Castlevania: Symphony of the Night On PS4 Won’t Have The Iconic “What Is A Man?” Scene

There are many reasons why Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is regarded as a classic. The allure of secret passages and new equipment draws you into a haunted castle filled with odd creatures and dangerous traps. All of it beautifully designed, not to mention backed by an eclectic soundtrack to suit the castle’s many moods. You delve into this adventure as the silver-haired Alucard, the sympathetic son of a notorious supernatural villain, with graceful moves and a cool demeanor befitting of a vampiric heartthrob. Each of these pieces neatly click together, forming what many consider to be one of the best video games ever made. Symphony of the Night is the rare game that seems to get everything right, because even when it stumbles in gloriously cheesy ways, our accumulated goodwill turns would-be mockery into celebration.

Konami, apparently, doesn’t see things the same way. Its upcoming release of Symphony of the Night on PS4 (as part of the Castlevania Requiem collection) is based on the retooled PSP release that was buried within Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. This version, while still excellent in most respects, tries to improve upon the original PlayStation release (which is also mostly intact on Xbox 360), but in the process eliminates one of the most memorable moments of the entire game.

I’m referring, of course, to the meme-ified exchange between Richter Belmont and Dracula during the prologue.

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Richter: Die, monster! You don’t belong in this world!

Dracula: It was not by my hand that I’m once again given flesh. I was called here by humans who wish to pay me tribute.

Richter: “Tribute”?! You steal men’s souls, and make them your slaves!

Dracula: Perhaps the same could be said of all religions.

Richter: Your words are as empty as your soul! Mankind ill needs a savior such as you!

Dracula: What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets! But enough talk! Have at you!

It’s campy, over the top, and incredibly memorable. Who among us hasn’t been tempted to rhetorically question the essence of humanity, fling a glass of wine across the room, and declare the answer we all know in our hearts to be true? Dracula may have sounded ridiculous, but let’s be honest: he’s not wrong.

The PSP version, and the upcoming PS4 port, use new voice actors and a new script, with Richter and Dracula’s iconic lines rewritten to the following.

Richter: Dracula. Die now, and leave this world! You’ll never belong here!

Dracula: Oh but this world invited me. Your own kind called me forth with praise and tribute.

Richter: Tribute? You’re a thief. You steal men’s souls, their freedom…

Dracula: Freedom is always sacrificed to faith, good hunter. Or are you truly here by choice?

Richter: All I’m here for is you. To hell with your heresy! You’re nothing but a blight on mankind.

Dracula: Ha! Mankind. A cesspit of hatred and lies. Fight for them, then, and die for their sins!

In the age of Twitter, where the original discussion has been glorified and given a life of its own, the decision to base the re-release on the altered version of Symphony of the Night feels like an odd one. Granted, this is a small piece of a much bigger puzzle; the game is far from ruined. Its reputation, however, is definitely challenged.

When polled, 1,780 respondents on Twitter weighed in on the matter: 33% don’t care about the fact that the PSP version is being used, 26% feel that their excitement for the re-release is slightly diminished, and 41% of voters consider it to be a deal breaker.

For as much as I dislike the decision to use the PSP version of Symphony of the Night, I’m not going to pass up the chance to have a fresh copy on a modern console–assuming its emulation is technically sound. I may not, however, be able to shake the little voice in my head reminding me that it’s not the definitive version of the game.

Where do you fall on the matter? Am I a crazed fan whose picked a frivolous hill to die on? Let us know in the comments below!

Batwoman: First Look at Ruby Rose as the Arrowverse Crossover’s New Hero

The CW has given us our first look at Ruby Rose as Kate Kane, AKA Batwoman.

The promo image sees Rose in her full Batwoman outfit, designed by Academy Award-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood ( Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Tomb Raider, Arrow, The Flash).

Arrow

Batwoman will be introduced in The CW’s Arrowverse crossover between The Flash, Arrow and Supergirl, which begins filming Tuesday, October 9 in Vancouver. The crossover will kick off with a special episode of The Flash on December 9, 8:00 pm ET. The CW has also announced that Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) will appear in all three episodes, alongside Lois Lane.

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Rick and Morty Creator Justin Roiland Unboxes Vinyl Edition of Soundtrack

Cartoon Network has given IGN an exclusive look at Rick and Morty Creator Justin Roiland unboxing the standard edition of the official Rick and Morty vinyl soundtrack. Watch the unboxing video below.

The double LP vinyl, which was released on September 28 along with the CD and digital versions of the soundtrack, features music from the show’s composer Ryan Elder and songs from Chaos Chaos, Blonde Redhead and more.

The Deluxe Edition features a ‘Portal’ colored vinyl, a custom poster, a patch, a sticker, a bonus 7” single and an LED box with a plexiglass window cover that shows a glowing design when lit. More information on both versions of the album can be found here.

