In case of story spoilers or strong language, I suggest not reading any comments.
For the most part, I've always liked the soundtracks of the
Castlevania series. Some highlights include:
Super Castlevania IV - Somehow, Konami managed to make this game's music both catchy and atmospheric. They also made a great effort in showing what the SNES sound chip was capable of. This soundtrack still holds up today.
Theme of Simon Belmont
Forest of Monsters
The Waterfalls
Entrance Hall
Cellar
Treasury Room
Bloody Tears
Vampire Killer
Beginning
Dracula Battle - Being a final boss theme, this song is more atmospheric than catchy, but it pays off.
Ending - A fitting tune for Simon's triumph against Dracula and other hardships. This left such a big impression on me when I first heard it.
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - This chronological predecessor to
Symphony of the Night was originally released on the TurboGrafx-CD exclusively in Japan, and later remade for the PSP (as
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles) and ported to the Wii's Virtual Console worldwide.
Rondo of Blood is my favorite pre-
SotN Castlevania game.
For the most part, this game's soundtrack is very upbeat and lacks the atmosphere of
Super Castlevania IV, but I can't help but be put into a good mood while listening to it. That, and it was the first CD-based
Castlevania game, so Konami had to start somewhere.
Overture
Divine Bloodlines
Vampire Killer
Cross Fear
Bloody Tears
Cemetery
Beginning
Slash
Ghost Ship Painting
Opus 13 - This tune takes the lightheartedness cake.
The Den
Dancing in Phantasmic Hell (Boss)
Dance of Illusions (Dracula Battle) - This tune became Dracula's signature theme song, and rightfully so. Also,
[insert Richter vs. Dracula opening dialogue from SotN here].
March of the Holy Man (Richter Belmont Ending) - A fitting tune for beating the game as a mature vampire hunter.
Mary Samba (Maria Renard Ending) - A fitting tune for beating the game as a pre-teen in a pink dress. This reminds me of
Palmtree Panic from the Japanese version of
Sonic CD to be honest.
Cross Your Heart (Unused Track)
The PSP remake not only features the original tracks (including Cross Your Heart) as unlockables, but also some great remixes. Some tunes retain their upbeat tone while others are either darker or give off a more adventurous vibe.
Divine Bloodlines
Vampire Killer
Cross Fear
Bloody Tears
Cemetery
Dreams of Triumph
Slash
Ghost Ship Painting
Opus 13
Red Dawn
Moon Fight
Tues Deu Meus (Boss)
Poison Mind - An epic orchestrated arrangement of the
Castlevania I boss theme.
Demo Scene 2 - This dark orchestration of Beginning/Dreams of Triumph plays during the conversation between Richter and Dracula.
Dance of Illusions (Dracula Battle) - This orchestration gives off a "**bleep** just got real" vibe, which fits with the fact that Dracula is harder in this version.
The Dawn (Ending) - I want this arrangement of March of the Holy Man to play at my eventual funeral.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - I can't post
Castlevania music without bringing up this PS1 classic that has been ported countless times on other platforms including Saturn and PSP (the former was exclusive to Japan and is very valuable nowadays while the latter is unlockable via
The Dracula X Chronicles).
SotN is a direct sequel to
Rondo of Blood that begins with the Dracula battle of that installment.
Prologue - It's a darn good tune, but it's very heavy on the electric guitar for a game set in the 1700's. In my opinion, this would fit better in an
F-Zero game.
Dance of Illusions - What is an arrangement?! *throws and breaks wine glass* A musical little pile of instruments! But enough talk! Have a listen!
The game's narrative then jumps half of a decade later and shifts focus towards Dracula's son, Alucard from
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse.
SotN's music genres range from heavy metal to techno to midi to orchestra. Some tunes are relaxing while others are atmospheric, much like
Super Castlevania IV. For the most part, each area has a unique tune that helps establish an identity for itself.
Dracula's Castle - When Alucard enters his father's dreaded castle, the place is dark and quiet. As he strides forward, the windows open and this tune suddenly plays in the background.
Dance of Gold
Marble Gallery
Outer Wall
Wood Carving Partita
Librarian - This librarian is also a shopkeeper and this tune is a fitting theme for him.
Requiem for the Gods - This plays at the Royal Chapel area, and boy, does it fit. I especially like the organ solo.
This remix is also worth listening to.
Olrox's Quarters
Wandering Ghosts
Crystal Teardrops
Abandoned Pit
Rainbow Cemetery
The Tragic Prince - Another unfitting, but awesome metal tune.
Lost Painting
Festival of Servants (Boss Theme 1)
Guardian (Saturn Only) - The Saturn port contained exclusive areas and music not found in other versions. Those who grew up with the PS1 original never got to hear these tracks until years later, which added some charm to them in my opinion. It's likely that future releases of the game will continue to be ported from the PS1 since former
Castlevania series producer Koji Igarashi wasn't a fan of the Saturn version.
Vampire Killer Remix 1 (Saturn Only)
Vampire Killer Remix 2 (Saturn Only) - *boogies to this techno music*
Bloody Tears Remix 1 (Saturn Only)
Bloody Tears Remix 2 (Saturn Only)
Beginning Remix 1 (Saturn Only)
Beginning Remix 2 (Saturn Only) - This bizarre, jazzy remix of Beginning gives off a casino vibe. It reminds me of my high school years playing poker (just for fun; I never actually went to casinos and gambled).
I am the Wind by Cynthia Harrell (PS1 Only) - I appreciate her vocal work on
Snake Eater, but this is too silly for credits music.
Serenade of Sympathy (PSP Only) - That's better. A nice piano piece.
Nocturne (Japanese) - A soothing lullaby that was previously only accessible via an easter egg in the Japanese PS1 and Saturn versions. However...
Nocturne (English, PSP Only) - ...westerners eventually got their equally soothing rendition.
Secret Track (PS1 Only) - I believe this is the Dracula's Castle theme played in reverse. If that's the case, then consider me impressed. This is the result of inserting a
SotN PS1 disc into a CD player.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - This is an underrated game with an underrated orchestral soundtrack.
*grabs flame shield*
Are all of the tunes memorable? No, but considering that
Lords of Shadow is darker than previous installments, they fit the mood well. There are a few tracks that stand out to me.
The Warg
Waterfalls of Agharta - This reminds me of the waterfall music from
Super Castlevania IV.
Belmont's Theme
Love Lost
Final Confrontation - Without spoiling much, the final boss, premise-wise, is serious business.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwtb_Qz5D78 - One YouTuber managed to remix some tunes from the game by using the
Super Castlevania IV sound font, and the results of this medley are impressive.
I'll probably post more soundtracks from other series later.
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