SOTN

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

From what I hear, this game did not sell all that well. And all I can say is it's totally a shame! Konami's side scroller RPG takes the Belmont Legacy to an all new high with acceptable graphics (for the time) and an engaging storyline with multiple endings to discover, transformations to master, and moves that would make Guile from Street Fighter go green with envy.

Nevermind I have yet to master those skills (how do you DO those moves anyway??) this game is worth its weight in gold. Sans voice acting, which is actually amusing in a B-movie way. Sometimes.

The soundtrack to this game is excellent, and one I actually bought from an online store to have and listen to in my car. Anything from the rock beat to the gothic overtones fits the games setting so perfectly it brings a tear to the eye. Erm, or not.

Having compassion for the less than perfect gamer (aka me) Konami created uber weapons to ease your way through the game. That was fun the first time through, but all the one hit kills were getting old, so I am glad that is an optional thing.

Of course there is no "perfect" game, and although this side scroller plays suprisingly well, there are a few things of note that are not quite up to par. First of all was the aforementioned voice acting. The game is happily speeding along when all of a sudden-AHHHHH bad voice acting! I mean seriously, are these people reading their words for the first time or what?
Secondly, is a complaint I personally do not have, but is worth mentioning. The game stars Alucard, son of Dracula. While there are cameos from the Belmonts, and the whole plot of the game is trying to find out why Richter disappeared, you play the game through as Dracula's half human son.
Of course, after beating the game you can play through as Richter then...but it's not the same exactly.

The third flaw that I noted was that monsters do not always drop the item they are supposed to. I was trying to get a rign of Varda, and instead, I kept getting sapphires. I found later that this was a known bug. Didn't make me feel better as I had to reset the game though.

Pros	Cons
Engaging Storyline Acceptable graphics Wonderful soundtrack Multiple endings Replay options	Bad voice acting Bad voice acting Really bad voice acting Glitch where enemy drops wrong item