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[VGEsoterica]

When SotN came out on PS1 and I first played it...my metaphoric wall had my mind splattered all over the paint. How could Castlevania, a franchise I loved, somehow evolve into a game this good? The exploration, the red book audio...the sprite work...it was a 10/10 home run. I spent the better part of a month exploring the entire castle just to make sure I didn’t miss anything. To this day I still play from start to finish once a year (sometimes solo, sometimes with friends)

but...for the last seven years when I do my yearly SotN run I do it on Saturn....and that’s because I really do think it’s the better version of the game compared to the PS1 version! (Covers face and head to avoid the rocks incoming....lol)

I loved 90’s gaming. Hardware was evolving to the point where you had SNES in the beginning and Dreamcast by the end. Iconic games were releasing monthly. Graphics were improving by leaps and bounds...but what DONT I miss? The reviewers.

Does SotN on the Saturn have slowdown? In spots definitely. Does it have longer loading times? Definitely. Are the transparencies from the PS1 version gone? 100%

and that was enough for reviews of the Japanese import to get ravaged. You’d think reading them the game was hot garbage. A real Staten Island dumpster fire of an experience.

but what did we get in return? Maria as a playable character, some awesome remixes of iconic tracks, and new areas of the castle to explore with new songs and enemies. We’re the new areas perfect? No...but it was more SotN and I’ll give up transparencies and throw in a bit of loading time patience to get more of the game I love.

I really just wish Konami would give us a modern physical copy edition of SotN on the PS1 code with the Saturn extras. Combine it together as one experience and sell it to us...I’d buy another version of the game!

If you are reading this Konami...step away from the pachislot machines and give us some new and awesome Castlevania games!

 

[VGEsoterica]

If you’ve never seen Maria or the extra areas...or the slowdown lol

 

[Trogdor1123]

There was new areas in the Saturn one? I didn't know that.

 

[VGEsoterica]

There was new areas in the Saturn one? I didn't know that.

yes it has added areas. Which is what I love about it. Just more Castlevania

 

[Trogdor1123]

yes it has added areas. Which is what I love about it. Just more Castlevania

That's awesome. I hit, I think, every part of the PS1 version. Missed some of the weapons though. Some are crazy op

 

[BlackTron]

I was about to buy the PS4 version of this...I too am bummed there isn't a definitive version with everything.

 

[diffusionx]

Saturn stans still fighting that old war, never give up.

 

[ExpandKong]

Saturn stans still fighting that old war, never give up.

Like those Japanese soldiers stranded on that island for decades after WW2.

 

[idrago01]

This is true, I was a proud owner of a sega saturn, 2D games always ran much smoother, especially fighting games which were laggy pieces of trash on the playstation

 

[amigastar]

I played through SotN on a PS1 Emulator.
Great game, now currently playing through Bloodstained Ritual of the Night, also really good.

 

[Scotty W]

Have you heard about this hack?

New Saturn Castlevania SOTN Improvement Hack Utilizes The 4MB RAM Cart For Fast Loading, Smoother Animations And More

New Saturn Castlevania SOTN Improvement Hack Utilizes The 4MB RAM Cart For Fast Loading, Smoother Animations, And More Chinese ROMhacker YZB has coded a high-level hack of the Sega Saturn Castlevania: Symphony of the Night [Akumajou Dracula X-Gekka no Yasoukyoku] which implements a number of...

www.neogaf.com

 

[kingpotato]

Saturn stans still fighting that old war, never give up.

This is true, I was a proud owner of a sega saturn, 2D games always ran much smoother, especially fighting games which were laggy pieces of trash on the playstation

I had a Saturn and loved it, but the PS1 version is a more enjoyable experience in my opinion. Playstation sucked for Capcom fighters which were amazing on Saturn for sure. The worst offender in my mind was Children of the Atom.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Have you heard about this hack?

New Saturn Castlevania SOTN Improvement Hack Utilizes The 4MB RAM Cart For Fast Loading, Smoother Animations And More

New Saturn Castlevania SOTN Improvement Hack Utilizes The 4MB RAM Cart For Fast Loading, Smoother Animations, And More Chinese ROMhacker YZB has coded a high-level hack of the Sega Saturn Castlevania: Symphony of the Night [Akumajou Dracula X-Gekka no Yasoukyoku] which implements a number of...

www.neogaf.com

yeah I need to try it out. Looks promising!

 

[Soodanim]

I always found it interesting that Saturn has Maria and PSP has Maria, but they aren't the same Maria.

I've heard mixed things about the Saturn version's two exclusive areas, but I wouldn't mind the opportunity to play them for myself.

Just found a decent comparison video that goes into differences in a bit more detail:


It's nowhere near a Resident Evil 2 level of port pros and cons, but it's interesting to see the odd gardener enemy and the sprint boots that let you run like in the Alucard intro.

