Castlevania Advance Collection

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MSR1701
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Castlevania Advance Collection

Postby MSR1701 » September 27th, 2021, 3:26 pm

Another year, another collection of games released from Konami's backlog... this time in the form of the three Game Boy Advance Vania games (Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow).

For the price tag, Aria of Sorrow is worth the entry fee (usually $20) by itself, and is arguably better than its sequel (Dawn of Sorrow). Circle of the Moon has a GREAT soundtrack, but feels clunky and doesn't have as solid a map as the third game. Although, this release may be the first time for some to see the game's graphics without a floodlight over your shoulder... ;-) Finally, Harmony of Dissonance is... there. Not a horrid game by any means (even the original Castelvania - The Adventure on Game Boy, one of the most derided games in the series, is better than most comparable platformers - see 90% of licensed Game Boy platformers...), though the soundtrack is painful, and the over-compensating graphic style (due to complaints with Circle of the Moon being unviewable on original GBA hardware). Still a fun romp.

Another one that I hope has a physical release with a soundtrack...

Thoughts?

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Crummylion
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Re: Castlevania Advance Collection

Postby Crummylion » September 27th, 2021, 6:31 pm

Like I said, so far Circle of Moon is decent from my play through, if annoying and tiresome to navigate. Although I think the fact I don't hate it is there from the fact that there's save states. Wish I would have known that this isn't considered canon and not of Castlevania standard by Koji Igarashi, or I would have saved myself from playing this. Might finish out of principle or just skip to the other.

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MSR1701
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Re: Castlevania Advance Collection

Postby MSR1701 » September 27th, 2021, 6:42 pm

Crummylion wrote:Like I said, so far Circle of Moon is decent from my play through, if annoying and tiresome to navigate. Although I think the fact I don't hate it is there from the fact that there's save states. Wish I would have known that this isn't considered canon and not of Castlevania standard by Koji Igarashi, or I would have saved myself from playing this. Might finish out of principle or just skip to the other.

I have a soft spot for CotM, though apparently due to the coding, it is next to impossible to get half of the cards that drive the magic system (due to RNG), making certain sections a pain in the tucas.

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Crummylion
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Re: Castlevania Advance Collection

Postby Crummylion » September 27th, 2021, 6:57 pm

MSR1701 wrote:I have a soft spot for CotM, though apparently due to the coding, it is next to impossible to get half of the cards that drive the magic system (due to RNG), making certain sections a pain in the tucas.

So like, I love the aspect of the card system, I love it in just about any game tbh. That's why I excuse Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories on GBA for being pivotal to the storyline, lol. But I can see 100 percenting it a nightmare. I think Bloodstained Ritual of the Night actually took notes from the card system and made these shards (the game's version of cards of course) more abundant.

ThePixelatedGenocide
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Re: Castlevania Advance Collection

Postby ThePixelatedGenocide » September 27th, 2021, 8:22 pm

MSR1701 wrote:
Crummylion wrote:Like I said, so far Circle of Moon is decent from my play through, if annoying and tiresome to navigate. Although I think the fact I don't hate it is there from the fact that there's save states. Wish I would have known that this isn't considered canon and not of Castlevania standard by Koji Igarashi, or I would have saved myself from playing this. Might finish out of principle or just skip to the other.

I have a soft spot for CotM, though apparently due to the coding, it is next to impossible to get half of the cards that drive the magic system (due to RNG), making certain sections a pain in the tucas.


There's an easy cheat to gain access to all the cards once you've got access to at least two. One in the top row. One in the bottom. Activate the cards, then in the middle of the animation, pause and return to the card list. Now you should be able to use any of the blank spaces as if you had completed the set.

No idea if it works on the new collection, but it saved me a lot of pain in the original.

strat
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Re: Castlevania Advance Collection

Postby strat » September 27th, 2021, 8:39 pm

After beating Circle of the Moon, there are special names you can enter to play different variations, one where you start with all the cards, another where you can only use subweapons. The annoying thing about that game is the lack of shops (all items are random drops) but it's a decent, barebones adventure. HoD I've played through twice and it still comes off as a poor man's Symphony of the Night. Aria of Sorrow is classic.

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MSR1701
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Re: Castlevania Advance Collection

Postby MSR1701 » September 28th, 2021, 9:13 pm

Have in and bought n downloaded the game. To my shock, there is a FOURTH game included, Castlevania Dracula X (the SNES game). Nowhere did I see this listed on the included games, not sure if a bonus for also having the Castlevania Collection game as well...

Nice surprise, though!

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DrLitch
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Re: Castlevania Advance Collection

Postby DrLitch » October 2nd, 2021, 7:29 pm

Any Physical release for this one? I long since retired the old GBA. These are all good to great games. Even Dracula X which got slated for not being as good as Rondo. Take out Rondo, viewed as a stand alone, Dracula X is nowhere near as bad as it is made out to be. Aria of Sorrow I am itching to play again, must have been 15 years or more since I last explored it. Thanks to Youtube, the fantastic OST brings back all sorts of giddy feelings.

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MSR1701
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Re: Castlevania Advance Collection

Postby MSR1701 » October 2nd, 2021, 7:32 pm

DrLitch wrote:Any Physical release for this one? I long since retired the old GBA. These are all good to great games. Even Dracula X which got slated for not being as good as Rondo. Take out Rondo, viewed as a stand alone, Dracula X is nowhere near as bad as it is made out to be. Aria of Sorrow I am itching to play again, must have been 15 years or more since I last explored it. Thanks to Youtube, the fantastic OST brings back all sorts of giddy feelings.

No physical announced as yet, I fully expect Limited Run Games to pick up later, probably 2022


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