Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

• Gamepage
• Developer: Konami
• Publisher: Konami

When the PlayStation appeared, publishers couldn't kill off 2D gaming fast enough - much to the chagrin of gamers who had come to appreciate the incredible artistry of some of the finest 2D titles. There's no point re-igniting a dead, old argument - 2D and 3D now live side by side relatively happily, and there's no doubt that 3D brought gaming to a whole new level and a whole new audience. However, with the benefit of hindsight, there's not

Why? Because while everyone else was fumbling with warping textures and jagged-edged polygons, the regal and imposing Alucard was hopping his way through a lusciously designed gothic monstrosity filled with the kind of imaginative creatures which 3D art wouldn't match for over half a decade. Because Metroid may have married platform gaming to exploration and character upgrading, but Symphony of the Night perfected it. Because the music was amazing. Because Alucard simultaneously had the worst voice acting, but the sexiest voice, of almost any videogame character.

This is platform gaming infused with everything that's good about RPGs, and devoid of the leaps of faith and weak design decisions which have plagued many other platformers. You can, of course, download it from Xbox Live Arcade right now - which is fantastic. Now where's our PlayStation Network download, so we can finally play this on the PSP?