Customer Reviews

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I would like to give this guide book no stars due to its limited content. The authors openly admit to completing this book under a deadline. Not only that, but the authors provide this walkthrough via the original Japanese version of this game. They openly admit that this version differs from the American version. Misleading information is not something one looks for in a guide book. This admission is prominent due to the hurried walkthrough and horrible annotation of the game itself. Not only does this guide not offer a complete list of all attainable items (does not list all swords, lists no food items), but also it does not even give strengths and weaknesses of of said items, i.e. stats. Not only that, but I know of better strategies for defeating "bosses" that I concocted out of panic. Upon purchasing this book, I assumed I would be getting a completist's guide to the entire Alucard adventure as well as the Richter adventure. It was my understanding that a game guide was designed to offer clues and tricks not easily attained by the average gamer. I myself am no game master, and I have garnered more insight and completion of this game than this guide has to offer. I hope the official guide has a little more to offer than this feeble attempt.

This is a great book to get you through a few tight spots in the game, but try not to rely on it too much. Once in a while you'll come across something in the game that the guide forgot, perhaps a well-hid item or the like.

It may not be extremely detailed, but it'll get you through the game. There's also tips for beating bosses and there are screen shots of nearly every place in the game.

Despite its lack of detail, this guide is most likely one of the more helpful game guides I own. A must buy if you're having trouble with Castlevania: SOTN.

This book is good for the most part, and can be helpful for frustrated gamers or gamers who just need to be pushed in the right direction. HOWEVER, there are AT LEAST 2 places where the information is misleading. In the areas in the regular and inverted castles where the guide tells you to break a wall and fly through as the bat to unlock a secret door, you also have to walk through the hole as the wolf before the door will open. I wasted an hour trying to figure out how this worked until a friend pointed out the wofl trick. If this error had been made only once, it'd be one thing, but it occurs twice, for both castles, which is not only misleading but really frustrating. Also, the guide takes a very linear view of the game, and doesn't even discuss the alternate endings or how to trigger them. Oh, it teases you about them, but nothing is said about how to trigger them.

For gamers like myself who love this game, but really don't have the time to play the game for hours on end, and have a hard time remembering where you've been and where you haven't (don't tell me to use the map, that's not what I'm taling about), this is a good way to get a handle on the game. But it is not without it's flaws.

You've been warned.

Castlevania Symphony of the night has been called the greatest game ever made for the playstation, and not without good reason! The game takes a heart wrenching storyline coupled with the mind bending mazes of the great castle and forms a game of unparalleled entertainment. The secret passages, the unholy beasts, and the god-like weapons make the game a never ending chalenge. This book does show quite a lot of the game but it doesn't even begin to describe all of the things which I have personally discovered. I suggest that anyone with patience and willpower to try and find everything themselves before resorting to any book. I have logged countless hours on the game and I still have not found everything there is to find and I definitely haven't done everything that there is to do but I still keep going and only when I feel that i have will I turn it off. When that happens I will restart the game and do it all again!

P.S. To Amber from Mickelton NJ. In order to procure the Osefune katana you have to transform into the bat and fly in front of the waterfall where it blocks the cave. Then you must do the 'wing smash' attack to fly through the waterfall and into the cave. Just in case you forgot, the wing smash is done by holding down square and, starting with 'up' move your finger all the way around the d pad backwards until you hit 'forward' and then immediately let go of square.

My review of this book is great. The only thing I could not find out of this whole book was, in the inverted castle entrance, the secert switch to open the floor or the ceiling. Could not find it. Went thorugh it with the bat about 1000 times. If someone can help me please email me back. Without the circlet it's very very very hard to beat Galamoth.

This strategy guide book is very good and helpful, full of accurate(detailed)hints and tips for every area and every corner in the game,it is easily the best guide for anybody for the best action game of all time,a full list is available for the weapons, relics,spells,and the map also,etc... A 5star rating is deserved for this wonderful book since I can't see any major flaws or misguided instructions.For every castlevania fan this book is a must,I've never seen anybody who wasn't happy with.Well done,Elias and mark. A deserved two thumbs up... Also,another good guide I must point out is the one written by the magazine egm2 in the issues#39, 40,41Which is equivalent to this guide here except that the possible endings are mentioned and photo- graphed for the game,and the lost level secret for richter,too bad the survival guide of this book didn't mention out these two features.which would really help.But still,this guide has completed its task and provided an amazing guide,well done again

What you get with this book is the most comprehensive and complete guide to the PSX's 2-D Castlevania hit. One of 3 known strategy books devoted solely to this game, this is the only one where's you'll find the WHOLE game covered. Yes--this means that the Inverted Castle is given as much attention as the first half of the game. (And it should be this way--the second castle is much more challenging--it's not merely upside down like the other books say; you need a whole other strategy.) Areas in the game are shown to the player through hundreds of screen shots, each captioned properly. A general map for each specific area is included, but occasionally it was a little confusing determining how to get from one screen shot to the next. But this is only a minor drawback. You are told how to obtain each and every item (both important and unimportant ones) and are given a logical order in which to proceed through the vast castle areas. You'll know when to backtrack to, why to do so, and when and how to move on. The back of the book is crammed with statistical info for all of the game's collectibles and monsters, along with brief, helpful descriptions of each--an absolute must for a game which is comprised of so many of each. Don't let the rare Japanese screen shots fool you--you won't find inter-cultural messed up names or be confused by semi-translated Japanese terms. Everything here is full-blown American-version, including the added humorous remarks! And this is also the only book where you'll find STRATEGIES for playing as Richter, not just the special code or a move list. You'll have no trouble finding everything about this game from this survival guide--plain and simple.

If any one can tell me how to get across the waterfall in the underground cavern in the inverted castle to get to the room with the Osafune Sword please Email me Back with the answer!!! I would very much Appreciate it...Thanks Alot!!!!

I HAVE NOT LOOKED AT THE BOOK YET,BUT I CAN'T WAIT.I AM IN THE SECOND EXTREMELY WEIRD AND UPSIDE-DOWN CASTLE.I HAVE THE TOOTH,THE RIB,RING,AND THE HEART OF DRCULA TEPES VLAD.I HAVE NOT YET FOUND THE DOPPLENGAR 40 YET,BUT FOR ALL OF YOU FART-HEADS OUT THERE,TO GET TO THE SECOND CASTLE,YOU NEED THE HOLY GLASSES AND A DAMSCUS SWORD.GO TO RICHTER AND RIGHT BEFORE HE DOES THE HOLY CROSS,YOU WILL SEE A GREEN ORB FLYING ABOVE HIS HEAD.MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR FAIRIE OR SPRITE OUT AND AT LEAST 5 HIGH POTIONS.KEEP SLASHING THE ORB WITH THE DAMSCUS SWORD AND ONCE YOU HAVE HEARD A "YOU FOOL"YOU'RE ONLY ABOUT 3-4 SLASHES AWAY FROM A VIC.MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE BAT MORPH BECAUSE YOU WILL NEDD IT A LOT AND ABOUT 5 MANA PRISMS AND FOR ALL YOU GOOBER-NUTS,MY NAME IS SHAFT.