Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

Symphony of the Night is a direct sequel to Rondo of Blood. Unlike the previous installments of the series, the game is set in a castle which the player can explore freely with many different paths, although often items in certain areas need to be found that will allow passage to others. The action-based gameplay incorporates now strong RPG elements. The hero receives experience points for defeating enemies, gains levels and becomes more powerful. (MobyGames)
Genre: Metroidvania
Platforms: PS4, PS Vita, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360, PlayStation, Sega Saturn
Franchise: Castlevania
AKAs: Akumajo Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku (Show all 5)
- Castlevania: SotN
- CV: SotN
- 悪魔城ドラキュラX 月下の夜想曲
- 惡魔城X 月下夜想曲
Developers: Konami, Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo
Publishers: Konami, Konami Digital Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Konami of America, Konami Deutschland


Date | User | Rating | |
Feb 25 | Phalanx | 8 87% |
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Jan 16 | ![]() |
ArtVNov | 46 91% |
Dec 29, 2020 | Tyr100 | 45 14% |
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Dec 17, 2020 | ![]() |
AshenRayne | 8 63% |
Dec 13, 2020 | corduroyq | 7 71% |
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Nov 22, 2020 | ![]() |
periboku | 50 20% |
Nov 18, 2020 | Empwarren | 85 78% |
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Oct 27, 2020 | KUMM | 50 0% |
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Aug 26, 2020 | ![]() |
Challe_P | 4 58% |
Aug 19, 2020 | ![]() |
JoeyRavn | 90 69% |
Jul 27, 2020 | bisepps | 95 86% |
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Jul 12, 2020 | ![]() |
mpowell | 28 79% |
Jul 04, 2020 | ![]() |
MaartenVC | 100 0% |
Jul 01, 2020 | kasada777 | 100 99% |
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Jun 29, 2020 | Episteme | 2 47% |
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Jun 02, 2020 | ![]() |
stalkylord | 88 53% |
May 27, 2020 | james816 | 90 66% |
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May 25, 2020 | ![]() |
baziseyler | 100 97% |
May 24, 2020 | ![]() |
ShogunRua | 95 92% |
A beautiful masterpiece that established the Metroidvania genre, and is a gold standard of the genre to this day. Lots of gorgeous, interesting, and unique areas and enemies to explore, and far more content in terms of items, bosses, abilities and a brand-new castle than anyone ever expected back in 1997. It has since been eclipsed and the formula taken further, even by Iga's own later Castlevanias, but this is a landmark classic in gaming history that still holds up today.
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May 12, 2020 | BigUncle13 | 93 92% |
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Apr 06, 2020 | leo_franco92 | 95 98% |
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Feb 28, 2020 | ![]() |
awwice | 100 98% |
Feb 25, 2020 | ![]() |
AverageGames | 74 96% |
Feb 24, 2020 | Enid | 75 72% |
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Feb 17, 2020 | dzfsdfs | 1 0% |
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Feb 13, 2020 | TheRascal | 92 91% |
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Feb 08, 2020 | ![]() |
Actionberg | 85 73% |
Feb 01, 2020 | ![]() |
Iconoclast | 75 42% |
Jan 27, 2020 | dkeeper | 99 93% |
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Jan 23, 2020 | ![]() |
edsu | 85 94% |
Jan 21, 2020 | enrap | 85 53% |
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Jan 18, 2020 | herge | 95 98% |
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Dec 06, 2019 | DrPhilBlunt | 100 85% |
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Dec 04, 2019 | ![]() |
MojoJoestar | 86 88% |
Nov 30, 2019 | ![]() |
TheShiznit | 75 97% |
Nov 23, 2019 | emhi | 90 76% |
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Nov 08, 2019 | ![]() |
EricDSnider2 | 95 93% |
Oct 23, 2019 | ![]() |
Kylts | 60 45% |
Sep 21, 2019 | ![]() |
howabe | 60 54% |
Medusa Heads in the Clock Tower and Galamoth alone cause this to lose points.
