Topic: We passed another anniversary this year... how could we have forgotten?

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Another anniversary has passed our way and gone, with no mention. So I'm celebrating it now. Better late than never.

On March 20, 1997, a game was released in Japan that pretty much changed a franchise forever.

People were shocked. There probably was some crying involved; most likely because a baby burned their hand when their parent reached the menu screen, but crying was doubtlessly present. It was some weird amalgamation of two highly different franchises that nobody on the street could have anticipated or thought could have worked. But for some crazy reason, it did more than work. It ROCKED.

The game remains staggeringly popular and well thought of 15 years later.

That game was


And now that it's 15 years old, I find myself thinking about how well the game held up with time; it's aged remarkably well.

Playing the DXC version on my PSP, I'd have sworn it was a recently made game that jumped ship from the DS if I didn't know any better.

Even today, the original Playstation version controls tightly, looks fantastic and sounds amazing compared to more recent 2D games.

So modern games have less pixelated appearances. That doesn't keep Alucard from being any less fluidly animated, or any less a joy to control. So modern games have scores done by real orchestras instead of synths and sound samplings. That doesn't diminish any of the strength of the compositions, or the fact that the game still sounds amazing. So modern games have voice actors that sound like professionals 99% of the time and have character physique-appropriate voices. That doesn't... it... well... um... FUCK YOU. Go play the DXC version if that's such a gripe with you.

Symphony of the Night remains one of my favorite games, and that speaks highly of the game considering I had never even SEEN it until I unlocked it in Dracula X Chronicles.

Since then, I beat the DXC version COUNTLESS times, and went out and actually bought a disk version on Amazon. Beat that a bunch of times too.
For a game that old to have stolen my heart that way is amazing and rare.

And now that it's available to pretty much anyone who is not a hyper-zealot-crusading Nintendo fanboy (or fangirl) on any system NOT brandishing the big old "N" logo...

...I'd say it's worth picking up one more time and playing through it again.

[Dengo vlad tepes]

And now you can explode !

[Chernabogue]

HBD to SotN. The legendary game that started the Metroidvania madness!

With all the ports and version we got, I dnno what they could have done for this anniversary.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

With all the ports and version we got, I dnno what they could have done for this anniversary.

An actual HD depixelated port of the original would have been nice, but I'm holding out for a full 3D remake for the big 20th.

[crisis]

And now you can explode !

Punch line drum



lol but srsly, i fondly remember purchasing Symphony from store shelves on that fateful day in '97, i was only 13. those were good times, times when Konami had their heads on straight most of the time. I wish the original team, each & every programmer that were involved in Symphony stuck around to create another 2D classic for the PS-X.


fun fact: Dave Cox also was involved and his name can be seen in the credits

[Abnormal Freak]

D...de...pixelated?

So you're one of THOSE types. :o

Never got the appeal of smoothing over pixels. It looks butt-ugly.

[Green Stranger]

This game is without a doubt the highlight of the series and for me is the greastest videogame of all time. It was this game that sling-shot me back into the franchise many years ago. Before SoTN I was blown away by CV4, and for about a good six years I hadn't known anything new about CV because I didn't own a Genesis.
 
There it was on on display for fifty bucks at Target, bought it, remained glued to my PS1 for many years to come. Kojima's artwork was actually my source of inspiration to become an artist. If SoTN were a real person I would hug it, kiss it, fuck it and jizz inside it. Nah not really but seriously it's an amazing game.
 
In the words of Alucard: "Symphony of The Night's power is supreme amongst Castlevanias, none other could defeat it" I might just make that my sig:p

[Odile Kuronuma]

Happy birthday to my favorite game of all time!

[darkwzrd4]

An actual HD depixelated port of the original would have been nice, but I'm holding out for a full 3D remake for the big 20th.

A 3D remake of SotN would be cool assuming that it doesn't suffer the same negatives that LoI and CoD suffered.  The worst of which was cookie cutter rooms and incredibly flat levels.  Well, LoI wasn't as flat and at least had some puzzles.  But CoD had blatantly flat areas.  There would need to be plenty of platforming and no titan battles.  They sucked on LoS and would suck in any game.  You should have to crawl all over a boss to defeat it.  And, I can't see Alucard doing that.

Those are just my thoughts.

[kingu]

i wish every castlevania cover stuck ACTION GAME at the bottom.

[VladCT]

A 3D remake of SotN would be cool assuming that it doesn't suffer the same negatives that LoI and CoD suffered.  The worst of which was cookie cutter rooms and incredibly flat levels.  Well, LoI wasn't as flat and at least had some puzzles.  But CoD had blatantly flat areas.  There would need to be plenty of platforming and no titan battles.  They sucked on LoS and would suck in any game.  You should have to crawl all over a boss to defeat it.  And, I can't see Alucard doing that.

Those are just my thoughts.

At the very least it should get the DXC treatment, and then released along with an HD remake of DXC (preferably with some extra goodies, like alternate outfits).

[uzo]

Another anniversary has passed our way and gone, with no mention. So I'm celebrating it now. Better late than never.

It actually had been mentioned just earlier in the year. Specifically, when we discussed the anniversary for the series.

[Chernabogue]

They could do it DXC-style. Symphony Chronicles, with 2,5D graphs, upgraded soundtrack and bonuses.

[Abnormal Freak]

Or just leave the game stand on its own and never redo it? I don't understand the obsession with remakes.

[TheouAegis]

Because, as someone else said, they're all a bunch of "those".
Probably the same people that razz on Genesis and Saturn or won't play Metroid or Classicvanias.