The story in Symphony Of The Night picks up right at the end of Rondo Of Blood, featuring an abridged version of that game's final battle and last words with the dark lord of Castlevania, Vlad Tepes Dracula. After that quick introduction the player is placed in control of the creatively named Dhampir Alucard some years later. It seems that the living architecture of Castlevania has returned to haunt the Wallachian countryside once again, and our half man, all badass, Alucard has chosen to awaken from the eternal slumber he placed himself in after Castlevania III, and storm the gates of the evil castle in order to bring the place down for good. Things of course quickly turn out to be more complex than they seemed, however, but to say more would be spoilers.
Aside from the greater focus on plot, exploration, and developing the player character Alucard, this game is still without a doubt Castlevania through and through. You've still got sub-weapons such as the holy water, Cross boomerang, and the time stopping pocket watch. The game is still full of jumps that are just one or two pixels out of reach, aggravating enemies, cheap shots, and of course, the Clock Tower area which combines all of these in order to make the player howl in frustration.
Something else this game has that previous entries did not, with the exception of Rondo Of Blood, is a full CD quality sound track. This game doesn't just play or look good, it sounds fantastic. From the prologue level to the final confrontation, Alucard's journey through Dracula's castle is set to one of the best videogame soundtracks ever made. I would like to call special attention to my personal favorite track from the game, called "The Tragic Prince". While it does play during one of the more aggravating areas of the game, the aforementioned Clock Tower, it's high energy symphonic rock makes the frustration one has to endure while listening to it every bit worth the trouble.
This game is also fully voice acted, and that voice acting has since become legendary. You won't find more quoted or parodied scenes outside of the original Resident Evil. While the VA can be cheesy at times, it's charm is undeniable. And unlike with the improved dialogue and VA from the remake of Resident Evil on the Gamecube, the new Voice talent and writing wasn't nearly as well received for the PSP version.
The game has since recieved a number of ports and re-imaginings. First on the Sega Saturn, but eventually on the Playstation Network, a remake on the PSP, as part of the Konami Classics collection, and the X-Box Live Arcade. Bottom line, there's really no excuse to have not played this fantastic game.