Post by Zir0-N on Jun 30, 2010 21:55:00 GMT -5
ZIR0-N GAME REVIEWS!
Presented in High Definition 3D!
(Nah, not really.)
----------------------------
What's this now? A game review? Why yes, yes it is. And the game under review today? A GBA game, circa 2003. One of Konami's most prominent game series, and has appeared in one form or another on every major platform save the original Xbox.
First appearing on the NES in the '80s, starring a whip-cracking hero fighting off the occult to fufill a generations old destiny involving one of the most legendary vampires in the history of the world.
It can only be...CASTLEVANIA.
A BRIEF RETROSPECT(Know your roots.)
For decades, the Castlevania series has been entertaining us gamers with it's intense 2D action-platforming, difficult bosses and kick-ass music such as Vampire Killer, Bloody Tears, Simon's Theme and Bloodlines, amongst others.
Then in late 98-99, Everything you knew was thrown out the window with the Playstation megahit that redefined everything we knew about the series, then turned it on it's ear. I'm talking of course, about Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Since then, the games have split down two paths when it comes to it's 2D games. There's the classic, hard-hitting, gonna break your thumbs linear 2D action-platforming and the infamous (Cause it's criminally good), strategic, mind-numbing Metroid-style games that follow the line of Symphony of the Night.
While sadly, no game has ever trumped everything that made SotN so good (Like it's music, graphics and storyline), one game really did came close and truly brought Castlevania into the new generation (Well, not new, since the game came out in 2003 but anyways...)
That game, was known as...
CASTLEVANIA - ARIA OF SORROW.
------------------------------------------------------
Okay, review time. Let's start with...
THE STORY.
-------------------------
The year is 2035.
Japan
Crowds of spectators are
gathering around in anticipation of
the first full solar eclipse of the
twenty-first century.My name is Soma Cruz, and I am
a high school exchange student
studying abroad in Japan.
I live near the Hakuba Shrine,
an ancient shrine with strong
ties to Japanese mythology.
Mina Hakuba, the only daughter of
the shrine's caretaker, is both
my classmate and my childhood friend.
I started making my way to the
shrine to see the solar eclipse
with Mina. But, for some strange
reason, the stairway leading up to
the shrine felt longer than usual,
as if something was trying to keep
us from our destination.
When I finally managed to get through
the shrine gate, my senses began to dim...
The pitch black sun is holding
chaotic darkness together,
trying to rouse a sleeping soul as if
looking for it's missing other half.
Whew, that's something huh? Well that's what's greets you when you start up a new game. When you get to the actual game, the main character, Soma Cruz as well as friend Mina Hakuba wake up in a mysterious castle and are greeted by a man named Genya Arikado, who works for the Vatican.
He explains that they are in Castlevania, The legendary home of Vlad Tepes aka Dracula, which in the year 1999 was defeated by the last of the Belmonts and allies, then sealed inside the Solar Eclipse, forever ending his circle of regeneration that has been occurring every generation for the last 800 or so years.
Then, suddenly, they are attacked by demons, Skeletons of the regular and Winged variety. Genya quickly dispatches them with no effort but one remains to attack Soma and Mina. Soma defends on instinct, defeating the demon. But then, a strange red orb appears from the demon and rushes into Soma, awakening his latent "Power".
With this new revelation, Genya tells him that he must go to the throne room and find whatever awaits him there if they wish to go home. If not, the castle's dark power will consume them. With little choice in the matter, Soma takes it upon himself to traverse the walls of Castlevania in order to save himself and Mina.
Along the way, he meets several other characters including Yoko Belnades, the latest in a long generation of mages along the same lines as the Belmonts. Graham Jones, a missionary who is more than he seems to be. Hammer, a soldier of the US army who got lost in the castle but helps the hero by selling weapons and other things. and lastly J, a exorcist with amnesia who's connection with Castlevania goes back farther than either of them realize.
