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Original Story

Tracking down all of the Castelvania releases on Game Boy Advance isn't an easy task; finding a copy Harmony of Dissonance that's not from eBay is especially tricky. Konami's solution is slapping both Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow onto a single cartridge - and charge you $29.99, if EB Games is right.
Castlevania mastermind Koji Igarashi is overseeing development of Castlevania Doublepack. It's hard to imagine what Igarashi could be contributing outside of making sure the menu screen for choosing between the two games is stylish, but it's good to know Konami isn't putting a bunch of hacks in charge.

There shouldn't be any differences in the games when they're combined, but it's a pretty sweet value. "Combining two of the most beloved chapters in this long running franchise together onto one cartridge provides gamers a great value as well as giving newcomers to the series a convenient way to experience some of the best of what Castlevania has to offer," says Konami Digital Entertainment America group manager Dennis Le.

The Castlevania Doublepack doesn't have a solid release date, but Konami has it penciled in for the first quarter of next year.

Even though I own one of those games already, I have to say it's about time more publishers do this. Games don't get much shelf time to begin with, and this is a great way to get older games back on shelves at bargain prices for console owners who didn't buy the system at launch or within the first year or two. I wish more publishers would follow suit, particularly with respect to game series. Sony did a good thing with the PlayStation by bundling the Crash and Spyro series together for a bargain price, but you just don't see enough of this, especially from franchise-heavy publishers like Capcom, Namco, and Nintendo.

 

[Gantz]

I'm glad I bought all of them when the came out.

 

[SantaC]

I'm glad I bought all of them when the came out.

me too.

 

[Naked Snake]

I'll probably buy this to play them on Micro (when I get one), I have CotM and DoS, missed HoD and AoS so this is perfect. I just really hope the packaging (boxart, etc) is nice otherwise I might skip this, yes I'm pretty anal about that, especially since they're older games that have already been surpassed in the series, and it's not like my backlog of unplayed games isn't huge already... ok enough thinking out loud.

 

[Callo Merlose]

Circle of the Moon > Harmony of Dissonance. The sprites in HoD suck so bad.

 

[the year 20XX]

I'll probably buy this to play them on Micro (when I get one), I have CotM and DoS, missed HoD and AoS so this is perfect. I just really hope the packaging (boxart, etc) is nice otherwise I might skip this, yes I'm pretty anal about that, especially since they're older games that have already been surpassed in the series, and it's not like my backlog of unplayed games isn't huge already... ok enough thinking out loud.

If you enjoyed DoS, you should play Aria. Even though the ending is spoiled.

 

[MrDaravon]

Olllllllllllld news. Also everyone's got it listed as January 10th.

 

[Mashing]

I wish they'd do this for SotN. I never had a chance to play that game.

 

[Andy787]

Awesome. I sold my copy of HoD for almost $40 on eBay right after the original rumor was posted. I've still got Circle of the Moon, and never picked up AoS, not bad.

 

[Ristamar]

I never see AoS or HoD anywhere. However, there are plenty of copies of CotM in my area. I need to snag one, as well as this double pack.

 

[Johnas]

I wish they'd do this for SotN. I never had a chance to play that game.

I know you're aware of its legendary status, but please make every effort to get a copy, there are bound to be a few on Ebay used that aren't too unaffordable. Possibly the Playstation's most spectacular title. Eclipses all other Castlevanias, IMO.

You really don't know what you're missing until you play it.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

I'm glad I bought all of them when the came out.

Same here.

 

[:Motorbass]

Olllllllllllld news. Also everyone's got it listed as January 10th.

It wasn't clear which games are in. I'm glad, because I only own CotM. So perfect :]

 

[M3wThr33]

You aren't missing much with HoD. It's pretty bland.

As for SotN, I've never really played it, but a while back I got the Saturn version.

 

[ohamsie]

It wasn't clear which games are in. I'm glad, because I only own CotM. So perfect :]

me as well!

 

[brandonh83]

As for SotN, I've never really played it

Oops!

 

[CajoleJuice]

me as well!

Same here...until I lost my CotM cartridge.And I was up to Dracula!!!! :-(

 

[Tarazet]

I like this solution - my brother's complete Aria and my cart-only Harmony still retain their value, but neophytes get to play two AAA+ Castlevanias that were largely unavailable to them before.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I'm glad I bought all of them when the came out.

Wish I had been smart enough. Oh well I've been waiting as patiently as I can for this double pack...HURRY UP ALREADY!

 

[Blackbird]

Olllllllllllld news. Also everyone's got it listed as January 10th.

February for Europe.

 

[emomoonbase]

Alright, good things come to those who wait.

 

[CarlosX360]

I own all three GBA castlevanias.

 

[MrDaravon]

It wasn't clear which games are in. I'm glad, because I only own CotM. So perfect :]

We had a thread back in October that confirmed GS and EB's listings for the two games -_-.

 

[Dice]

They should release a Castlevania collection for major consoles. I mean it's already happened for plenty of other legendary franchises, so why not Castlevania? In doing this they could also do things like improve the loading speed in SotN.

 

[borghe]

kind of pisses me off actually. I have COTM and HOD, but I missed AOS (kept putting it off). So now I get the double pack I guess, and just won't own the original AOS MIB.

 

[Fatghost]

They should release a Castlevania collection for major consoles. I mean it's already happened for plenty of other legendary franchises, so why not Castlevania? In doing this they could also do things like improve the loading speed in SotN.

A Castlevania Collection for PS2 would be my GOTY.

 

[The End]

A Castlevania Collection for PS2 would be my GOTY.

IIRC "Castlvania Chronicles" was supposed to be the start of a "best of castlevania" series, but none of you assholes bought it, so it was canceled.

THIS IS WHY WE CANT HAVE RONDO OF BLOOD

 

[Sapiens]

IIRC "Castlvania Chronicles" was supposed to be the start of a "best of castlevania" series, but none of you assholes bought it, so it was canceled.

THIS IS WHY WE CANT HAVE RONDO OF BLOOD

Fuck, I bough it twice, but the fact remains that IGA should have made the attempt to include more than one game on the disc.

Would have worked better as a x6800/drac x combo. But no. They had to fleece us.

 

[Link316]

IIRC "Castlvania Chronicles" was supposed to be the start of a "best of castlevania" series, but none of you assholes bought it, so it was canceled.

what you talking about no one bought it? Konami was only planning a limited release of 25K, instead they ended up selling 76K

 

[evilromero]

IIRC "Castlvania Chronicles" was supposed to be the start of a "best of castlevania" series, but none of you assholes bought it, so it was canceled.

THIS IS WHY WE CANT HAVE RONDO OF BLOOD

I bought the motherfucking game and it's OST. Where's my Chronicles 2 IGA???? HUH! Simon's Quest with beautiful visuals. Uuuggnnnn...Simon.

 

[Jiggy]

Does AoS have a

Spoiler

Julius mode

? If so, I'll have to get this. If not, I might just stay away since I already own DoS anyway.

 

[djtiesto]

I still think it's ridiculous that most Americans haven't gotten the chance to play Rondo of Blood and that Konami never bothered giving us a totally accurate port for another system.

Spoiler

I found the game to be worth the $100 or so I spent on it. easily the best non Metroidvania

 

[Tsubaki]

So... what about those of us who like 2d Castlevania but find Igavania to be garbage?