Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Handheld Port Unearthed

Footage of a Castlevania: Symphony of the Night handheld port that was never released has surfaced, and it has us pretty pumped, to say the least. The video brings back memories that we didn’t even know were still there. You can take a look at the video, which showcases a surprisingly intact Symphony of the Night port, right here, courtesy of YouTuber Diskman Presents.

This footage showcases Castlevania: Symphony of the Night being played on Tiger’s Game.com Pocket Pro handheld, which was fully equipped with a backlit screen (flashy, no?). So, what’s the big deal with this port? The action RPG was released in 1997 originally via the PlayStation, so seeing it on a handheld like this is pretty impressive.

Symphony of the Night actually tanked in sales at first, which you might find hard to believe given its cult status now. Over the years, it gradually became a household staple to action RPG fans, where it sold over 700,000 units seemingly out of nowhere in the US and Japan. It’s the second part of the “Metroidvania” portmanteau.

The game is a 2D side-scroller, where players traverse Dracula’s castle in order to find the entity Shaft (can you dig it?) that has taken control of the body and mind of Richter Belmont. You might know Richter as the hero of the events that took place in the previous game, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. Symphony has a few more surprises, but we don’t want to spoil them; after all, you might still never have played this classic.

Though Castlevania: Symphony of the Night did end up coming to a handheld device, the PSP, it was never released on the Game.com Pocket Pro, so this footage is a true throwback to the OG ’97 title. It’s very odd indeed to see Symphony of the Night through old-school Game Boy-o-vision.

The Tiger Game.com Pocket Pro was released in June 1999, after the original Game.com device tanked in sales. Tiger decided to showcase the console at the American International Toy Fair in February of 1999, and even at E3 in May of that year. What the console lacked in color, it made up for it with a backlit screen and by sporting several different color options. Tiger even downsized the handheld to match the size of the Game Boy Pocket in hopes of stirring up more sales. With two AAs and $29.99 in hand, you had your very own Games.com Pocket Pro within your grasp. Sadly, the console was discontinued in 2000 due to poor sales volume, having only sold around 300,000 units in total. 

There have been several huge titles that Game.com ported over the years, such as Duke Nukem 3D and even a Resident Evil 2 iteration for the 1998 handheld. This version of Resident Evil 2 was less of a port, and more of a rework, as several core and key features were removed in order to make it playable on the console. Sadly, the Symphony of the Night port isn’t playable now, but hey, at least you can check it out as part of the Requiem collection on PlayStation.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Handheld Port Unearthed
Source: Pinay Guide Blog