Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is, simply put, a masterpiece. The classic side scrolling action is very well done, as is the use of Spells and the power to Equip, use Secret Uses for equipment (Weapon Ex. With some weapons, they have a special attack that can be executed with Left, Left-Down, Down, Right-Down, Right or vice versa. Accessories Ex. With the Gravity Boots if you press Down, Up and then X (jump) you rocket into the air to dizzying heights). The gameplay is smooth, unless you encounter many enemies with graphically impressive attacks, at which point the action lags.  The castle is huge, not to mention once you "beat the game" (the first castle) there's still half of the game left (the inverted castle). When you complete the whole game, you recieve passwords to obtain special abilities in your next game.  This game is NOT LINEAR! You basically choose your route through the castle. Let's not forget the amazing soundtrack.  The boss fights, however, need mentioning do to their either very easy or very hard state. Dracula (the final boss) is a cakewalk, but don't let that determine your purchase. The game itself is of medium length, but the amount of extra stuff to do allowed me to clock in around 30 hours on my first run (most time was spent exploring and training, the game takes maybe 15 hours). Needless to say, I still play the game, 4 years from it's release! Buy immediately!