Castlevania: Symphony of the Night[a][2] is an action role-playing game developed and published by Konami in 1997 for the PlayStation.[3] It was directed and produced by Toru Hagihara, with Koji Igarashi acting as assistant director. It is the sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, taking place four years later. It features Dracula's dhampir son Alucard as the protagonist, rising from his slumber to explore Dracula's castle which has re-appeared after Richter Belmont vanished.[4] It marks a break from previous games in the series, re-introducing the exploration, non-linear level design and role-playing elements first experimented with in Simon's Quest.[5] The game's commercial performance was initially mediocre, but it later gained sales through word-of-mouth and became a hit, selling over 700,000 units in the United States and Japan. It has been re-released on several consoles and is considered a sleeper hit, a cult classic, and one of the best video games of all time.