In an unannounced move, Konami released the classic Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on Android and iOS earlier this week. The release is likely related to the premiere of Castlevania Season 3 on Netflix, which gives fans of the franchise even more reasons to celebrate. Even better, the mobile port is only $2.99.
Originally released in 1997 for the PlayStation, Symphony of the Night is widely regarded as the best in the series, as well as one of the best games of all-time. Its influence cannot be diminished. This installment, along with Nintendo's Metroid series, helped to spawn the beloved Metroidvania genre, meaning games like Hollow Knight and the upcoming Ori and the Will of the Wisps owe their existence to this classic.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night occurs four years after the previous installment: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. In the game, Dracula's castle has reappeared, and Richter Belmont, the hero of Rondo of Blood has gone missing. The player takes control of Alucard, who enters Dracula's castle in hopes of destroying it.
Along the way, Alucard will discover a plethora of weapons to use. Previous installments didn't possess such a diverse arsenal, instead limiting the player to the series' signature whip. This was also the first game in the series to feature a level-up mechanic. Alucard would gain experience as he dispatched enemies, and his power would grow little by little. This not only added a new sense of progression, but made the game more accessible to the average player.
Most importantly, Alucard also unlocks new abilities to access previously inaccessible parts of the labyrinthine castle. Exploration is a key gameplay component, and what ending the player receives is heavily contingent on how much of the castle they have unlocked. The circuitous progression, now a hallmark of the Metroidvania genre, is one of the factors that has given Symphony of the Night its staying power.
Modern Metroidvanias may have improved combat and graphics, but players love Symphony of the Night for the simple joy of parsing through the castle's secrets and watching the completion percentage creep closer and closer to 100. What happens when there are no more rooms to explore is one of the most memorable moments in all of gaming.
Symphony of the Night's DNA is so obviously present in the games that came after it. Its lineage can be traced through Dark Souls, which features an interconnected map. Hollow Knight also ran with the idea that achieving 100 percent completion didn't necessarily mean the end of the game (though in Hollow Knight's case, the additional content was introduced via DLC). Even larger releases like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order have borrowed the system of unlocking new movement abilities and backtracking to uncover secrets.
Before the mobile port's release, the only current-generation consoles where Symphony of the Night was available were PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. This recent release will make the game available to a wider audience. Not only that, but the mobile version is also presented with its original music, making for a truly nostalgic experience. Though the Google Play store claims to use the original graphics, the mobile version is displayed in 4:3, suggesting it is a port of the PlayStation Portable release. Players should be happy to hear that, while there are touch screen controls, the game also supports external controllers. The mobile version also introduces a "new continue" feature.
Though Castlevania has found a new life on Netflix, the games haven't experienced the same Renaissance. The most recent installment on major consoles was Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, which released in 2014 to mostly negative reviews. Last fall, Konami quietly released Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls on iOS and Android. The 3D Castlevanias still have their supporters, but those games and Grimoire of Souls are something of a departure from Symphony of the Night.
Many fans have turned to indie games for their classic-style Metroidvania fix, including Koji Igarashi's Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Igarashi was the assistant director on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. After leaving Konami in 2014, Igarashi launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the spiritual successor to the Castlevania series. Bloodstained released on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2019 to critical acclaim. Though the Switch release was plagued with technical issues, a patch released in January has fixed many of those problems. Now, Symphony of the Night's mobile release gives fans old and new the perfect opportunity to revisit this classic Castlevania games and one of the most influential video games of all time.