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Retro Review: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
File Size: 356 MBPrice: $9.99Developed By: KonamiPublished By: KonamiOriginal Release Date: October 2, 1997Short ReviewRecommended. One of the most frequently requested PS1 titles finally hits the PlayStation Store, with Konami releasing Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The title holds its age remarkably well and clearly shows why it is considered one of the finest titles of the original PlayStation era. The graphics look surprisingly sharp and colorful on the PSP and hold up nicely even when displayed on a 52" HD TV via the PS3. The gameplay is the real selling point here though, as you romp through a fairly non-linear castle, with a full RPG-like leveling system, magic, special moves and colorful monsters, the lengthy campaign is well worth paying the higher-than-normal cost of this retro title. Overall, Castlevania: SotN is a fantastic addition to the PlayStation Store's lineup and should not be miss by any Castlevania or 2D platformer fans.Full Review after the jump.
Castlevania: Portrait of Character Portraits
During last night's Game Night, we were approached by reader Brad Mecoli, who asked us if we wanted to see some hacked Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin video. After about .68 seconds of deliberation (which, for an android, is nearly an eternity) we agreed, and Brad took us to a good place (heh, heh, heh): YouTube. He found a character portrait test sequence in the ROM, which, using a hex editor, he was able to display. It features every character in the game cycling through all of their facial expressions while chanting ka ge ma sa, which, as Brad reminded us, is the name of the founder of Konami.We find it very creepy for some reason whenever the veil is pulled back on internal development materials within a game. But we also find it funny. Watch after the break and enter a Kagemasa traaaaaaance.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night now downloadable
PS3 owners can now download the PS1 classic, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night from the PlayStation Store for only $10. The downloadable game will play on both PS3 and PSP systems. For those without PS3 systems, players can find a version of Symphony of the Night included in the upcoming Dracula X Chronicles.See also:Our most wanted PS1 games
PS Store: Symphony of the Night for PS3 and PSP, and more
It's Thursday, which means it's time for another update to the PlayStation Store. In store for us this week are a couple real treats: first, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for PSP and PS3. This $10 download may cost the same as its HD-ified XBLA counterpart but, unlike that version, you can load this one up on your PSP for those rare occasions you're not in front of a game console. Just remember, Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles won't be out for several months. Also dropped this week is the E3 trailer for Suckerpunch's slick new PS3 sandbox title, inFAMOUS. If you haven't watched it yet, we've embedded a version after the break, or check out the PlayStation Store for one in proper high-def. Either way, you really should watch it. The rest of the various trailers and videos available this week are listed after the break.
VC Tuesday: Dead moon over the demon castle
Even though we usually support the more obscure VC releases, we can't help but focus our attention on this week's most mainstream title: Castlevania. Finally making its appearance on the Japanese Virtual Console, Konami's side-scroller is a must-buy. I personally consider "liking Castlevania a lot" as an important component of my personality. What an awesome night to have a curse.Like Castlevania, Power Sports and Dead Moon have both already arrived in the US (Power Sports as World Sports Competition), and Ichidant-R, a Bonanza Bros. spinoff, is the sequel to Tant-R, seen on the Sega Classics Collection. A multiplayer puzzle minigame collection, Ichidant-R is sort of a precursor to Mario Party and Wario Ware.Hajimari no Mori is a graphical text adventure from Nintendo! Let's all hope for a miracle localization for that one. Akumajou Dracula (Famicom Disk System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Hajimari no Mori (Super Famicom, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Ichidant-R (Mega Drive, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points) Power Sports (PC Engine, 1-5 players, 600 Wii Points) Dead Moon (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
Joystiq impressions: Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles (PSP)
