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CASTLEVANIA RETURNS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 47 / 51
Date: May 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Finally Konami is back on track with the castlevnia series. Personally I think that the Gameboy Advance is the best thing to happen to video games in years and castlevania: circle of the moon is proof. Throughout the castlevania legacy, only a hand full of games harnessed that classic feel. The balance of the original games on the NES was lost for some time. What few realize is that the main character should not be allowed to whip in all directions or have a 3D enviorment to roam. The classic castlevania's had a limited attack range, with scrolling that went from lef to right, and thats what made game great. Castlevania: Circle of the moon does just that. Like the great Dracula X for the PC engine, Circle of the Moon is a deep RPG/Action side scroller. A now endangered species for video games. The game begins with the ressurection of Dracula. Castlevania's graphics are quality 32-bit and sized for the GBA. The sound is also excellent for a cart the size of castlevania circle of the moon. The game is both long and in depth. there are even different paths and characters to play, so the reply value of this game remains high. All of the staple elements of the series are present, including hearts, secondary weapons, and various levels of whips. New Magic abilities give a more advanced RPG feel to this game. Overall, I was suprised. This game is gold, and I wish that I could thak konami for making it. Castlevania returns as a great nostalgic journey into the mastery of the 2D side-scroller.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon: Back To The Basics

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 22
Date: June 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

After a few terrible Castlevania games, IE the 3-D versions, Konami has decided to go back to the basics of the series, 2-D. They started this up again with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and now a similar game is here for your handheld pleasure. The story is the same as always, you're the hero, in this game that happens to be Nathan Graves. After Dracula is resurrected, he attempts to drain your master's power, to make himself become full strength again. You and the son of your master then drop down from the room with Dracula and your master. Thus begins the adventure.

Many people believe this game resembles Metroid, and I would have to agree. This game differs from previous Castlevania games, except Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, in that you do not switch levels, you stay in one world, well, not a world, Dracula's Castle. You must whip, jump and slide your way through this tremendously gigantic and frightening castle. There is also a new element added to this game, with the introduction of the Dual Setup System. When you defeat certain enemies, you will pick up cards. You can mix and match them to gain new power ups such as monster summons. This adds even more depth to the game.

The graphics are nothing spectacular. Konami could have used the Game Boy Advance to do so much more. But graphics don't make a game, gameplay does, and thats why Castlevania shines.

The sound is high quality. When you turn on the game, you are greeted with a lovely intro with spine tingling music. The developer of the game urges players to use headphones when playing, because it makes the music that much more spectacular.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is a top notch game full of thrills and chills. I highly reccomend this game to anyone who knows and loves the series, and also to those who love Platform games, and a fun time in general.

If you only purchase one title at release, this should be it

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 20
Date: June 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is absolutely magnificent. I've been a fan of the Castlevania series since it was first released for the NES, and this game outright thrills me.

The game is a mixture between the original Castlevania and Symphony of the Night (PSX). The player's character is a traditional, back-to-the-game's-roots vampire hunter, with the standard assortment of weapons: the basic whip, throwing axes, daggers, and holy water. The basic gameplay is classic Castlevania: move around, jump, whip (and

you can only whip in one direction!). The controls are sharp and the character is quick, and before you know it you'll be dashing and jumping about platforms on a gleeful vampire-hunting spree!

On the flip-side, the level layout is reminiscent of SotN for the Playstation. Instead of progressing through a linear level block, you simply wander the castle - which is mapped out for you as you go, a la Super Metroid. You advance to higher areas of the castle by gaining levels (like in an RPG) and acquiring special items such as double jump boots. Throughout the halls you will find the standard assortment of bone-tossing skeletons and fireball-breathing skeletal dragon heads, plus a variety of new adversaries. Scattered about the castle are save points (on battery backup; no passwords) and warp points that will instantaneously transport you to distant areas of the castle.

The game's inventory system and DSS Card system are where CotM makes a complete departure from previous games. As you gain levels and defeat enemies, you will obtain special items such as stronger armor, magical gauntlets, and mysterious potions. As in an RPG, these must be equipped in the menu before they do you any good. This system adds generously to the game's exploration and replay factor.

