saturn version of SotN

[AlexKidd]

This question is for people who own or have played this version of the game. Is it worth buying to play if you already have the playstation version? what are the differences? Are the graphics better/worse. basically just tell me anything i should know about the game and if you think it's worth playing. And for the record playstation symphony of the night is probably my favorite game of all time.

[Nick]

Hmm..I'd actually love to know all the differences myself. I heard there are a few extra rooms in the Saturn version not found on the PS. But i'm sure theres other stuff worth noting.

[MegaDrive20XX]

*Gets a group of dark priest to summon Ed Oscuro and Arasoi*

Saturn edition feels and looks just like the PSX edition. Except for these things.

1) Extra Load time, after you go through the corridor, an extra "Now Loading" pops up. Very minor, if you don't mind it.

2) Extra pixels when blood is shown or you go into the save point, the coffin looks so jagged with pixels, doesn't look as good as the PSX.

3) The 2 new dungeons added, The Garden (Located at the start of the game by the gate) and the Prison (In the center of the map). Both which feature some really badass classic CV BGM such as Bloody Tears and Vampire Killer. The first time you visit the prison, you are introduced to a new BGM exclusive to the game, which is pretty damn sweet.

4) New weapons to be found, just a few not much. Yet sadly when you find them, you already have a better weapon

5) Extra loading time when trying to access the map (press start and then press R trigger)

6) a bit more slowdown when too many enemies are on screen. Sad really, because Saturn should be the superior when it comes to 2D.

7) Richter's bonus costume. To use Richters alternative outfit first start a New file. At the character select screen highlight Richter and press Up and C at the same time. When the game starts you will be wearing the same long sleeved outfit that Richter wears during the Alucard game.

8) Ability to play as Maria. Maria is pretty much like being Mega Man ...she has Street Fighter like moves (D+F+Attack) which summon cool monsters to help her fight. The downside is she is very weak in defense and some of those elements that are summoned cause more slow down in the gameplay.

9) Unlike the US version, you get all the fimilars in this game, The Demon, The Gremlin, the Angel, the Fairy, the Bat, The Devil Sword, and the Skull. Which is normally seen in the PSX JPN version.

10) 1 new power up added for Alucard. "Double Time" which doubles his walking speed. Pretty fun.

Overall, this is great to have. All the flaws I mentioned are really minor imho. I still had a blast with this one by far.

If I forgot anything or made a mistake, please fill in the blanks. :)

[Ed Oscuro]

Sigh...I really should butt out of these topics 'cuz I've yet to play the Saturn version. But from what I've heard from those who have it, not owning it isn't much of a loss.

[j_factor]

The fact that it's in Japanese really sucks a lot of the fun out of Alucard's game IMO.

Also, one more difference that GNG didn't mention is that the Saturn version lacks transparencies. Not that the game had tons of transparencies to begin with, but it is noticeable. That one armored enemy that can create a transparent shield has an opaque shield in the Saturn version. Not a huge deal, but it amounts to several little things that you will notice if you're familiar with the PSX version.

The extra areas are nice, and the addition of Maria is awesome. I'd say that if you're a huge fan of the game, it's worth it to own both versions -- the Playstation version for the main (Alucard's) game, the Saturn version for playing as Maria and Richter. That's what I do.

But if you're not a gigantic SOTN fan, then you're not missing out that much by just owning it on Playstation. In fact, given the high price the Saturn version commands, I wouldn't generally recommend it.

[roushimsx]

Given the price it goes for, I'd say it's really not worth it. Hell, even if it was only $20-$30, I'd say think twice about it just because of how shoddy the port really is. It's a very, very disappointing port ...the additional slowdown, loading, and degraded graphics really do get on the nerves if you've ever spent a decent amount of time with the Playstation verison.

the language barrier is also something that may be a problem for most people (if you want to hear the original voice acting, you're better off just picking up one of the japanese PS1 releases).

for what it's worth, I loved the US PS1 version to death, including the hillariously awesome translation.

[RCM]

I've seen an overall preference for the PS version. I've seen SOTN new at Cosco for $12-$15. Used Saturn SOTN's go for triple that.

I own the PS version and I know you're all going to hate me (more) but I didn't like it. Call me old fashioned but Rondo of Blood is simply the greatest Castlevania I've ever played...I've played nearly all of them.