At long last, we were able to get our hands on Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles at Konami's E3 booth. This upcoming PSP-exclusive remake of Rondo of Blood is easily the best-looking handheld Castlevania to date. Although far away from being the best looking PSP title to date, the game offers a visual feast for those that have become accustomed to the excellent, but somewhat visually underwhelming DS offerings.The old roots of the game can be easily seen in the game's somewhat antiquated controls. Richter feels stiff, missing the quick movement of recent Castlevania stars. Regardless, we found ourselves compelled by the classic Castlevania gameplay. The creatures are well-designed, and the music is even more stunning.As revealed earlier, Dracula X Chronicles will include three games: the new 3D remake, the original 2D game, and a newly enhanced Symphony of the Night. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to see Symphony of the Night in action. But even without that, it appears that Dracula X Chronicles will offer a significant, meaty adventure. There are multiple paths through levels, and at completion, another character will be unlocked. Eventually, players will be able to remix the music of the game, reassigning levels with songs of their choice. From what we've seen, we can say the game is drawing close to completion. Expect Dracula X Chronicles before the end of the year.%Gallery-4765%
Hands-on: Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles
At long last, we were able to get our hands on Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles at Konami's E3 booth. This upcoming PSP-exclusive remake of Rondo of Blood is easily the best-looking handheld Castlevania to date. Although far away from being the best looking PSP title to date, the game offers a visual feast for those that have become accustomed to the excellent, but somewhat visually underwhelming DS offerings.The old roots of the game can be easily seen in the game's somewhat antiquated controls. Richter feels stiff, missing the quick movement of recent Castlevania stars. Regardless, we found ourselves compelled by the classic Castlevania gameplay. The creatures are well-designed, and the music is even more stunning.As revealed earlier, Dracula X Chronicles will include three games: the new 3D remake, the original 2D game, and a newly enhanced Symphony of the Night. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to see Symphony of the Night in action. But even without that, it appears that Dracula X Chronicles will offer a significant, meaty adventure. There are multiple paths through levels, and at completion, another character will be unlocked. Eventually, players will be able to remix the music of the game, reassigning levels with songs of their choice. From what we've seen, we can say the game is drawing close to completion. Expect Dracula X Chronicles before the end of the year.%Gallery-3224%
Konami reveals E3 lineup
A vampire, gunner, dancer and water drop go fishing by a playground and they spot a vengeful apparition. That just about sums up Konami's announced E3 2007 lineup: Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP; Fall 2007) Contra 4 (DS; 2007) Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party (Wii; Fall 2007) Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2 (PS2; Fall 2007) Dewy's Adventure (Wii; Fall 2007) Fishing Master (Wii; Fall 2007) Hellboy: The Science of Evil (working title) (PS3, Xbox 360, PSP; 2007) Konami Kids Playground (PS2; Fall 2007) Silent Hill Origins (PSP; Fall 2007) Not listed is Metal Gear Solid 4, but we already know that a new trailer is being debuted at the Sony, Konami keynotes.
What a horrible summer not to be going to Comic-Con
NECA, the company responsible for the awesome Castlevania figure prototypes, has a new Simon Belmont figure on the way. It's a somewhat more faithful sculpture of Simon as he appeared in the first Castlevania on the NES. Unfortunately, only 1,000 units will be produced, and it will only be available at the San Diego Comic-Con.We totally want this, and we are all about pixel art, but we must say that this figure, with its rounded edges and inexact paint job, looks a little more like a cookie to us than an action figure. Which actually gives us an idea! [Via NeoGAF]
Japanese VC Castlevania is the Famicom Disk System version
This probably doesn't affect any readers here (although, if you're a Japan-local Wii Fanboy, let us know!) but we discovered something interesting while drooling at the Japanese Virtual Console page.Proving their absolute and irrational devotion to historical accuracy, the version of Castlevania going up on the VC this month will not be the same cartridge version that's already been released in the US and Europe. Instead, Japan is getting the original version, which was released for the Famicom Disk System in 1986. The differences include a save state feature and a name entry screen with music unheard in the US version! Which, unfortunately, we can't find. The idea that there's Castlevania music out there that we haven't heard makes us kind of uncomfortable.
