xeno3998's Full Review: Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon for Game Boy Advan...
Yessiree, I have heard the endless praises of Konami's Circle of the Moon on Epinions and from well known and respected publications. And yes I have heard this game being regarded as the best thing all year, which, though admittedly a matter of opinion, is just something I see as stupid. In my opinion (which usually gets people all riled up and flaming), CastleVania: Circle of the Moon serves up nothing more than a generic platform gameplay engine dressed up real nice with some exceptional sound effects/music and a DSS Card System that's there to give the illusion of depth, not to actually deepen the sad, miserable kiddie pool of gameplay CastleVania presents to the player. Though admittedly, I can't slay this game on all accounts because it's mechanics are tried, tested and mostly true, the complete lack of anything even remotely interesting or new to dice up play value even a bit makes CastleVania a much less enticing purchase than many would have you believe.
First, though the graphics have proven to impress players, they will do so only if you play the game under impeccable lighting conditions - no midnight, under-the-covers-with-a-lamp playing sessions here, you need a perfectly lit outdoor setting or dining room to play the game well, which is a travesty since it goes against the essential reason for having handheld systems, to avoid having to play in such widely used settings. Well even though most GBA games suffer from a problem like this, none of the other titles suffer as much as CastleVania. I highly doubt you'll see half of what the graphical artists created for this game unless you play it under an aforementioned perfect light source.
When playing under said brilliant lighting source though, the game looks alright; not in it's ability to explode out of your Game Boy Advance with visuals that push the console's power to the limit, but in it's architechtural design and the explosive attacks of some enemies. There weren't many 'gazing-in-awe' sessions where I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing, but the design is still impressive enough to score some points with me. I like especially, the sewer level and battling against the enemy simply known as 'Death', which are my two most immediate recollections of moments in which this game stunned me with it's design.
Otherwise, attacks look nice and varied, and definitely realistic. When combined with some of the DSS Cards, your offensive maneuvers can take on some strangely amusing elements such as a Fire-Based Whip, a Water-Based Whip Attack and one alternate attack that is comprised of several roses spouting from the sword and hitting multiple opponents. There are some other notable weapon effects, and Dracula's evolved form at the end of the game is a sight to see, but otherwise the game is fairly bland and uninspired when compared to it's peers in the realm of visual excellence (like that Klonoa rehash).
An area I believe COTM pushes the GBA in is definitely Sound and Music. COTM achieves a level of aural excellence that has yet to be matched by any other game on this console, and perhaps all other handheld consoles ever made. The music ranges from adventuristic, to suspenseful to a sort-of Valkyrie Profile-inspired melodic romp that gravitates around 'climbing' music, for lack of a better term. There are other music variations, that are all suitable to the atmospheres they show up in, and the game on a whole is stronger than most in it's aural prowess because of this.
Sound effects are another sub-facet of gameplay I praise COTM in, with some deep, thrilling enemy cries and weapon effects to chill the spine while traversing the Dark House of Dracula. There isn't much variety here, but I'll let that slip since it's very good otherwise.
Is there a story? Yes, albeit a very minor one. You play Nathan Graves who, with his father and brother, entered the premesis of Dracula's daunting castle in hopes of slaying the beast that's been sealed for an entire decade. This of course, fails, and both Nathan and his tutors son, Hugh Baldwin, are trapped in the castle searching for a way to return to the foyer where their father was left by himself, and where the final battle agaisnt Dracula awaits them both.
You play Nathan in his quest to defeat Dracula and save both Hugh and their master from a fate of eternal damnation at the hands of Dracula. The plot overall is weak, but considering that this is an Action/Adventure game with only meager role-playing elements, that can be forgiven. Still, I would have liked this game that much more if Konami had written up some kind of competent script instead of using predictable plot devices like deceit at the hands of one of your allies or crimson, overpowering enemies like Dracula that, through the duration of the game, you learn to thoroughly despise. Perhaps if a sequel is ever made, Konami can attempt to script a better story, though I doubt they will, there's always hope.... isn't there?
