Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is hands down one of the best games I've ever played. Here's why:
- I love a Metroidvania and this is half the reason why this genre of games exists
- The art style is beautiful, the colours pop, the semi 3D animation is trippy and really unique
- The map has some interesting and diverse areas to explore and get lost in
- The music is exceptional, it's more jazzy that you would think
- The bosses are difficult enough and break the game up really well
- Getting to different areas of the map requires serious thought, the question of where do I go next comes up a lot
- The RPG elements add some flavour compared to a Metroid game, you level up and gain experience unlike in Metroid where you purely just get upgrades
- The amount of weapons and items in this game is insane, your play style can really differ depending on what you want to do
- The story is simple but enough to get you hooked
- You think you're finished with the game and then the whole castle flipping the other way is some amazing game design, it was satisfying as it's a "new" map but you can power through it much quicker
