SOTN

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
main platforms	XBLA
	PlayStation
	Saturn
timing	RTA
framerate	~60
style	metroidvania
Leaderboards
Discord

The Castlevania: Symphony of the Night( or simply SOTN) speedruns focus on movement and efficient combat. Alucard, Richter and Maria have their own separate categories and unique playstyles. The runs feature heavy usage of many mobility-based special abilities with complex, fighting game style inputs.

Upcoming Marathon Runs
Runner	Date	Category	Event

Contents

Alucard

Main article Alucard

Alucard runs feature the most wide range of mechanics and playstyles as well as the most heavy use of varioius glitches.

categories

• Any% No Save Corruption
• All Bosses
• Glitchless Any%

Richter

Main article Richter

Richter runs start at full speed and never slow down. Very heavy in execution and extremely merciless due to his low hp.

categories

• Any%
• All Bosses

Maria

Main article Maria

Played on the Sega Saturn. Categories are separated between emu and console due to significant differences in performance. Maria starts with all of her powers unlocked like Richter, but is much more resilient.

categories

• Any%
• All Bosses

Input Reader / Input Mechanics

• The game requires every direction of a motion to be inputted exactly, no input approximation is included in the engine. For example J+874126+J would result in a failed wingsmash due to the missing 3 diagonal. An exception is the summon spirit spell, which works if you simply return to neutral after pressing the back direction instead of pressing forward.

• Special move inputs are non exclusive and can be buffered into each other or from other actions. For example a jump can be inserted into the airslash move input just before pressing attack: 823+jump+attack

• Inputs are buffered/stored for 19 frames or until 25 frames have passed since the button started being held. For example if you hold up for 15 frames it will only be stored for another 9 frames in the motion for an airslash before you have to input down.

• After holding a direction for 29 frames it stops being counted towards an input with the exception of some hold or charge moves.

• Typically moves require pressing the activation button at least one frame after completing the motion input.

• Some character states can ignore inputs or clear the input buffer entirely.

• Whenever Alucard transitions from a ground state to an air state, there is a 7 frame period where he retains some properties of ground state. He can walk, but still has falling speed, and can jump, allowing you to get an extra horizontal boost if a jump is too far to make normally.

• Black screens buffer one input.

• Level Up animation buffers one input and halts buffer decay until the end of the animation. Example: you can do a wing smash input half-way, hold inputs during freeze, then finish the input after the animation.

Timing

All categories are timed in RTA. Time starts upon gaining character control and ends at final boss death. Runs are submitted with second accuracy with the exception of top times. Guide for precise run timing: https://www.speedrun.com/sotn/guide/eho60

Version Differences for main Alucard and Richter categories

Platform	Frame Rate	Notes
Xbox 360 XBLA NA	~59.94	Some console models seem to lose additional time, we have not confirmed why yet. Significantly faster loading times. Playing while online causes lag due to xbla time attack leaderboards. No texture mapping glitches. No third outer wall warp glitch.
Xbox 360 XBLA EU	~60	Significantly faster loading times. Playing while online causes lag due to xbla time attack leaderboards. No texture mapping glitches. No third outer wall warp glitch.
psxjin	~60
Bizhawk Audio Throtle	~60
Bizhawk Clock Throttle	~59.29
PlayStation NTSC	~59.29
PlayStation PAL	~49.76
PlayStation 2	unconfirmed
PlayStation 3 PSN	unconfirmed
PSP PSN	unconfirmed

Miscellaneous

• Record Progression
• Tool Assisted Speedruns
• Hitbox Viewer Script
• Drop Rate Calculator
• Experience Values Chart
• SOTN FAQ By Zach Keene