Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is one of the bedrock games of the Metroidvania genre; literally, it’s where half of that term even came from. Naturally, the game has a lot of awesome elements going for it, from its gothic art style and deceptively deep combat to its highly quotable, slightly cheesy dialogue. Arguably, though, one of the most vital ingredients in Symphony of the Night’s secret sauce is its movement and exploration mechanics.
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From the very start of the game, Alucard is a surprisingly mobile character, if not the fastest one, but as you progress through the game and unlock more abilities, exploration becomes a much faster, more thorough prospect. Whether you’re clearing massive gaps, jumping up multiple stories, or just moving slightly faster than you did before, it all feeds into a gameplay loop that sucks you deeper and deeper down the further you go, as any good adventure game should.
10
Godspeed Boots
A Saturn-Exclusive Buff
Following its initial release for the PlayStation in early 1997, Symphony of the Night received a Japan-exclusive port to the Sega Saturn the following year. The Saturn port isn’t great, generally speaking, but it did add some new content and quality-of-life improvements, chief among them being a new upgrade item, the Godspeed Boots.
Normally, when Alucard is moving left or right, he can’t run much faster than a brisk jog, hence the need for all the other movement abilities and speedrunning tricks. The Godspeed Boots lessen this burden somewhat by unlocking the ability to dash when double-tapping left or right, similar to the dash Richter can perform in the Rondo of Blood section at the start of the game. It’s a small ability, and it’s only in the Saturn version, but just being able to run with a quick tap instead of having to bust out all the speedrunning mechanics does make exploring a bit more pleasantly brisk.
9
Double Jump
On a Wing and a Prayer
There’s a particular feeling of frustration you experience in just about every Metroidvania game early on when there’s a platform just out of reach. Your basic, single jump only needs a little more oomph, and then you could explore all kinds of new areas. The same is true for Symphony of the Night, and the problem is solved in the same way as other games as well: with a good old-fashioned double jump.
With the help of the Leap Stone relic, Alucard can perform a double jump in the air, getting that vital bit of oomph you need to reach higher, further platforms, not to mention perform a bit of emergency course correction if you’re about to jump into an enemy or hazard. As a cherry on top, Alucard’s double jump looks awesome, as he polymorphs his cape into a set of large, powerful wings for a split second. The double jump may not be mechanically complex, but the visceral satisfaction that comes with unlocking it cannot be understated.
8
Dive Kick
Feet-First
In addition to the double jump, picking up the Leap Stone relic in Symphony of the Night also unlocks a secondary ability for Alucard with both combat and exploration applications: the dive kick. Or, well, technically it’s called the “jump kick,” but come on. It’s a dive kick. Who’s going to see an obvious dive kick and not call it a dive kick?
Performing a dive kick launches Alucard diagonally downward in whatever direction he’s facing. If he hits an enemy while doing this, he’ll pop up a healthy height into the air. This move, when performed in certain spots, actually allows you to access certain areas a little bit earlier than you normally would, which is fun in itself and good for speedrunning. Dive kicks are also great for covering large downward distances quickly, as they provide greater speed and momentum than Alucard’s other basic movement abilities. Plus, it looks cool! Everyone looks cool doing a dive kick.
7
Gravity Boots
Bang, Zoom, Straight to the Moon
The double jump is best used for horizontal jumping purposes like reaching distant platforms. In terms of sheer verticality, it unfortunately doesn’t have a whole lot to offer, which means you’re out of luck if you need to reach something several stories above you. This is where another of the game’s movement-enhancing relics comes into play, the Gravity Boots.
With the Gravity Boots equipped, Alucard can perform a powerful, gravity-defying leap directly upwards. Not only that, but these gravity jumps can be chained endlessly, so as long as there’s nothing above you, you can keep on jumping up and up. Inversely to the double jump, you don’t get a lot of horizontal movement, so it’s not exactly like flying, but as long as a platform is right above you, it’s within reach. Also, you can use it to harass the Librarian by jumping into his chair from below, propelling him violently into the ceiling. Serves him right.
6
Backdash
One Smooth Criminal
I think that, if Symphony of the Night had a particular movement or exploration mechanic I would go as far as to call a “signature,” it would be the backdash, first and foremost. It’s the only nonstandard ability that Alucard starts the game with, and no matter how far you progress, it never stops being useful or fun to use.
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The backdash is ostensibly supposed to be a simple evasive maneuver, a way to quickly slide out of the way of incoming attacks. Of course, nobody uses it like that. By simply facing away from the direction you want to go and performing backdashes repeatedly, you can slide around on the ground far faster than you would just walking. The backdash does have a quick cooldown that’s supposed to prevent you from spamming it, but this can be easily circumvented by equipping and using any shield, the animation for which cancels the cooldown animation for the backdash. Spamming backdash and shield is one of the baseline techniques for any would-be Symphony of the Night speedrunner, and a convenient way to expedite exploration in general.
