As Konami continues to release other titles from the beloved Castlevania franchise on Steam, a title that helped define the Metroidvania genre remains conspicuously absent from the PC.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was originally released in 1997. Alongside Super Metroid, it laid the foundation for a genre that has since exploded in popularity. A handful of, if not most, modern indie darlings—games you can enjoy on a potato PC—such as Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, and the Ori series—owe much of their DNA to this PlayStation classic. Even Dark Souls draws inspiration from Symphony of the Night’s approach to exploration and progression.
So, can you really blame PC gamers for feeling frustrated that the best Castlevania game isn’t available to them, naturally?
Despite its legendary status, Symphony of the Night has had a complicated history with ports and re-releases. The original PlayStation version, complete with cheesy voice acting, remains the definitive experience for many. A Japan-exclusive Sega Saturn port added new content but sacrificed performance, while later releases on Xbox 360 and PSP attempted to modernize the experience.
Konami most recently re-released it as part of the “overpriced” Castlevania Requiem compilation for PlayStation 4 in October 2018.
This renewed interest in Symphony of the Night is born of multiple factors. For one, Netflix’s animated Castlevania series has grown in popularity. Its sequel, Castlevania: Nocturne, feature two key characters from the game: Richter Belmont and Count Olrox, the latter of which was a relatively minor boss in the 1997 title.
Add to that the recent release of Castlevania Dominus Collection on August 27—a bundle containing Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia—and you can’t help but wonder why Konami is so willing to sit on this potential goldmine.
Keep in mind that despite bowing out of the gaming industry for pretty much the last decade, Castlevania ports on other platforms remained a fixture. Over the years, the Pachinko-loving company has released collections featuring games from various eras of the franchise, including the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS entries. With roughly two dozen Castlevania games now available on Steam, the omission of arguably the most influential Castlevania game becomes even more conspicuous.
The potential for added features such as achievements, trading cards, and controller support could make even a basic port, with the original English translation, would turn into an absolute best-seller for Konami with minimal effort.
The game’s timeless quality, expertly crafted gameplay loop, a masterful balance of backtracking, secret-hunting, and memorable boss encounters makes a PC version exciting given the possibility of mod support and enhanced visuals that could breathe new life into this beloved classic.
With Konami dipping its toes back into the video game industry with the incoming release of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Silent Hill 2 Remake, it’s only a matter of time before the Belmonts and Dracula join the foray.
And if, for some reason, Konami can’t find a studio willing to take on the project—the last we heard, the director of God of War: Ragnarok was up for the task—re-releasing Symphony of the Night on PC would at least give fans something to play while waiting for Season 2 of Castlevania: Nocturne.
