wandering_mage's Full Review: Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon for Game Boy Advan...
Official Name: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Release Date: June, 2001
Genre: Action
Rating: Teen: Animated Blood - Mild Animated Violence
Also Available On: GBA Only
Multiplayer: No
Intro
I can’t recall exactly how many Castlevania games have dominated in the market. I do know that the franchise has had its ups-and-downs. One of the biggest successes has be the PS platformer, Symphony of the Night. For the N64 we played Castlevania 64 and Legacy of Darkness. Recently, however, The Castlevania series has take domain in the GBA, and it’s doing well. Such titles include this one, Aria of Sorrow, and Harmony of Dissonance. Through the really long history of Castlevania, we have followed and hunted down the vampire Dracula and his servants. The main hunter bloodline through the Castlevania series has been the Belmonts, but you neither play nor assist any Belmont. You play, in Circle of the Moon, Nathan Graves. You are an apprentice to an experienced vampire hunter named Morris Baldwin, who has but many times banished Dracula from the world of the living. His arrogant son, Hugh Baldwin accompanies you as well. It is 1830, in an ancient Austrian Castle.
Camilla, Dracula’s servant, has decided that it is time for Dracula to roam the nights again. Just as she revives Dracula, your vampire hunting team impede the ritual. Dracula is not fully strengthened, so him and Camilla decide to imprison Morris Baldwin and sap him of his life energy to fully revive Dracula. Dracula has no need for you or Morris’ son Hugh, so you are tossed aside and left for dead, as well as at the mercy of Dracula’s countless minions. Armed with your mental prowess and the magical Hunter Whip, you must find a way to fight through Dracula’s lackeys and free your master. Arrogant Hugh decides you are useless, and leaves you to fight for yourself as he searches for his father. It’s time to free master and prevent Dracula from walking once more under the Circle of the Moon.
Graphical Capabilities-
This game is pure beauty. The 32-bit graphics and awesome atmosphere are some of the finest I’ve seen in a game. Beautiful backgrounds (important in a side-scroller), nice looking enemies, and awesome visual animations are many to be found. I especially like the bosses. I have never seen such sophisticated animations in a hand held before, and they continue on the GBA chapters in Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow. The real problem in the game’s graphics is the lighting. Remember that this game was released when the GBA had no backlight. It is easy to see that Konami wanted a dark and eerie atmosphere to go with this great game, but they really did go over the edge. Without a backlight, or an extremely rich light source, it is close to impossible to see the game at all.
The entire game has a dark atmosphere, so there aren’t gonna be any easy spots in the game for your eyes. I admit that this is a major problem for anyone. I should imply that the game could be dangerously dark. After a long time of playing it, you could impair your eyesight, or give yourself a serious headache. Everyone knows reading in the dark can impair your vision, and this game has the same problem, if not worse. I would recommend playing the game on the GBA SP, which has its own lighting system, which makes it much, much easier on your eyes. This is a very serious problem. Other than that, this is one of the most visually beautiful games ever on a handheld platform, and is enhanced tenfold with a lighting system. Beautiful!
Graphical Capabilities: 10/10
Sound Capabilities-
Castlevania stands out in all platforms by its awesome music. I generally find the music to be a smaller category in sound, but this is really outstanding. The eerie church organ and violin tunes could not set a more perfect mood for the game. The game’s music is top of the line. Most of the time, I see that the sound effects are top-notch for a hand-held, but the music ruins the entire overall sound and I turn it all the way down.
If you turn the sound down playing this game, you’ll be missing out on one of the most sophisticated music collection ever in a handheld. The sound effects in this game are rather good. The main sound in the game comes from the crack of the whip, the enemies, and running, and all are surprisingly excellent for a handheld title, especially one of this age. There aren’t any speaking voices in the game, as anyone could expect. Overall, this is one of the most flawless games on a handheld when it comes to sound, make no mistake about it.
Sound Capabilities: 10/10
Gameplay-
The gamplay in this, as well as in most handheld games, is quite simple. It’s your usual side-scroller action adventure. You move back and forward (stay with me here). By the game’s controller default; B attacks with the whip, A jumps (A again to double jump once you have the item you get the jump boots). Up B attacks with a secondary item (throwing knife, throwing axe, holy water, or boomerang), Down A slides across the floor. R activates any special item you acquired from a boss. These items may help you do a wall jump, or let you hover through the air, and most are activated by R in certain situations. Lastly, L activates/deactivates any DSS combinations you have ready. I should explain this now. DSS (Duel Setup System) is a magical card setup that you use to enhance your play throughout. It composes of 10 Action cards and 10 Attribute cards. They display mythical creatures, or gods.
This is what really lets me enjoy this game. You combine Action cards (they each have a class such as enhancement/change of weapon, shields, summon creature, summon creature familiar, and so on) and Attribute cards which determine which type of “change of weapon, creature summoned, shield” is activated. For example, Mars is the change of weapon card, and if you activate it with Serpent (“cold/ice” attribute), you will get an ice sword. Other examples is Mercury (whip enhancement action card): combine it with serpent attribute card to get the ice whip, and so on and so on. Throughout the game, you’ll find many different kinds of enemies ranging from bats, skeletons, armors, zombies, poltergeists, and demons. You use the DSS strategically to take out these enemies (and protect yourself from their attacks), and even more so with the bosses. Fight your way through Dracula’s castle in one of the finest side-scrollers ever, and free your master.
How Should I Play This Game?
The game has very little need for any guide. The only thing I found I needed help with was in regards to the DSS combinations. Otherwise, I would never recommend a guide at all.
Pros
The real magic in the game lies in the stunning graphics. Aside from the fine visuals, the enhanced gameplay, eerie sound/music, and especially the DSS make the game an awesome handheld masterpiece that any GBA owner should have.
Cons
Aside from the fact that the game is really, really, really dark without a backlight, I can’t think of a single reason to not recommend this game.
Final Recommendation
The facts are these: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is probably the most mood-set, and gothic adventures ever on a handheld, and one of the finest ones as well. Circle of the Moon is but enhanced even further with it’s awesome backgrounds and graphics, sound, music, gameplay, and it’s unique DSS enhancement. This is one of the finest games ever on a handheld, and I recommend it to anyone. 5 Star game to say the least you could.
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