You will also be required to gather Attribute and Action cards, which, when combined using the DSS system, will allow you to access magical powers that will increase your offense or defense. You can mix and match cards to tailor your powers according to the foes you face.

The game's graphics are perfect; the designs in the hallways of the castle are colorful and varied, the enemies stand out from the background, and the layout and special effects are implemented with style.

The music is standard Castlevania fare - that is to say, of course, some of the best game music available. Many tracks borrow themes from previous games in the series, and there are just as many that have never been heard before. One moment you'll be humming along with classic Castlevania tunes, and the next you'll be tapping your toes to a brand new beat you enjoy just as much.

In all, this is one of the more enjoyable titles I've had the opportunity to own on the GBA. If the classic titles planned for the future (Zelda, Metroid, etc.) turn out to be this well done, well. . . then we all have a lot to look forward to! ^_^

CV: CotM

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 16
Date: June 20, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Ever since Symphony of the Night, Castlevania fans have clamored relentless for a sequel. Was the series destined to move to 3D and stay there? Nintendo and Konami puts these fears to rest with the announcements of one of the first Game Boy Advance titles: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. While not exactly a true sequel to Symphony, many of the elements contained in the games are the same, and the game even stays true to its Castlevania roots by putting you in the role of a whip-wielding hero.

The game begins with Dracula's resurrection by Carmilla, before Nathan Graves, his rival Hugh Baldwin and their master, Morris Baldwin, steps in (Dear lord, more Baldwin brothers!?). The count causes the floor beneath Nathan and Hugh to crumble, causing them to be seperated from Morris. Hugh sets off on his own to save his father, telling Nathan to leave the castle. Not willing to just give up, Nathan begins the exploration of the caves beneath Castlevania.

Many elements are directly from Symphony - the map looks identical, enemy names and numerical damage indicators pop up when you attack, and there are a variety of items scattered around, like stat-improving relics that increase HP or heart maximum, and other relics that give Nathan special abilities (like the Dash Boots obtained early in the game, which thankfully allows quick exploration.) Experience is gained from killing enemies as before, and there are various items to equip on your body and arms. Nathan has a slide attack and can swing his whip in a circular motion, like Richter could in SOTN.

One of the biggest differences in level structure is that Castlevania is a lot more wide-open and focused less on small passages. As a result, there's a lot more platform jumping to be found here - especially in stages like the Machine Tower. However, since this is a cartridge game, and while the graphics are excellent (even on the small screen), the castle areas lack the variety found in Symphony, so many of the areas end up feeling and looking the same.

There aren't many items to find in the game, but their purpose has been replaced by the DSS card system. Various enemies will drop a total of 20 different cards, whose attributes can be combined for a varying number of effects. One allows you to alter your whip attributes - make it engulf the enemy in flame, turn them to stone, or simply lengthen its reach. There are tons of other stat-altering effects, like awarding experience as you walk, extending invulernability time after damage, increased defense as you uncover more the castle - there's simply a lot of depth hidden in these cards, and is far more managable than the legion of near-useless items in Symphony.

One of the most obvious differences from the beginning is the difficulty level. As good as Symphony was, it wasn't very hard - considering the nature of previous games, it was just a tad disappointing to play a Castlevania game that was essentially a walk in the park. While the difficulty is not overwhelming, you'll have to summon your old twitch reflexes if you want to beat some of the bosses in the game.

Circle of the Moon uses a surprisingly large amount of old music from other Castlevania games: the save select screen is exactly the same as Rondo of Blood (a very impressive feat for the sound programmers), the intro and boss themes are from Castlevania 64, and various other music spread across the series has found their way here. There are a handful of original themes, and most of them are excellent. However, as with the repetetive graphics, the music suffers too - there simply isn't very much music, and even the better songs tend to get old when its played constantly.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is, quite simply, the reason I bought my Game Boy Advance. It combines the non-linear action-RPG elements of Symphony with somewhat more traditional Castlevania gameplay, and ends up with an addicting, immensely fun title.

