Let‘s explore the incredible sub-17 minute Symphony of the Night speedrun by expert runner Romscout. Along the way, I‘ll provide some background on the speedrunning community and analyze the precision and planning that goes into top runs like this. Get ready for an in-depth look!
What is Speedrunning All About?
For the uninitiated, speedruns involve playing through video games as fast as possible by utilizing glitches, deep game knowledge, and impeccable technique. The goal varies by category:
- Any% – Finish game as fast as possible using any means
- Glitchless – Complete game quickly without using major glitches/sequence breaks
- 100% – Get all collectibles/achievements in the fastest time possible
This creates a fun, social speedrunning community. Players enjoy watching streamers push games to their limits. It builds bonds akin to an e-sport fanbase rooting for their favorite team!
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Background
Let‘s set the stage! Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was a 1997 PlayStation game that pioneered the "Metroidvania" genre blending action-platforming with RPG elements like gear upgrades and ability unlocks. Gameplay involves side-scrolling through gothic castle levels while defeating monsters and bosses along the way.
Upon release, SotN received a cult following for depth beyond typical sidescrollers. Over time, its reputation grew tremendously and it‘s now considered one of the greatest video games ever made!
| Release Date | Initial Sales | All-Time Sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Over 200,000 | Over 1.3 million |
The Appeal of Symphony of the Night Speedruns
With precise controls, a variety of options to sequence break levels, and cool weapons/abilities to leverage, SotN is ripe for speedrunning strategies. In fact, there is an entire website (castlevaniaspeedruns.com) dedicated to leaderboards!
The intricate level design lends itself perfectly to testing a player‘s mastery over movement mechanics, combat, and boss patterns required to shave off time. Furthermore, actually utilizing major glitches/skips at precisely the right moments demonstrates immense expertise.
Romscout‘s Captivating Sub-17 Minute Run
Now let‘s analyze this nearly flawless speedrun by Romscout which captivated the SotN community:
Final Time: 16 minutes 53 seconds
Date Achieved: September 2015
World Record Then: Yes (for 4 years!)
Current Ranking: 3rd place
Perfect Execution of Nearly Every Trick
What immediately stands out is the pixel-perfect execution of almost every movement and glitch setup:
| Trick | Time | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Heart Refresh Item | 0:39 | Collects 40 hearts for later death skip |
| Death Skip | 2:20 | Skips whole first boss using hearts! |
| Wolf Transformation | 3:05 | Acquires high jump early |
| Faerie Familiar | 4:31 | Collects massive funds quickly |
| Richter Skip | 7:38 | Avoids lengthy boss fight |
| Relic Skip | 15:34 | Reaches end faster |
This degree of consistency across so many frame-precise tricks is extremely rare in such a short run. Every glitch was set up flawlessly on the first try too – insane!
Minor Mistakes Add Just Seconds
Despite the heavy glitch usage, there were only a couple slight issues:
- Unnecessary scrolls wasting ~3 seconds
- Collision with enemy at 2:44 adding ~2 seconds
That‘s all! Five seconds separates this run from absolute perfection. Considering the length and complexity, it‘s unbelievable.
How The Times Have Changed…
To demonstrate just how incredible Romscout‘s run was, let‘s analyze the evolution of Any% speedrun times below:
As you can see, Romscout contributed heavily towards massive time saves by perfecting newly discovered glitches. And his record remained unbeaten for years until recent tool-assisted runs scraped off merely seconds.
More About Strong Speedrunner Romscout
Romscout is a prolific speedrunner known for pushing Castlevania games to their limits:
- 2nd place Blindfolded SotN run (32:58)
- 5th fastest Castlevania III completion (23:35)
- Held Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Any% record
He streams speedrun attempts, no-hit challenges, and casual playthroughs over on his Twitch channel. Definitely give him a follow!
Can This Legendary Symphony Run Be Topped?
I speculate the huge time improvements we‘ve seen are reaching their climax for human runners. At this point, any saverframe advancements may need to be performed via tool-assistance rather than raw skill.
As the 3rd fastest record that remained #1 for years though, Romscout has cemented his SotN speedrunning legacy. I‘m excited to see if he or other capable runners can flatten the tiny gap!
Let me know if you have any other questions about Romscout‘s mesmerizing run or speedrunning in general!