With twists and turns around every corner, you never know who is your ally and your enemy. With a surprise twist ending for those who find the keys within the demon's souls, the story is a great successor to previous Castlevania legends.
And now...
THE GAMEPLAY.
For those who have played previous GBA iterations Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance, this may be a no brainer. Hell, for those who played the original NES game or Symphony of the Night, they will be quite familar with the formula. For everyone else, here's the skinny. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is a 2D Action-Platform with emphasis on exploration and weapon's combat (Along the same vein as Super Metroid). Bosses are varied and powerful, and include staples such as the Giant Skeleton and Legion along with newer enemies such as the Headhunter and the powerful Balthor.
Also like previous games back to SoTN, you gain EXP(Experience points) by defeating enemies. And after gaining a certain amount of EXP points, you will upgrade to a new level, strengthening your skills both in attack and defense.
The Health Bar and Mana Bars make yet another comeback here, as well as collecting hearts by destroy candles and chandeliers. This does not gain back Hit Points, only Mana, which allows you to use the game's most unique and robust aspect. Hits points are only returned by saving at a statue of Mary or by drinking a potion.
A new feature introduced in Aria of Sorrow is the ability to collect Souls. On occasion, when you defeat an enemy, their soul will be released which you can then collect. The souls are not only a weapon, but as a means of defense, giving you access to new abilities that further help you further explore the depths of Castlevania and gain access to new areas. Souls are broken down into 4 categories:
Bullet Souls (Appear as Red Orbs), offensive abilities which range from throwing bones, to summoning giant magic axes to decapitate your foe.
Summon Souls are next (Appear as Blue Orbs), and focus on
in combat strategic advantages. They are also key to further exploration of the castle. Some examples including transforming into a demon, slowing your fall descent with flying armor, turning into a bat to reach higher platforms and a high-speed dash attack.
Enchanted/Guardian Souls are after that (Appearing as Yellow/Gold Orbs).
These souls often affect your stats, protecting you from effects such as Curse and Poison and even allow you to drain HP from your enemies.
And finally, there are Ability Souls (Appearing as Grey orbs) After set boss souls, they are the rarest and most difficult to obtain because you often have to find them after completing certain tasks. As with the previous two, they help you explore the Castle and even gain access to rare and powerful weapons. Abilities include sliding, double-jumping, drop kicking and gain immunity to time-stopping enemies.
There are over 150 unique souls of all varieties, and it's extremely difficult to collect them all. But it's a challenge worth undertaking as souls offer the most interesting gameplay and effects in the game. Plus they're hella fun =D
Ahem, another returning aspect from SoTN are the weapons. A huge variety of weapons from spears to swords to maces and axes and for the first time in a Castlevania game, Guns. Yes, guns. Most weapons you can buy from your army buddy, Hammer who you meet later in the game as well as dropped from enemies you defeat. But the best weapons (And equipment in general) are found by finding them scatter all over the Castle. Some are right there in the open, waiting for you to grab them, others you need to use your soul's skills to access and others still, you will find hidden behind walls, which are breakable.
A full wealth of depth and exploration in the game round out a good 48+ hours of gameplay for those who like to be complete.
Upon completion of the game, even more features are unlocked, as an extra challenge of interest for fans and hardcore players. Give them a shot.
What's next...Oh yeah
THE GRAPHICS.
I love sprites, especially these sprites. Smooth, yet details even when they're so small. Enemies are quite varied, although as with most games that use sprites, there are pallete swaps in use here. This is countered witch each seperate sprite reuse having unique animations. Two such sprites are the Lilith and Succubus enemies. While Lilith punchs and blows kisses to attack, Succubus will actually try to grab and kiss you, draining you of your Hit Points. There are other graphical tweaks like this that you may or may not care to notice.
