Last year, we covered a new romhack for the Sega Saturn release of "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night" titled "Dracula X Ultimate" by Team Meduza, which not only did it completely translate the original game into English (since the original Saturn release of SotN never got an English release), but it also went above and beyond and implemented a whole lot of Quality of Life features into the game, like restoring many translucent effects, global map rework, support for the 4MB expansion card, bug fixes, a Hard mode, and a lot more, all this while keeping the original Japanese title for the game in a localized format for both the title screen and loading screens, with the title of "Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight" showing instead of "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night".

However, one key aspect of this project which was a detriment for many that used to love the original PlayStation release, was that this version of the project used the PSP re-release script and dub tracks instead of those from the original PlayStation release. For the unaware, the PSP re-release of Symphony of the Night, included within the "Dracula X Chronicles" game, which also included Rondo of Blood, saw the entire script and voice acting of Symphony of the Night to an updated version. This has been a point of debate between Castlevania fans, as some think the original script with all and its quirkiness had its charm, while others prefer the updated version with a more revised script.

Given this point of discussion between scripts of Symphony of the Night, the developers of the original Ultimate patch were not interested in reworking or making an optional patch that could include the original PSX script and voice actors, nor one that could revert the title screen to that of "Symphony of the Night", leaving many fans of the original PSX release and its script out of the really enjoying this new hack.

That all changed this weekend, as yesterday, November 2nd, 2025, SegaXtreme forum user, DraculaX350, forked the Ultimate patch and added back not only the entirety of the PSX script and voice acting, but also reverted the title screen and loading screens back to the classic title of "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night", as well as implementing a couple of bugfixes still found in the main Ultimate v1.5 patch, like a couple of weapons having the wrong palette, and adding missing sprite frames to Richter's new costume. And to wrap it up, DraculaX350 also modified the in-game font that Team Meduza used to use a more user-friendly font instead of the gothic-stylized font the original Ultimate patch used.

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The full changelog of this new fork compared to the original Japanese release of the game is the following:

• Increased overall performance in the game (increased CPU frequency)
• Removed voids at the top of the screen in some locations
• Improved “Hard Mode” (enemies deal 2X damage)
• Added translucency of clouds against the background of the moon (flickering)
• Added translucency to the large window in Count Dracula's apartment
• The name of the current location is now displayed in teleport rooms
• Prologue Richter missing sprites rewritten
• Fixed the flame palette in the prologue (before the picture burns)
• Fixed a bug with the palette of a huge skull in an inverted castle
• Fixed minor bugs in pop-up messages
• Fixed “Fire Shield” color palette
• Fixed number of items overlapping the item name

Those interested can try out the new patch by DraculaX350 from his own blog post about the hack, just be mindful that you will require your own copy of the original Japanese release of Symphony of the Night in a CUE/BIN format in order to properly patch the game with these new features.

Source #1
Source #2

 

[Osha]

I personally don't care much for the PS1 script beyond "haha funny meme" but it's nice to have options. Glad the Saturn version is getting the love it deserves because it is without doubt the superior version between it and PS1.

 

[NostalgicMillennial]

Is this now the definitive version to play this over the PSX one?

 

[Osha]

Is this now the definitive version to play this over the PSX one?

It honestly always was, the Saturn version came out a year later so it's more polished and has more content than the PS1 version. It's a better experience overall.

 

[codezer0]

I really liked all that they were doing to improve the game, but yes... I very much hated the PSP script. I can't *not* have the ps1 dialogue if I'm playing SotN anymore.

 

[Blasingame]

Is this now the definitive version to play this over the PSX one?

Like what is said there is some extra content in the Saturn version l, and if I remember you can play as Maria

 

[ShadowOne333]

Is this now the definitive version to play this over the PSX one?

Without a doubt it is.
There's an additional dungeon and you can play as Maria as well.

 

[Dark_Ansem]

Dangit now I have to play it

 

[Jayinem]

It's criminal that there isn't a HD-2D remake on PS5/PC/Xbox/Switch 2.

 

[Robert Newbie]

Really nice for Sega Saturn and Castlevania fans. I'm happy that the Sega Saturn still gets attention from the community. It may not have been a hit like the PS1, but it did get its share of good software. In fact, several games, including Mega Man X4 and Mega Man 8, are said to be better on the Saturn.

A bit off-topic, but the Sega Saturn is such a shame because, with better planning and decision-making, Sega could have even topped Nintendo that gen. The pieces were there, like Nintendo choosing expensive cartridges and pushing third parties to different hardware, but Sony made the better moves.

It's criminal that there isn't a HD-2D remake on PS5/PC/Xbox/Switch 2.

To be honest, if Konami ported it at all, I'd expect them to use the PS1 version as the base. You know, add options for both scripts/vocals, and that's that. Classically, the Saturn version has always been passed over, even with the added content. Thankfully, the fan community has talented people that can give us patches like these.

 

[BlazeHeatnix]

I prefer the PSX script (it's by the same writer as MGS1 and arguably reads better), but I could do without the shitty voice acting. It's funny for memes, but come on. It's been almost 30 years. I'd much rather see the original script with a more competent dub. That, to me, would be the best of both worlds.

 

[eriols]

It's criminal that there isn't a HD-2D remake on PS5/PC/Xbox/Switch 2.

True, but at least it's available on Android

 

[SDA]

Basically this is what we would have gotten back then if the Saturn version was released outside of Japan.

 

[SK91]

I'm all for the retranslation but I just can't get over Yuri Lowenthal voicing Alucard, that just feels so wrong. He's a good VA but damn it he's too prolific, not to mention the total switch up coming from Robert Belgrade.

 

[NeoGranzon]

The better version for me of 悪魔城ドラキュラX ～月下の夜想曲～ Is this

 

[LightBeam]

DraculaX350 also modified the in-game font that Team Meduza used to use a more user-friendly font instead of the gothic-stylized font the original Ultimate patch used.

Looked like the perfect patch with absolutely no drawbacks, up until that point. At least it's not a major one, I'll try and maybe this is finally the time to finish SoTN ... I was waiting for the recompilation to be done, but this might be better in some ways

 

[Lodad]

The only thing more I want for sotn is a way to vendor useless equipment

 

[Exnor]

Love the homebrew community

SoTN is my favorite but i actually never finished the game .

 

[sexually_inactive]

Is there a good Sega Saturn emulator for the Switch to play this on?

 

[rsc-pl]

What’s the point of a ‘faithful’ patch if it still uses the English dub?