I've been playing games since I can remember. Unlike the current crop of wannabe hard-core gamers, I really am one. I've been playing games before the PSX, before the SNES, ... I still remember when the NES came out. But in all my years of gaming, never have I played a game as amazing and beautiful as Konami's "Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night." The breathtaking graphics, the rich and haunting soundtrack, the perfect control--all of this adds up to nothing compared to the gameplay itself, which is of unrivaled magnitude. After Richter Belmont had defeated Dracula in the last "Castlevania," all seemed pleasant--until now. One night, four years after the supposed demise of Dracula, Richter simply vanished. With no idea as to where to go, Maria Renard, Richter's sister-in-law, went out on her search for him when it happened: Castlevania, home of Dracula, had suddenly appeared. You play as Alucard, the offspring of a human woman and Dracula himself. Then, you enter Castlevania. 3D? Bah. The game mixes both the 2D side-scrolling and RPG genres perfectly. Fans of both genres (and those, like myself, that love both genres) will no doubt cherish this game. This is easily the biggest "Castlevania" game so far. There's over 140 different villians, around a dozen spells, a vast array of weapons and armor, and multiple endings. So take a few days off from work and/or school, because you're gonna need 'em. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous. I still ask myself why everyone's jumping on fancy 3D engines when they could create a game like this. Could you imagine a 2D "Castlevania" on Dreamcast? (drools) Anyways, the graphics on this game are top-notch stuff. Lots of detail on every little character and background. The control is as easy as it gets. Anyone could pick this up and start playing right away. The music though...it just can't be put into words. This is on par with Squaresoft's best work. Yeah, I'm serious. Usually when playing games, I pop in a Dead Can Dance CD or something, but this soundtrack is too epic to miss. Alucard has lots of different spells he can use, all of which are quite effective and beautifully drawn. There's also relics which Alucard collects, and they are needed to beat the game. Some relics tell you the damage you cause to your enemy; one lets you do a double jump; and then there's some that let you transform into a wolf, bat, or mist. The game offers a decent challenge, by now, after all these years of gaming, there isn't much that I have trouble with, but it did offer me a challenge by trying to collect everything in the game. There is a lot of favorite moments for me in this game, but the moment that stuck out the most in my head was the confession booth. It didn't do anything (except hurt you if the curtains close...), but it stuck out in my head. It's as close as I'll ever get to a real one (I'm anti-religous). All I can say is that you have absolutely no excuse as to why you shouldn't own a copy, ...you're not even a real gamer if you don't own this. The "Castlevania" games that followed this one were mediocre at best (and that's when you don't compare them to this one), so I wouldn't recommend those N64 "sequels" at all. I wish Konami had continued the series with direction they were going with for this game. You can go ahead and keep your "Metal Gear Solid," I'll stick with this. "Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night" isn't a masterpiece, it's THE masterpiece. Now go get it if you still don't have it.