The best reason to own a GBA at launch.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: June 12, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I've had my Game Boy Advance for a while now, having received one from Japan shortly after it launched there. I've played a number of games, but Castlevania is by far the best. I had silently prayed for another 2D Castlevania game since Symphony of the Night enthralled me several years ago, and CotM is a godsend. Actually, I'd even say CotM exceeds SotN some ways. Graphically, it's certainly on par with it, but where CotM surpasses its predecessor is in the gameplay department.

Circle of the Moon, a side-scrolling action/RPG like the classics, offers a huge castle to explore, tons of secrets, and reams of intense action. What I like about this game is that it has a welcome degree of challenge that was missing from SotN. Your vampire hunter gets mighty powerful, but you won't find yourself mindlessly scything through your enemies fearlessly...the game is consistently difficult. Although it does get frustrating sometimes, all in all the difficulty is fair and satisfying. Most games these days are too easy.

For this installment to the series, Konami has spiced up gameplay with a cool card combo system. There are a hundred card combinations possible, and by mixing them in different ways you gain different abilities. This gives the game an added degree of depth, although there's some missed potential because some of the combinations are pretty useless.

Everything about this game is great: the challenge, the action, the card system, the graphics...and the music! CotM features a bunch of old Castlevania songs that help define the series. Great tunes, man...just be sure to plug in some headphones to get the full audio experience. Absolutely a must have for 2D action fans who hunger for a hardcore, old-school challenge. Buy it!!

Castlevania at it's best!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: July 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is probably the best Gameboy title ever released (As well as the best Castlevania ever released). It is alot like the Playstation version, Symphony of the Night, in the sense of the RPG element (Finding and equiping armor and using items). It also has the feel of the older Castlevania games. Some of the features of the game include:

Sub-weapons: Use throwing axes, daggers, bottles of holy water, crucifixes and stop watches to aid you.

DSS Cards: A total of 20 different Action and Ability cards you can mix and match to use various spells. I.E. Mercury (Action) + Cockatrice (Ability) = A powerful stone whip used to petrify your enemies.

Special Items: From Dash Boots to Roc Feathers, these items will ultimately aid you in accessing new areas of the castle and defeating Dracula.

Everything about this game is great, aside from the struggle to get the right lighting, since the game itself is so dark. The simple solution to that: Buy a wormlight for the GBA. Aside from the difficulty to get the right lighting, this game is perfect. This is a must-have for ANY gamer.

Must buy game for Advance

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: June 26, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Finally, classic Castlevania has returned to a Nintendo system. The closest thing, sadly enough, that came close to a great N based 'Vania game was Belmonts Revenge for the original Gameboy. After that game a bunch of 3d games for the N64 that were pretty uncool. Now, though, Circle of the Moon proves to be not only a nice throwback to the classics, but step to the future as well.

I have heard that Circle of the Moon is closest to Symphony of the Night in regards to gameplay. I've never played SotN, but I can say that Circle is much like Metroid was. You control whip-weilding Nathan (not a Belmont?) as he quests through Dracula's castle in search of his lost master, and to stop the evil of the dark vampire for good. Rather than linear level-by-level play, you search the open ended castle much like the world in Metroid, going where you want and stopping at conveniant save points. Of course, some paths will be blocked until certain items are found, thereby rewarding exploration.

It's a great game. Konami has thrown in many new tricks with the use of the magic items (which gives you certain abilities) and the Card System, which offers new weapons and powers. Circle also has a rpg feel to it, thanks to armor-weapon powerups and character level upgrades. If you loved the old Simons Quest on the NES, this will be right up your alley. Unfortunately the graphics are far too dark to see much. It doesnt hamper gameplay, but I found myself having to squint far too much.

An awesome game, and as a Castlevania fan, I am happy to say Drac's back!

Castlevania CotM is a MUST have for every RPG/Action fan

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: May 13, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This spooky RPG/Adventure is a must have for every GBA fan. Even if your not an RPG/Action fan, this game could change your taste of gaming. This game is like the classic side scroller exept it has doorways you can go through also. There are enough side doors through-out the game to get you lost which adds to the total game time. Not only is this game fun but it has pure addictive qualities unlike any game I have ever played. This game is about 15 hours long if you know exactly what to do and play it straight through without getting any secret items or power ups, but if you get all the secret items and power ups it can last as long as 25 hours. So anyone who gets Game Boy Advance this title is a must have no matter what your gaming tastes are.