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Sep 12, 2019 | ProfHowell | 90 81% |
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Sep 10, 2019 | ![]() |
Heliophage | 90 91% |
The beginning of Igarashi's long-running re-imagining of the Castlevania formula that stood among the titles proving that 2D platformers abounding in style and substance were far from dead with the arrival of 3D. The direction was never quite as fully "Castlevania goes Metroid" as some might have it, as the action RPG grind for experience, money, and rarer drops to aid combat are very much present, whereas Metroid ignores them in favor of a tighter focus on the "lock and key" nature of abilities
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Aug 31, 2019 | FiveAgainst1 | 15 20% |
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Jul 19, 2019 | ![]() |
Mirelurk | 80 56% |
Jun 12, 2019 | torbern | 95 83% |
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May 27, 2019 | gtrmp | 85 88% |
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May 13, 2019 | ![]() |
SickForay | 91 86% |
May 11, 2019 | thomas_d | 91 40% |
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May 08, 2019 | Bradescou | 100 94% |
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Apr 05, 2019 | ![]() |
Aurelio | 50 58% |
Mar 18, 2019 | glitchwave | 85 96% |
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Jan 24, 2019 | ![]() |
MrHallenbeck | 100 100% |
Jan 21, 2019 | ![]() |
apsays | 95 98% |
Jan 17, 2019 | bashfluff | 80 62% |
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Jan 03, 2019 | Savante12 | 80 75% |
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Dec 29, 2018 | ![]() |
Ocelot | 70 76% |
it's not perfect. there are a lot of bizarre vestigial elements left over from the early games (it doesn't make a ton of sense to have pick up and swap sub items when there's an inventory screen) and the level design is fairly bland, especially considering the template Super Metroid left. but while Igavanias would be perfected with the masterpiece that is Aria of Sorrow, Symphony of the Night still holds up quite well in its own right. visually, it might still be the best one, too.
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Dec 28, 2018 | ![]() |
abjad | 90 78% |
Dec 28, 2018 | TheStraub | 89 86% |
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Oct 23, 2018 | topaz420 | 70 11% |
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Oct 19, 2018 | ![]() |
theparaiba | 87 57% |
Oct 07, 2018 | ![]() |
p00q | 85 72% |
Oct 04, 2018 | TheBreather | 100 95% |
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Oct 04, 2018 | ![]() |
maddog | 83 76% |
Sep 30, 2018 | ![]() |
AlexDourm | 9 95% |
Aug 21, 2018 | ![]() |
scarletspeed | 80 73% |
Jul 15, 2018 | ![]() |
gorguts | 100 98% |
Jul 05, 2018 | ![]() |
dralangrant | 100 90% |
Jul 04, 2018 | dhewett | 8 66% |
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May 29, 2018 | ![]() |
DMCrimson | 85 34% |
May 27, 2018 | ChibiNinja | 3 59% |
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May 15, 2018 | ezhmakov | 100 91% |
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May 06, 2018 | ![]() |
Veterini | 82 88% |
Apr 29, 2018 | stellis | 100 90% |
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Apr 28, 2018 | ![]() |
Johnsrk | 95 99% |
Apr 23, 2018 | Nab4real | 86 47% |
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Apr 15, 2018 | ![]() |
PunisherGT | 60 15% |
Apr 01, 2018 | ![]() |
MetaCritic2 | 93 98% |
Mar 27, 2018 | Ashuccino | 60 75% |
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Mar 24, 2018 | ![]() |
mrandersen10 | 90 74% |
Mar 24, 2018 | StaticSnow | 90 78% |
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Mar 13, 2018 | klaoth | 95 95% |
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Mar 12, 2018 | bmmello | 85 41% |
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Mar 06, 2018 | ![]() |
Sweekoden | 4 67% |
Mar 04, 2018 | ![]() |
Trooth | 95 89% |
Metroidvania has grown and developed so much as a genre since this, so it might seem pretty simple and quaint in retrospect. And sure, it's not as well-designed as a lot of games that followed, but I still loved playing it for the first time some 15 years after it came out.
