be nice. Make each dungeon its own little Metroidvania castle
Enough talk! Have at you!
Well done again my dude!
Take a shot everytime he says "whereby"
Don't. I don't want to be responsible for alcohol poisoning lol
@@TheObsessiveGamer You SHOULD be responsible for your own script! 😅
That was an amazing watch
hi, nice video, what is the better version to play now? thanks
Thanks! I say nowadays it's best to get it in the Castlevania Requiem Collection. Gives full ease of access long with the most features such as a proper Maria mode and 4K resolution. It won't have the old school audio, but the new audio. That latter is more up to your taste haha.
Correction, it's not the normal Faerie familiar (green) that sings Nocturne, it's the Half Faerie (blue) which is the second Faerie familiar that is only available in the Japanese version of the PSX game. In the Saturn game you also need the sound card in order for her to sing. Just in case anyone was playing the English version of the PS game and was wondering why the Faerie isn't singing. I thought that bit can be a bit misleading. I believe it was "fixed" in subsequent releases of the game, although I haven't played them myself.
While I find it frustrating when people call SOTN overrated and just let that define their opinion of it, this video shows that there was a lot of legitimate thought and passion for the games that really justify the reputation this game has
Ps1 sotn is in fact overrated, Saturn SoTN is the best.
@@JonathanJoestarJuicefestI'm currently playing through the Saturn version and what I would say is that the slowdown at times can really affect the gameplay at times. Otherwise I think it's a great version. Though saying that it has been a good few years since I played the PS1 version so it's hard to compare them that closely.
I mean, it's a great game, but I don't think it's unfair to call it overrated considering how much more attention it gets than Circle of the Moon and Aria of Sorrow - both of which are superior games, just delivered on a much more limited handheld system so lacking all the bells and whistles like voice acting, cutscenes, and CD audio. That's not even counting the classic Castlevanias, where I would argue that Castlevania 3 and Bloodlines offer the best overall gameplay of the entire series. I'd be more inclined to call Symphony the best overall multimedia experience of the series, but the reason it gets called overrated is because so many people sing its praises so highly, to the detriment of any of the other games.
It’s got some issues that I didn’t ever care about when i initially played it. Nowadays I feel like it’s a little too easy without some self imposed restrictions. It’s a classic game, influential and beautiful…I think it has its reputation for a good reason. Doesn’t mean there aren’t some issues that are legitimate. The Saturn version is very cool, but it’s the same fucking game so I don’t know why someone would think it’s somehow better than the ps1 version. Nothing about it outside of a couple items and features stand out to me as being super special. It’s essentially the same game, especially with the most recent hack rectifies a few of the Saturn’s versions original release issues.
@@jojoflynn7309 I sometimes think it goes back the whole "it is popular, so it sucks now" mentality
With the 4 classic collections now done, several indie collabs like Vampire Survivors, and the resurrection of both Metal Gear and Silent Hill, I feel like some new Castlevania has to be coming. Since they dont seem to have an intenal 2D team, I assume they will outsource it, but I don't know who would be best. I kind of hope they don't go the obvious route of IntiCreates or WayForward. Maybe give MercurySteam a shot at a good 2D game after their success on Metroid.
MercurySteam honestly deserves another shot. They have learned alot now working on Metroid and if left unchained unlike back then where Konami wouldn't even let them use the iconic tracks, we could get one hell of a game... Bonus if they can get IGA to come as a freelancer (he has expressed interest)
MercurySteam already made one banger Castlevania game, that being Castlevania - Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate.
I'd more than trust them with another shot.
No, IntiCreates is much better than MecurySteam, they respect the spirit and norms of franchises better.
Amazing ... even years later I learn new things about my favorite game 😿🥰
Great job :)
Great vid!
Ah localizers, screweing us over since the 90's, the original conversation between Richter and Dracula was much more philosophic, the localizer literally called us dumb.
@@williamzeo2493 And people will still argue that the memey "What is a man" is better.
I understand your sentiment but American literacy is in the toilet most players are in fact that dumb in 2024
What is a man line is cool though, and the dialog is not bad in general, but the original goes deeper.
"What is a man" is fun, but yes the original was just better.
Most excellent video. I am an Obsessive SOTN fan...
A few years ago I got to play SOTN on the iPad and I have to say it is a great Castelvania game. I’ve only played US: Castlevania I, II and Super Castlevania 4. Oh and Circle of the Moon on GBA.
SOTN does live up to its reputation and the music is excellent. So much so that I use “wandering ghosts” as a test track for auditioning audiophile gear.
@@dudexyt wandering ghost is a very underrated track. Good taste man and those are some very solid entries you played. Especially SCV4
The localized dialogue wouldn't be so bad if they decided not to use a plywood box as a recording booth.
Oh man I never was able to pinpoint what the echo sounded like, but plywood is perfect as an answer rofl
good video but could use better editing. when you mentioned a song in the saturn version, the music clip played from the beginning, not the main motiff, there were so many random stock videos for no reason other than to take up space, the backgrounds had a snes for some reason even though we are talking about a ps1/saturn/megadrive game, and just strange thins like that all throughout that felt off compared to the script.
