castlevania symphony of the night questions.

[gennss]

I never played through the game. Was curious if its playable in Japanese or do you need to be able to read stuff to play through?

Is the Saturn version decent?

[D.D.D.]

I first played it in Japanese when my reading ability was crap. There were times where I got lost or didn't know what to do but it really wasn't bad like say in an RPG. Go for it. The voice acting is better than "What is a man?".

[Ziggy]

Voice acting in the original English SotN FTW!

I play the Saturn version from time to time, but that was only after playing the English version a LOT. There's TONs of items in the game, all of which will be in Japanese on the Saturn version. Luckily for me, I'm able to recognize the items I like to use by the sprites. However, playing through the game for the first time in Japanese might be a little hard. You'll have to use a guide at some point. You'd never know to put the gold and silver rings on if you can't read Japanese (unless you guess or just randomly do it). You wouldn't know what the holy goggles are for if you can't read/hear the story. I can play through it easily only because I know the game well enough from playing it in English so many times.

The Saturn version has pros and cons. I'm sure you read about the extra areas which have extra enemies and items. Then there's the two extra familiars, which are more like duplicates. There's a relic you get half way through that allows you to run, which is definitely nice because the Saturn version has a lot of slow down problems. And some of the animations don't look as nice as on PS1. And the loading takes a bit longer. Which reminds me, the menu (press start) takes a second or two to load on the Saturn version. On the PS1 version, it's instant. On PS1, you press select to see the map. On Saturn, you have to go to the menu before you can view the map. So every time you wanna look at the map (which can be very often) it takes longer. This is just the short of it, people have written full FAQ's on the differences.

I'd recommend the Saturn version only to those who have fully enjoyed the PS1 version and want more. If it's your first time playing through the game, I'm gonna have to recommend the PS1 version.

[Hobie-wan]

Of course there's the XBLA or retail Konami collection version too which will be cheaper.

[Gamerforlife]

The Dracula X:Chronicles version is the definitive version in my opinion. Plus, you can play it with english or japanese dialogue

[Ziggy]

I've played through the PSP version before, and it was all right. The new voice acting was great, and it matched the new English voice overs for Rondo of Blood. Right? Although I kinda missed the original voice overs from the PS1 version, just because that's what I'm use to.

The only thing I don't like about the PSP version is that it's on PSP. I'm not a hand held guy, I don't enjoy playing on such a small screen. I used the component cables and played on my TV, but the image is small (doesn't fill the entire screen) and kinda blurry (maybe stretched?). Other than that, it's definitely a great version of the game.

What important to remember, Genns, if you decide to go with the PSP version you'll also be getting two other games. A 2.5D remake of Rondo of Blood and the original version of Rondo of Blood. The original version of Rondo included in The Dracula X Chronicles is the only version of the game that is in English (though you can easily play the Japanese version - such as on Wii Virtual Console).

And if you didn't know, Genns, SotN is a sequel of Rondo. And Rondo is said to be one of the best (if not the best) old school Castlevania games.

[Gamerforlife]

I would also add that the english version of Rhondo on the PSP version has some minor flaws. I found Maria's special move hard to pull off on the PSP 2000's control pad. Also, I've heard of some sound issues, but I didn't notice them while playing

Now the Rondo remake on the other hand, has no problems. Maria's special move is easy to do in the remake and the sound is excellent. Overall, Dracula X:Chronicles is a nice package

[flamepanther]

I've played the Saturn version. It's good, and it's got some refreshing changes from the original, but it's far from being the definitive version. Playing as Maria is pretty awesome. The extra areas are only so-so. The new equipment for Alucard is interesting, but that's one of the few areas where not reading Japanese sort of hurts the experience.

As usual for the Saturn, the sound and color seem richer to me than on the PS1. However, transparency effects suffer a lot, due to Sega stupidly not including modes for such effects even after the SNES put them to such good use. The game doesn't seem to have been ported very well, so areas with 3D objects or backgrounds occasionally cause some wicked slow-down. Conversely, pure 2D areas that were occasionally slow on the PS1 were no problem on the Saturn.

It's worth a play if you can get it, but it probably shouldn't be the only version you get.

[Ziggy]

Yeah, I read that the port was very sloppy. Shame. Also, it'd be nice if this port could ever get an English translation. I was pissed when some one retranslated the PS1 version.

[flamepanther]

Yeah, I read that the port was very sloppy. Shame. Also, it'd be nice if this port could ever get an English translation. I was pissed when some one retranslated the PS1 version.

I know... without being able to read the equipment menu, it's nothing but a miserable pile of secrets!