Bosses are huge, taking up most of the screen at one time even. And like Soma, they are also well animated, although some bosses are segmented, like in the days of old of SNES and Genesis. Environments, while not up to the same level as Symphony of the Night or the last GBA Castlevania title, Harmony of Dissonance are crisp and clean, allowing you to make out many of the details. The character and enemy sprites also fit very well in said backgrounds, so that while characters and enemies are distinguishable, they still fit into the world around them, making a very smooth blend and overall clean graphical experience.
Special effects are not the focus of this game's graphical experience, though they are in their own right very well done. While games such as Golden Sun and Final Fantasy VI advance take advantage of the GBA's graphical power with 3D-ish effects, Castlevania Aria of Sorrow goes old-school by making their own special effects, which are for the most part, very very good. Yes, there is some anti-aliasing rotation here, but not much of it, which is good in my opinion. While it's good for gameplay, not so much for the graphics, which can become very distorted. As with all "Metroidvania" style games, exploration is key and the castle is, for the most part, huge. Like massive.
For those who liked the alternate castle scenarios of Harmony and SoTN, sorry to say, there is none. This I find to be a relief as having to do so much running back and forth from A to B is tiring. Sure, there are teleporters here and there for convenience, but often you have to move on foot. While important to this specific lineage of Castlevania games, it is also one of the more annoying aspects of the game, as is with previous games.
Death(No, not the boss) is apparent and happens often at low levels, either with bosses or swarms of tough, annoying enemies who chip at your HP 'til you got nothing left. It can get frustrating at times, specifically in certain areas where concentration is key and mistakes are limited. I feel this game is a little more forgiving than previous games, thanks to the save system, which they put skillfully in areas where they are most wanted. If only they did the same for the teleporters in some areas.
Lastly, but certainly not least are the character portraits for Soma and the NPCs in the game. Can I just say excellent?
Ayami Kojima's gothic art-style translates near perfect on the small screen, and each character is distinct, yet stylized. I never was one for goth art but I'm still quite impressed with it.
What's next? Aha!
THE SOUND:
Sound sound, what can be said about the sound? It's not terrible, like Harmony, yet not as good as Circle of the Moon, another GBA iteration. While Harmony sounded 8-bit and Circle of the Moon 24-Bit (Especially the intro, which was ripped straight from the N64 game Castlevania 64), Aria sticks to straight 16-bit style sound. Let's face it, GBA is NOT SNES or even Genesis and especially not Turbografx-16 when it comes to sound, even if it can mimic and even better all three systems
in graphics quality. It's just the limitation of the system. It's still good though, just limited.
There is some voice acting in this game, just some yells and cries and brief lines, which are all in japanese and are kinda garbled on the GBA's sound chip. Of all of them, I like J's voice acting the most, for it was clear and strong sounding, suitable for the character.
Bad news folks, all of our favorite Castlevania tunes are not in this game. NOOOOOOO!!!
And there are few memorable tracks worth listening to. For all the games strong aspects, sound is not one of them.
--------------------------
OVERALL
This is a good game with a lot going for it, Konami's last foray onto the GBA (Excluding NES Classics) with Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow turned out to be their most successful. Gaining several awards and praise from fans and critics alike. With rich, fun game-play and a involved storyline, you can't go wrong with Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. It was so good that it even gained a sequel on the Nintendo DS, which was also met with critical success.
One of the best games on Game Boy Advance? Yes. Great successor to Symphony of the Night? Yes. Should you get this game?...Why are you asking me that? Of course you should.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Rating - Excellent
Final Word - BUY
----------------------------------------
ZIR0-N REVIEWS. 2009-2010
Castlevania, Symphony of the Night, 64, Circle of the Moon Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow, Soma Cruz and related concepts are all copyrights of Konami Inc. All rights reserved.
NES, Nintendo Entertainment System, SNES, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo 64 are all trademarks of Nintendo.
Genesis and related (C) SEGA
The views expressed here are the opinion of the individual, and are not reflected on WORLD-X forums.