Back To True Form

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: June 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Konami have come up with another winner by bringing out another Castlevania, epecialy with it being on the GBA. Konami have managed to ust the machine to its full potentcial and produce a game that is going to be loved by millions. The plot isn't that far from all of the previous outings, but the gameplay is amazing. There are new weapons and the ability to create spells and cast them on the enemy. This is a must have for any fan of the Castlevania series

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: August 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

How do you spend a good time with your GBA? By picking up Konami's "Castlevania: Circle of the Moon". This is by far the best GBA game you can buy and with good reason. The launch title for the GBA is ranked among one of the best sellers on the GBA.

It isn't hard to see why this is a loved game. From the moment you pop this into your GBA you'll be swept off your feet by its AMAZING sound and incredible gameplay that goes unmatched by any other game out there!

The game begins when three vampire hunters corner Dracula. A master, his son and an apprentice. The master becomes imprisoned by Dracula and drops The son and apprentice into the depths of the castle below. Now, playing as the apprentice, Nathan Graves, you must explore the castle and find a way to get inside Dracula's chamber and stop the rite from happening!

Most noticeable about Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is its music. Anyone who's played this game can tell you that Circle of the Moon sounds INCREDIBLE! There is no GBA game that sounds this good out there. Some of the music is actually Orchastral and for the GBA that's amazing.

The second most noticeable thing about Circle of the Moon is the gameplay. Circle of the Moon incorporates an RPG style like gameplay. You run around with a whip that you use to attack enemies. For each enemy you kill you get experience points. When you get enough you level up and your HP and MP increases.

But the gold of Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is in the DSS (Duel Set-up System). This is perhaps the most innovative game idea presented in a title like this. There are twenty DSS cards in the game. Those for elements, and those for attributes. Finding all twenty isn't an easy task since the enemies drop them at random. But incorporating this system into the game is what makes it fun. You select one element and one attribute and see what happens. The DSS presents about 100 combinations and some are very worthwhile to see.

The other part of the gameplay that presents itself well is the exploration. The castle you explore is huge and well constructed. As you defeat more bosses and acquire more abilities you can explore even more of the castle. Much like the Metroid games, you'll know when you can proceed and when you can't. If you come to an area you can't get to its obviously because you do not have the correct ability.

Castlevania doesn't have bad graphics. For a GBA launch title the overall presentation is good but unless you have a GBA SP its a little dark. On a normal GBA it was so dark sometimes that I'd take damage and didn't know what was hitting me. The animation is also on the shorthand side. But that shouldn't suggest that Circle of the Moon doesn't present itself rather well.

The game is also a good challenge. It is not an easy game to get through, and newcomers to the series will have some trouble. But a good challenge is a good thing. The game is not too easy but it really isn't all that hard either. The meat of the challenge comes from the bosses and in any game that's where the challenge should come from.

Perhaps the best part about Castlevania Circle of the Moon is the replay value. Most games lack this but Circle of the Moon makes it worthwhile by providing new modes. Each time you complete the game you unlock new modes. Magician Mode, Fighter Mode and Thief Mode. Each mode has its own strenghs and weaknesses. For example, in Magician Mode you start off with all the cards and a massive amount of MP but your attack, defense and HP are severely limited. In Fighter Mode you have incredible attack, defense and HP but you don't get any DSS cards. In thief mode you have incredible luck! This makes playing through the game a second, third or fourth time a completely different experience than before.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is perhaps the best GBA game out there. With superb sound and gameplay, this is easily a treat for any gamer and Castlevania fan. It stacks up perfectly to Symphony of the Night and more over, should be the Castlevania that all future titles on the GBA should be compared to. An awesome effort by Konami.

The Good
+Great gameplay
+DSS System is the best
+Good challenge
+Visually striking
+INCREDIBLE SOUNDTRACK. Among the best the GBA has to offer
+Of good lentgh
+Lots of exploration to do
+Good storyline
+Lots of replay

The Bad
-The graphics are dark on a normal GBA

That's actually the only con that sticks out. Enjoy, as this is as good as GBA games get.

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