Symphony of the GAWDAMN FACEMELTERRRR

By bonbolapti August 10, 2010 13 Comments

I bet I can blame my sudden re-interest in Castlevania to that CHD quick look, or maybe my roommate buying Dracula X Chronicles. But the mood is right, and the lights are low, so it was time to get my game on with a classic.
 
Symphony of the Night Could arguably by my favorite Castlevania game. Yet, I often declare that Dracula X is my favorite game of all time, But it could be that I think Richter is a great character. (Most Castlevania games are devoid of personality, So talking about Which Belmont is awesome is probably stupid.) but if you had to write an essay discussing the merits of Metroidvania game design, SoTN could be your best example on why it works. (but we're not here to debate the fundamentals of gameology... gameanomics?)
 

Probably the biggest reason of why I can't put this game down is because I just get stuck wandering around. Dracula's house is huge and there's so many nooks and crannies to explore. Especially getting new abilities will obviously help you uncover more. So my desire to explore is makes me play it, but that gets to a point where you've wandered around the Castle so much that you forget where everything is. So exploring slowly turns into wandering aimlessly. It eventually becomes the bane of your existence. Perhaps a lot of amateur vampire hunters simply die walking around, getting lost, loosing their minds. Etc.
 
On top of that you have another house to wander around that is completely upside down. So not only do I have to 100% that stuff, but I have to deal with my own Vertigo, which is probably a strange experience to have on the PSP. (Falling upwards is a much more frightening thought then falling down.)
 
But if you think that running around looking for stuff is the only thing that adds to the re-playability, when you beat the game you have the option to play through the game as Richter Belmont or Maria (this blonde in that always pops around the game and asks Alucard what's up) It's a cool added challenge to the game. You're pretty much stripped of everything Alucard can do, and you go back to the action-whip stylings of The Belmonts. Which you think you be hard, because you only have so big a life bar and one life, but the dudes whip is insanely powerful. (and dude also plays exactly like he does in Dracula X) Maria on the other hand, though she has the same amount of lives and health as Richter, her attacks are much more weaker. And could result in a harder play through. (But her ability to fight her enemies with animals is pretty amazing. I would never think throwing a bird at someone to be an effective attack.)
 
When I get done with this, I'll probably start looking towards another Castlevania game to fill that void, but I realize that I haven't actually played any Castlevania game past SoTN, so throw a suggestion my way of what's a good one to play after this, and I may take you up on that.
 
(I'm also hoping that this is the Blog that let's me finish that silly quest :P)
Ciao.  

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