[Arasoi]

Most of the other posts in this thread have covered the differences perfectly, Id just like to add one thing:

There are a few extra items, including a Dark Shield, which can be used for a new attack with the shield rod.

Nothing special really.

I found Richter's Kojima design sprite edit to be just decent looking, Ive seen a lot better sprite edits by fans. Maria is the reason you buy this game, IMO as the "new" areas do not fit very well.

An issue I found with it is that the resolution on the Saturn is different, and the sprites are stretched out a bit on the screen, so it isnt as pleasant looking.

I wouldnt call it the best version of SOTN as the game just simply wasnt optimized properly for the Saturn's hardware, and the gameplay, load times, and graphics suffer from it.

For a Castlevania fan, it should still be a mandatory playthrough though as its a lot of fun to see the new stuff, and play as Maria.

[Richter]

i believe Maria also has different animations when using the sub-weapons - throwing multiple daggers and axes instead of just one, a higher Holy Water flame

[Kid Ice]

The Wipeout thing was getting threadjacky so I split it into a new topic.

[heybtbm]

Let's hope the upcoming XBLA version of SOTN has the Saturn extras.

I only have the PS version and it's always bugged me that I haven't truely played everything in one of my favorite games of all time.

[MarioMania]

I think the B-Team at Konami, witch handled the Saturn Version..Made it not as well on porpose..So the PSX Version could shine..The Saturn is Capeable doing more

[Damaramu]

Wasn't there a .txt file on the Saturn disc that had some kind of apology from the development team for rushing the port?

Or was that just a rumor?

[j_factor]

I think the B-Team at Konami, witch handled the Saturn Version..Made it not as well on porpose..So the PSX Version could shine..The Saturn is Capeable doing more

The Saturn port was handled by KCE Nagoya. That's kind of mean to call them "the B-Team". ;)

I definitely don't think it's likely that they purposely made the Saturn version worse to make Playstation look better. The Saturn version came out quite a while after the Playstation version; it was a pretty late port. So I don't think they had anything to gain by doing that.

I think what happened is that it was originally supposed to be just a Playstation game and Konami had no intentions of porting it, and then they changed their minds, either due to fan demand for a Saturn port, or because they had a few ideas for things to add to the game and they wanted to put them in use. And then the timetable given to KCEN on finishing the port was pretty short because Konami wanted it out at a certain time.

[6502]

Wasn't there a .txt file on the Saturn disc that had some kind of apology from the development team for rushing the port?

Or was that just a rumor?

Might be true. There's a Word doc on the disc with comments from the dev team. It's seven pages long though, and my Japanese is too poor for me to try to translate it all. :) However, I did notice that one of the devs commented that some of the PSX effects (transparency and such) were hard to implement on Saturn. There didn't appear to be anything like an apology for "rushing" the port that I could tell (again, I only read the first couple pages).

I don't mind the "inferior" Saturn version, because that's what I bought first and was used to. Crazy as it may sound, the Saturn version of Dracula X was really cheap when it came out. It was actually cheaper for me to import the game (for about $30) then to buy the US PSX release (still around $40-50 at the time, in summer of 1998). I didn't get the PSX version until about two years ago, when I saw the GH version at Costco's for like $13, a deal too good to pass up even though I had the game on Saturn.

[MarioMania]

I think the B-Team at Konami, witch handled the Saturn Version..Made it not as well on porpose..So the PSX Version could shine..The Saturn is Capeable doing more

The Saturn port was handled by KCE Nagoya. That's kind of mean to call them "the B-Team". ;)

I definitely don't think it's likely that they purposely made the Saturn version worse to make Playstation look better. The Saturn version came out quite a while after the Playstation version; it was a pretty late port. So I don't think they had anything to gain by doing that.

I think what happened is that it was originally supposed to be just a Playstation game and Konami had no intentions of porting it, and then they changed their minds, either due to fan demand for a Saturn port, or because they had a few ideas for things to add to the game and they wanted to put them in use. And then the timetable given to KCEN on finishing the port was pretty short because Konami wanted it out at a certain time.

the reason me saying B-Team was other programmers not doing the PSX version, Handled the Saturn Version..