Key

Thank you once again to the Castlevania Advance Collection for proving it's worth once again. I recently talked about and played through Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, and even today, I still have close to nothing bad to say about it. It definitely feels odd having played through it again recently because as I'm much older, I feel like I appreciated and enjoyed the game mechanically a lot more than I did previously. Everything from how the character moves around to what kind of combat you'll find yourself in. I still hold it near and dear to my heart as one of my favorite games of all time as well as one of my favorite Castlevania games of all time.

Now, the advance collection also has Aria of Sorrow and Harmony of Dissonance which are two Castlevania games I always sort of regretted not playing back in the day. And playing through them now is proving that point to be even stronger. As far as mechanics go, they all sort of behave the same way, while also bringing in their own differences to set them apart from each other. All good for their own reasons while also maintaining a common theme. However, I've noticed that I am enjoying Harmony of Dissonance a lot more than both Circle of the Moon and Aria of Sorrow combined. While I have not put as much time into Aria of Sorrow as I have with Circle of the Moon and now Harmony of Dissonance, I can definitely say that I am personally getting a lot more enjoyment out of Harmony, and here's why:

Right from the get go, from how the character feels when he walks around, there's something smooth or right about it that makes him feel natural to control. Nathan from Circle of the Moon feels like he has a little bit of weight to him, and Aria of Sorrow while having a bit more of a realistic feel to it, graphically, I find that controlling Soma is a bit more difficult than controlling Belmont. Not only that, out of all three protagonists, I think I like Belmont's design more, for many reasons, though if you have played Harmony of Dissonance, you probably understand what I'm getting at. He sort of sticks out while also feeling like he's right at home in this metroidvania that you get to traverse. Even when it comes to the combat, though I have much more experience with this aspect in Circle of the Moon than I do with Aria of Sorrow, I actually quite like fighting enemies in Harmony of Dissonance, because the attacks actually feel like they have some oomf to them that makes you feel stronger, as opposed to the combat being a sort of hinderance. And unfortunately, as Circle of the Moon has the card system to give yourself different ways to attack, there really isn't a lot of variety as far as making combat feel more interesting, and certainly takes a toll on you over time. Though that can be said for pretty much any platformer.

I've come across a few boss fights already in Harmony of Dissonance, and while some of them have their own unique ways of fighting, I haven't really found myself in too much danger when fighting them since the game gives you some creative ways to go about combat. Like right now, I have a ice spell equipped that transforms whatever action item I'm holding into an ice spell attack that relates to that held item. It's a really neat way to incentivize using different items, whereas previously in Circle of the Moon, if you were holding an axe, you threw an axe. The card system again allowed this to be a little more interesting and creative, but so far Harmony of Dissonance has surpassed that with it's own version of it. So yeah, boss fights are relatively easy compared to other games. I do remember struggling a little bit on some bosses when I played through Circle of the Moon, and again, that can surely be due to the fact that the combat is just a bit more interesting and creative in Harmony of Dissonance

What's even crazier to think about is if you had given me a copy of Harmony of Dissonance today and said that this game came out somewhat recently, I wouldn't have much issue believing you. This pretty much goes for Aria of Sorrow and Circle of the Moon. These games are easily a staple in the metroidvania / platforming genre and I'm sure they will remain to be so for many years to come. Surely that's why the advance collection has been a huge hit but I digress. I'm honestly having so much fun playing through this collecting and experiencing some of the Castlevania games that I never got to play growing up. And man, I'm sure I would have loved playing Harmony back in the day. Because I am having a damn good time playing it now. Graphically, I would honestly say Harmony looks the best out of the three solely due to the cool effects your character gives off when you literally do anything. It's just got a cool vibe and the whole games just feels whole. I've always loved the graphics of these games, and they still hold up, even on a big screen, especially having been released on a handheld so many years ago.

I'm at about the 50% mark in Harmony of Dissonance, so I still have quite a bit to go, but as far as I feel about the game now, I'm having a really good time with it. Once I finish it, which I'm sure I'll do relatively soon, it may take the place of my favorite Castlevania game of all time, just ahead of Circle of The Moon. And that really shouldn't be much of a surprise given that Harmony of Dissonance is basically a follow up though a much more improved Castlevania experience altogether.

Key

As is probably obvious by now with both my Circle of the Moon and Harmony Dissonance posts, I like Castlevania games. And when I saw they were rereleasing the Game Boy Advance games, I was stoked. And I got the collection as soon as I could. And boy, so far it has not disappointed, though there have been a few noticeable flaws. Nothing that takes away from the experience as a whole though. I'd also like to point out that while I have done separate posts for Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance, I am posting this prior to going deep in Aria of Sorrow. Once I go through that game more, there will be a separate post for it as well. All opinions on games are of my current status of where I am with those games, and right now I have enough experience with only Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance to give proper posts. Opinions may change over time.

Going back to the Castlevania Advance Collection, as I mentioned before, there are but a few flaws that could take people out of the experience, however it doesn't really bother me that much. The one big one is that the mapping of the controls is not always familiar at first, but you get used to it. I know you can change them to what you like, but I don't really want to do that for each game. So I figured I would try to learn it and get used to it, and I'm starting to get it down. Fortunately you don't have to go into your menu all too often in these games, though there are times where you will do so many times. Depends on how you play the games I suppose. Graphically speaking, I am enjoying the look of the games, but I imagine that has to do with more of my nostalgia for the games as well as being far more forgiving of older graphics especially when the games are mechanically strong, which so far with my experience with Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance, I'd say these games are tremendously mechanically strong. However, the graphics are definitely older, so some may not like that. But it really just depends on what kinds of games you like. If you don't like metroidvania games on the Game Boy Advance fun in general, then this isn't for you. But if you had a great time playing these games and want to relive them? Hell yes this is for you. Not to mention that I honestly think that these games hold up even today. I'm playing through the collection right now and I can easily see these games being released today. Again though, it's all personal taste at the end of the day. Unfortunately though, because it is such an older game or collection of older games, screen tearing is a thing. It's far more noticeable when you want to play in full screen however they have options to set the screen ratio to smaller. And I'm sure it's hardly noticeable if at all in those options. But again, for me, it hasn't hindered my enjoyment of the games so far, so I don't see it as much of a problem as some others would. But it's definitely noticeable if you're paying attention.

