CastleVania: Symphony of the Night was the first and last installment of the series on the Playstation console. Along with that, it is also one of the best games on the system. You may hesitate to take my opinion seriously when looking at the 2-D pictures of it. However, rest assured, this is a monument of a game.

The story is this: Legendary vampire hunter, Richter Belmont, is possessed by a dark priest named Shaft who resurrected his master, Dracula, early. Richter's sister-in-law, Maria Renard, sets out on a quest to find Richter. Meanwhile, Dracula's son, Alucard, is awoken from what he thought was an ever-lasting slumber to do battle with his father once again. Here is where you, the gamer pick up to venture through CastleVania.

A new turn in the series, playing as a person who is not related to the Belmont clan only helps the greatness of this game. Alucard moves around fluidly, very accurately responding to your controls. The game's menu is perhaps the easiest and most quickly learned ever. You can carry an array of items that include hats, swords, potions, food, armor, and certain special gems that you can sell to a merchant for money.

The graphics are amazing for a 2-D game, probably the best I've ever seen. They are realistic looking yet still convey a fantasy feeling. In some levels, there are up to six layers of backgrounds. The gothic mood is portrayed perfectly with lavishly decorated castle halls and corridors to add flavor. Alucard looks surpassingly detailed, as you can make out his clothes perfectly.

Also there to help produce the mood correctly is my favorite part of the game; the soundtrack. No matter what type of music you like, you will find something here you deeply enjoy. Though all of the CastleVanias have had great soundtracks, this is easily the best. There are classical tracks that are even better than some of Beethoven's works and rock tunes that exceed those of top-notch bands. The actual sound effects are superb as well. From grunts to screams, thuds to slashes, there's a sound for almost everything in the game.

The gameplay is another very well planned aspect of the game. There are familiars as they are called, which are basically little helpers that kill enemies for you and find some secret areas, but without being too protective to where it ruins the fun. Also, you must level up Exp. points, HP points, MP (magic) points, Int (intelligence), Lck (luck), and tons of other points. Sure, maybe the bosses are too easy but some of the enemies are very tricky. However, in the second castle (an upside down version of the first one, which doubles the gameplay greatly), the difficulty level greatly rises, with huge bosses and multiplying enemies.

Now to rate the game... graphics-wise, I'd give it 100% because of the great use of 2-D sprites which produce some awesome special effects, alongside the grade-A backgrounds. Now the control, I'd say about 95%; it's very easy to operate Alucard, he responds well, but sometimes, you just need more reflexes in order to either dodge or kill an enemy. For sound/music, I wish I could give a 1000% but I must stick with 100%, essentially because of the wonderful music but the sounds don't hurt at all. All right, now I must go down hill with storyline. Though most CastleVanias are based around, "country is terrorized, so a Belmont must kill Dracula," Symphony does add a bit more variety. However, compared to most RPGs it would get about a 50%, but that's unfair so compared to the rest of the CastleVania offerings, I'd say 80%. Gameplay, very stable and incredibly enjoyably with plenty of options earns it an honorable 98%, in my opinion. Now, overall, despite the few downfalls and such, and considering how many hours of my time (around 200 all together!!) and each minute of it having the time of my life, I reward it with a 100%.