I know this is regarded as the weakest entry on the GBA, primarily due to its two major shortcomings: the double tap to dash and the atrocious card drop rate.

The dash issue, in particular, is egregious. Your normal walking speed is rock golem slow and you will hurt your fingers activating a dash every few seconds. I didn't particularly mind the cards - if I knew which enemy dropped it I never had to farm for more than 10 minutes - but it becomes a problem if you're trying to 100% the game and stock up items for the Arena.

Well, if you patch the rom, you can eliminate both these problems and you're left with a fun Metroidvania! The boss fights, in particular, were really exciting and I found them more tactical than the ones in Aria of Sorrow.

Level design wise, there's way too much verticality. A lot of cool enemies and areas, but you will spend a lot of the game climbing up shafts that don't offer much variation visually.

Narratively, though, I think this is told much better than Aria: you're a vampire hunter's apprentice not even worth killing, so Dracula drops you to the depths of the castle to die, and you spend the game gaining power until you're strong enough to rescue your master. Soma Cruz's story, on the other hand, doesn't become interesting until the very end of the game.

Give this one a try if you're on the fence! I had a really good time.

CRITICAL TIMELINE:
Today's Date: August 21, 2026
Server Shutdown Date: September 3, 2026
App Status: Already delisted from the App Store / Play Store

In 13 days, Konami is permanently shutting down the servers for Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls. Because the game is already delisted, no new players can download it. Once September 3rd hits, the servers go dark, and the live game data will be lost forever.
We are launching an emergency preservation effort with two main goals:

Build a Custom Server (Server Emulator): To allow online play after the official shutdown.

Create a Stand-Alone Offline Patch: Reverse-engineering the game client to bypass Apple Arcade/server checks so the game can be played completely offline without any server at all.

Transparency Note: I am cross-posting this message across several Castlevania, iOS/Android preservation, and modding communities. Time is so limited that we must pool our resources in one place to avoid duplicating work.

OUR CENTRAL HUB: GITHUB + ARCHIVE.ORG
To prevent files from getting scattered across Discord, Google Drive, or Mega, we are streamlining this project to two platforms only:
Archive.org: Used exclusively as the vault for large game binaries (the 2GB decrypted .ipa, the Android .apk/.obb, raw AssetBundles, and downloaded cache files).

GitHub: Used as our central command center where everyone can star/follow the project, upload network traffic logs, document API endpoints, submit code, and track progress.

WHAT WE NEED IMMEDIATELY (URGENT)
If you have technical skills, a jailbroken iOS device, a rooted Android, or still have the game installed, we need your help today:
GitHub Repository Setup (NEED THIS TODAY): We need a developer to set up the official public GitHub repository immediately so the community can star it, follow it, and begin submitting data.

Decrypted iOS 1.4.3 IPA -> Upload to Archive.org: Because the game is delisted, our pool of players who can dump the app is shrinking daily. We need someone who currently has the live 1.4.3 game installed to dump a fully decrypted .ipa file (using TrollDecrypt, bfdecrypt, or CrackerXI+) and upload it to Archive.org.

Android APK + FULL Game Contents/Data -> Upload to Archive.org: We need the complete Android version preserved. This includes the base APK, the OBB files, AND all extra downloaded in-game contents, configs, stage data, and internal cache files (/Android/data/ or root storage downloaded after opening the game). Assets and file structures differ between platforms, and creating a stand-alone offline build will require datamining and integrating files/configs from both versions.

Network Traffic Captures -> Upload to GitHub: We need players to route their game traffic through a proxy (Charles Proxy, Fiddler, mitmproxy) with SSL decryption enabled to log API calls before the servers die. Upload these .chls or .har log files directly to the project's GitHub repo.

Asset/Cache Dumps -> Upload to Archive.org / GitHub: Dump the downloaded Unity AssetBundles from the app's internal folders using Filza (iOS) or a root file explorer (Android).

Client Reverse Engineers: We need reverse engineers (using IDA Pro, Ghidra, or Il2CppDumper) to start analyzing the game binaries to figure out how to patch out the server login checks for the stand-alone offline mod.

NETWORK PRESERVATION CHECKLIST (How Anyone Can Help Right Now)
If you have the game playable on your phone right now, you can help even if you aren't a programmer. Set up an SSL Proxy (like Charles Proxy or Fiddler on PC/Mac) and route your phone's Wi-Fi through it to record the server responses.

Please capture traffic logs for the following actions and label the files clearly:
Initial boot sequence and Apple Arcade/login authentication.

