Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Game Boy)

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Game Boy) is a Game Boy port/remake of the Sony PlayStation game. It was directed and produced by Koji Igarashi. Unlike its PlayStation counter-part, the game is a direct sequel to Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, taking place four years later after Christopher Belmont goes missing. Like its PlayStation counter-part, it features's Dracula's son Alucard as it's main protagonist.
==Gameplay==
Symphony of the Night is a two-dimensional side-scrolling exploration-action game. The game's objective is to explore Dracula's castle, Castlevania, to find and defeat Christopher Belmont (who claims he's the lord of the castle). While the game is non-linear, most areas are inaccessible until Alucard has obtained a certain transformation or ability, such as the Bat Form or Mist Form. Alucard can save at pre-designated Save Rooms, or warp to different areas from Warp Rooms.
While the Game Boy version maintains the original's role-playing game elements, they are heavily streamlined. Instead of the variety of weapon, armor and accessory equipment slots, there are only four slots: Weapon, Armor, Accessory and Spell. Levelling is present, as are all the original game's stats. Relics are also present, although there are nowhere near as many as the original. Alucard can buy weapons, armor, accessories and Spells from the shop located in the Marble Gallery.
Combat is much more limited compared to the original game. The game is overall slower, similar to the other Game Boy Castlevania entries (although it is overall faster than those games). There is only one weapon type: swords, which can come in short or long variants. Alucard cannot use sub-weapons, instead only being able to use his Dark Magic abilities (labelled here as 'Spells'), which are mapped to the traditional sub-weapon button combination (Up + B). Alucard's Forms are also limited. While the Bat Form and Mist Form are present, Wolf Form is missing. Mist Form has been changed, with it instead acting more like the invicibility potions from previous Castlevania games, with Alucard being able to walk through enemies and certain walls (but unable to attack).
Alucard can change equipment and Spells through the inventory, accessed by pressing 'START'. From here, the player can also view a Bestiary, detailing monsters they have fought during the game. Pressing 'SELECT' allows players to view the map of the current area they are in, and also transform into any Forms or use certain abilities collected.
If the player defeats the true final boss, Belmont Mode is unlocked. In this mode, players play as Christopher Belmont prior to the events of the main game. The map has been slightly changed to match Christopher's classic play-style, with rooms being relocated or removed, and extra platforms being added into areas. While Christopher cannot level up, he can increase his attack output by defeating bosses. All of his classic sub-weapons are available from the beginning, and can be changed from the 'SELECT' screen. The music for most areas has also been changed to music from other Castlevania games.
==Plot==
Similar to the original game, Symphony of the Night begins with a prologue. Instead of retelling the ending to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, however, it instead retells the ending of Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge. Christopher Belmont fights and defeats Count Dracula, laying him to rest and freeing his son, Soleiyu, from his curse.
: "The war was over. Dracula's scheme foiled because of the combined power of Christopher Belmont and his son, Soleiyu. Once again the world is at peace.
: However, four years later, on a glaring full-moon night, Christopher mysteriously vanished.
: Soleiyu set out to find him. It was then that fate interviened.
: Castlevania, the castle of Dracula, suddenly materialized from the mist, and Soleiyu entered.
: Meanwhile, powerful forces struggled for the soul of Alucard, who had once fought alongside Trevor Belmont against his father, Count Dracula himself.
: To purge the world of his own cursed bloodline, Alucard had submerged his powers and fallen into what was meant to be eternal slumber. But now, he awakens to the cackles of evil and cries of the innocent.
: The eternal battle of Good and Evil has come full circle once more. Dracula's castle beckons for you..."
Four years after the events of Belmont's Revenge, Alucard enters Castlevania in search of why it has risen so soon. Alucard quickly meets with Death, who takes away all of Alucard's inventory, leaving him only with a weak short sword. After entering the Marble Gallery, Alucard meets with the Master Librarian, who opens the shop for him. Alucard meets Soleiyu (who plays the role of this version's Maria Renard), who tell Alucard of Christopher's disappearance.
After exploring, Alucard enters the Catacombs, where he finds Christopher, who claims to be the lord of the castle. Christopher forces Alucard to face two monsters, which Alucard defeats. Alucard then obtains the Mist Form ability, allowing him to access a new area of the Marble Gallery, where he finds the Wolf's Fang Spell, which can break large doors.
In the Underground Caverns, Alucard is seemingly teleported back in time to his mother's burning at the stake. Alucard's mother, Lisa, tells Alucard that he's supposed to hate humanity, and that he should slay "every single human". Alucard realizes what this is, and the Succubus reveals herself. After defeating the Succubus, Alucard gains the Bat Form, which allows him to access the Clock Tower.
Alucard finds Death at the end of the Clock Tower, and Alucard defeats him, retrieving his sword in the process. Alucard then makes the final ascent to the castle's peak, where the throne room is and where Christopher is.
===Bad Ending===
If the player doesn't find the six pieces of Dracula, and the player defeats Christopher as normal, Alucard and Soleiyu leave the castle as it crumbles. Soleiyu is distraught about the death of his father, while Alucard is wondering what caused him to become like that. The two head their seperate ways, and the credits roll.
===Good Ending===
If the player finds the six pieces of Dracula, after the player defeats Christopher, a spirit is lifted from his body. It is revealed to be Dracula, who rose his castle in his spirit form to lure Christopher to it so he could possess him. Soleiyu takes the now-good Christopher away, and Alucard battles Dracula. Alucard defeats his father, and his father apologises to him for all the pain he's caused him. Alucard says that Dracula isn't going to return any time soon, and Dracula's soul fades away.