One thing not mentioned is Saturn's incorrect sprite sizing. Post #39 in this old thread details with a picture. That thread also mentions topless Succubus though, so Saturn wins after all? GAF does love pixel boobies.

edit:

The Esco

www.youtube.com

This guy is making a SotN hack/mod/remake/re-envisioning. Massive changes to gameplay, but may be interesting to some. Not sure how he's getting away with running a Patreon for making stuff with other people's IPs though.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Saturn stans still fighting that old war, never give up.

haha my PS1 and Saturn collections are of equal size. No real favoritism

 

[KOMANI]

Nothing new, the music, enemies, or stages are really a plus. Maria is just a broken character. The Maria on the PSP/PS4 version is less broken. I can’t see how the Saturn version is better than the Xbox Store version, let alone the PSX version.
More does’t always equal better.

 

[Castef]

Saturn -> More content
PlayStation -> Better on the technical side

Did they ever published a "definitive edition" somewhere?

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

the saturn might be the most forgotten console in history

i hear no one mention it yet dreamcast and PS1 get mentioned all the time

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

No offence, but just... no.

Loading times just to look at the map are just the same as loading times in the PS1 ports of SNES Final Fantasy games: a dealbreaker, plain and simple. It's unacceptable and completely ruins the flow of the game.

The extra areas are meh and I forgot them as soon as I got out of them. Not worth the inferior performance and the horrible loading times.

 

[nkarafo]

Saturn version also has scaling issues that csuses pixels not being shaped perfectly.

 

[Virex]

No

 

[Demigod Mac]

The extra areas aren't very good, but it's worth a playthrough if you're a diehard fan of the game.

 

[Calverz]

Digital foundry covered this. The saturn had to add an extra line of pixels so some things give a stretched look or something

 

[Aggressive Carrot]

I only ever played the PlayStation version. I had no idea about the extra areas, weapons, items and playable Maria in the Sega Saturn version.

 

[VGEsoterica]

The extra areas aren't very good, but it's worth a playthrough if you're a diehard fan of the game.

lol for people like me who play it once a year as a tradition!

 

[Darkmakaimura]

I remember trying to go down that stupid secret passage at the beginning of the game where you slide under the gate and fall into that secret pit.... Only to find that was a Saturn exclusive and not on Playstation.

 

[Serge85]

No, those new areas aren't worth it.

 

[VGEsoterica]

I remember trying to go down that stupid secret passage at the beginning of the game where you slide under the gate and fall into that secret pit.... Only to find that was a Saturn exclusive and not on Playstation.

cut Content. I did the same thing. Supposedly in the Saturn that was the original intent for that area. Not sure if that’s true but I’m glad it’s just no longer a passage way to nowhere

 

[SkylineRKR]

I maxed out the Saturn version map a few times as well.

New areas were... not good. The prison one felt useless, there was no boss and it had to be opened from both sides to use is as a passageway between the gallery and the first area anyway. So there was no reason to go there. The garden was cool, a throwback area even with Vampire killer music, but it was a dead end with no meaningful reward. That area could've housed an extra item for the clock, to make it required.

The saturn version was fun though. The extra item button was handy since you didn't have to unequip a weapon. The game was full screen. And Richter was better implemented from a character select screen. Maria was awesome to play with. An ideal version would be a mixup of both games, and the new areas sort of required or with a very cool reward. The prison should feel less hap hazard. With the performance of whatever version runs best (PS4 collection, PSP? dunno).

If you are a real hardcore fan, then the saturn version is still a must. Its the only way to play those new areas, enemies and this version of Maria.

 

[Mildudon]

 

[Spukc]

WRONG

 

[butane bob]

It's not just slowdown and lack of transparencies, there's a whole load of problems.
-Longer loading times
-Loading in areas where there was previously none (single rooms split into multiple rooms now with loading in between)
-Some rooms missing entirely
-Mismatched resolution which they just stretched out resulting in distorted sprites and other artefacts along with incorrect aspect ratios
-Lower quality downsampled audio

But hey you can control your waifu i guess.

 

[Cliff Underside]

The Saturn version is the true version for me. That Maria boss fight was great, with one of the best songs in the ost. Better than the PSP Maria by leaps and bounds. Also the garden area was pretty cool, albeit short. I think it also had other minor differences, like an extra item button instead of the map, which could be a blessing or a curse depending on who you ask.

Now If only Konami would release a new version combining the best of both worlds, instead of making softcore pachinko machines...

 

[SkylineRKR]

The Saturn version is the true version for me. That Maria boss fight was great, with one of the best songs in the ost. Better than the PSP Maria by leaps and bounds. Also the garden area was pretty cool, albeit short. I think it also had other minor differences, like an extra item button instead of the map, which could be a blessing or a curse depending on who you ask.

Now If only Konami would release a new version combining the best of both worlds, instead of making softcore pachinko machines...

I forgot about the map. That was trash lol. Because the Saturn version also took longer to load the menu. And from there you had to open up the map. The extra item button was absolutely cool, since you didn't have to unequip a weapon but the map needed to be on a button as well. Or a combination of buttons.

 

[VGEsoterica]

I maxed out the Saturn version map a few times as well.

New areas were... not good. The prison one felt useless, there was no boss and it had to be opened from both sides to use is as a passageway between the gallery and the first area anyway. So there was no reason to go there. The garden was cool, a throwback area even with Vampire killer music, but it was a dead end with no meaningful reward. That area could've housed an extra item for the clock, to make it required.