It is recommended that you make your own judgment on said subject matter and not rely on the words of others.
Thanks for reading!
Presented in High Definition 3D!
(Nah, not really.)
----------------------------
What's this now? A game review? Why yes, yes it is. And the game under review today? A GBA game, circa 2003. One of Konami's most prominent game series, and has appeared in one form or another on every major platform save the original Xbox.
First appearing on the NES in the '80s, starring a whip-cracking hero fighting off the occult to fufill a generations old destiny involving one of the most legendary vampires in the history of the world.
It can only be...CASTLEVANIA.
A BRIEF RETROSPECT(Know your roots.)
For decades, the Castlevania series has been entertaining us gamers with it's intense 2D action-platforming, difficult bosses and kick-ass music such as Vampire Killer, Bloody Tears, Simon's Theme and Bloodlines, amongst others.
Then in late 98-99, Everything you knew was thrown out the window with the Playstation megahit that redefined everything we knew about the series, then turned it on it's ear. I'm talking of course, about Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Since then, the games have split down two paths when it comes to it's 2D games. There's the classic, hard-hitting, gonna break your thumbs linear 2D action-platforming and the infamous (Cause it's criminally good), strategic, mind-numbing Metroid-style games that follow the line of Symphony of the Night.
While sadly, no game has ever trumped everything that made SotN so good (Like it's music, graphics and storyline), one game really did came close and truly brought Castlevania into the new generation (Well, not new, since the game came out in 2003 but anyways...)
That game, was known as...
CASTLEVANIA - ARIA OF SORROW.
------------------------------------------------------
Okay, review time. Let's start with...
THE STORY.
-------------------------
The year is 2035.
Japan
Crowds of spectators are
gathering around in anticipation of
the first full solar eclipse of the
twenty-first century.My name is Soma Cruz, and I am
a high school exchange student
studying abroad in Japan.
I live near the Hakuba Shrine,
an ancient shrine with strong
ties to Japanese mythology.
Mina Hakuba, the only daughter of
the shrine's caretaker, is both
my classmate and my childhood friend.
I started making my way to the
shrine to see the solar eclipse
with Mina. But, for some strange
reason, the stairway leading up to
the shrine felt longer than usual,
as if something was trying to keep
us from our destination.
When I finally managed to get through
the shrine gate, my senses began to dim...
The pitch black sun is holding
chaotic darkness together,
trying to rouse a sleeping soul as if
looking for it's missing other half.
Whew, that's something huh? Well that's what's greets you when you start up a new game. When you get to the actual game, the main character, Soma Cruz as well as friend Mina Hakuba wake up in a mysterious castle and are greeted by a man named Genya Arikado, who works for the Vatican.
He explains that they are in Castlevania, The legendary home of Vlad Tepes aka Dracula, which in the year 1999 was defeated by the last of the Belmonts and allies, then sealed inside the Solar Eclipse, forever ending his circle of regeneration that has been occurring every generation for the last 800 or so years.
Then, suddenly, they are attacked by demons, Skeletons of the regular and Winged variety. Genya quickly dispatches them with no effort but one remains to attack Soma and Mina. Soma defends on instinct, defeating the demon. But then, a strange red orb appears from the demon and rushes into Soma, awakening his latent "Power".
With this new revelation, Genya tells him that he must go to the throne room and find whatever awaits him there if they wish to go home. If not, the castle's dark power will consume them. With little choice in the matter, Soma takes it upon himself to traverse the walls of Castlevania in order to save himself and Mina.
Along the way, he meets several other characters including Yoko Belnades, the latest in a long generation of mages along the same lines as the Belmonts. Graham Jones, a missionary who is more than he seems to be. Hammer, a soldier of the US army who got lost in the castle but helps the hero by selling weapons and other things. and lastly J, a exorcist with amnesia who's connection with Castlevania goes back farther than either of them realize.