@@dkolendo thanks for watching and thanks for the critique. Will plan to consider for the next video
@@TheObsessiveGamer sorry to be so critical, i enjoyed the video overall and thank you for making it
@dkolendo no worries me. I appreciate critique (especially ones that aren't rude), it's how the channel has improved so much over the years haha. Glad you enjoyed it :)
Best UA-cam video ever.
Symphony of the Night remains a milestone title in gaming history. While it's far from my favourite Castlevania game, it's still a groundbreaking adventure that every metroidvania fan should give an honest shot.
That said, I'm one of the few who acknowledge the memetic popularity of the PS1's english script, but despise the localization nonetheless. Compared to the original writing, it comes off as if Richter just waltzed into the castle to be a dick to Dracula, and Dracula was just strawmanning for the hell of it. The japanese dialogue is much more thoughtful, reflecting on the reason behind Richter and Dracula's meeting.
9:56 In other words he watched _Interview With a Vampire_ like most of the rest of the world and drew conspicuous inspiration from its blatant beautification themes.
@@Asterra2 sounds about right. IGA was probably very much into 90s style vampires overall it seems
SoTN is still my favorite metroidvania to this day. I can accept that other games have done it better mechanically and whatnot like Hollow Knight, but SoTN is just the whole bag IMO. It has great gameplay, incredible atmosphere, some of my favorite bosses in the metroidvania genre, great exploration, awesome soundtrack, etc. The only thing holding it back for me is how easy it is to break the game once you know what you're doing.
@@slappytheclown4 yeah honestly it is just such a perfect package. The atmosphere especially. I only feel that SOTN and Super Metroid have gotten that atmosphere perfect in their respective Metroidvania.
Yeah I do wish it at least had a hard mode. Maybe one day a rerelease can give us that
I kind of blended the Japanese, Sony PlayStation Portable English, Sony PlayStation 1 English, and the Sega Saturn dialogue in with my own when it came to the dialogue of the story, and it came out really well.
Maria Renard: "Hmm, there's someone else that looks like another human...well, I HOPE that it is another human, anyway. Hello, good sir, but, out of curiosity, what are you doing here"?
Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Oh, hello, lovely lady...you must be Maria Renard, am I correct"?
Maria Renard: "You are indeed correct sir, but how did you know my name? Are you one of Dracula's lackeys"?
Jacob "Jake" Cross: "I should hope not...I'm just another human that's stuck here in this castle, the same as yourself. However, to answer your question, I am from a future, and an alternate, Earth, where you, and your uncle, are legends that are told in stories, thus that is how I heard of your names".
Maria Renard "Well, thanks for answering my question...anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting"?
Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Well, I don't think that I legitimately had intended on meeting either one of you, unfortunately, but, since you want to know what I've been doing here, well, I have been stuck in the Principality of Walachia for the past five years, and Dracula still thinks that I not only trespassed here, but that I literally came to this world, and this time, by my own hand...how unfair, am I right"?
Maria Renard: "Indeed...well, since you were here back then, did you run across another man"?
Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Ah, you mean your uncle, Richter Belmont...is he missing?
Maria Renard: "Wait, you know of him as well, let alone that he's also missing"?
Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Remember, I'm from a future alternate Earth, right"?
Maria Renard: "Oh, yes, and, yes, that is the one and the same person...now, have you seen him, Jacob"?
Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Jake will do, but, well, to be honest, no, lovely lady, I haven't seen him, but, if I DO see him, then I'll be kind enough to tell him that his niece is looking for him. By the way, pink suits you better, though green looks nice on you too".
Maria Renard: "Thanks, I think...anyway, I hope that you fare well, and we meet again".
Jacob "Jake" Cross: "Likewise, fair princess".
Maria Renard : (chuckles in a flirting way) "Oh, you...ah, right, sorry...well, let's hope that we find what we're looking for here".
Jacob "Jake" Cross: "I do hope that she finds him, and that nothing went wrong with him. I would have been more willing to be in a mood of levity with her, but she wouldn't have taken to that well".
Amazing work here. You can feel you made the best out of every minute in this video. Really gonna ask myself if Konami is planning something in the Remake department here, the game deserves it. And please, please get rid of everything Blaustein localized. Kojima made the right move and demanded to dump this fellow after he butchered his script. Blausteins work is still way too present in most Konami related stuff, even the japanese stuff itself since he was also responsible for adapting the Silent Hill 2 script into english and before the Remake was available Silent Hill 2 was only available with an English dub worldwide (still think that was one of his very works where he did a decent job without butchering the original vision of the writers).
I've always wondered why is death's sprites changed , when you first meet him he has a different sprite from when you fight him
I just crack fun at it these days. It's like he showed up to work in his sleep wear and when we fight him he's on the clock and gets his fatigues on.