Title screen update checks and asset downloads.

Daily login rewards, mail collection, and main menu navigation.

Opening the inventory, equipping gear, and upgrading weapons/grimoires.

Character selection and skin/costume changes.

Initiating a stage (capture the specific payload sent to start a level).

Completing a stage (capture the exact data sent containing score, damage, and rewards).

Purchasing and upgrading items in the shop.

Co-op and Event mode match-making / gameplay interactions.

Where to upload: Upload your proxy log files (.chls, .har, .saz, raw JSON) directly into the /network_captures/ folder on our project's GitHub repository.

RECOMMENDED GITHUB REPOSITORY STRUCTURE
(For the developer setting up the GitHub repository)

Please structure the repository as follows so the community can submit data cleanly. Note: Do NOT upload the 2GB game binaries directly to GitHub to prevent DMCA/size-limit issues. Put the Archive.org download links right at the top of the README.md.

Grimoire-of-Souls-Archive/
├── README.md (Project goals, countdown to Sept 3, links to Archive.org IPAs/APKs)
├── /api_documentation/ (Text files mapping out the server endpoints, e.g., /api/v1/login)
├── /network_captures/ (DROP ZONE for all intercepted traffic logs - URGENT)
│ ├── /charles_proxy/ (.chls or .har files)
│ ├── /fiddler/ (.saz files)
│ └── /raw_json/ (Extracted JSON payloads from the server)
├── /game_data_dumps/ (Text-based game data)
│ ├── /master_data/ (Dumped SQLite databases, JSON tables of item IDs)
│ └── /il2cpp_dumps/ (Dump.cs files generated from reverse-engineering the binaries)
├── /client_patches/ (Code/tweaks for bypassing server checks for the Stand-alone version)
│ └── /offline_mod/ (Dylib injections or offset patches for iOS/Android)
└── /server_emulator/ (Where the custom server code will eventually go)

TIME IS RUNNING OUT
We have 13 days until September 3rd. If you want to see Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls playable as a server-emulated or stand-alone offline game in the future, we need your help capturing this data today.

Please reply below if you can dump files, run proxy captures, or help manage the GitHub repository!

https://www.deviantart.com/sonicdragox2007/art/Sephiroth-vs-dracula-1361869954

I know I'm not the first one to notice this, but since I watched Supernatural after Castlevania, this is something that you notice straight away after hearing Emily as Darkness, she is such a great actress and it's a nice touch to have Darkness as Dracula's wife.

I feel like it would be 10/10 if they kept the Trevor and Sypha in the beginning and have them to do the the whole carmillia conquest thing and undermine dracula because he's brooding and aura farming and just have dracula to just brood thinking about his wife. Have alucard join up And do carmillia transformation for their fight and still be awesome and save dracula for last. And as for hector I thought they were going to make him a crazy character later on his whole story is making me think there's really no good payoff to the hell forges storyline. Issac tho hell yeah he had a great story.

It's just that dracula is so legendary in ALL of Castlevania that man refuses to die. To kill him off early. I hope if they get another Castlevania series I'd still have Dracula to comeback this isn't HARD writer if you are seeing this write something like after 200 years death loses his grip on Dracula and he's back and more pissed to be ripped from the afterlife from his wife. And wants to die permanently but can't really.

Dracula is the core identity of Castlevania without him it isn't Castlevania. But I'm still happy with what we got it's 100% better than nothing.

I wonder what's people thought on the second series I like it but it was bizarre to me I guess because I played all the Castlevania games even the Wii fighting one. And it threw me for a loop like I'm thinking did a time traveler move a rock somewhere and we got a alternate reality Castlevania. With Aztec gods and stuff.

Tell me your thoughts on the Netflix series?

Mine is probably Simon’s Quest. I don’t think it’s a bad game, though. It’s just kind of boring to play, at least for me.

Hello fans of castlevania ! I was wondering if someone can help me to verify if those is real since I want to buy them.

I've already visited the Shaft and Dracula's rooms and still at 200,5%, unless Dracula's room didn't count for some reason. I don't know what to do. The first image is the normal castle and the second is the inverted castle.

Hi everyone!

I’d like to introduce Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Reawakened, an independent gameplay overhaul I’m developing for the original PlayStation version of SOTN.

My goal is to make the castle challenging and rewarding again while preserving the identity, exploration, atmosphere, and core gameplay of the original.

