Hi, I'm Symphony of the Night's cooler kid brother.
Written: Jun 15 '01 (Updated Jun 15 '01)
Product Rating:
Pros: Outstanding balanced Castlevania gameplay, good translation, great sound and RPG elements.
Cons: The dark graphics can indeed be difficult to see on the GBA's reflective screen.
The Bottom Line: This just may be the greatest Castlevania ever. A great mix of platforming and exploration, this is a game that should sell the Gameboy Advance.
rader6795's Full Review: Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon for Game Boy Advan...
Castlevania... no matter who you are, even if you don't really play video games that much, you've played an incarnation of Konami’s Castlevania series at some point or another.
My story begins long ago with the first official Castlevania (though there was a game before it starring Simon Belmont) that was found on the NES. To say it was a classic is an understatement, as there was no other game like it at the time. Great gameplay, graphics and sound mixed with all the classic creatures of horror as bosses... what more could you want? While I never understood how whipping candles and bird baths would help a person find items vital to their survival (unless, of course, all that person needed to survive was candle wax and bird dung), this was platforming action at its finest and it took me MONTHS of constant playing before I beat it.
So, when Castlevania II: Simon's Quest was released, I must say I was a little depressed. Gone were the constant jumping and candle whipping levels, replaced with a day-to-night game system and back-and-forth scrolling levels? What were they thinking? This isn't Dragon Warrior or Metroid, this is Simon Belmont and I want my fighting not my exploration.
Alright, that's not entirily true... since I was about nine when I first played Simon's Quest, I was more along the lines of "I can stand up and pee now because I'm a big boy! Mom, can I have a popsicle? This game is weird." But, still, I couldn't grasp the concept of this game. Maybe it was because I had to read and that was a wordy game when you're at a fourth grade level (As a sidenote, I'm at about an eighth grade level, if I'm lucky.). I just remember wasting an awful lot of laurel and buying a flame whip even though I didn't really need it.
So, luckily, Konami returned the series to its roots with Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. This adventure, set 100 years in the past and starring Trevor Belmont (Simon's great grandfather) looked and played like the original game with one big difference. Trevor could be accompanied by one of three helpers and the choices he made would reflect the stages he would go through later in the game. This helper business wouldn't even be worth mentioning if the game didn't introduce one character that would go on to be the most famous vampire slayer. That helper character was Dracula's angst-ridden son and resident bad mofo, Alucard.
Now, during these releases, the Gameboy was released and had games known as the Castlevania Adventures on the system. But, the only noteworthy thing to mention on these games is that they were rather worthless. The games were sloppy, had bad hit detection and weren't pretty to look at in all its 4-shade glory. Luckily, I wasn't much for the Gameboy, so I wasn't an owner of these games. One of my friends, though, wasn't so lucky. He would never recover from the horror that was this gameplay. He died a lonely, lonely death as people finally quit talking to him. His life consisted of tried to coax others that these were good games. When he finally accepted the games as a peace of doo-doo, he decided life wasn't worth living in a horrible world without a good Gameboy Castlevania game and ended it all.
*Sniff* *Sob* *Sniff*... gotta quit eating that chili.
Anyhow, then came a great, great game in Super Castlevania IV, starring Simon Belmont. Sporting a huge character and colorful graphics unlike anything that was out at the time, this game would remain one of the most advanced games the Super Nintendo would ever see. This game brought new game mechanics to the table such as jumping up stairs, whipping in all eight directions and the ability to use your whip as a grappling hook to reach higher ledges. Though the game suffered from slowdown, it's a great example of what the development team that would later split from Konami to form Treasure, could do.
But there was only one game system, at the time, that would allow Konami the freedom to publish a game the way they envisioned Castlevania. Going even darker and more gothic than any game before it, Castlevania: Bloodlines was released on Sega Genesis shortly before Nintendo would start its tolerance to blood and guts during the "Play it Loud" era. (Interesting sidenote, there was a bada5s song playing in the background during those commercials that you may want to check out. The song was "They Came In" by the Butthole Surfers and fit the mood nicely. Anyone know where I could find the "Play it Loud" commercial for download?) But, this game did deliver the gore that many fans of the series just weren't ready for. But, still, the quality of the series remained.