The three leave the castle and watch it crumble. Soleiyu and Christopher thank Alucard for his help, and finally ask who he is. Alucard says that he's merely a friend, and only wants to help. The two accept it, and they go their separate ways.
==Castle Sections==
*Entrance - A small area with mostly hallways filled with zombies. Has elements of the Outer Wall area from the original game. Slorga is fought here. Connects to the Marble Gallery and Underground Caverns.
*Marble Gallery - A combination of the Marble Gallery and the original game's Alchemy Lab. Contains a number of vertical sections. The shop is accessed from here. Gaibon is fought here. Connects to the Entrance and the Clock Tower.
*Underground Caverns - An area with a lot of water and deep descents. The Succubus is fought here. Connects to the Entrance and Catacombs.
*Catacombs - A series of large hallways connected by long vertical sections. The Coliseum fight takes place here. Connects to the Underground Caverns.
*Clock Tower - A long section of vertical areas with large cogs and filled with Medusa Heads. Death is fought here. Connects to the Marble Gallery and the Castle Keep.
*Castle Keep - The final stretch of the game, with classic Castlevania enemies and a large staircase to the Throne Room. Christopher and Dracula are fought here.
==Relics==
*Leap Stone: Gives Alucard a double jump.
*Merman Statue: Causes the Ferryman to appear at certain locations.
*Air Tube: Allows Alucard to swim.
*Mist Form†: Gives Alucard the Mist Form ability, allowing him to travel through enemies and certain walls.
*Bat Form†: Gives Alucard the Bat Form ability, allowing him to transform into a Bat and fly. (Can also be activated with Down + B)
*Dark Stone†: Allows Alucard to perform Dark Metamorphosis, which allows him to spend MP to heal his HP.
*Soul Stone†: Allows Alucard to perform Soul Steal, which can sap HP from enemies on-screen.
† - Ability Relics, used from the 'SELECT' screen.
==Spells==
*Hellfire: A ranged attack that shoots three fireballs from Alucard's cape.
*Dark Inferno: A ranged attack that shoots 2 meteor-like large fireballs from Alucards cape.
*Wolf's Fang: A short-ranged attack that summons a set of fangs to attack enemies.
*Swift Slide: A teleport-like manuever that travels through enemies and some obsticales.
*Burning Rage: A pillar of fire that appears in front of Alucard.
==Development==
While originally the Game Boy Castlevania team had planned to create another traditional Castlevania game with a planned female Belmont, when they saw what Koji "Iga" Igarashi was doing with Symphony of the Night, they wanted to do something similar. They approached Iga while development on Symphony was winding down, and he agreed to create a version of Symphony for the Game Boy.
The first thing that Iga's team realized that the gameplay had to be scaled-down for the Game Boy. This included slowing down the gameplay to so the Game Boy could keep up, as well as simplifying the inventory. The slowed-down gameplay also cost the Wolf Form. The team also simplified the Dark Magic system by replacing the sub-weapons with it. Some Dark Magic spells, such as Summon Spirit, the team couldn't get to work on the Game Boy hardware, so they replaced the spells that didn't work with new ones. This included the Wolf's Fang, which the team used as a reference to the lost Wolf Form. They also realised that the cartridge couldn't hold the space for the Inverted Castle, so they used the pieces of Dracula from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest for the player to unlock the fight with Dracula.
The team decided early on that instead of connecting it to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, they would instead make it a sequel to the Game Boy entries of the series, as that would be what players were familiar with on the system. These changed came in the form of a new prologue sequence, a new story, Christopher replacing Richter, Soleiyu replacing Maria, and extra music from Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge.
Michiru Yamane recomposed a mix of songs from Symphony of the Night for the Game Boy hardware, as well as remixing a few old songs for the Clock Tower area and the Belmont Mode music. Some songs, such as The Tragic Prince, didn't make the cut, and some songs had been replaced with other songs from other areas, such as Lost Painting now being the Catacomb's theme.
==Reception==
On release, the game was praised for how innovative it was for handheld gaming, as such a complex game had never been seen on a Game Boy before. While it didn't sell well, as it was priced higher than usual Game Boy games, it gained a cult following as an amazing testimate to what the Game Boy could do.
Some, however, were displeased with it, saying that it was "far too complex for a handheld game" and that it should have "stayed on the PlaySation". While these critics were heard, they were quickly forgotten, and publications that once critized the game now praise it.
==Game Boy Color version==
When the Game Boy Color was released, Konami greenlit a version of Symphony for it, titled Castlevania: Symphony of the Night DX. It was cancelled early on, with focus being placed on the 3D entries of the series. Some of the reported changes include:
*Alucard being able to purchace Belmont sub-weapons from the shop as Spells.
*The Inverted Castle making an appearance in some fashion (potentially via a memory extention for the cartridge).
*Soleiyu being added as a playable character for Belmont Mode, with a double jump ability.
*The Doppleganger boss fight being added to the Underground Caverns.
*Dracula having a third form.
*Belmont Mode being completely revamped, with new layouts and a more linear, classic design.
==Trivia==
*The Wolf's Fang ability served as the inspiration for the Warg Soul in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.
*The planned female Belmont from the early version of the game served as inspiration for Maria's design in the PlayStation version.
*The Gobanz from Castlevania: The Adventure was originally considered as the Marble Gallery area's boss.
*Koji Igarashi stated that the development process of this game is what drove him to make the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS Castlevania entries.
Category:Ports
Category:Castlevania (series)
Category:Remakes