With twists and turns around every corner, you never know who is your ally and your enemy. With a surprise twist ending for those who find the keys within the demon's souls, the story is a great successor to previous Castlevania legends.
And now...
THE GAMEPLAY.
For those who have played previous GBA iterations Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance, this may be a no brainer. Hell, for those who played the original NES game or Symphony of the Night, they will be quite familar with the formula. For everyone else, here's the skinny. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is a 2D Action-Platform with emphasis on exploration and weapon's combat (Along the same vein as Super Metroid). Bosses are varied and powerful, and include staples such as the Giant Skeleton and Legion along with newer enemies such as the Headhunter and the powerful Balthor.
Also like previous games back to SoTN, you gain EXP(Experience points) by defeating enemies. And after gaining a certain amount of EXP points, you will upgrade to a new level, strengthening your skills both in attack and defense.
The Health Bar and Mana Bars make yet another comeback here, as well as collecting hearts by destroy candles and chandeliers. This does not gain back Hit Points, only Mana, which allows you to use the game's most unique and robust aspect. Hits points are only returned by saving at a statue of Mary or by drinking a potion.
A new feature introduced in Aria of Sorrow is the ability to collect Souls. On occasion, when you defeat an enemy, their soul will be released which you can then collect. The souls are not only a weapon, but as a means of defense, giving you access to new abilities that further help you further explore the depths of Castlevania and gain access to new areas. Souls are broken down into 4 categories:
Bullet Souls (Appear as Red Orbs), offensive abilities which range from throwing bones, to summoning giant magic axes to decapitate your foe.
Summon Souls are next (Appear as Blue Orbs), and focus on
in combat strategic advantages. They are also key to further exploration of the castle. Some examples including transforming into a demon, slowing your fall descent with flying armor, turning into a bat to reach higher platforms and a high-speed dash attack.
Enchanted/Guardian Souls are after that (Appearing as Yellow/Gold Orbs).
These souls often affect your stats, protecting you from effects such as Curse and Poison and even allow you to drain HP from your enemies.
And finally, there are Ability Souls (Appearing as Grey orbs) After set boss souls, they are the rarest and most difficult to obtain because you often have to find them after completing certain tasks. As with the previous two, they help you explore the Castle and even gain access to rare and powerful weapons. Abilities include sliding, double-jumping, drop kicking and gain immunity to time-stopping enemies.
There are over 150 unique souls of all varieties, and it's extremely difficult to collect them all. But it's a challenge worth undertaking as souls offer the most interesting gameplay and effects in the game. Plus they're hella fun =D
Ahem, another returning aspect from SoTN are the weapons. A huge variety of weapons from spears to swords to maces and axes and for the first time in a Castlevania game, Guns. Yes, guns. Most weapons you can buy from your army buddy, Hammer who you meet later in the game as well as dropped from enemies you defeat. But the best weapons (And equipment in general) are found by finding them scatter all over the Castle. Some are right there in the open, waiting for you to grab them, others you need to use your soul's skills to access and others still, you will find hidden behind walls, which are breakable.
A full wealth of depth and exploration in the game round out a good 48+ hours of gameplay for those who like to be complete.
Upon completion of the game, even more features are unlocked, as an extra challenge of interest for fans and hardcore players. Give them a shot.
What's next...Oh yeah
THE GRAPHICS.
I love sprites, especially these sprites. Smooth, yet details even when they're so small. Enemies are quite varied, although as with most games that use sprites, there are pallete swaps in use here. This is countered witch each seperate sprite reuse having unique animations. Two such sprites are the Lilith and Succubus enemies. While Lilith punchs and blows kisses to attack, Succubus will actually try to grab and kiss you, draining you of your Hit Points. There are other graphical tweaks like this that you may or may not care to notice.
