Symphony is a game that harkens back to the good ol’ days: side scrolling, involving game play, and not a polygon in sight.
The plot of Symphony takes place four years after the events of DraculaX (Castlevania: DraculaX in the U.S.)with Richter Belmont’s disappearance. As Dracula’s renegade son, Alucard, you awaken to find that Dracula has returned, and you must defeat him again.
Containing some of the best graphics ever to grace the PSX, Symphony is a 2d wonder to behold, from the eerily graceful glide of Alucard’s step, to a boss thats a giant ball of rotting corpses. From the good the bad to the gothic, you’ll never want to take your eyes off of it.
Even with amazing graphics, control is the secret star of Symphony. All of the moves and spells are easy to use, and the amount makes it all the sweeter. Also,Alucard’s many forms(bat, mist and wolf) are pivotal to the game. If that weren’t good enough there are also dozens of items, as well as a plethora of weapons and armor, many with unique attributes and special powers. There’s even a familiar system, which allows you to have a little helper, ranging from a cutesy little fairy to a floating skull, who perform such tasks as attacks and item gathering.
Symphony of The Night is indeed an ideal name for this game, for its music is truly an audile treat, and easily earns the sound category an almost perfect mark, why then you ask, did I give it a 94% and not higher? Voice acting. The voices in this game are just awful. It doesn’t really destroy the characters, I still thought that most of the characters, like Dracula, were cool, despite him having the worst voice and lines in the game( He starts a fight by screaming “have at you!” yick!) Alucard was the only half way convincing voice in the game. Still, the crummy scripts and detestable acting make Resident Evil’s voices sound like Shakespear.
From its action and style to its RPG like leveling system, Symphony is truly a unique game, as well as one of the best ever to grace the PSX.
