Symphony of the Night uses 2-dimensional side-scrolling gameplay.[6] The objective is exploring Dracula's castle to defeat an entity named Shaft who is controlling Richter Belmont, the self-proclaimed lord of the castle and hero of the events which took place in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. Shaft can only be seen with a particular item obtained during gameplay. Once he is defeated, the second portion of the game is revealed, an upside-down version of the first castle, with new enemies and bosses. Alucard has to find five specific bosses to collect five pieces of Dracula (in reference to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest), eventually leading to the final battle with a newly awakened Dracula.[5]
The game is non-linear, but most of the castle is inaccessible until various items and abilities are collected, including shapeshifting into a bat, wolf, or mist.[7] As the player uncovers more of the castle, a map is updated to show progress.[8]
While player characters in previous Castlevania games typically used a whip,[9] the player can find and use a wide variety of weapons.[10] The game includes an inventory and other role-playing game elements.[8]
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night incorporates elements found in role-playing video games. Alucard's hit points determine the maximum amount of damage he can withstand before dying while his magic points decide how frequently a magical attack may be cast. Alucard can also collect hearts dropped from candles and enemies to use sub-weapons like in previous games. Alucard has four other attributes: strength, the power of his physical attack; constitution, his resilience to damage inflicted by the monsters; intelligence, the power of magical attacks and sub-weapons; and luck, the frequency that items are dropped by enemies as well as the chance to score a critical hit.
Defeating monsters provides Alucard with experience points and he will level up after reaching a predetermined amount, increasing his attributes in the process.[8] In addition to level-ups, Alucard can also find Life Vessels and Heart Vessels scattered around the castle, which permanently increase Alucard's maximum hit points and hearts respectively. Alucard may cast eight different spells, which requires the player to input directional combinations and will use up varying amounts of his magic points.[8] During the course of the game, Alucard can acquire the ability to summon familiars, which function as complementary entities, aiding him in battle and exploration.[citation needed]
Alternative modes of gameplay can be unlocked after completion of the game. By inputting Richter Belmont's name as the user name, the player can play as Richter,[11] who uses a whip as his main weapon and various sub-weapons.[citation needed] In the Sega Saturn version, the port included in the PlayStation Portable game Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, and in the PlayStation 4 port, Castlevania Requiem, Maria Renard is playable.