On the flip side, while the controls can take some getting used to, it also feels very natural to play these games on consoles, especially when playing it on a bigger screen. Sometimes games don't translate all too well when switching between small and bigger consoles, however these particular ones translated very well. I'm having an absolute blast playing these on my Xbox on my big screen. And it doesn't feel like some lame port, or that they sort of forcibly threw it together. It feels natural to play them on console, and the controls work to its advantage, instead of its disadvantage. Again though, I could easily see these games being released today and doing as well if not better than they did upon original release. Just an example of what makes these games great in the first place.

I also feel like while simultaneously being able to see these games released today, it's sort of an odd feeling actually playing them on console. It's a collection I absolutely did not think I needed however as a fan of Castlevania and metroidvanias in general, it's definitely a nice addition to my collection. And it's just a great collection in general. If you're a fan of Castlevania games at all, I'd highly recommend it.

Key

I'd also like to mention that Circle of the Moon has some of my favorite musical tracks in all the Castlevania games combined. Including but not limited to this one:

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - Awake

Key

When I talked about both Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance, my experience with Aria of Sorrow was relatively low. To the point that I didn't have enough experience to even really talk about it. As I'm going through the Castlevania Advance Collection, I'm juggling between both Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow since I have enough experience with Circle of the Moon, it being the first Castlevania game I ever played as well as being the one I have gone through many many times. As much as I like Circle of the Moon, I'm finding that I'm enjoying both Harmony and Aria a lot more. It's a shame that I didn't pick these games up back when I originally played Circle of the Moon, but later is better than never.

So what do I think so far? Well, Aria of Sorrow certainly looks incredible from the backdrops of levels all the way to the character sprites and everything else in between. I've heard that Aria of Sorrow is the best looking game boy advance game, or at least it's up there as being one of the best looking, and I'm inclined to agree. Keep in mind I have seen some gameplay of Aria of Sorrow before going through it myself, however I feel like personal experience trumps all when it comes to gaming. As Aria of Sorrow is also seen as the quintessential Castlevania game, I feel like as a fan of the series, it's a must play. And I'm certainly glad I have given it my time as I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

It comes jam packed with new ideas and mechanics that separates this from the previous entries while also being a staple in metroidvanias in general. Castlevania to me has always been like an adventure, and that certainly doesn't fade with Aria of Sorrow, if anything it just defines it even further and refines it to a point that the game as a whole just feels fun to play.

Previously, I had mentioned that based on what I knew of Aria at the time, I stated that I felt that Harmony of Dissonance looked a little better and while I still really like the way the character sprite looks in Harmony of Dissonance, I honestly would say that Aria of Sorrow looks much much better as a whole, and Harmony of Dissonance certainly shows its age. I've seen platformers released in recent years that almost look or look very very similar to how Aria of Sorrow looks, and mix that with a great feeling of controls and some fun mechanics to learn and have fun with, really puts Aria of Sorrow ahead of the other two for me.

As far as the soundtrack goes, I think between Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow, Circle of the Moon would go first, with Aria of Sorrow coming second, then Harmony of Dissonance coming third. When playing all the games again like this, you can really tell the difference when the music in a game like this doesn't feel like it should. Both Circle of the Moon and Aria of Sorrow have a sort of essence with their music whereas Harmony of Dissonance doesn't feel as interesting and well thought out. Definitely the weaker of the 3 when it comes to the music.

Overall, I'm absolutely thrilled to continue playing Aria of Sorrow just as well as I'm excited to play Harmony of Dissonance and finally put these two games along with Circle of the Moon in my games that I have played, and thoroughly enjoyed. I'm definitely having a blast. I can also understand why people hold Aria of Sorrow in such high regard when talking about the Game Boy Advance era of Castlevania, because it truly is the experience you want when getting into Castlevania. And once again, if you haven't picked up the Castlevania Advance Collection, I highly recommend it.

The Batlord

I don't remember if you said you'd already played Symphony of the Night but either it might be time to check it out or go back to it cause it also still holds up. I'm also hoping against hope that they rerelease the DS games on console cause my 3DS's shoulder buttons are dying and Order of Ecclesia is god tier. Also you should check out the Bloodstained series cause they're basically Castlevania games in all but name made by the director of every Metroidvania Castlevania title and they ****ing slap

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Key

I have not played Symphony but it's on my list. I have checked out Bloodstained and absolutely loved it. Will have to definitely get back into that. I know it's gotten some updates since I played it last so it may be time to revisit.

The Batlord

Updates? I played it around release so I might have to go back and see what's up. There's 2 8-bit games in the series I never played I should finally check out too.

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Key

Either they added updates or maybe I'm thinking that they changed the way the game title shows up. I don't remember "Ritual of the Night" ever being part of the title but my knowledge on that is fuzzy. That's what I was speaking of when it came to update. As far as game updates, I'm not totally sure. But, still worth it to go back and play though.

EDIT:

The Batlord

Nah it was always Ritual of the Night.

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Key

I will be checking out Symphony of the Night next most likely. The advanced collection rekindled the flame that is Castlevania and I'm just having a full on blast going through them again.