"And the winner is..."                                           

"Here to accept the award is Symphony's own ... Shaft!"      

"A-heh heh heh! Thank you, Lenny! This is a tremendous honor!"   

"That's Leon ... Belmont."                                

"Like it matters. Go get me a popsicle, Shaggy."               

         "Damn you, you vile demon! Uggggh!                  

          Don't make me destroy you."                         

"Yeah? Destroy this, you Kurt Cobain wanna-be."                

    "Guys! This is supposed to be an AWARDS ceremony! Please!"

"Yeah, right. So, Symphony's enemies is it?

Well, one of the selling points of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, as seen on the back part of its CD casing, is its large collection of monsters. 'Over 140 different enemies, bosses and ghastly creatures,' it says. The creators took Rondo of Blood's enemy selection, a few from Akumajou Dracula X68000 and Super Castlevania IV, other veterans, and came up with nearly one hundred more to create the still-largest assortment of foes ever gathered onto one CD. Who could forget running into Slogra and Gaibon in the Alchemy Lab? Or facing my resilient Guardians? Or maybe those Dragon Riders bouncing around the Reverse Entrance? Remember Galamoth? Not to mention me?! Muaaaaah-haah-haah!

Those crazy kids went all out, and it showed. The effort is undeniable--the classic series' enemies joined forces with the mythological, the divine and the just plain whacky to form a horde whose very existence made popular the 'enemy list,' which has now become standard. It was the perfect culmination of what the preceding twelve titles were working toward, and it, too, became a template that future games would try to emulate. So it's on behalf of all these baddies that I'd like to accept this honor. Konami--you ... have ... done ... well!"

"Ladies and gentleman, give it up for Leon Belmont and Shaft! That's all we'll be seeing of them for the night!

Thank God.

Now it's time to welcome our next speaker for the evening. You know him from that... wait. Oh, how could we forget, ee-yum... What's his face, the fireball throwy whip guy there? You know? Duy-yuh..."

"It's 'Christopher,' you old coot!"                                

"I was just going to say. Anyway: Let's give a big round of applause to... Are you sure you're not 'Simon,' 'cause it says here--"

"NO!"                                                          

    
"OK! It's not like I groped your son or anything!

That sweet little... been so long... hwaah-hwah-wawawa. Must go on...

Yes, so let's show our appreciation for our good buddy ... Chree-zee-hrrrmrmrrrrm ... as he shows us our next category!"

"Twice I have to go into that hellhole, and this is the thanks I get? Suuuuuuure--John only has to go in once, and he doesn't even get some silly 'reverse' castle or even a 'transient' one, whatever the hell that was all about.

But I didn't come here to tell you that. No, I'm here tonight for something more important. Ever since this humble series began way back in 1986, it's always been about one thing at its root--Dracula versus us, the famed Belmont clan. And it's gotten by very nicely on that premise for a number of years. However, there are those titles that were just too good to coast along on such a generic formula of events, and they strived to expand upon it, to tell an even grander story while staying true to that already-strong root. We choose to pay tribute to that extra effort with the second of our awards--the award for the most interesting twist on the tale of eternal struggle. The nominees are:

• Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow: For Soma Cruz' quest to scour the castle, placate manipulative but friendly forces, and discover just who he truly is.
• Castlevania: Curse of Darkness: While indifferent to Dracula's Curse, Hector's trial shows the intense struggle of a fallen dark servant finding the path to light.
• Castlevania: Lament of Innocence: For its tale of how Leon Belmont sacrificed his betrothed to create the ultimate weapon to fight against evil.
• Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin: For introducing the world to the forgotten John Morris and through its precedent including titles with untraditional storylines.
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: For the struggle that brought about Alucard's return and his bravery in helping to maintain the order.

Now if you'll please--click on the link just below to find out which of these five games had the best story."