Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night Review

By , on August 1, 2010


Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • Unique re-telling of a classic Castlevania title.
  • Puzzle Quest style fighting and leveling.
  • Beautifully replicated artwork and castle layout.

CONS

  • Too much puzzling for Castlevania fans; too much Castlevania for puzzle fans.
  • Almost unforgivable brutalization of an epic soundtrack.

VERDICT

Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night is strangely moreish, but you'll need to put in some serious time to truly enjoy the game's later gameplay.


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Konami's latest release for the App Store seems to have come straight out of left field and Castlevania fans can now fill their vampire-slaying addictions on their iDevices. That is, however, only if you're up for exchanging action-platforming with a Puzzle Quest inspired remake of Symphony of the Night (SotN) in the aptly named 'Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night'.

The transition from action-RPG to puzzle-RPG is surprisingly smooth, with players still needing to explore Dracula's castle while vanquishing foes and obtaining new powers. Random monsters are encountered by moving to new areas and must be fought by playing a 'Dr Mario'-like minigame. Early on these battles can be tiresome, but as you equip Alucard with increasingly powerful items and spells they become much more tolerable, especially once you master counter attacks and other strategic elements.

Most of the artwork has been taken directly from SotN and those familiar with this landmark title will immediately recognize the many items available. It's also great to see the castle replicated almost perfectly from SotN, complete with the hidden rooms. The original soundtrack is also included, however the songs are shortened and become incredibly jarring after spending an extended period in each area.

Encore of the Night is a strange beast to approach and it's hard to imagine too much of an overlap between Castlevania and Puzzle Quest fans. It's definitely worth trying, but it may be too niche for most to truly enjoy.

Screenshots

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