Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a platform-adventure action role-playing game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment and published by Konami. Starring Alucard, Dracula’s dhampir son, it swapped the linear stages of earlier entries for a sprawling, explorable castle, and it went on to become a cult classic that many critics rank among the best games ever made.

Four PAL variants are currently catalogued, with the earliest PAL release dated 2 November 1997. They span the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, and every copy is English language with a single disc in the main game. Two release types exist: the Original, packed in a standard Full Jewel PAL case, and the Enhanced Edition, which uses a Multiway Jewel Two Disk case. Both Hologram A and Hologram B appear on the cases across the set, so careful checking of the hologram is worthwhile when identifying a copy.

A bundled demo is also documented, the Castlevania Music Collection, which adds to the appeal of the Enhanced Edition. As a title that sold slowly at first and then grew steadily in reputation, the PAL copies are well sought after, and the case and hologram differences give completists plenty to hunt for.