Posts Tagged ‘alucard’
Review: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)
Console: Sony Playstation (also released on Sega Saturn in Japan only)
Released: 1997
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Japan? Yes (as Akumajo Dracula X: Gekka no Yasokyoku Translation: Devil’s Castle Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight)
Instruction Manual: Not necessary – Link
Difficulty: Moderate
Played it as a child? No
Value: $22.87 (used) $64.45 (new) (pricecharting.com) – NOTE: There are two versions: original and greatest hits. Original is much more rare and expensive, so adjust your buying habits appropriately.
Price: $15-25 (used GH) $35-$60 (used original) $90-$130 (new GH) $400 (new original) on eBay
Digital Release? Yes – released as PSOne title on PS3/PSP and on XBLA – $10.00 for all versions. Also available with Rondo of Blood in the Dracula X Collection for PSP – $15 digital, varies on UMD.
***We also did a podcast on this and other Castlevania titles like it here.***
While Rondo of Blood may be the hidden gem of the Castlevania series, Symphony of the Night is anything but. There wasn’t a Playstation gamer around that didn’t see this release back in 1997, bringing a much-needed change to the traditional formula. Every Castlevania game that released on consoles seemed to push the hardware to do things it was never intended to do and usually had amazing results, so it was interesting that in a world consumed by 3D polygonal graphics Symphony of the Night was a 2D side scroller. In Japan, the series has a much easier way to identify the games that go together – main campaign titles often wore Akumajo in the title and in this case Dracula X – but in America we had not received (and most of us had not played) Rondo of Blood. The game starts out with you climbing the stairs to Dracula’s chamber at the end of Rondo and you re-create the final fight with Dracula (of which you cannot die). Then a long bit of lore scrolls the screen and next thing you know you’re playing as Alucard, Dracula’s son, and you’re rushing to Castlevania to rescue Richter from its curse. It was like being dropped into the middle of an epic you had not previously learned the story of. Frankly, it didn’t matter, and even today playing Rondo of Blood only assists in giving you background detail because like all other Castlevania games it’s the gameplay and level design that keeps you hooked.
Review: Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (NES)
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Released: 1990
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Famicom? Yes (as Akumajo Densetsu – English Translation: Devil’s Castle Legend )
Instruction Manual: Not necessary – Link
Difficulty: Moderate
Played it as a child? Yes
Value: $12.25 (used) $172.82 (new) (pricecharting.com)
Price: $15-$20 (used) $289.00-$500.00 (new) on eBay
Digital Release? Yes – Virtual Console (NES version) – $5.00
What are you supposed to do?
Castlevania III returns to its roots and is an action platformer. Unlike the original, the game isn’t entirely linear, giving you branching paths along your way. Of the game’s 15 levels, you will play 9-10 of them depending on your decisions, eventually making your way to Dracula.
Review
As one of the later games on the NES, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse is surrounded by technical mastery. In fact, it utilizes such an expansive amount of supplemental hardware (ie: chips) that the Japanese version isn’t even capable of working with the NES (unless you modify it, of course) and the US version is incompatible with “famiclone” systems. For all that work, however, Castlevania III is a great title that impresses on all fronts. Back to the extra hardware – the memory management controller chip, version 5 (MMC5) allowed the game to be playable on the NES albeit at the cost of some of the impressive sounds and graphics in the Japanese version. This doesn’t mean it’s bad by any means, the game still looks and sounds better than a majority of games ever released on the console, it’s just that the Japanese version is a bit better thanks to the VRC6 microprocessor. Normally I don’t gush on video game soundtracks, because save for a select few I don’t really consider it a notable factor. This is one of those rare cases that I must say the game sounds amazing, in any form. 1up’s own Jeremy Parish captured the difference in a YouTube video that I have provided below so you can hear the difference for yourself.
Gaming History 101 