Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Should Have Been Re-Released a Million Times by Now

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Konami has impressively brought back their timeless games for contemporary platforms, with Castlevania series receiving fantastic re-releases. We’ve enjoyed the NES, SNES, and Game Boy classic editions, along with superb compilations of GBA and DS titles. It appears that we can anticipate more Konami collections in the future, and we eagerly look forward to the upcoming Gradius collection.

It’s puzzling that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night hasn’t been remastered and released again on multiple gaming platforms.

Currently, the latest platforms offering Symphony of the Night for purchase are PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and mobile devices. Although these aren’t poor choices for playing this game, it’s unfortunate that it isn’t accessible via Steam or Nintendo Switch, which seems quite inappropriate.

It’s astonishing that, given the high demand for Metroidvania games on handheld devices like Steam Deck and Switch, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night isn’t available to play legally on these platforms in 2025. Remarkably, games such as Hollow Knight, Chasm, and Axiom Verge – which draw inspiration from Konami’s PS1 classic – are thriving on these same systems. The fact that Symphony of the Night hasn’t followed suit is hard to comprehend.

The Netflix adaptation of Castlevania serves as a strong argument for re-releasing Symphony of the Night. This original game and its sequel, Nocturne, heavily focus on Alucard, the main character of the game, who is also the central figure in the anime. Additionally, characters like Rictor and Maria from the game could have gained more attention with the boost provided by the Netflix series’ popularity.

The history of Symphony of the Night’s releases has been quite unusual. Originally launched on the PlayStation 1 and Sega Saturn, it later resurfaced as part of Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP. An exclusive port of this game also appeared on Microsoft’s Xbox 360, while a classic PS1 version was available on the PS3. The most recent iterations on PS4 and mobile devices utilize the version found in Dracula X Chronicles, featuring a revised script and voiceovers.

It’s highly likely that Konami will eventually remaster Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, considering their trend of releasing collections for other games like Suikoden, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Contra, and so on. One might even speculate that a 3D Castlevania anthology could be in development. However, it’s puzzling why Konami hasn’t re-released this classic game multiple times already.

Enthusiasts often criticize Capcom for repeatedly rereleasing the original Resident Evil 4, but it’s actually an astute decision. By doing so, novice gamers can experience a timeless classic that laid the groundwork for numerous third-person shooter games. Moreover, it allows dedicated fans to revisit the original game before or after playing the remake, which is a clever approach to preservation.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night could be considered Konami’s equivalent to Resident Evil 4. It’s a timeless masterpiece that has served as inspiration for numerous games, ranging from indie sensations like Hollow Knight to big-name releases such as Batman: Arkham Asylum. The influence of Symphony of the Night is evident in these titles, making a case for its re-release across every console generation without any embarrassment whatsoever.

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2025-04-11 18:42