One of the greatest video games in the original PlayStation library is 1997's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which has since been re-released in a variety of formats for modern consoles. Serving as a sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Symphony of the Night revolutionized the entire Castlevania franchise with its nonlinear, exploration-based gameplay. It was also innovative to cast Alucard, Dracula's son, as the main protagonist.
Alucard had many abilities to help him as he ventured through his father's castle. As a dhampir himself, Alucard can unlock supernatural powers to help him confront his enemies, including the ability to transform into a large vampire bat. Here is how to unlock the incredibly useful Bat Form, the unique abilities that come with this magical transformation and how to find several upgrades to make Alucard's transformation even more powerful.
Where To Find The Soul Of Bat Relic In Castlevania: SOTN
Each transformation in Symphony of the Night is obtainable by locating items, referred to in-game as soul relics. The Bat Form is powered by the Soul of Bat relic. In order to reach this relic, Alucard must have the Leap Stone and Soul of Mist relic equipped. The Soul of Bat is located in the Long Library. On the long staircase sloping left, double-jump to the platform immediately below the save room to access a new area of the library.
After passing through another save room, Alucard will encounter a portion of the library filled with armored flea men and Dhuron skeletons. The bottom of this section leads to a boss battle against a Lesser Demon who relies on short slashes and repeatedly summons ectoplasm and mudmen as reinforcements. After its defeat, progress beyond his boss chamber to find a grating that Alucard can pass through while transformed into Mist Form.
Properties Of The Bat Form In Castlevania: SOTN
As with all Symphony of the Night's transformations, Alucard will steadily consume magic points while maintaining his Bat Form, reverting to his normal state upon complete expenditure of his magic meter. In Bat Form, Alucard can fly around the castle, now able to access previously unreachable portions of the map. Alucard flies relatively slowly, making him an easy target for enemies, so It's wise to be cautious.
Bat Form isn't entirely defenseless though, equipped with an attack called the Wing Smash. Consuming a small portion of magic points, this attack will send Alucard hurtling forward in his Bat Form, striking anything in his way before transforming back. Bat Form also makes the presence of the Bat Familiar more effective, as it flies closer to Alucard after confusing his transformed state for a potential mate.
Bat Form Upgrades In Castlevania: SOTN
There are three upgrades available for Bat Form in Symphony of the Night, each providing Alucard with a new ability in this form. The only bat upgrade needed to complete the game is Echo of Bat, which allows Alucard to emit a sonar wave and briefly see what's directly ahead of him in darkened areas. This comes in handy when navigating a winding dark room filled with spikes later in the game. Echo of Bat is found in Olrox's Quarters after a boss battle against the vampiric Olrox. As with Wing Crash, emitting the sonar wave consumes magic points.
Echo of Bat can be upgraded further with Force of Echo, which allows the sonar wave to cause damage to any enemies caught in its path. This upgrade is found in the Reverse Caverns after defeating Alucard's doppelgänger one last time. Within the Clock Tower of the normal castle, Alucard can fly up to obtain Fire of Bat, an upgrade that allows him to spit fireballs while in Bat Form at the expense of magic points.
