Castlevania: Symphony of the Night/Saturn

The Sega Saturn version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was only released in Japan and, like the Japanese name of the PlayStation version, was called Akumajō Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight. This edition was more of an update rather than a port of the game. In addition to the entire original Symphony of the Night, it included new stages, music, enemies and items that were absent in the Sony versions, plus a playable version of Maria Renard. It is also possible to play as Richter Belmont or Maria Renard from the beginning of the game without having to do extra efforts to unlock them. The story, with the exception of a boss battle with Maria in order for Alucard to gain the Holy Glasses, is the same as the original game's. It is also the second and final Castlevania game to be released for a Sega platform, as Sega left the console business and became a multi-platform third party developer and publisher in 2001 following the discontinuation of the Sega Dreamcast.
==Version differences==
While it sounds like the superior game on paper (especially considering the Saturn's general history with 2D games), this port is bogged with performance issues. The load times are more frequent and much longer. There is now slowdown in areas where none had existed in the original version, and some of the rooms were split in two or missing entirely. Rather than maintaining the Saturn's increased resolution, the game was stretched to fit the screen, causing some sprites and graphics to be distorted. Some of the sound and graphical effects were also down-sampled. For example, some enemies have different death animations, and the Game Over sequence uses a fade-through-white transition instead of a screen-melt transition. Transparencies are also non-existent, making certain things like the waterfall and the mist effect look less than spectacular. Because of this, the "Invisible" cloak (also known as the Crystal Cloak) was removed and replaced with the Glaring Cloth (although it shares the same menu icon), which is bright white rather than see-through and grants immunity to Dark to compensate for the visual downgrade. A new mantle was also added that increased Constitution by seven, called the Rainbow Mantle. Instead of the invisibility effect, it changed colors periodically. Additionally, Richter had an alternate outfit closer to the official artwork that could also be seen while fighting against him but that still didn't quite match Ayami Kojima's artwork due to the absence of the white shirt and long hair that Richter is depicted with in that artwork. Lastly, the Master Librarian no longer sells boss tactics, and map completion data is still made with the PSX version in mind. Unfortunately, critics have often deemed the Saturn content as clashing with the original design of the game.
While the Saturn version was ultimately denounced by Assistant Director IGA, it does maintain a legacy. The Underground Garden area is thought to be an unused idea from the PSX edition, as the door to its equivalent area (leading to a normally-inaccessible save point) can be opened originally via glitching. Unused audio for a lost ending in the PSX version also indicated some variant of the Maria battle. The Alucard Spear also appeared in the Saturn version, a novelty weapon but one that would one day end up in the hands of Eric Lecarde.
In latter editions of the Japanese PSX version, the Fairy Familiar could sing to Alucard much like she could with the Song Lyrics Card in the Saturn version. When the PSP version, The Dracula X Chronicles, was announced, there was fan outcry to merge the best of the Saturn version (such as Maria and the God Speed Shoes, an ability found in the start of the second castle that allowed Alucard to run like Richter) with the PSX version to make the best quality version possible. IGA did listen somewhat and included a new version of Maria in the PSP version. This new Maria played more like her Rondo of Blood self. She is also fought for the Holy Glasses much like the Saturn version.
Her battle music, often considered one of the best in the series, was, however, replaced with Richter's battle theme. Her sprite when playing and battling against her is also slightly different from her normal set of sprites. Despite these improvements, the PSP version would also see some panning due to its imperfect porting and many game-crashing glitches.
==Character gallery==
===Playable characters===
Alucard with Rainbow Robe.JPG|link=Alucard/Symphony of the Night|AlucardAlucard is still the only playable character with a storyline. He has a few new items (such as this Glaring Cloth) and the holder (commonly unofficially referred to as third hand) for healing items.
Sotn Saturn-richter.png|link=Richter Belmont/Symphony of the Night|Richter BelmontRichter is now playable at the beginning of the game. He wears clothing closer to his depiction in the official art in this game when fighting against him and as an alternate playable costume, but it does not match it as well as its two original appearances.
RenardMaria3.JPG|link=Maria Renard/Symphony of the Night/Saturn|Maria RenardThis edition features a unique playable version of Maria not found in any other version of this game. She is also playable from the start.
===New enemies===
Several enemies appear in this edition that do not appear in any other edition. For a list of all enemies, see Symphony of the Night Bestiary.
===New areas===
Nitm New01.png|link=Underground Garden|Underground Garden
Nitm New02.png|link=Cursed Prison|Cursed Prison
Nitm New03.png|link=Hell Garden|Hell GardenData Select
Nitm New04.png|link=Soul Prison|Soul PrisonData Select
===New items===
Alucard has some new items available in his quest.
==Related products==
*Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - The original PlayStation version of this game (has the same Japanese name).
*Castlevania Legends - The previous game developed by Konami/KCE Nagoya.
*Akumajō Dracula Best Music Collections BOX - Contains music from this game edition on Disc 6.
*Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Original Video Game Soundtrack 2XLP - Vinyl soundtrack covering tracks exclusive to this edition on Side D
*Music from Akumajo Dracula Aka - Contains more music from this game edition on Disc 2.
==References==
==External links==
*Castlevania Realm
*GameFAQs
*Gokuma's Dracula X NITM
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Category:Castlevania Games