This week on Critical Arcade, Nick and Dave don their finest velvet cloaks, pack an unreasonable number of throwing axes, and descend into the shadowy halls of Dracula’s castle in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Released in 1997, this genre-defining Metroidvania dropped players into a haunting, labyrinthine fortress as Alucard—Dracula’s half-human, half-vampire son who’s way too cool to run and instead dramatically glides everywhere he goes.

As they explore the eerie corridors of the castle, they’ll face off against possessed suits of armor, bone dragons, cursed books, and whatever the hell a Scylla Wyrm is. Armed with swords, spells, and a voice performance that can only be described as “nobly confused,” Dave and Nick will attempt to piece together the bizarre plot, unlock secret passageways, and probably argue about whether the inverted castle is brilliant game design or the work of a sadist.

Will Nick finally admit he’s completely lost without a walkthrough? Can Dave go five minutes without turning into a wolf by accident? And what exactly is a man, anyway—just a miserable little pile of secrets, or something more?

Tune in as the boys dive fang-first into one of gaming’s most stylish, spooky, and iconic adventures. Just don’t forget to bring a library card—this castle has a lot of reading.

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