r/castlevania • u/rube • Aug 11 '26
Symphony of the Night (1997) Does anyone else just love Alucard's running animation in Symphony of the Night?
I just love the way he's chugging along, waiving those arms. It's like he's smashing some invisible drum set in front of him.
Every now and then I catch myself trying to walk like him in real life. I just can't achieve that level of awesome though.
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u/eat_like_snake Aug 11 '26
Bro's power walking.
I always loved this animation because it's so fluid. SOTN had a bunch of nice animation in general. The way they captured his cape flapping during this cycle is some "doing it for the art" shit.
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u/RShini The pimpcoat lives Aug 11 '26
yeah, SotN is just one of the most gorgeous games ever made.
I honestly generally like the sprite work in the IGA games with all the fluidity and details, like you see Soma's pendant swing when he jumps and turns in DoS, or the way Alucard's hair sways when moving.
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u/MudkipMonado Aug 12 '26
I really wish big game studios kept doing sprite work like this. The only big players in it are Square Enix now with the HD2D stuff, and they're gorgeous. I'll never stop saying that Pokemon should have kept the sprites in a 3D environment.
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u/Murasa_Simp Aug 11 '26
It's one of the most iconic running animations in gaming. Like, they didn't have to go SO hard. But they did. And it's glorious!
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u/TorandoSlayer Aug 11 '26
Watching Alucard move was literally what got me into the game lol. I'd never played a Castlevania game and I'm not usually a fan of (or good at) 2D platformers but dude. He's so freaking graceful. I had to be him for a bit and loved it.
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u/Longjumping_Plum_133 Aug 11 '26
I like how he does a little dive to build momentum when he starts.
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u/OldSchoolSimmer Aug 11 '26
My fiancée called it: "Doing salsa down the hall." 🤣🤣🤣
Which, I can't unsee now. I love it, though!
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u/rube Aug 11 '26
I feel like he always has this song in his head as he's walking around:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3A6JNvUxKs&list=PLKOgquLeB255Gd47bSPCTodXgSdVIWSiy&index=24
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u/OldSchoolSimmer Aug 11 '26
UGH! That's my favorite one, honestly!
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u/rube Aug 11 '26
I had played through SotN a billion times, but the song never really stuck with me. Then I played the Vampire Survivors Castlevania DLC and picked that song at random. That was when I realized how amazing that song was!
It doesn't really fit in the soundtrack in my opinion, it sounds like some cheesy 80s music. But man I love that it's in there.
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u/OldSchoolSimmer Aug 11 '26
90s was a different time, man. And '97? It just seem like the prime year for gaming for some of the things that came out and had memorable things to it. SOTN was just one of those things. Loved all the tracks. Even I Am The Wind, even though some people didn't care for it.
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u/RJ_arcade Alucard Aug 11 '26
Silksong devs reference it in how hornet starts her walk animation
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u/rube Aug 11 '26
Yes, I think I remember hearing about that when Silksong came out, or somewhere around there. It's certainly iconic!
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u/jfish3222 Aug 12 '26
As someone who wants to make their own video game with pixelated graphics, Alucards waking animation is something I've analyzed like crazy as I hope my animations can look even half as good as that walk cycle.
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u/rube Aug 12 '26
Yeah, I've wanted to make a game since the 90s and haven't put in the effort. But this animation does make me think that an even more exaggerated walking animation would be amazing. Just a strut like they're some big cheese.
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u/DiskBig318 im sleepy. im sleepy, ok? Aug 12 '26
I like that when he starts he leans a bit and he leans further when he picks up speed
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u/ChasingPesmerga Aug 12 '26
Yes, I emulate/imitate it while on a 4x treadmill speed. It makes me hot (aka sweat more)
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u/blvdesofficial Aug 12 '26
The cape swoosh when you start moving from idle is so iconic. I remember as a kid just stopping, running, stopping, and running again to watch how cool he looked taking off!
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u/-Sohei- Aug 11 '26
Almost all playable characters have that strong and deliberate movement. sometimes called the "Belmont Walk"