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Mar 03, 2018 | tkmfitch | 6 20% |
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Mar 01, 2018 | ![]() |
lucas M. | 100 97% |
Feb 25, 2018 | ![]() |
gudmovies | 70 18% |
Feb 21, 2018 | ![]() |
Oits | 80 65% |
Feb 21, 2018 | ![]() |
moss piglet | 8 84% |
Feb 14, 2018 | OllieTT | 75 0% |
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Feb 10, 2018 | sfx112 | 80 66% |
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Feb 10, 2018 | ![]() |
tatabaanee | 65 23% |
Feb 05, 2018 | ![]() |
Daigoro | 9 98% |
Stood the test of time far better than any other game of that generation, amazing in every way.
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Feb 02, 2018 | ![]() |
fabiovisnadi | 92 76% |
Jan 31, 2018 | copayne | 89 79% |
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Jan 31, 2018 | ![]() |
Kojiless | 92 96% |
Jan 30, 2018 | ![]() |
Ehizzle403 | 95 96% |
Jan 29, 2018 | ![]() |
rosenritter | 5 24% |
Jan 29, 2018 | ![]() |
Ytadel | 8 92% |
Unlike others I don't think this is the inarguable peak of Castlevania (personally I love Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow just about as much), but it's one hell of a Metroidvania with such a cool gothic mood and grand musical soundtrack and smooth gameplay and great world to explore to it. Alucard is best bishonen.
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Jan 28, 2018 | DoubleMerlin | 90 70% |
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Jan 28, 2018 | ![]() |
bisterd | 83 40% |
Jan 28, 2018 | scummymac | 93 89% |
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Jan 28, 2018 | nathtan | 100 82% |
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Jan 28, 2018 | fridgecorn | 75 45% |
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Jan 27, 2018 | ChanceMcGunn | 75 55% |
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Jan 27, 2018 | Pratchett3 | 89 52% |
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Jan 26, 2018 | ![]() |
technom | 85 62% |
Jan 26, 2018 | ![]() |
martryn | 84 90% |
Damn, this game is one smooth fucking ride. A side-scroller to end all other side-scrollers. Castle exploration by finding the right gear and powers defines this entire genre. Upgrading weapons, learning new spells, beating the game, only to turn around and do it again... upside down! You feel like a right badass playing this game. So much fun.
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Jan 24, 2018 | ![]() |
auritech | 100 0% |
This is one of the few games that I can consistently go back to over and over again, a true masterpiece and in my opinion it's the best game that ever did come out on PlayStation. Is the writing bad? Sure! That adds to the charm! I want a game about vampires to have cheesiness because vampires are cheesy. But the game also gets all the mechanical elements right and it never gets boring. I play through it once a year every year and always enjoy it.
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Jan 23, 2018 | ![]() |
felipetschuk | 8 83% |
Jan 22, 2018 | ![]() |
AFlickering | 3 43% |
Jan 22, 2018 | mdrose38 | 95 76% |
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Jan 21, 2018 | ![]() |
suurjuust | 83 91% |
Jan 20, 2018 | ![]() |
BillyShears | 90 94% |
The best Castlevania game, I can turn into a fart cloud and the music is great.
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Jan 20, 2018 | ![]() |
Velvet Crowe | 82 82% |
Not my favorite among the Igavania's, but a damn solid title. Still maintains a slick as hell presentation (although the voice acting is notoriously cheesy) and the castle itself is still fun to explore. The game can easily be broken, (making it really easy) but the abilities have a lot of nice variety and are fun to use. The inverse Castle thing is neat on paper but it was kind of a cheap way to pad out the game's length and was kind of a chore to play through. Still a great game nonetheless.
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Jan 20, 2018 | ![]() |
Tds4a | 4 85% |
Jan 19, 2018 | ![]() |
SirSass | 90 93% |
Jan 19, 2018 | ![]() |
jeff_h | 10 98% |
Average Percentile 73.33% from 117 Ratings | ![]() |