There are various shields in Symphony of the Night you can use, and while some definately lack something, others are well worth the effort of finding. Not only that, but every shield has a "Shield Power" that can be released with the Shield Rod. Simply equip the shield you want in one hand, the Shield Rod in the other, and then press both Square and Circle at once......BOOM, the shield power is released!

Name: Alucart Shield
Description: Resembles family shield
DEF: +2
What it does: When the Shield Rod combo is used, Alucard just sits there for a moment, then a question mark appears over his head: he gets confused because nothing happens!

Name: Leather Shield
Description: Leather shield--low DEF
DEF: +3
What it does: When used with the Shield Rod combo, an image of a cow appears (Har, har!), and Alucard's defense momentarily shoots up 20 points.

Name: Medusa Shield
Description: Gorgon headed shield
ATT: +13
DEF: +3
What it does: When you have this shield equipped, Alucard is immune to the "stone" status (he can't turn to stone). You can run right into an enemy while holding this shield up, much like the Alucard Shield. When the Shield Rod combo is used, Medusa's head appears behind Alucard, and shoots eye beams at the enemy.

Name: Knight Shield
Description: Armored Knight's shield
DEF: +4
What it does: When the Shield Rod combo is used, an image of a horse appears, and even though it says "Defense up", Alucard's attack shoots up 20 points.

Name: AxeLord Shield
Description: Favorite shield of Axe Lords
DEF: +5
What it does: When the Shield Rod combo is used, a small Axe Lord is summoned, and it shuffles forward quickly, attacking whatever is there.

Name: Dark Shield
Description: Unholy dark shield
ATT: +10
DEF: +5
What it does: Like the Medusa Shield, Alucard can hold this shield up and attack enemies by running into them. When the Shield Rod combo is used, the image of a decaying head appears, and purple blobby things float upwards from the bottom of the screen, usually killing whatever they touch.

Name: Iron Shield
Description: Hard iron shield
DEF: +6
What it does: When used with the Shield Rod combo, some sort of crest appears, and two swords off of it spin towards the enemy.

Name: Herald Shield
Description: Shield with heart crest
DEF: +6
What it does: When held up, will absorb any flying attacks (like arrows or fireballs) and turn them into hearts. When the Shield Rod combo is used, an image of a naked woman (Don't worry, it's a "tasteful" nude. SotN isn't a porn fest.) appears, and Alucard has a brief resistance to fire and lightning attacks.

Name: Skull Shield
Description: Shield with Knight's crest
DEF: +6
What it does: When the Shield Rod combo is used, a mass of skulls appear above Alucard's head, and they shoot a powerful laser for a few seconds.

Name: Shaman Shield
Description: Shield used in a magic ritual
DEF: +6
What it does: When the Shield Rod combo is used, the image of a winged goat with pentagrams revolving around it appears, and Alucard's intelligence shoots up 20 points for a little while.

Name: Goddess Shield
Description: Engraved with goddess image
DEF: +6
What it does: When used with the Shield Rod combo, an image of a totem pole appears, and Alucard temporarily has a resistance to dark-based attacks.

Name: Fire Shield
Description: Shield with fire properties
DEF: +6
What it does: First off, just by equipping this, the shield will cut the damage caused by fire-based attacks in half (like a "Resist Fire" does). When the Shield Rod combo is used, a ball of fire appears behind Alucard, and shoots three "snakes" of flame towards the enemy.

Name: Alucard Shield
Description: Strong vs. all attacks
ATT: +103 (only after the Shield Rod combo is used)
DEF: +7
What it does: The BEST item you can get in the game. When the Shield Rod combo is used, pretty much every shield power is contained into the Alucard Shield. This means that fire, ice, lighting, holy and dark attacks are cut in half. Not only this, but after the combo is used, Alucard can run right into enemies with the shield and get both HP (in doses of 8) and hearts. This and the high attack power of the shield (I've seen "Critical 540!" pop up from attacking with this shield) makes it the most valuable item in the game.