The Daily Backlog 133
After a weekend of vanias and being on the brink of rounding up that half point of completions, it’s time to talk Symphony of the Night!!
Catching Up on my Vanias
Good afternoon backloggers!! After having a great weekend of tirelessly playing Castlevanias, a.k.a. a weekendvania, I guess it’s time to get back to the old grindstone. But since you’re here and you keep looking at me with those puppy dog eyes, I guess I can get you all up to speed with my backlog goings ons. Oh, who am I kidding, I was going to do that whether you wanted me to or not!!
So, the last we spoke, I was gushing all over my playthrough of Rondo of Blood. The one of many Castlevanias that until last week, I’ve never played. Yes, I know, you would think as a Castlevania fan, I’d be an expert on the subject and have played all of them. But alas, I haven’t. Though, it is a goal of mine to one day own and even play each and every one of them! Tangent aside, Rondo of Blood was special though, because it was the one Castlevania that was intimately tied to my favorite in the series, Symphony of the Night. And after beating it, I had a whole new appreciation for all of the special little easter eggs and references found in Symphony. That and I was anxious to finally jump back in so I could play it again!
Fast forward a few hours after the credits rolled in Rondo, I hopped in, and was in familiar territory again! There he was, the devilishly handsome Alucard and the daunting stone walls of Dracula’s castle!! There was only one thing bothering me though, the game wasn’t quite as familiar as I remembered!
A Wonderful Little Pile of Secrets
Now, I could go on and on about how much I love Symphony of the Night. How it’s a game I hold near and dear, and one I’ve played countless times. But I’ll close the valve on my gush-tank for now. Because we all know that Symphony of the Night was and still is a fantastic action platformer with fluid combat, tons to explore and a wide berth of larger than life bosses. It also added RPG elements, a ton of fun skills to collect both passive and active (including familiars), and of course iconic Castlevania characters/ enemies both new and old. Like I said, I don’t want to gush.
Instead, I want to go over some of the differences I encountered while playing the version found in the Castlevania Requiem collection. Up until I played this version, the only Symphony of the Night I’ve had experience with, was the original PlayStation release. So, it had all the wonderfully terrible dialog and bugs that you’d come to expect and cherish. But that also meant that I've never experienced some of the things that were added when the game was ported to the Sega Saturn. Things like additional familiars, extra areas to explore, items to collect, and even a fight with Maria!! Who was also made into a playable character! There was even a PSP port that I missed, that further enhanced the game by fixing some of its bugs (most notably the Sword Brother-Librarian trick), re-translating the script and recasting the voice actors!
This’ll Take Some Getting Used To
And that’s the version that landed on the Castlevania Requiem collection. Sort of a hybrid of all three. That is, a hybrid of the PlayStation version, Sega Saturn version and PSP “remake”. It did take me some time to get used to the new voice cast, especially Alucard’s. And I’m still on the fence with the new translation, even though it is technically a much better localization. The old hokey dialog is a classic afterall. But all in all I think this may just be the definitive version of the game! I mean, it feels so much more complete. It has all the extra features added to its subsequent ports. Features that I was always curious about and wished I had access to! That and it doesn’t cost $150+ like a certain Sega Saturn version! And if you roll Rondo in there, it’s an even better deal!
Sure, I’ll miss the Symphony of the Night from my childhood, but I can always bust out my original copy on the PlayStation if I want that. From this point forward though, the Castlevania Requiem port will probably be my go to copy, as weird as that sounds coming out of my mouth. Oh and if you’re looking to play Symphony of the Night in glorious HD, I’d steer clear of the Xbox 360 port, that’s probably the most castrated of them all. Good in a pinch of course, but there are much better versions out there!
Day One Hundred and Thirty Three-vania
Well my friends, that’ll do it for today!! I’m a few minutes from finishing up Symphony of the Night as we speak, with only the last little stretch in my Richter playthrough to go! Which will mean that strange half point in my completion list will be resolved! If you are wondering about that, it’s because Requiem came with two games and I beat one of them (Rondo of Blood)!
Anyways, by this time tomorrow, I’m thinking I’ll have another completion under my belt and working towards the next!! Until tomorrow folks, have a great rest of your Monday!!
Currently Playing
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PlayStation 4)
Marenian Tavern Story: Patty and the Hungry God (Nintendo Switch)
Total Backlogged Games: 727.5 … So close to rounding down that half point!
Total Completed Games: 39.5 …My completions are winding up for a midlife crisis!
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