The saturn version was fun though. The extra item button was handy since you didn't have to unequip a weapon. The game was full screen. And Richter was better implemented from a character select screen. Maria was awesome to play with. An ideal version would be a mixup of both games, and the new areas sort of required or with a very cool reward. The prison should feel less hap hazard. With the performance of whatever version runs best (PS4 collection, PSP? dunno).

If you are a real hardcore fan, then the saturn version is still a must. Its the only way to play those new areas, enemies and this version of Maria.

if only Konami would combine it all into one master release lol...you know, give fans what they want

 

[deriks]

The map and the stretch are a deal breaker for me

 

[Futaleufu]

Saturn version also has scaling issues that csuses pixels not being shaped perfectly.

In the CRT era that was barely noticeable.

Considering the Saturn has more RAM than the PS1 it doesn't make sense it has to load to open the map, Konami going for the quickest release possible I guess.

 

[tsumake]

The map and the stretch are a deal breaker for me

Is there a way to fix the wonky resolution via emulation, like with a filter?

 

[VGEsoterica]

In the CRT era that was barely noticeable.

Considering the Saturn has more RAM than the PS1 it doesn't make sense it has to load to open the map, Konami going for the quickest release possible I guess.

pretty much. I played it on a PVM recently and honestly I can’t see a difference at all. With modern upscalers it’s noticeable but ok a tube tv...I can’t tell

 

[deriks]

Is there a way to fix the wonky resolution via emulation, like with a filter?

I can't see a way to really work fine.

Saturn has a bigger resolution and is sprite based, so if someone redraw every piece or sprite to look like the PSX, should work fine. The cost will be a smaller scale in the screen, which will look kinda weird

 

[ManaByte]

Saturn stans still fighting that old war, never give up.

Don't tell people that the V-Saturn version of Tomb Raider was better than the PSX version.

 

[nush]

When SotN came out on PS1 and I first played it...my metaphoric wall had my mind splattered all over the paint. How could Castlevania, a franchise I loved, somehow evolve into a game this good? The exploration, the red book audio...the sprite work...it was a 10/10 home run. I spent the better part of a month exploring the entire castle just to make sure I didn’t miss anything. To this day I still play from start to finish once a year (sometimes solo, sometimes with friends)

but...for the last seven years when I do my yearly SotN run I do it on Saturn....and that’s because I really do think it’s the better version of the game compared to the PS1 version! (Covers face and head to avoid the rocks incoming....lol)

I loved 90’s gaming. Hardware was evolving to the point where you had SNES in the beginning and Dreamcast by the end. Iconic games were releasing monthly. Graphics were improving by leaps and bounds...but what DONT I miss? The reviewers.

Does SotN on the Saturn have slowdown? In spots definitely. Does it have longer loading times? Definitely. Are the transparencies from the PS1 version gone? 100%

and that was enough for reviews of the Japanese import to get ravaged. You’d think reading them the game was hot garbage. A real Staten Island dumpster fire of an experience.

but what did we get in return? Maria as a playable character, some awesome remixes of iconic tracks, and new areas of the castle to explore with new songs and enemies. We’re the new areas perfect? No...but it was more SotN and I’ll give up transparencies and throw in a bit of loading time patience to get more of the game I love.

I really just wish Konami would give us a modern physical copy edition of SotN on the PS1 code with the Saturn extras. Combine it together as one experience and sell it to us...I’d buy another version of the game!

If you are reading this Konami...step away from the pachislot machines and give us some new and awesome Castlevania games!

Have you put the game in a PC yet and looked in the Omake folder?

 

[Polelock]

Man, SotN was one of only a few games I had for PSX. I put over 200 hours into it and loved loved loved every bit of it. I'm a huge fan of the xbox 360 games as well. I play them on PC and graphically it still holds up well.

 

[Azelover]

I havent played it, but I know the Saturn is the superior machine in terms of 2D.

Now, I'm not gonna get into an argument as to why the Saturn does 2D better. It's a simple truth.

 

[Andodalf]

Man, having to chose between all the content or having a better experience in the actual technical aspects sounds brutal. Hate to be forced between stuff like that.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

whether or not it is the better version, i am so glad it exists.

how cool is it to have cut content from this game, in playable form? plus Maria, it's almost like early DLC.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Man, having to chose between all the content or having a better experience in the actual technical aspects sounds brutal. Hate to be forced between stuff like that.

haha right? Better tech or more characters and gameplay? Sophie’s choice

 

[SpiceRacz]

Technical bullshit aside, I'd rather play this game using a Saturn controller.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Technical bullshit aside, I'd rather play this game using a Saturn controller.

It IS essentially a d-pad game and also has fireball motions. This is a valid point. Saturn controller was far better for these games.

 

[Futaleufu]

It IS essentially a d-pad game and also has fireball motions. This is a valid point. Saturn controller was far better for these games.

It also has some SNK style command inputs, you can cheese the whole game inputting the teleport sword slash over and over.