What just happened? Konami has surprise launched a version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for Android and iOS, marking the title's first appearance on mobile devices. For diehard fans of the franchise, this will be a no-brainer.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night originally dropped on the PlayStation in 1997. A direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Konami took it in a different direction by baking in exploration, role-playing elements and non-linear level design. It is considered by some to be among the best video games ever created.
Symphony of the Night was ported to several additional platforms over the years including the Sega Saturn, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 4. This mobile release appears to be based on the PS4 / PSP versions of the game, not the original.
The surprise launch was likely timed with the release of the third season of Netflix's animated Castlevania series, due out on March 5, 2020. The series has been generally well received, as evident of the pending third season.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night can be yours for $2.99 sans in-app purchases through Google Play or the App Store and can be played in six languages: English, Japanese, French, Italian, German or Spanish. It remains to be seen how it'll stand up with touch controls (you could always play with a wireless gamepad) but for under three bucks, it's tough to complain.