THE GOOD: Graphics, castle design, multiple weapons, interesting soul system, great mix of monsters and bosses to fight, relatively interesting plot.
THE BAD: Music is better than Harmony, though still not as good as Circle. Many areas can be tough to get through which may be good if you like a challenge. The futuristic setting is not really used well in the plotting or game elements. Somewhat short, 15 hours or so.
SUMMARY: After the overly dim Circle of the Moon, and the overly easy Harmony of Dissonance, Konami has things right this time around! Very reminiscient of Symphony of the Night, this game has the best plot of any of the GB Castlevanias, and adds more complexity to the game system by introducing different weapon types with varying damages, patterns of attack,lengths, and speeds. Much better than the standard whip in earlier incarnations!
Besides the variety of new weapons, the magic system has been replaced with the soul...
THE GOOD: -better animations, better graphics -better music that Harmony of Dissonance, but not as good as Circle of the Moon -so many weapons!!!! nice break from whip cracking -soul system is pretty good -the story is different from the rest of the GBA Castlevanias -theres at least some plot twists!
THE BAD: - the game could've been alot longer and boss fights were a bit too easy( i didn't die once against any boss) -gets kind of tedious trying to collect all the souls, since you have to kill a single enemy many times to get its soul(depends on the enemy though)
SUMMARY:
Okay, you might think "dude, this is the third Castlevania on GBA in three years!!! doesnt it get old?" well it doesnt get old!!! The first 2 CastlevaniasGBA were cool, but this one is THE best so far. The soul collecting is cool(takes a while to get all 100+) The game itself is pretty short though, but a fair size for a GBA game. The fact...
THE GOOD: Tons and tons of weapons Great music Souls, souls, and more souls Playing as a Belmont or Dracula (Kinda...) One futuristic weapon Several modes of play Great graphics and backgrounds Several modes of attacking (slashing, stabbing, etc.)
THE BAD: A bit on the short side Having to spend a lot of time trying to get a soul
SUMMARY: Despite its few shortcomings, i find this game to be well worth $30, and the many attacks and combinations of souls gives this game a lasting appeal. While some bosses are easy, many are challenging and will take you a bit of time to beat. The final boss is very dissapointing, though.
THE GOOD: - the new weapons!!(swords, spears, daggers, etc.) -the soul system is great - slick animation and grahpics - really cool castle design(well it IS castlevania, so thats a given)
THE BAD: -too short - a little easy -killing an enemy for 30 minutes cuz it wont give up its soul
SUMMARY:
By far, this is the best Castlevania on the GBA. The only Castlevania game better than this is Symphony of the Night. Aria of Sorrow features cool weapons(like giantic swords, lances, spears and even a gun or 2). The soul system is great, you kill an enemy and occasionally it drops a soul, each coul has its own unique ability, like powering up your character's stats or making your character shoot things. The bad thing is some enemies make you kill them so many times before they drop souls, but you will keep going just to get 100%, its great. This is the game to pick up for your GBA this year
SUMMARY: Three wonderful Castlevania GBA games in as manu years...how do they do it? Deal with the devil? A legion of undead coders slaving away at night, perhaps? All i know is that Aria of Sorrow is the best GBA title to date--it perfectly blends the exploration-based gameplay of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1) with a refreshing story (set in 2035 and packed with cool twists) and a fiendishly addictive new Pokemon-like power-up system. Well, you dont gotta Catch 'em all, but 110 of the game's foes drop uniquie ability-bestowing orbs, or "souls", you can equip(or trade with friends via Link Cable). Snatching these souls to customize your abilities makes this romp through Drac's abode feel distinctively different and more rewarding than the previous GBA 'Vanias, Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance. Beyond this excellent soul system, Aria still...
THE GOOD: Cool atmosphere Snazzy music Cool weapons Cool characters Cool enemies Cool gameplay Overall, cool game
THE BAD: Femanine main character(not that bad.. I found him to be cool, but others may not agree) Can be a tad bit hard
SUMMARY: This is a cool game-- it has everything a good handheld game should have: cool levels, good graphics(hand drawn, not computer animated. It's a handheld, CGI on a handheld looks grainy), long levels, perfect for a long trip. There are not many save points, though, and the enemies tear the crap out of you if you're not a handheld adept(like me), and some might not like the main character. The game is somewhat short, but it is so fun you'll want to play it again on its other game mode. Overall, I would recomend it to anyone with a Game boy Advance.
THE GOOD: Game PLay, some of the Story line, the main character, the weapons system was like SotN, the souls system was cool
THE BAD: To short of a game, the boss was way to easy, actually the whole game was easy...
SUMMARY: This was a cool game except for the fact it was short and easy, except for Death, he was probally the only hard part about this game, but I don't see why he isn't the main boss...but I totally loved the soul system, how you can suck the soul of your enemy and use their abilitys as your secondary weapon, and the fact that you can use the sword is awesome, reminds me of SotN..but the story was ok, Soma was a good lead character, even though he dressed kinda funny, a coat on his back...ha...and the overall game play was good like all CV's...the monster were anopther easy part...
THE GOOD: - Cast of characters - Story - Lengthy story
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...
THE GOOD: Souls and weapons to collect, giving another challenge. Cool Bosses, and a nice other two bosses to unlock
THE BAD: Just like Metroid Fusion, this game ends pretty quickly.
SUMMARY: Welcome to Aria of Sorrow. You are Soma Cruz, and you are trapped in Dracula's Castle sealed in an eclipse with your friend. You meet Genya Arikado, a man who is very secret on what his plans are. He tells you the only way to arrive back to your home is to defeat the evil in the castle. You have your initial weapon, a knife, a Winged Skeleton soul, and your intellect. The point of this game is to defeat Grahmn, a man who was born on the same day Dracula was killed, believing himself to have Dracula's power. There are over 50 souls to collect, such as souls that attack, defend, and allow you to access certain areas. You will face many bosses along the way, such as some old favorites like the Legion and Death, and some new enemies such as Balore. You grow...
THE GOOD: New soul system allows you to gain abilities from the souls of enemies, vast amount of weapons, and the usual amazing graphics and sound from Castlevania games.
THE BAD: A bit short, but it is a GBA game afterall, it can be easy, and no plot developement around you know who.
SUMMARY: Not only is this one of the best Castlevanias yet, but it's easily one of the best GBA games available to this date. Soma Cruz finds himself stuck in the middle of Castlevania, with the ability to steal the souls of vanquished foes suddenly awakened from within him. Not only is he trying to escape from the castle, but his friend, Mina, also is depending on him to find a way out. You'll have to fight hoards of enemies and gain as many souls as possible if you want to advance further and see what secrets Castlevania holds this time around. The music and graphics will make your stay at Castlevania a much more pleasant one though. Oh, and don't be surprised...
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