Pros: Great gameplay, great music, and great replay value.
Cons: Some will be turned off by the 2D graphics (you shallow fools).
The bottom line: One of the best action/adventure/RPGs on the Playstation, if not the best.
Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night couldn't have come out at a worse time in video game history. 1997 was a year of 3D games, and nobody really cared about some 2D quasi RPG mixed with Castlevania elements. People were more likely to buy Mario 64 or Final Fantasy 7 than this game. But now that everyone realizes that good gameplay is worth more than all the FMV and 3D graphics in the world. Perhaps that is why the classic gaming and rom/emulation crazes are so big now. But I digress...

Castlevania:SoTN sold poorly when it first came out, but now it is being appreciated for the greatness it really is. While it does have 2D graphics, I would certainly say this game is much more fun than 90% of the 3D games that I've played since Mario 64 made it so popular. Castlevania: SoTN is a mix of old school Castlevania series action/adventure elements and the experience building, stat increasing of RPGs. While this would have made the gameplay great enough on its own, Castlevania:SoTN really comes into its own when you realize just how little of the game you've really seen. I finished the game with a completion rating (which is given after beating the game, and tells how many items/monsters/places/spells/etc you've seen in the game) of 53%. Keep in mind the game's highest rating is somewhere near the 201% marker, and you'll realize just how little of the game I actually saw. This adds tremendously to the replay value; and the gameplay remains fresh throughout. While most games with a lot of territory to cover quickly become stale when fighting battle after battle (read: nearly every console RPG in existence) Castlevania:SoTN allows you to warp to different parts of the main castle, or to simply dodge enemies due to its action-RPG nature.

While the gameplay is very well done, it does not alone make this game 5 star material. Adding much to the overall effect is the outstanding music and sound effects. I have never really listened to video game music and said "wow, that's really good", but with this game I couldn't help but notice. It utilizes a mix of moody orchestra pieces and jarring rock songs to keep adding to the atmosphere. Though the voice acting is stiff at some points, it is very bearable when compared to aggravating games like Star Ocean 2 or Resident Evil 1.

As stated before, Castlevania:SoTN is a 2D game. If something like this really bothers you, then at least keep in mind there are no annoying platform elements where you fall off an edge because you can't judge distances like in "3D" games. I say 3D lightly, because it just looks 3D; the television screen is still 2D, thus messing up your judgement of things like distance and speed. Anyway, the graphics in Castlevania:SoTN are very good by 2D standards. While you won't run into any dazzling water effects or other standards of most ultra graphic powered PC Games, Castlevania:SoTN certainly won't be mistaken for an SNES game.

In the end, Castlevania:SoTN is a shining example of why great games are like books: don't judge them from the cover. I found this game used for $12, and it is a bargain at any price when I consider how great it is. You know a game has to be good when it wows a jaded gamer like me, who quickly became bored with Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy 9.