History ShoutOut / CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight

** [[Film/TheRoom You Are Tearing Me Apart, Lisa!]]

** At least a few item and monster names in the original Japanese release were ''already'' Tolkien references to begin with. The giant wolf, "Warg" in the US, is "Anfauglir" in Japan, both terms connected to wolves. Then the Japanese name of the Crissaegrim, translated into English in later games as "Valmanway", seems to be alluding to Varda's husband Manwë, with the "val" part taken from "Valar" (singular form "Vala"), the word for the gods. Crissaegrim/Valmanway (Vala Manwe?) is said to mean "Blessed Wind" in its description, and Manwë is basically a sky and wind god.

* ''A lot'' of item names in the US release are references to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. The Fist of Tulkas (one of the more powerful gods), the Crissaegrim (named after a mountain range in the books), the Mormegil (a black sword featured in one of the major tales) and the "Ring of Varda", for example.
* The Forbidden Library area primarily contains three enemies: [[Literature/TheWizardOfOz Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man]]. The Medusa boss in the Inverted Castle says ''"I'm petrifyiiing!"'' when you beat her, to top that reference chain off.

** ''A lot'' of item names in the US release are references to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. The Fist of Tulkas (one of the more powerful gods), the Crissaegrim (named after a mountain range in the books), the Mormegil (a black sword featured in one of the major tales) and the "Ring of Varda", for example.
** The Forbidden Library area primarily contains three enemies: [[Literature/TheWizardOfOz Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man]]. The Medusa boss in the Inverted Castle says ''"I'm petrifyiiing!"'' when you beat her, to top that reference chain off.
** An enemy that can only be found in the Library is named [[ComicStrip/LilAbner "Shmoo"]].
** The Capsule Monster rare items are from ''Series/UltraSeven''.
** The Gold and Silver Rings as well as the clock face are a reference to ''Anime/TheCastleOfCagliostro''.
** The morphing Black Panthers are a reference to Lodem from ''Babel II''. More people probably remember its cameo in ''Manga/GiantRobo''. The actual panther sprite is ripped directly from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_(video_game) this old Konami game]], which featured a cyborg panther that moved at high speeds.
** The Moon Rod is from ''Franchise/SailorMoon''.
** In Kurt Vonnegut's ''Cat's Cradle'', a Granfaloon was a group of people who falsely believed they shared the same identity or purpose, but in fact their association was meaningless.
** A portrait of [[UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler Vlad Tepes]] is a usable item.
** Olrox is [[LooksLikeOrlok based on Orlok]] from the film ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}'', complete with the movie poster on his door.
** From Creator/MichaelMoorcock's ''Literature/TheElricSaga'':
*** The sword Mourneblade, which heals Alucard everytime he strikes something with it, is a reference to Mournblade, the sister-sword to Elric's runesword Stormbringer. Stormbringer, as well as Mournblade, stole their victim's souls, strengthening their wielders in the process.
*** The Dragon Helm is a reference to the Elric Saga's Dragon Helm which was a symbol of rulership among the Melniboneans and last worn by fellow white-haired pretty boy Elric.
*** The Great Sword is described as "Greatsword of Aubec". Aubec was a historical character in the Elric Saga, whose sword Elric wielded before gaining the Stormbringer.
** The Sword of the Dawn, a hidden sword with a special ability to summon minions that attack Alucard's foes, is also a reference to Michael Moorcock's work. His character Hawkmoon wielded The Sword of Dawn, a weapon that summoned warriors to aid Hawkmoon.
** In-game, Terminus Est is described as a poisonous executioner sword. This is a shoutout to ''Literature/BookOfTheNewSun'', the Terminus Est was the protagonist's executioner sword filled with mercury to increase the force of its stroke depending on how the wielder uses it. Note that in the Japanese version, the sword was called [[Literature/{{Beowulf}} Hrunting]].
** The monster "Ctulhu" is obviously a shout-out to H.P Lovecraft's Franchise/CthulhuMythos, though the monster's likeness is used for the Malachi enemy instead.
** The Shield Rod can create the Shield powerups from ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''. The Bat familiar, when leveled up enough, can summon more bats when you take bat form. These bats move much like Options.
** Among the many items that Alucard can wear on his head, one of them is an [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure ancient ceremonial stone mask]].
** A rare drop is a red gemstone belt called [[Series/KamenRiderBlack the "King's Stone"]].
** Very occasionally, Alucard will turn into a gargoyle when petrified. While pure speculation, he shares his crouching "thinker" pose with Goliath of ''Gargoyles'', a series which was very popular at the time of this game's development due in no small part to casting several ''Star Trek'' alums as one-off, recurring and even principal characters.
** The Nose Demon familiar is a reference to ''Anime/TimeBokan'', particularly ''Anime/{{Yatterman}}''. Sharing the lanky build, large nose, Japanese [[Creator/JojiYanami voice actor]], and even button-pressing catchphrase with Boyakki, he's an expy of a classic henchman.
** Joseph's Cloak, an item that allows the player to customize its colors, is a reference to Joseph's coat of many colors from the Literature/BookOfGenesis.
** The Requiem re-release has plenty of those in its trophy list:
*** [[Music/DrowningPool Let the Bodies Hit the Floor]]
*** [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare ...To Forgive, Divine]]
*** [[Film/TheRoom You Are Tearing Me Apart, Lisa!]]
*** Film/DawnOfTheDead
*** [[Music/TheBeeGees Technicolor Dreams]]
*** [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes Scientific Progress Goes BOINK!]]
*** [[Music/EltonJohn Goodbye Yellow Brick Road]]