In a nutshell, the gameplay you'll find in CastleVania: Circle of the Moon is borderline mediocre not because it's tedious, repetitive or flawed in some other way, but because the formula for gameplay seen here was all but perfected a good ten years ago and, as a result, has since done virtually nothing to improve upon what was done incredibly in the past. Allow me to elaborate - the play mechanics engine in Castlevania on GBA are something that we've seen literally hundreds of times since Castlevania first debuted on the Famicom (NES) in 1987, and practically nothing has been done to change the basic structure. Yes there are some nice, shiny new elements like the DSS Card engine, but even then the essential gameplay setup remains indifferent from countless other games done in the same vein. I know it's hard to improve drastically upon the milked-dry cow that is a standard side-scrolling gameplay system,
but the extreme feeling of deja vu I experienced while romping through Castlevania cannot and will not be ignored, even if I don't have an immediate solution to this problem to shove in front of a developers' face.
Well now, are we tired from that little rant? Good, then I'll tire you some more explaining the DSS engine.
First, you massacre an enemy with your decidedly claymore-looking 'whip', then, with any luck, you'll get an item that looks like a square turned on it's side to resemble a diamond. Upon picking this item up, you can check the Dual Set-up System (hence the acronymn, DSS) menu to see if it's an Action or an Attribute card. If you have both, you can combine them and leave the screen, then, providing you have an adequete MP supply, you'll tap the 'L' button and test the effects of your card-combination. Sometimes these collaborations can lead to statistical boosts like upping your attack power or defense power by 30%, or they can lead to the aforementioned awesome 'Rose Sword' offensive maneuver that hits multiple enemies with the popular flower. There are, in total, a hundred combinations one can make if you collect all ten Attribute and all ten Action cards, which will certainly give completists a lot to do over the summer considering how difficult a task it is to find even a single card. Equipping certain DSS combinations is also essential to winning some battles, so you'll have to do just a bit of item-hunting to win the game anyway.
If there is one part of the gameplay that's well done in terms of challenge and innovation, it's the boss encounters. Some of them are very difficult while others aren't nearly as hard but they all succeed in being inventive challenges. One has you battling a huge skull head 'Camilla' that has four main attacks that require your character to decisively maneuver about the small area you have to fight in to avoid these attacks. Another, the end battle against Dracula, is just sprawling, with a huge enemy that summons impossible-to-evade meteor rains or poison gas clouds... it's all very, very entertaining and serves as the main source of true challenge in COTM, whereas the rest of the map-clearing gameplay is a cakewalk.
Controlling your character is simple using the D-Pad and two action buttons. Your character, Nathan Graves, moves about the screen with finesse and never is there any slowdown or something else to impede your progress. The game's controls are almost perfect, and besides the hassle that jumping from walls to walls when climbing upward can be, the game's interface is one of the best on GBA.
Overall, the game offers a scent of immersion while never allowing the player to actually immerse themselves in even that scent. It's a game that, as a glorified whole, cannot seem to decide whether it wants to be a mindless hack and slash endeavour or something thoughtful and... romantic like a deep, challenging and original game. Hints at the former are in the sheer amount of enemies in the game and how much pressing of the 'B' button is required to take them all out while hints at the latter are in the DSS
and boss battles. Castlevania then, is very unbalanced in it's end product, feeling more like a fraction of what it could have been had Konami gotten their meager priorities straight. It's a game I really wanted to love - really wanted to smack 5/5 onto as a subtle apology to KCEA for my neglecting the franchise after C3, but alas, I can do no such thing. In the end, I barely recommend Castlevania because it is, despite it's several drawbacks, a solid performer for the GBA launch. Get this and GT Advance as the only two games for launch if you want to take my advice, they are perhaps the only games that deserve even a glance at out of the entire lineup.
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