Review
Release Date: 2002
Platform:
Game Boy AdvanceDeveloper:
Konami Computer Entertainment TokyoPublisher:
Konami Co., Ltd.Reviewed by
Brian J. Balsan on 4.13.2003
| Review Rating: 9/10 | User Rating: 6/10 |
When Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon was first announced for the Game Boy Advance, people expected it was going back to its platforming roots. Instead, what people received was a great lil' metroid-style spinoff of the classic PSX "Symphony of the Night". There was only one problem with it; due to a lack of contrast control, CotM was almost too dark to play, and unless you were directly under the sun or a light source similar in power, you were not going to make out any of the level design or scenery.
When Castlevania: Concerto of Midnight Sun (Soon to be released in the US as "Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance") was announced, no-one expected it to be a GBA title. Surprisingly enough, it would be, and the CotM team (Also responsible for the legendary "Dracula X: Rondo of Blood" (PC engine) and, of course, "Symphony of the Night") would attempt to make the game better this time around, improving on the gameplay and eliminating the darkness problem of the original GBA outing.
The story takes us sometime after Simon's adventures in the original Castlevania, A childhood friend has been kidnapped by none other than the infamous Dracula himself, and it's up to Juste Belmont, Simon's descendant, to rescue her.
Maxim, another friend of Juste's, guides him to the gates of the castle, and that is where the game begins.
Almost-immediately you can see improvements made over CotM. Colors are brighter and backgrounds are easier to see, making everything that much easier on the eyes. As you enter the gates of Castle Dracula, a huge monster comes to life and tries to chase you down. This monster is made up of multiple segments, similar to how huge enemies were designed in SotN, and the animation is extremely fluid and beautiful to watch. CoMS is much more like SotN than the original GBA incarnation, as this kind of graphical splendor and fluidity is seen throughout, and enemies will jump and attack, and will even have some amazing death animations. Sprite rotations and manipulations are aplenty, and work so well with the rest of the game it feels like having a portable Symphony of the Night right in your lap.
Juste has more moves than his Circle of the Moon protagonist. The magic card system has been replaced by something new; Magic books can be obtained and, when activated with whatever sub-item you have at the time, a unique attack will be unleashed. Items can be found all over the place, and weapons and armor play more of a role than it did in CotM. Certainly there's a lot more to see and do here.
The challenge has also been reverted back to Symphony of the Night standards. If the Darkness of CotM wasn't enough, the difficulty level of the game was unusually high. This, in my opinion, was fixed in CoMS, so that players can concentrate more on having fun rather than being compelled to hurl their GBAs at the wall.
Music is the only real thing that has slipped from CotM. Gone are the wonderous FM-based sounds of the past Castlevania, and replaced with Gameboy-style tunes. Thankfully, the music is not all that bad, and considering how much this game has graphics-and-gameplay-wise, it's a formidable sacrifice.
When all is said and done, This is the Castlevania sequel (prequel?) that everyone was waiting for after Symphony of the Night. If you have already been amazed at what your GBA can do, prepare to be amazed again.
