Castlevania is one of the longest running console video game series in
existence, from the original on the classic NES through the SuperNES,
GameBoy, TurboGrafx16...and now the 32-bit Playstation treatment.  Suffice
to say, the new Castlevania: Symphony of the Night fills the series' big
shoes more than adequately -- this could be the best Castlevania yet.

In case you've just recently been released from a 15-year prison sentence
and have never played a Castlevania game, Castlevania is a 2-D
sidescrolling actioner in which you jump around on platforms, whacking at
enemies and collecting hearts, in an attempt to defeat Dracula.  Sound
trite and boring?  It's neither.  Read on.

GRAPHICS: 10 (Amazing!)
Rather than following the "3-D everything" trend, Konami has opted to
stick with traditional 2-D platform action, a surprising move considering
the Playstation's well-known limitations in 2-D graphics.  Be glad.  Be
very glad.  This is the most stunning 2-D title yet seen on the
Playstation.  The character art is simply gorgeous; the main character
Alucard is animated in silky-smooth style, from hair to flowing cape to
realistic jumping and sword-swinging.  Backgrounds routinely feature
multiple levels of parallax scrolling, with beautifully colorful gothic
artwork and an incredible variety through the game's various areas.  The
enemies are somewhat less well animated, but considering the enormous
variety of them you encounter, that's understandable, and almost all of
them feature their own customized death animations.  The number of moving
objects on screen at once is sometimes dizzying, especially in the boss
fights, and slowdown rarely becomes a problem.

SOUND: 9 (Great!)
First of all, the only thing preventing this from getting a 10 for sound
is the horrible voice acting (think Resident Evil).  The voice actors
sound like they were taken from a high school play, hamming it up in an
extremely unconvincing style.  However, the rest of the sound more than
makes up for it, with appropriate grunts and shouts from Alucard as you
jump and swing your weapons, and some truly stirring symphonic background
tunes (although surprisingly there are no reprised themes from previous
Castlevania games.  No "Vampire Killer" theme?!)  You'll want to turn it
up and immerse yourself in the experience.

GAMEPLAY: 10 (Amazing!)
This is the deepest Castlevania quest yet.  Rather than the usual
beat-a-level-then-go-to-the-next-one formula, Konami has structured the
entire game inside one huge castle -- you can roam freely about the place
at will, exploring here and there, unlocking new areas as you acquire new
keys and powers.  Some areas require an item to gain access, while others
require that you gain the ability to change form -- for instance, once you
gain the Mist form, you can become a gas and pass through gratings into
new areas of the castle.  You can get Mist, Bat, and Wolf forms, each of
which gives you new areas to explore as well as new fighting techniques.

In addition to this non-linear gameplay, RPG elements have also been added
-- wait!  Stop running away!  It's not what you think!  Even if the
letters "RPG" send you running for the hills, you'll like this.  Alucard
gains experience as he kills creatures in the castle, sending him up in
levels and enhancing his fighting abilities.  You also find various
weapons, armor, and special items along your quest, each of which has its
own good and bad points (some weapons strike faster, some more powerfully,
some are good against certain enemies, etc.), providing a whole new depth
to the traditional gameplay.  There's a complete menu system for using
your equipment, but you probably won't be using it much except when you
acquire new items.  Oh, did I mention you can also find relics which give
you a "familiar", a floating buddy who fights alongside you and gains
experience on his own?  There's a bat, a demon, a fairy (who can also heal
you!), and more, but you can only use one at a time -- you'll find
yourself using different ones in different situations.  There's even a
store!  Yes, in addition to finding hearts in those ever-present
Castlevania whackable light fixtures, you'll also find cash, which you can
spend at the shop in the Library to buy weapons, healing potions, and so
on.

Navigation about the castle is made painless by a progress map, which
shows the areas you've explored so far, and by the teleport gates you'll
find here and there in the castle, which minimize the amount of
backtracking you'll have to do (although you'll still find yourself going
through some areas many times).  The game rarely feels slow or tedious --
you're always finding something new to explore or some new area to try and
beat.

REPLAY VALUE: 7 (Very good)
Fighting your way through the castle to the final showdown will take you
long enough, but get this: if you do the "end" battle right, you'll unlock
the "Inverted Castle", the same castle turned upside-down with entirely
new graphics, monsters, and items -- doubling the length of the game!  And
once you've beaten all that, you get the opportunity to go back and play
through as Richter Belmont, if you've a mind to -- and you will.  There
are many, many secrets to find, optional items to be acquired, new
familiars to be tried out, and more.

I strongly recommend this game to any Playstation owner -- we've got
another classic on our hands here.  A must-own for any serious gamer.

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Review by Dan Burford
gilmore@netacc.net