The Metroidvania genre is bigger than it has ever been. Countless pixel art, throwback indie Metroidvanias come out every year, all based on the popular structure created by the Castlevania and Metroid series. While the genre, at this point, is beginning to oversaturate the market to the point of them all blending in, there are really two games that the majority of them are inspired by: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid.
Both Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Super Metroid cemented exactly what the genre can do and exactly how it should be done. The debate around which Metroidvania is the best of them always comes down to these two, so, to settle the score, here are five benefits of each to help you make your own decision.
10 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: RPG Elements
One of the biggest changes Castlevania: Symphony of the Night added to the formula created by Nintendo’s Metroid series was RPG elements. As you made your way through your dear old dad’s castle and defeated enemies, you would level up and become stronger. Your strength, luck, intelligence, and constitution would all raise when you reached a new level.
Stats were also added to the weapon and equipment Alucard would pick up, and, as you progressed through the game, you would find increasingly better tools for taking out bosses and the eventual encounter with Vlad Tepes.
9 Super Metroid: Morph Ball
The morph ball is a staple to the Metroid series and is easily Samus’s most recognizable abilities. You shrink into a ball no higher than Samus’s knee and can navigate through tunnels and zip by enemies quickly with less chance of being attacked.
The morph ball is a fantastic part of the Metroid gameplay, as it allows for much more ground to be covered as you roll through small holes in the walls. This is a great way to find secrets and get an idea of where Samus should be heading next.
8 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: Transformations
Borrowed from Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel, Alucard has the ability to turn into a wolf, a bat, and mist. Each transformation has its own abilities. The wolf can run very fast, the bat can, of course, fly, and the mist can go through gates to help you reach new areas that were previously inaccessible.
Each transformation would gain more abilities as you make your way through the game. The wolf has the ability to run fast and build up energy around it so it can run through enemies, the bat has the ability to send out sonar rays so you can see in the dark, and the mist can turn into poisonous mist and destroy enemies.
7 Super Metroid: Ominous Atmosphere
While Castlevania: Symphony of the Night has plenty of atmosphere of its own, there are many parts of the game that are interrupted by horrible voice acting. Also, though Castlevania: Symphony of the Night has a great soundtrack, it doesn’t create the dread of Super Metroid’s mechanical, ambient soundtrack.
In Super Metroid, you really feel like you are alone in this totally alien world through the help of a dark setting and moody soundtrack. Throughout the game, it is Samus and only Samus, no Maria to come around and crush on you while looking for Richter.
6 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: Familiars
As you make your way through Dracula’s castle, you will come across cards. These cards will activate familiars that will follow you around and help you with your journey. The gargoyle will help you enter some areas you wouldn’t normally be able to access by pressing a switch. The fairy will help find and give you potions when you are in need, and the rest are mainly used for fighting. They will all level up as you use them, with some of them even evolving once they have reached a high enough level.
5 Super Metroid: Shinespark
After Samus has found the speed booster ability, she will be able to run quickly across the screen, collecting energy as she moves. After you have collected enough energy, you can crouch and direct yourself in any direction except into the ground. Once directed, you will shoot into the air and blast through everything in your path, and this is known as the shinespark.
The shinespark is a great way to sequence break and get to portions of the game that you wouldn’t be able to access much later in the game. This is a popular technique used by speedrunners as a way of finishing the game in the quickest manner possible.
4 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: Spells
From the very beginning of the game, Alucard has the ability to cast a number of different spells. Though these spells appear locked at the start of the game, as soon as you put in the correct cheat code inputs, the move will be unlocked and appear in the menu for future reference.
Some of Alucard’s spells include Dark Metamorphosis, which will take life from enemies around you and increase your HP, Summon Spirit, which will spawn two white orbs that will help you in battle, as well as more defensive and offensive spells.
3 Super Metroid: Wall Jump
The wall jump in Super Metroid can take a bit of practice to really get the hang of, but, once you can get it on command, you will be able to bypass parts of the game and find new secrets to help you better equip everyone’s favorite bounty hunter, Samus Aran.
You can fly in Castlevania Symphony of the Night, be it through the bat form, mist form, and super jump, but it makes everything easily accessible. With the wall jump in Super Metroid, your skill is what takes you to new places, and learning to properly use the wall jump is good fun.
2 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: Multiple Playable Character
At the beginning of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, you play as Richter Belmont, replaying the final scene from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, but you quickly change to Alucard once the game officially begins. However, if after beating the game, you start a new save and name the save Richter, you will be able to play the entire game as Richter.
The game plays like a classic Castlevania, as Ritcher can only use his whip, special weapons, item crash, and a few other new additions to his arsenal. The Japanese exclusive Sega Saturn port of the game also lets you play as Maria.
1 Super Metroid: Well Crafted
There is no doubt that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a fantastic game, but it adds a lot of extra stuff that almost seems unnecessary. The RPG elements, the spells, and the familiars all feel like they were all added at separate times and not really thought of as one cohesive set of abilities, making the game feel a little bit needlessly excessive.
In Super Metroid, Nintendo knew exactly what they were setting out to do and created a great set of skills that perfectly complemented the rest of the game without making it feel like there were any needless additions.
NEXT: Best Metroidvania Games For Newbies