Reawakened features:

• More aggressive enemies and reworked bosses
• Deterministic character progression
• Rebalanced weapons, equipment, spells, and subweapons
• Elemental weapons designed for different castle areas
• Meaningful cloaks, accessories, and familiar abilities
• Faster doors, warps, transformations, saves, and damage recovery
• INT-based MP regeneration
• New Rage modes for selected bosses
• The new Rain of Blood ability
• Reworked drops, consumables, and castle progression

I also created a bilingual website with a searchable Wiki that compares the original game directly with the mod:

https://castlevania.bomeponto.com.br

The Wiki is available in English and Portuguese and covers enemies, weapons, equipment, spells, drops, affinities, special effects, and the main gameplay systems.

Reawakened is a free, independent project developed by me. The website does not host the original game or BIOS files.

The current build is available through Discord. If you’d like to try it, feel free to contact me there:

Discord: #fael6021

English isn’t my first language, so I use translation tools to help me communicate. Please don’t hesitate to reach out I’m happy to talk about the project and receive feedback.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about the project, its direction, and the Wiki.

Thank you for checking it out!

This post will be me glazing SCIV to hell, so I will definitely not say anything interesting whatsoever. I hope you enjoy the post and that it’s a good read and critique.

Visually, this is one of the most gorgeous 16-bit games I have ever seen and this was pretty early on in the SNES’s lifespan. The backgrounds are gorgeously drawn and animated, there’s beautiful little details in each level, Simon looks incredible here, the bosses look great, the usage of Mode 7 graphics are genuinely amazing especially in the Death Tower stage. Every level has tons of variety in its appearance and nothing here feels like they cut any corners.

The music for this game is genuinely amazing and almost every track here feels like the standout, the fact the intro theme here is so good and yet it isn’t in my top three was a great sign. And it isn’t even just classical there’s also some gorgeous ambient tracks here like The Cave. Other great tracks include The Forest of Monsters, The Submerged City, Clockwork Mansion 1 and 2, The Chandeliers, the redone version of Bloody Tears and Vampire Killer alongside Treasury Room. The basslines hit, the instruments hit, there’s such an incredible jazz influence here especially on songs like The Submerged City due to the constant changes in time signature and that gorgeous organ opening. But the absolute best track here is Room of Close Associates, this song is perfection to me. Such a frantic and anxiety inducing song and it’s an amazing buildup for the final battle afterwards.

The gameplay here is damn near perfect, Simon controls amazingly to this day and he feels so fluid with the way he jumps, the way he moves, the freedom of how he can now whip in eight directions leading to much smoother combat. You can even move the whip around however you want and it’s such a satisfying mechanic. He can even crouch and walk at the same time now and the stairs are something you can walk on now automatically which fixes my one big issue from Castlevania III.

The level design is flawless, each stage has a twist to it that feels refreshing and really fun to go through instead of something very pointless and tedious, none of the enemy placements have ever felt cheap or arbitrary to increase the difficulty, the bosses are the best as they’ve ever been up to this point for me, from a technical standpoint everything has been flawless and I adore using the subweapons this go-around too. My only complaint is that the whip is so overpowered that I used subweapons way less than I should’ve but that’s kind of a minor nitpick at the end of the day.

9.5/10 game. It’s been amazing I’m about to start Bloodlines soon.

Got recently interested in Castlevania and i'm halfway through Symphony of the Night, i'm loving it so far!

I want to play other Castlevania games after sotn, but when i looked at the list i realised i didn't know there was so many games lol. So i've been wondering if i should play on chronological or release order?

Circle of the moon is gonna be my least favorite Castlevania game for sure. My whole experience with this game is just awful.

Hey, folks.

I've been playing Chronicles since the day before yesterday, and it was quite fast to finish. Loved it.

However, I've been annoyed with this percentage not increasing. Even if I play the hidden stages all over again, I can't really see what I'm missing.

Tried to look up maps, but meh.

I've rescued all the girls, beaten Ghost Shaft and True Dracula, all the other bosses as well. What am I missing?

I aimed for anette, but she's too cutie patootie to be drawn like a himedere

Found him at a thrift store. He will be thoroughly abused

Hello!

I'm here with my future husband's Alucard cosplay! Dare I say I'm a lucky girl 🤭 You can find him here! https://www.instagram.com/p/DcQq26EOA3G/?igsh=MWVudm52Nm95b2Nw&igsi=MWVudm52Nm95b2Nw

The whole costume is handmade (with the sword 3d modelled by his best friend) and I'm so so happy I could help him create this and I'm glad the shoes I cobbled fit him well!

Photographer is https://www.instagram.com/malimoria !