Sony will not 'walk away' from UMD support
In a recent interview with Pocket Gamer, John Koller, senior marketing manager for the PSP, strongly defended the UMD format against accusations of waning industry support. Though movie company support has definitely dropped as companies try to figure out what titles work with the UMD format (hint: more Family Guy and less Rent), Koller says that UMD movie sales have actually increased 35% between 2005 and 2006 and goes on to say the sales increase "clearly demonstrates a growing interest by consumers for UMD movies."Interestingly, he also mentioned that the cost to duplicate and create UMD discs is actually cheaper and faster than duplicating DS cartridges. Unfortunately, this brings up one of the problems of the UMD format -- the disc based aspect of it allows for cheap production but slow read speeds cause massive load time troubles for developers. It isn't a deal killer, but it something that causes headaches for developers. Koji Igarashi, the guy behind Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, has had to deal with that first hand and says that while he was initially worried, it turned out to be something that didn't hamper the team that badly while making the much anticipated title. "[Game companies] can overcome [loading times] by technique – it is the programmers' chance to show what he can do," he said.The most important part of the interview was that, even with an official PSP iso loader, a new possible PSP redesign with large amounts of onboard storage, and an upcoming PSP Store with video/game content, that Sony will not abandon the UMD format. "We'll never walk away from our base," says Koller. "Whether it's movies or game content, third parties have an incredible opportunity to utilize it."[Via Games Industry]
DS Daily: Those pesky names
Stupid names. Who needs 'em? We never did. Growing up, we never talked about moblins or lynel in The Legend of Zelda. We talked about the spear dudes and those stupid #*@&$^) centaur guys (except with more colorful metaphors). We were dirty, dirty children who shouldn't have been allowed to mix with the other children. But the point is, manual-reading aside, the official names for creatures in video games just never seemed to stick with us. Oh, maybe some (evil) people could summon the precise names for Lakitus and Metools, but we were not those people. This is why we like Castlevania. You know what a Fish Head is? It's a freakin' fish-headed monster. Even we can remember that. But what about you?
PSA: Richter can't swim in Castlevania
High-Score has posted yet another video of Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles in action. This time, we see Richter crossing a bridge ... but watch out! That kid can't swim ... Certainly, a shaky boat ride will mean his doom.
The fifth stage of Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles
High Score's Castlevania week is unfortunately over. Thankfully, their latest video of Dracula X Chronicles is the best yet. You can see some of Richter's more capable moves in today's video, and a hint at an upcoming boss battle. High-Score is promising even more content next week, so don't put your whips away yet. See also:The fourth stage of CastlevaniaThe third stage of CastlevaniaThe second stage of CastlevaniaThe first stage of Castlevania
The fourth stage of Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles
As this player from High-Score continues to go deeper into the Dracula X Chronicles, he reveals some of the castle's more challenging dangers. See all sorts of traps attempt to (successfully) kill the player not once ... but twice. See also:The third stage of CastlevaniaThe second stage of CastlevaniaThe first stage of Castlevania
The third stage of Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles
The latest video from High Score's week-long Castlevania series highlights some of the incredible animation featured in the game. Take particular note to the way the spear-wielding skeleton moves. It's quite articulate. However, we're concerned about Belmont: does he have arthritis? He seems really stiff, don't you think?See also:The second stage of CastlevaniaThe first stage of Castlevania
The second stage of Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles
Does the Castlevania theme ever get old? (The correct answer is no.) Here's your second serving of your daily Dracula X Chronicles videos for this week. See also:The first stage of Castlevania
The first stage of Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles
It might have sexy, modern 3D graphics, but its gameplay is decidedly old-school. High Score's week-long Castlevania feature goes through the first five levels in the game. Bust out the old whip, and get ready to destroy everything in your sight.
Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles opening cinematic
The Dracula X Chronicles is bringing classic Castlevania gameplay to PSP ... in style. In celebration of their upcoming "Castlevania Week," High-Score has uploaded the opening cinematic to the upcoming PSP exclusive. Certainly looks atmospheric, no? High-Score is promising even more great stuff next week, including interviews, and a look at the remastered Symphony of the Night that's included on the UMD. When you're done watching the intro, don't forget to check out some of the screenshots from our updated gallery. %Gallery-3224% [Via Gamespot]
Virtually Overlooked: Boku Dracula-kun
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative. Virtually Overlooked readers know that we love Konami, a lot-- Castlevania in particular. We've talked about three Konami games already in our feature's short history, one of which was a Castlevania. Surely you won't mind if we go back to the well? It'll be worth it. Don't worry, it's not another Castlevania 1 remake. Akumajou Special: Boku Dracula-kun for the Famicom is a Mega Man clone-- starring the monster such as whom mankind ill needs a savior.
