I spent 15 years as an IT manager and I’ve come to enjoy games that are elegantly designed. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is one such game — it takes the Metroidvania concept established by Super Metroid and perfects it. It understands the exact elements of the Metroidvania concept that contribute to the formula working and applies them completely. The game is a complete implementation of the Metroidvania formula including: (Exploration), Level Design, Power-Up Progression, Difficulty Balance — each element contributes to the overall design objective.
Alucard is exploring a vast castle in 2D side-scrolling view. He gains power-ups to allow him access to new areas. He finds secrets based upon his observations. The controls are tight. The level design is very good. The atmosphere is thick. When you have developers who fully understand the Metroidvania concept, then this is what Metroidvania can be.
What Symphony Of The Night Actually Does
The castle is inter-connected; you cannot simply load different levels. You are moving through a single cohesive environment where each section of the castle is logically connected. The geography makes sense. Discovering new areas of the castle is due to actual exploration, not merely because you follow a pre-defined path. The castle seems so large, it actually is — you will continually discover new shortcuts to various sections of the castle as well as secret areas.
The power-up progression is also logical. You begin with a simple sword skill. As you continue through the castle, you obtain new equipment that increases your damage output and your ability to reach new locations. You will eventually find relics that provide you with new abilities — greater vertical and horizontal jumping, underwater breathing, etc. — and each new ability will allow you to access previously inaccessible areas of the castle. You are not merely increasing your strength — you are obtaining new tools that enhance how you navigate the environment.
The combat system is enjoyable and does not require great complexity. Your primary weapon is your sword, and you have secondary items and special attacks available to you. You will need to manage your stamina bar. You will learn enemy attack patterns. You will execute dodge rolls and defensive maneuvers. The difficulty of the game scales accordingly — early enemies will teach you enemy attack patterns and later enemies will demand that you master all of the game’s mechanics.
The 2D Art Direction That Is Beyond Its Technical Limits
I am impressed at how beautiful the hand-drawn animation is in Symphony. The detail within each sprite is high-quality and the animation flows smoothly. The backgrounds are detailed and create a rich atmospheric feel. The character designs are expressive and communicate their intentions clearly through their body language. Each frame of animation provides the player with clear and concise information regarding the game state and the character’s intention.
Given the technical limitations of the time, the visual clarity of the game is exceptional. You will always be able to tell exactly where you can jump. The platforms are easily distinguishable from the background. The enemies are easy to read. The special effects do not obscure critical gameplay information. The graphical design of Symphony is focused on supporting the gameplay and not sacrificing clarity for flashy visuals.
The soundtrack by Michiru Yamane is outstanding. Each area of the castle has unique music that helps establish the atmosphere. The boss music is memorable and intense. The track selection is used psychologically to build tension and excitement through composition rather than to continuously play music.
Why Symphony of the Night Perfected Metroidvania
While Symphony did not invent the Metroidvania concept, it perfected it. The castle layout is brilliant. The power-up progression creates a true exploration experience. There is sufficient enemy diversity to keep the combat interesting. The hidden areas of the castle provide additional incentive to thoroughly explore the castle. The pacing of the game is consistent and never slow or overly difficult.
What separates Symphony from other games in the same genre is how thoroughly it understands the philosophical underpinnings of the Metroidvania concept. You are not playing this game for a compelling story line. You are not playing this game to constantly be engaged in action. You are playing this game to explore a world, understand its geography, locate secrets, and ultimately develop the power necessary to access the deeper parts of the castle. Each of the game’s systems support the ultimate goal of the game.
There is a significant amount of optional content in Symphony. Optional content includes secret bosses, hidden abilities, and alternative versions of weapons. While none of the optional content is mandatory, all of it provides a further layer of engagement to the game.
Is Symphony of the Night Still Relevant Today?
Yes. The 2D hand-drawn artwork of the game is timeless because of the quality of the artwork. The level design is still brilliant. The combat is still fun and challenging. The exploration is still rewarding. The atmosphere is still effective.
The controls respond quickly. The collision detection is reasonable. The difficulty curve of the game is correct. In terms of understanding why Symphony of the Night is still considered the Metroidvania standard today, there is no better way than to play the game again today.
The progression of the game feels organic. You will always find new abilities that will allow you to access new areas of the castle. You will always find new secrets to uncover. The pacing of the game is flawless — the challenge of the game will increase slowly over time, without any drastic spikes in difficulty.
Why Symphony of the Night Was Defining
Symphony of the Night provided conclusive evidence that Metroidvania was a viable genre with its own specific design philosophy. Exploration should be valued above action. A progressive power-up system will create natural progression gates. Secrets will reward the player for observing the environment and engaging in thorough exploration. Atmosphere will matter.
Each modern Metroidvania builds upon the formula developed by Symphony. They add complexity to the combat system, and/or depth to the mechanics — however, the core ideas were first presented in Symphony. The success of the Metroidvania genre is largely attributed to Symphony of the Night demonstrating how to effectively implement the key ideas of the genre.
Verdict
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a Metroidvania that demonstrates that when a developer executes a Metroidvania formula flawlessly, it can result in a truly engaging gaming experience. The castle is enormous and interconnected. The exploration is rewarding. The power-up progression is logical. The combat is satisfying. The difficulty is appropriate. The atmosphere is dense. The secrets are rewarding for engaging with the game in a thorough manner.
In Symphony of the Night, every game mechanic is intended to support the player’s exploration and progression through the environment. You are not playing this game for story or to engage in constant action — you are playing to explore a world and to develop the power needed to access the deeper areas of the castle. That design philosophy, when implemented flawlessly, results in a truly engaging gaming experience.
If you have never played Symphony of the Night, you should play it and understand why many Metroidvania enthusiasts still consider it the gold standard for Metroidvanias. If you are developing Metroidvanias, you should study Symphony as it is the template that continues to be successful today.
Rating: 10/10 — The Metroidvania game that perfected the genre
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John grew up swapping floppy disks and reading Amiga Power cover to cover. Now an IT manager in Manchester, he writes about the glory days of British computer gaming—Sensible Soccer, Speedball 2, and why the Amiga deserved more love than it ever got.
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