The follow-up on Super Nintendo was Castlevania: Dracula X. The game’s star was none other than Richter Belmont, whom I’ll touch up on later in this review. Apparently, this was a dumbed-down port of a game that was released in Japan only. Gone were the huge character sprites found in the first SNES title, as were the directional whipping. But, still, the gameplay was top notch and there was far less slowdown. Not an outstanding game, but it was fun and difficult like the Castlevania games I grew up.
Then came the legendary Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The game, which starts at the end of Castlevania: Dracula X, featured an outstanding orchestrated soundtrack that totally set the mood of Dracula's castle. Add in the fact that the game was all linked together with exploration being the key and the added element of experience points and you've got what may be one of the greatest real-time RPGs ever. Once you beat the game with Alucard (from Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse), you’re free to use Dracula X’s Richter. I wouldn’t be alone in calling this the greatest Castlevania of all time. But, those who do call it that are geeks, so I’d rather stand alone.
But, there was a great disturbance in the force... and this disturbance was known as Castlevania yet again... but this time it was on the Nintendo 64. The series took a dangerous step in making the transition from 2D to 3D. And that step nearly sent it and its "sequel" to the abyss. Bad camera angles and unbalanced gameplay that, in the end, was easy when there were no platform elements going on made for an easily forgettable experience that never truly captured the essence of the gothic adventure.
I'm leaving out Castlevania: Legends only because I have yet to play the game. It starred Sonya Belmont, who was set to be the star of the vaporwared Dreamcast game, but I just don't have the heart to put myself through another game running on the Castlevania: Adventures engine.
So, much to my delight, Konami announced that a new Castlevania game was coming to my Gameboy Advance. But, there was only one problem. KCEK, the developer of the ill-fated Nintendo 64 games, was also behind the new game entitled Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. What a gay name, I thought to myself. But, still, I’d give it a chance.
So, would this game even be worth my time? Has KCEK learned their lesson? Well, in short, yes.
Everything that made Symphony of the Night great has been brought back and, in some aspects, improved upon. The overall feel of the game is much like a mix of Symphony of the Night and my favorite SNES game of all time, Super Metroid.
The game’s story goes a little like this. Another worshipper of Dracula has, like every dolt who worships Dracula, decided to resurrect the lord of the vampires just as vampire hunter, Maurice Baldwin, shows up to put a stop to this. His son, Hugh Baldwin, and his successor, Nathan Graves, accompany Maurice in the quest to stop the resurrection before it’s too late.
Too bad for them that they are too late and a weakened Dracula still has enough power to blast the heck outta the floor beneath Hugh and Nathan. Dracula’s bound determined to end the vampire hunter Maurice’s life while sucking out all his energy to recharge himself. You take the role of his successor, Nathan, and it’s your role to save Hugh.
But there’s another problem… Hugh is jealous of you. You see, his father bestowed his whip, a family heirloom, and chose you as his successor, not Hugh. So, like the jacka5s he is, Hugh goes off on his own quest to save his father and prove that HE should’ve been the rightful owner of the whip. And so it begins…
First and foremost, the sound has captured the same atmospheric feel that Symphony of the Night conveyed so well. To truly appreciate the music, I highly suggest plugging a pair of headphones or computer speakers into the unit to hear the depth that this music has. Since there’s only one speaker on the Gameboy Advance, you wouldn’t be able to tell that this music is in stereo.
Unlike Symphony of the Night, however, Circle of the Moon doesn’t have digitized speech to go with the text that the characters have. While that’s no problem for an old school gamer, like myself, gamers accustomed to this may be upset. Come on, jerky, reading never hurt you… well, unless it was a suicide note or a “Dear John” letter, that is.