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XCOM 2: War of the Chosen – Tactical Legacy Pack DLC

I’ll take virtually any excuse to dip back into XCOM 2 for another dozen or four hours. (Let’s be honest: sometimes I don’t need any excuse at all.) This week, Firaxis has provided me with a pretty good one in the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen – Tactical Legacy Pack. It’s temporarily free to owners of War of the Chosen (and at least for now PC-only,) and its combination of tough scenarios and nostalgic locations and music were definitely worth coming back for.

The stories of the four campaigns of seven missions a piece (with no strategy layer at all) are decent enough. They give us a little bit of background as to how the DJ good hooked up with XCOM, how Shen got the Avenger off the ground, and some info on the ill-fated squad members that help rescue the commander in the original tutorial mission. No major revelations are made, though.

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Fallout 76: How Mods Work And When They’re Coming

Fallout 76, like previous games in Bethesda’s franchise, will feature mods, but how will they work with the game’s new always-online, multiplayer focus? We chatted with Bethesda marketing boss Pete Hines recently, and he told us that mods in Fallout 76 will only run on private servers.

“Mod support is going to be tied to work that we’re also doing on private servers, and letting people do private servers. Mods will be a thing that run on private servers,” he said.

Hines said it’s unlikely Bethesda will ever allow mods to run on Fallout 76’s 24-player public servers. Mods are user-created modifications that are capable of doing pretty much anything people can think up, so it makes sense that Bethesda wants to restrict them to private servers to help ensure a semblance of fairness.

“I don’t foresee a universe in which we allow players to come in [to Fallout 76’s public servers] with their own unique and different mods. If you want to run mods, they’ll have to be done on a private server,” Hines explained. “You’ll be deciding what sort of mods you’re including and running, and everyone playing on that server is playing with those mods.”

Mods aren’t coming to Fallout 76 at launch, however. Hines cautioned that mods may not be supported in Fallout 76 until November 2019 at the soonest. “It’s going to be a lot of work. But mods and private servers are definitely coming,” Hines said.

Mods in Bethesda games like Fallout 4 and Skyrim have been and continue to exceptionally popular and helping contribute to the longevity of those games and others across the industry. Those games, however, are exclusively single-player experiences, whereas Fallout 76 is always-online.

Fallout 4 and Skyrim initially only supported mods on PC, but they later came to PS4 and Xbox One, albeit with some limitations. It remains to be seen if Fallout 76 mods will launch first on PC.

GameSpot recently had the opportunity to play three hours of Fallout 76. For lots more, check out our deep-dive written preview and video coverage in the embed above. You can also check out some recent news stories and videos through the links below.

Cyberpunk 2077 Dev Brings On Multiplayer Studio To Help In Some Way

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has hired Canadian studio Digital Scapes to work alongside the Polish developer on the much-anticipated role-playing game. Digital Scapes worked with another Polish studio, Techland, on Dying Light‘s Be The Zombie PvP mode, but there is no word yet on how Digital Scapes is contributing to Cyberpunk 2077.

According to PC Gamer, a press release from CD Projekt Red specifically called out Digital Scapes’ history with “AAA multiplayer console and PC game development, development tool creation, asset production, and cloud computing.”

Digital Scapes boss Michal Nowakowsi said in the press release that the deal is for a long-term partnership related to “talent, experience, and technical knowledge.”

Cyberpunk 2077 features multiplayer support in some capacity, but the game is billed as a “true RPG and definitely not a multiplayer shooter.”

CD Projekt Red’s Patrick Mills told Eurogamer in June that the studio was working on multiplayer functionality for Cyberpunk 2077 in an R&D sense. He teased that multiplayer may come after launch.

According to Variety, Digital Scapes will be helping CD Projekt Red with “creating and optimising technological solutions” to help in Cyberpunk 2077’s development.

GameSpot has contacted both CD Projekt Red and Digital Scapes in an attempt to get further details on this new partnership.

Cyberpunk 2077 places players in the role of V, a mercenary who can be augmented with all manner of cybernetic enhancements. The game is set in the futuristic dystopian metropolis Night City, and unlike the Witcher titles, it is played in first-person. You can watch 48 minutes of gameplay in the video embedded above.

Get More Storage for Your Switch or Phone With These MicroSD Cards on Sale

If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

The capacity of the microSD card continues to grow, while the prices continue to come down. If you stop and think about a physical representation of all that storage, it’s mind-blowing. You can get a SanDisk 400GB microSD card on sale today, roughly the equivalent of 400,000 books worth of information. That means you can future proof your Nintendo Switch and save right now.

We’ve gone ahead an collected some amazing deals on Switch compatible microSD cards right now. Some of these are priced at their lowest price, ever, while others, like the highly rated Silicon Power 64GB microSD card for $10.99, are just too good to pass up. But first, grab one of these Switch bundles if you haven’t already grabbed yourself a Nintendo Switch.

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