5
Mist Form
Breathe It In
Being the son of Dracula, Alucard is no stranger to polymorphing, though unlike his old man, he’s not afraid to get a little more creative with it. Case in point, one of his strangest abilities in the game, shapeshifting-related or otherwise, is the Mist Form transformation. It is exactly what it sounds like: he transforms into a mobile cloud of mist for a few moments. It’s magic, don’t worry about it.
Mist Form’s primary purpose is to allow Alucard to slip through otherwise inaccessible grates and vents, opening new passageways he wouldn’t normally be able to cram himself into. It’s a circumstantial exploration mechanic, but anything that opens up more of the map for you to get lost in is a welcome addition, especially once you unlock the upgrades that let you stay in Mist Form as long as your MP holds out and, more amusingly, transform into a poison gas cloud that damages any enemy near you.
4
Wolf Form
Walk on the Wild Side
Besides turning into clouds of water vapor, Alucard has some more traditional shapeshifting skills under his belt. The first of his several transformations that you unlock in Symphony of the Night is the Wolf Form. It’s not a werewolf transformation, sadly, just a regular four-legged wolf, but that’s almost as good! Half as good, even!
When in Wolf Form, Alucard has much faster horizontal movement ability. He’s lower to the ground, which both makes him harder to hit and allows him to slip into narrow passages, and he can perform a dash to get around quickly. That dash is normally stopped if you make contact with an enemy, but the Power of the Wolf upgrade removes that limitation. If there are no solid surfaces in the way, and you have enough MP to keep running through enemies, you can dash continuously and indefinitely. The Skill of the Wolf upgrade even allows you to swim in Wolf Form, which is very helpful, as Alucard himself can’t swim at all.
3
Wolf Charge
Walk Faster on the Wild Side
The basic Wolf Form abilities and upgrades give the transformation a decent amount of flexibility. The only real limitation on its most useful ability, the dash, is that you need to run for a few seconds to properly build up momentum, which can be annoying if you don’t have a sufficiently-long strip of ground to get going on. There’s an extra wolf ability, a spell specifically, that eliminates this hitch: the Wolf Charge spell.
Wolf Charge is only usable after you’ve obtained both the Power of the Wolf and the Skill of the Wolf upgrades, as well as purchasing the necessary spell scroll. Once you have Wolf Charge, you can perform a quick command input while in Wolf Form to instantly launch into a full-speed dash, with little-to-no warm-up required. It does cost a little MP to get going, but just being able to take off like a rocket from anywhere means you can both get around faster and make soaring horizontal leaps even from narrow perches.
2
Bat Form
The Vampire Classic
If vampires are known for two things, it’s sucking blood and turning into bats. Technically, Alucard is only half-vampire, so he doesn’t have to do the first thing, but can still do the second thing. Specifically, he can use his most useful transformation in Symphony of the Night, Bat Form, to transform into a particularly large vampire bat.
The most obviously useful perk of Bat Form is that it allows you to fly; upwards, downwards, or side-to-side, as long as there are no overt obstructions in your way, you have free rein to go anywhere and everywhere, at least as long as your MP holds out. With upgrades, the Bat Form gets the ability to launch fireballs for self-defense and deploy a sonar, which lets you safely navigate in otherwise pitch-black rooms. Compared to Wolf Form, Bat Form is a bit lacking in the offensive department, but it more than makes up the difference in just how much freedom it provides you for exploration.
1
Wing Smash
Like an Aerial Shinespark
Much like Wolf Form, Bat Form gets an extra ability from a spell scroll, one that bolsters both its offensive and movement capabilities and allows you to travel faster and further than any other ability in the game. That ability is the Wing Smash, and if you’re a fan of Shinesparking in the Metroid games, it’ll feel familiar, yet distinct.
With Wing Smash unlocked, you can perform a command input to begin rocketing forward in whatever direction you’re moving, damaging any enemies you pass through. Wing Smash offers the highest speed out of all of Alucard’s movement and exploration abilities, making it invaluable for quickly navigating the castle. You can even perform multiple Wing Smashes back to back, endlessly surging through the halls like a heat-sinking missile. It is a substantial drain on your MP, though, so you can’t use it forever. Hey, nothing in this life is free, including transforming into a bat and flying at breakneck speeds.
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Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- Released
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October 2, 1997
- ESRB
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T For Teen Due To Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