@DooDoo-f4v I had a similar idea i thaught he just didn't expect alucard to find the Inverted castle, in his sleeping pajamas unprepared to meet him
@@ابوك-ز6ك him in his pajamas vs him armed to kill I guess lol
5:20 so basically they pulled the same idea that Nintendo did with Ocarina of Time where they also had an infamous sequel game for NES original to build upon what was good and refine it to make a good step forward for the franchise, alright. I didn't know or thought the same thing actually happened at Konami of all places. Wild stuff.
I never knew that the saturn sprite for Ricther was that different, too bad they did not include that edition in the Requiem collection.
I play this game usually once a year, currently I'm on a kick and I've been playing it on my PS5, Steam Deck and PS1
6:50 Rondo of Blood was already called Akumajo Dracula X in japan, though.
Almost 30 years and no one find the track "silence" in master librarian section referring to what?it's there but no one knows why,any info?
Great recap. That end bit still makes me laugh. Bloodstained Ritual of the Night was great and Konami was, as usual, proved very wrong.
The look of the characters was more directly inspired by Amano's art for Vampire Hunter D.
Short of the optimizations that were sorely needed on the Saturn, it is indeed the preferred version. There's quality of life improvement hacks these days that make it everything it should have been.
Would love if they include all the cut content and the PSP remaster addition and a new modern stuff in the switch. The collection is complete.
11:09 Heh, I wouldn't be surprised that Kojima later reused that version of Alucard to make his Arikado persona.
All I remember about this period in gaming is when a 2d game came out, it felt special. It was all the rage to go 3d back then, but there were games like this, Tomba, Silhouette Mirage, Heart of Darkness, In the Hunt, Strider 2, Mega Man X4 keeping the spirit alive on Ps1.
Including stuff like Final Fantasy Tactics too but yeah most definitely. Graphically having aged the best as a result haha
Even though it’s not a popular thing to say but I wish the Saturn version would be remade and pushed out to modern consoles (yes I know there’s computer roms) since it had the extra areas and real castlevania music, yes the original soundtrack is fine but I would omit some songs in favor of the classics from castlevania 1-X.
I just finished a playthrough of this game over the weekend.
Good timing heh. Which version you play?
@@TheObsessiveGamer Had to go with the Playstation version.
@@midsnacker Ah a person of culture then :P
If I was rich I'd find these companies to remake their cancelled games and cut content, this stuff is such cool history.
18:16 middle parts of tragic prince actually sounds pretty similar to the jungle theme on metal gear nes
One of the games of all time!
If we don't get new Castlevania games, at least there's Bloodstained 2 to look forward to.
TokiMemo mentioned! Party time!
Heh absolutely important now to why CV became what it is
Yeah, I didn't enter play Castlevania for decades. I've only beaten the GBA version. It's..... interesting
Yeah I started pretty late myself. Originally with Dawn of Sorrow in 2005 and worked my way backwards
I still dream getting rushed inverted castle other polish and all the cut content hinted through Saturn's sound test,
like Alucard's room or unused endings picked up for the next port/remake..
While we actually never even got an official Saturn exclusive stuff on all later ports.
SOTN is one of my favorite games of all time.
Kojima-sama and Yamane-sama deserve many kisses 😘 for their extraordinary work. To me, SotN is what made me love the Castlevania series.
An extra kiss 😘 to Nakamura too for I Am The Wind!
They are such a wonderful combo (especially together with Iga). It's no wonder we had such a legendary franchise for a while there.
@@TheObsessiveGamer But Iga took them with him when he left, right? Or it was only Yamane who tagged along (she did the OST for Bloodstained: RotN)?
@@ggarzagarcia He didn't take them. He left on his own. Kojima was a freelancer always, so she never was an employee of Konami, so she could be hired by anyone.
Yamane however left on her own to become a freelancer at a different point.
Both Kojima and Yamane are called by Konami at times to make new art and music actually which happened for Castlevania Grimoire of Souls.
Meanwhile Iga also hired them to work on Bloodstained. Basically everyones a freelancer now haha
@@TheObsessiveGamer Any chance Iga could return to Konami as a "freelance" in order to work on new Castlevania games? I can't see why he couldn't.
@@javiervasquez625 He has expressed interest in it, so I would hope Konami asks him one day. I know he at least left on good terms and not on bitter ones like Hideo Kojima did.
The Saturn version with the patch by Team Meduza to fix all of the stupid things that KCEN messed up is the definitive version of the game hands down in my eyes. The PS1 version feels empty and unfinished going back to it. There was no issue with "limitations", they just didn't do it right from the get go.
Castlevania 2 simons quest was the 1st metroidvania
Vampire Killer for the MSX2 PC featured unlocking rooms using colored keys. Earlier by a few months. But it wasn’t on the NES Cartridge system, so I can’t blame you for not knowing about that one. Vampire Killer also had Dracula transform into a painting on the wall in his boss battle
This video brought to you by the word "whereby" 😂