Image: Konami
You will be forgiven to have missed it (we did, at least at the beginning), but Castlevania: Symphony of the night celebrated its quarter century this weekend.
Akumajō Dracula X: Gekka No Yasōkyoku (Japanese title of the game) launched on March 20, 1997 in the country of the rising sun. One of the most remarkable titles of all the genus "Metroidvania", the game merged a 2D action platform with a nonlinear tentacular card and RPG elements - such as experience points, weapons, armor and other equipment.
Symphony of the Night was produced and produced by Toru Hagiahara, with Koji 'Iga' Igarashi acting as one of the main programmers. Igarashi, of course, will later become the guardian of the entire franchise before separating from Konami and working on Bloodstained: Ritual of the night , spiritual successor of Symphony of the Night. During its mandate as a producer in the series, Igarashi would oversee the production of several games that were trying to replicate the style of Symphony of the Night, including the superb Aria of the grief .
Helped by the incredible soundtrack of Michiru Yamane and the sumptuous characters' designs of Ayami Kojima, Symphony of The Night is considered by much as the summum of the whole Castlevania series. It has been a commercial success in North America (but not in Europe, curiously), and was then focused on Sega Saturn in Japan. It would be published numerically as "PS1 Classic" and was included as an unlocking supplement on the title PSP Castlevania: the chronicles of Dracula X . Later again, it would be grouped with Dracula X: Rondo of Blood in the Requiem of Castlevania Pack double.
Castlevania is unfortunately fallen by the way as a video game franchise lately, but Netflix has managed to adapt it successfully into a rather good live series.
Happy birthday, symphony of the night! What do you think of the game 25 years later? Is it a classic of all time, or maybe you have not played yet? Let's discuss it in the comments section below.
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