Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and released for the PlayStation in Japan on 20 March 1997, followed by North America in October and Europe in November of that year. It grew out of a cancelled 32X project, Castlevania: The Bloodletting. Assistant director Koji Igarashi pushed for open exploration, citing Zelda, Metroid and Super Metroid as influences, and Alucard replaced the usual whip-wielding hero to reduce clutter on screen and allow unique moves.
The game marked the industry debut of character designer Ayami Kojima, and Michiru Yamane composed the music.
A Sega Saturn version followed in 1998, released only in Japan, with Maria Renard as an extra playable character. The game was later re-released on Xbox Live Arcade, on PSP inside The Dracula X Chronicles, on PS4 as part of Castlevania Requiem and, in 2020, on iOS and Android.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Castlevania: Symphony of the Night | PlayStation | Oct 3, 1997 | Konami | 1 |
| NA | Castlevania: Symphony of the NightPSone Classics on PlayStation Network; Japan 16 December 2010, Europe 12 December 2012 | PlayStation 3 | Jul 19, 2007 | Konami | 1 |
| NA | Castlevania: The Dracula X ChroniclesUnlockable inside the Rondo of Blood remake; Japan 8 November 2007, Europe 18 February 2008 | PSP | Oct 23, 2007 | Konami | 1 |
| JP | 悪魔城ドラキュラX 月下の夜想曲Akumajō Dorakyura Ekkusu: Gekka no Yasōkyoku | PlayStation | Mar 20, 1997 | Konami | 1 |
| EU | Castlevania: Symphony of the Night | PlayStation | Nov 1, 1997 | Konami | 1 |
| JP | 悪魔城ドラキュラX 月下の夜想曲Japan-only port by Konami Computer Entertainment Nagoya | Saturn | Jun 25, 1998 | Konami | 1 |
| WW | Castlevania: Symphony of the NightXbox Live Arcade | Xbox 360 | Mar 21, 2007 | Konami | 1 |
| WW | Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of BloodJapanese Wikipedia gives 25 October 2018 | PlayStation 4 | Oct 26, 2018 | Konami | 1 |
| WW | Castlevania: Symphony of the NightAlso Android | iOS | Mar 4, 2020 | Konami | 1 |
Also known as: 悪魔城ドラキュラX 月下の夜想曲 JP1Akumajō Dracula X: Gekka no Yasōkyoku JP1月下 JP2Demon Castle Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight JP1
Box art by region
NA Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 
EU Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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ContentSaturn (JP)
The Japan-only Saturn version makes Maria Renard playable, offers Richter from the start, and adds two areas (the Cursed Prison and the Underground Garden), extra items and remixed music; however, it loads more slowly and uses dithering instead of transparency.1
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TextPS1 (NA/EU)
Jeremy Blaustein's English localization added Dracula's line 'What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets', drawn from André Malraux; the Western release also fixed a game-crashing bug from the Japanese version and added a sound test.1
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ContentPSP (Dracula X Chronicles)
The PSP version has a new English script and voice acting with an option for the original Japanese voices, a playable Maria, and 'Mournful Serenade' in place of the closing song 'I Am the Wind'.1
Reception
Sales were slow at first (703,166 units combined in the US and Japan, per figures cited by Wikipedia) but grew through word of mouth. The PlayStation version holds a Metacritic score of 93, and EGM named it PlayStation Game of the Year.1
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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