Just when gamers were sick and tired of getting old retro titles in their Xbox Live Arcade automatic download list, Konami saved the day with a ten year-old title that puts just about all content on the Arcade to shame. Castlevania Symphony Of The Night is a title that will surely cloud the debate over retro versus original titles coming to the Arcade. Surely, if all the retro titles offered on the service were of the same quality and depth as SOTN gamers would buy Microsoft Points in bulk in anticipation of the next great release. Sadly, SOTN remains the minority on Arcade.
Originally released in 1997 for Playstation and Sega Saturn, Konami's action-RPG title follows in the path of the classic franchise. The game begins with players briefly taking control of Richter Belmont as he fights Count Dracula. The game then quickly shifts gears by jumping forward several years, with players taking control of Alucard. The story reveals itself slowly, through encounters with Maria Rendard in search of the now missing Richter. Standard Castlevania baddies inhabit the cavernous castle, where nearly all the action happens.
The game's slight departures from regular Castlevania-style play come in the way of near open-ended castle exploration and weapons choices for Alucard. The 'open-ended' castle crawling is not quite what gamers have come to expect from the likes of sandbox style games like GTA or Crackdown, rather allowing gamers to choose the paths they take, and who they fight and when, through the expansive fortress. A good portion of the castle is actually unreachable until Alucard finds his three different forms - mist, bat, and wolf. Each of the three additional forms that Alucard can change into allows him access to even more rooms throughout the castle.
Since Alucard is no ordinary vampire hunter, his weapons differ from the standard whip. Obtaining weapons dropped from defeated enemies and destroyed candles, Alcuard's weapons are mostly varied versions of blades. Like any good RPG, the game allows users to choose their weapon, shield, and armor in an intuitive menu system. The game delves further into the rpg realm by allowing players to purchase items (including strategies against bosses) from the 'librarian' hidden away in the castle. Like the different forms Alucard finds when exploring, health and heart point upgrades are hiding in the castle waiting for curious gamers to stumble upon them.
