June 2003
Lately I've been playing the
Castlevania games for the Game Boy Advance almost obsessively. Aria
of Sorrow is my favorite so far, and I even like Harmony of Dissonance,
which many people consider to be the black sheep of the 2D Castlevania
games. Each game has similar gameplay in that you go through Dracula's
castle gaining new abilities and getting stronger by defeating enemies
and finding new items. Circle of the Moon has the DSS system, where
you collect cards dropped by enemies, and you can use a combination of
two cards to achieve various effects. Harmony of Dissonance has a
magic system where you can combine an elemental power with a subweapon,
and while there are still many ways to attack enemies, the spells aren't
as varied as they are in Circle of the Moon. Aria of Sorrow gives
you the most options for customization with the soul system, where you
can steal enemies' souls and use their powers. There are four kinds
of souls: Bullet Souls, which you can use to fire projectiles or activate
a power such as temporary invincibility; Guardian Souls, which you can
use to summon a creature to help you, shield yourself from attacks, or
shoot a stream of fire or petrifying dust at enemies; Enchanted Souls,
which can give you stat boosts, immunity to ill effects, or ways to help
regenerate health or magic power; and Ability Souls, which let you perform
new abilities like a double jump or slide. The first three types
of souls can be combined in many ways, and there are lots of weapons, armor,
and accessories available for you to equip so you can use a lot of different
attacks or defenses at once. For example, one of the souls gives
you an attack that sucks health from enemies, but you have to be close
for it to work and you often end up losing more health than you gain back,
but if you combine it with a soul that gives you temporary invincibility,
you can get in close to a big enemy, take a bunch of its health, and then
get out of there before it can hit you. Also, sometimes you need
to use one soul power in order to collect an enemy's soul. One tricky
sequence involves getting a soul that makes you immune to being frozen
in time, then defeating a time-stopping enemy and using its soul to slow
down time enough to catch a really fast creature. All the Castlevania
games for the GBA follow the formula set by Symphony of the Night for the
Playstation, which is one of the best games out there.