Why is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night so expensive?
I’ve never played a Castlevania game 😬 I know, I know… But, I want to get into it, and of course the title that’s always mentioned as a must play is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for PS1.
When looking at the prices though… 😮
On eBay, there are just 4 or 5 copies available, as cheap as £400.
On CEX, the game sells for £455.
On Mage, we have no copies at the moment (we’re pretty new, we’ll get there!)
Why is the game so expensive? Here is my research.
The game is awesome. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is considered the best Castlevania game ever, and a pioneer of the “Metroidvania” sub-genre (that is, action-adventure games focused on guided non-linearity and utility-gated exploration and progression; the term comes from Metroid + Castlevania).
As a curiosity regarding the game’s development, Koji ‘IGA’ Igarashi, who contributed to finishing it as assistant director, explains that “Action games could be cleared in a short time, but I wished to create a game which could be enjoyed for a long time”. The development team left behind the traditional stage-by-stage progression of the previous Castlevania games, in favour of an open castle that the player can freely explore. They took inspiration from Metroid and The Legend of Zelda series.
Very limited supply. The game was initially released for the PlayStation in 1997. While it was well-received, it didn’t have a massive initial production run. It is believed that only 15,000 copies of the PAL version of the game were ever sold. However, in Japan and the US the game was reprinted several times in order to satisfy demand, and that’s why NTSC versions sell for way less.
Besides, as you can imagine it’s a difficult game to find in good condition. The game is over 25 years old, and many copies of those 15,000 have been lost, damaged or thrown away, driving up the price.
How to play Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for a fraction of the price
While the game has been re-released digitally on various platforms (including the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita), physical copies of the original PlayStation version are limited to its initial print run, contributing to its scarcity.
More recently, in 2018, a remaster of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the PS4 was included in the “Castlevania Requiem” collection, which you can get imported for about £60. It might not have the same charm as playing it on the actual PS1, but it’s a much more affordable option.
Game on everybody!