Bosses are huge, taking up most of the screen at one time even. And like Soma, they are also well animated, although some bosses are segmented, like in the days of old of SNES and Genesis. Environments, while not up to the same level as Symphony of the Night or the last GBA Castlevania title, Harmony of Dissonance are crisp and clean, allowing you to make out many of the details. The character and enemy sprites also fit very well in said backgrounds, so that while characters and enemies are distinguishable, they still fit into the world around them, making a very smooth blend and overall clean graphical experience.
Special effects are not the focus of this game's graphical experience, though they are in their own right very well done. While games such as Golden Sun and Final Fantasy VI advance take advantage of the GBA's graphical power with 3D-ish effects, Castlevania Aria of Sorrow goes old-school by making their own special effects, which are for the most part, very very good. Yes, there is some anti-aliasing rotation here, but not much of it, which is good in my opinion. While it's good for gameplay, not so much for the graphics, which can become very distorted. As with all "Metroidvania" style games, exploration is key and the castle is, for the most part, huge. Like massive.
For those who liked the alternate castle scenarios of Harmony and SoTN, sorry to say, there is none. This I find to be a relief as having to do so much running back and forth from A to B is tiring. Sure, there are teleporters here and there for convenience, but often you have to move on foot. While important to this specific lineage of Castlevania games, it is also one of the more annoying aspects of the game, as is with previous games.
Death(No, not the boss) is apparent and happens often at low levels, either with bosses or swarms of tough, annoying enemies who chip at your HP 'til you got nothing left. It can get frustrating at times, specifically in certain areas where concentration is key and mistakes are limited. I feel this game is a little more forgiving than previous games, thanks to the save system, which they put skillfully in areas where they are most wanted. If only they did the same for the teleporters in some areas.
Lastly, but certainly not least are the character portraits for Soma and the NPCs in the game. Can I just say excellent?
Ayami Kojima's gothic art-style translates near perfect on the small screen, and each character is distinct, yet stylized. I never was one for goth art but I'm still quite impressed with it.
What's next? Aha!
THE SOUND:
Sound sound, what can be said about the sound? It's not terrible, like Harmony, yet not as good as Circle of the Moon, another GBA iteration. While Harmony sounded 8-bit and Circle of the Moon 24-Bit (Especially the intro, which was ripped straight from the N64 game Castlevania 64), Aria sticks to straight 16-bit style sound. Let's face it, GBA is NOT SNES or even Genesis and especially not Turbografx-16 when it comes to sound, even if it can mimic and even better all three systems
in graphics quality. It's just the limitation of the system. It's still good though, just limited.
There is some voice acting in this game, just some yells and cries and brief lines, which are all in japanese and are kinda garbled on the GBA's sound chip. Of all of them, I like J's voice acting the most, for it was clear and strong sounding, suitable for the character.
Bad news folks, all of our favorite Castlevania tunes are not in this game. NOOOOOOO!!!
And there are few memorable tracks worth listening to. For all the games strong aspects, sound is not one of them.
--------------------------
OVERALL
This is a good game with a lot going for it, Konami's last foray onto the GBA (Excluding NES Classics) with Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow turned out to be their most successful. Gaining several awards and praise from fans and critics alike. With rich, fun game-play and a involved storyline, you can't go wrong with Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. It was so good that it even gained a sequel on the Nintendo DS, which was also met with critical success.
One of the best games on Game Boy Advance? Yes. Great successor to Symphony of the Night? Yes. Should you get this game?...Why are you asking me that? Of course you should.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Rating - Excellent
Final Word - BUY
----------------------------------------
ZIR0-N REVIEWS. 2009-2010
Castlevania, Symphony of the Night, 64, Circle of the Moon Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow, Soma Cruz and related concepts are all copyrights of Konami Inc. All rights reserved.
NES, Nintendo Entertainment System, SNES, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo 64 are all trademarks of Nintendo.
Genesis and related (C) SEGA
The views expressed here are the opinion of the individual, and are not reflected on WORLD-X forums.
It is recommended that you make your own judgment on said subject matter and not rely on the words of others.
Thanks for reading!
