boredsilly

So I'm setting out to play the Castlevania games on my brand spanking new GBA. Problem is I don't know which one I should play. So which one is the best? Also would it make more sense to play them in the order they were released (you know how you play the last game in the series which makes the earlier ones seem a bit dated? ala Burnout or SSX?).

I've never played a Castlevania game for more than 15 minutes and the same with Metroid so I'm setting out to rectify these grievious tragedies. Feel free to throw stones my way.

PixyJunket

None of them are related, so play in any order.

Aria of Sorrow is probably the best though.

joeblow69

I agree. the first one was too hard, and the second one didn't have anything special in terms of magic. Aria of Sorrow definately had it all going on...

Josh H

Aria of Sorrow is probably the best. Harmony of Dissonance was great as well.

The graphics in the first one aren't as goo, and as joeblow69 said it's too hard. You spend a lot of time wandering around leveling up to beat killer bosses, and even some regular enemies will wipe the floor with you if you're not leveled up enough for that area.

Apocrypha

Circle of the Moon is a classic videogame with adequate graphics and challenging gameplay, bosses are Tough (with a capital T) but it is a rewarding game and will prepare you for the other 2 (also its easy to find cheaply, unlike the other 2)

Harmony of Dissonance which is a bit easier and has killer graphics. With its dual castle setup however it offers the longest gameplay of the series and IMO is the best gameplay wise. (the hardest of the 3 to track down New In BOX)

Aria of Sorrow takes the franchise into the future literally and has some great additions like the ability to take souls from enemies, and again improved graphics. (should be fairly easy to come across New In Box) check cheapassgamer I have seen a few copies floating around there.

All three are terrific in their own right and are mandatory GBA experiences

boredsilly

Thanks. It looks like Aria it is then.

Gizmo

Aria! Plus a sequel for DS is coming out later this year....

Jeremy517

I prefer CoTM. Aria was good too, but too easy, in my opinion. I don't think I died more than a couple times total. I also thought that the music in CoTM was better.

Haven't played HoD yet. My copy should be arriving in a few days.

Josh H

CotM's music is the best of the series. They had to sacrifice music to have room for the better graphics on the next 2 games.

clappj

I'd rank them in this order:
1) Aria of Sorrow (although I thought it was a little too easy, it was a lot of fun!).
2) Harmony of Dissonance (long and satisfying adventure)
3) Circle of the Moon (never really got into it, so I never finished it)

joeblow69

I actually did like COTM, especially the card magic system. My biggest beef with the game was the difficulty. I got VERY far into it, and just hit a wall. There was some boss I couldn't beat, and gamefaqs was saying that I should be at least 10 levels higher than I was at that point. And that late in the game, it takes a LONG time to level up. (there was a certain monster you could fight over and over for big EXP, but he was a BITCH). So I just gave up. It's too bad, too, since I was enjoying it up until then. It looks great on the GC player, but horrible on a regular GBA, though.

But the previous poster is right, it's almost like they went overboard making the next 2 games easier. I don't remember dieing much at all playing Aria or HOD.

PixyJunket

I think it's impossible to die in Harmony or Aria.

Jeremy517

You picked a bad spot to level up. The best spot that I've found is


With the right card combo, you can level up very quickly. Even at like level 65-75 or so (which is more than enough to beat the game and the battle arena), I could advance a level every two minutes.

joeblow69

Heh, where were you a year ago when I was playing this?? anyway, I still submit that it's a poorly designed game that requires to you kill the same monsters over and over again to level up before you can proceed. It's what I really dislike about role playing games, and I HATE that sort "artificial game-lenthener" being added to action games.

Outlaw

For GBA the best are,

Aria of Sorrow, Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonence in that order.

for CV of all time, put Symphony of the Night in front of AoS.

boredsilly

I think this being my first exposure to Vania, this might be a good thing. I like a good tough game, but I also like to ease into a series of games if that makes any sense.

darkside

Aria of Sorrow is just amazing, Harmony of Dissonence is my second favorite and Circle of the Moon is good, but hard as hell.

Nothing will probably ever top SotN for best CV game. I just bought it again when I found a greatest hits PSone version.

Symphony of the Night is probably my second favorite console game of all time next to Super Metroid.

Xander

I really like Aria of Sorrow, but I am stuck. I CANNOT beat . I'm pretty leveled up, and that boss just keeps kicking my ass. I finally gave up. The rest of the game was pretty much a breeze up until that point.

PixyJunket

I really wish they would do a remake of Rondo of Blood for the GBA, DS, PSP.. hell ANY system and just bring it over to the US. It's such an awesome game and easily the best "classic-style" Castlevania before they moved to the more adventure style of Symphony of the Night and it's portable brethren.

duff beer

Circle of the Moon isn't that hard, i would compare it to any great typical sidescrolling explorer from SNES like Super Metroid, Castlevania IV, Castlevania X. It's music definitely is the best and the only bad thing about is that i have a GBA, not SP so it is rather hard to see things, BUT if you have an SP, then there is absolutely no problem, you will see this beautiful game.

Not only is the game great in terms of exploration, areas, bosses, baddies, items, but the mood is nice, i remmeber after defeating the golden armor knight in that courtyard section of the castle there is that moon over the black forest background and it's just in awe to stand there!

darkside

Super Metroid is a cake walk compared to CotM or at least it was for me. I did beat CotM, but I remember thinking several times through it that I was never going to finish it. I just got tired of dying so close to the next save point over and over because the difficulty level of the enemies kept jumping so much ever time. I played it on the old GBA though. Maybe its easier when you can see what the hell is going on.

duff beer

Yeah you right Super Metroid is the easiest in the trilogy. CoTM actually is easy as it, like all the explorers with rpg leveling is just that, you can level up if it's too hard. I remember i spent a good day just leveling when i was in a boring place.