Next up, the control is quick and responsive. KCEK utilized every button fairly well and the result is fluid and, in the end, almost natural. The B Button is used for the simple snap of the whip. Holding the button down, though, will release a weak spinning of the whip, like Richter’s in Symphony of the Night. The A Button is used for jumping with a second press of the button being a double jump, once you’ve unlocked that ability of course. If you press down and the A Button, you’ll unleash a slide reminiscent of the one that started with Mega Man III, except yours actually does some damage. You can dash, once again after you’ve learned the ability, by double pressing left or right, which helps you reach many ledges you wouldn’t normally reach. The L Button activates your selected DSS spell effect (which I’ll cover more of later), while the R Button will be used mainly as a supplemental button for special moves such as the tackle and the wall jump. The most important button of all, in a game like this, is the select button as it will bring up a map of all the area you’ve covered. Gamers who’ve played Super Metroid will be VERY familiar with a map like this. Overall, it’s simple and effective.
Throughout the game, fallen enemies will drop items. There’s healing items, hearts, armor and cards can be picked up and held onto in your inventory, which is accessed through the menu screen. The menu screen, though, is accessed through a touch of the start button.
The cards are a vital part of this game, since it will open up access to the DSS spell effects (see, told you I’d cover it… and you doubted me). You see, there are twenty cards that you can collect throughout the game and, on the DSS screen, they’re split into two rows of ten. The top row on the screen is the action row, while the bottom row is the attribute row. After selecting an action card and an attribute card, the combination releases many different effects. Some will allow you to boost your power, some will boost your defense and some will add attributes to your attack such as poison. You can go the whole game without using these much, but you’ll be glad you have them when you face certain bosses, as these battles aren’t a cakewalk.
The second, and only other useful selection in the menu screen is the item screen. Here you can equip armor (very important) or use items that you collect from enemies. It’s important to keep some potions and meat in stock when you find them, as they’ll be your only source of survival once you enter a boss fight.
The menu screen will also show your current hit points, magic point and hearts. It also shows you experience points and how many you need to gain a level, your status and your attributes in four categories.
Throughout the game, you’ll find new abilities a la Metroid that will give you access to new areas that you couldn’t originally get to without the ability. See those two skinny walls next to each other? Well, you can’t get up to the platform above yet, but just wait until you get that wall-jump technique and then you’ll show it who’s the boss.
This game’s only flaw seems to be its graphics. The backgrounds are beautiful and show off just how much detail can finally be shown on the small screen. The sprites, for the most part, are good and well detailed. Also, since Nathan sports a whip, your reach is much longer than that found in Symphony of the Night from the get go. But, there are some sections of the castle where enemies blend in a bit with their surroundings, making them extremely hard to avoid while dashing… even with your big, old whip.
Many people complain that this game is too dark to play in many areas but I beg to differ. It is true you’re going to have to find some pretty strong light, but this shouldn’t be hard if all you’re doing is sitting around the house. Even though the system is made for things like car rides, I only use it for time when I have nothing to do in the office or as a replacement for the daily paper when I have to, um, “drop the kids off at the pool” if you know what I’m saying. Drop a load, if you didn’t know what I was saying. Defecate for those who don’t understand all thing crazy lingo of the new generation.
Anyhow, to say this game was one of the best games on the new handheld would be an understatement. KCEK, you’ve redeemed yourself in my eyes and proved that Konami still has a few good development teams that aren’t busy working on stuff like, say, Metal Gear Solid 2. I just wish my friend would've gotten to see this game.
So, if you’re not a total Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater fanatic (which I wouldn’t suggest buying, anyway… but I don’t care much for THPS), but you want a good new game that could convince you to buy the Gameboy Advance, this is your game. With the right mix of exploration and action with roleplaying elements, this is the best adventure game since Super Metroid that every fan of Castlevania and Metroid needs to pick up today. So get out there, jerky, and waste your hard earned money on a game that’ll leave you with a sense of accomplishment that you haven’t had in a long time (unless you’re a Dreamcast owner who knows how great the system is with the right games.).
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