Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

THE BAD:
- Can be a bit too difficult at times

SUMMARY:
The third Castlevania title for the GBA had some pretty big shoes to fill, and it does it oh so wonderfully. Aria of Sorrow deals with the story of a young man named Soma Cruz, a foreign exchange student in Japan, that happens to be the reincarnation of Dracula. Soma realizes this and sets on a path to face his destiny inside Dracula's castle and soon realize that he isn't the person he thought he was.

Without revealing too much of the story, Aria takes place in the future. It's the first Castlevania to do so, and it's also a direct sequel to PSX's Symphony of the Night. The stories tie into one another and share very similar elements of gameplay.

Soma doesn't have the Vampire Killer Whip, but instead he can equip a very large arsenal of weapons. Raging from knives, to swords, to fists, spears, axes and so on. He has plenty of leeway in his fighting abilities. On top of that, Soma also has the ability to capture a monsters soul upon defeat of that monster, although the chances of that happening are slim, of course. Each soul in the game gives Soma a different ability to carry on in his quest inside the castle.

The musical score is amazing. The same composers that did the music for Final Fantasy IX contributed with the songs chosen to accommodate the levels. Each portion of the castle has a macabre based theme to either send a chill down your spine, or give you a sense of relief momentarily.

Aria of Sorrow is definitely a must own if you're a fan of the series. Even if you aren't, the game is just loads of fun. A great platformer with a decent story and cast of characters that wants you to push onto until the very end and complete it. One of the greatest in the series as well.