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[Wizpig]

I recently bought this shitty game... wait! I'm not talking about HoD, I'm talking about

Terrible cover and 2 games in 1 is not a pretty thing, but i couldn't find these 2 titles for a fair price, and i bought this new and at a cheap price, so... pretty good deal.
HoD and Aria of Sorrow were the only Metroidvania games i was missing, as I played all the others, even if i never finished Circle of the Moon - too hard and bad controls.



I just started Harmony of Dissonance and the sprite work is pretty amazing! Circle of the Moon had these GBC-like sprites, but HoD is a GBA game alright.

It features Juste Belmont, the grandson (I think) of Simon Belmont, and (I think i didn't play the older games) it takes place after Castlevania 3.

It also features hot chicks

The mechanics are awesome: I don't usually like the whip a lot, but here you can dash left and right with L and R whenever you want, it's not like controlling a piece of wood.

Oh and obviously you don't need to double-tap to run like in CotM... what were they thinking?

It's pretty fun to see how they solved the "too dark" (on the original GBA) aspect of CotM: I'm playing on a DS Lite, but the game is brighter anyways and Juste and some small enemies like the bats have an "aura" on them to help you see them more clearly.

Now on to the "wait a sec..." aspects: the music.
The music was not composed by Michiru Yamane, and you will absolutely notice this.
It's... weird.
It almost feels like a NES game in certain rooms.
I'll have more to say on this later.

Of course I played this for less than 2 hours, so I have seen 5% of the game, but after all it's classic Metroidvania/IGAvania gameplay and after DoS, PoR, OoE and SotN it's like i already know the game. Also in my opinion it feels good to play, unlike CotM.

 

[Shig]

Worst Metvania, full-stop. Progression through the castle has no flow whatsoever, I know that these games always have copious backtracking but there's something about the placement and room design in this one that makes getting from one point to another a totally grating pain in the ass.

Aria, on the other hand, is amazing. Well, aside from the overly cryptic "real ending" soul requirements... just FAQ those because the hints the game gives you could all logically apply to any one of a dozen pallete swap enemies.

 

[Gravijah]

First metroidvania I ever played/beat, and I loved it. Actually haven't beaten any of the other ones yet, though I have played some of SoTN, AoS and DoS.

 

[Wizpig]

Progression through the castle has no flow whatsoever, I know that these games always have copious backtracking but there's something about the placement and room design in this one that makes getting from one point to another a totally grating pain in the ass.

I agree, from what I've seen.
But CotM is worse for the controls alone.

First metroidvania I ever played/beat, and I loved it. Actually haven't beaten any of the other ones yet, though I have played some of SoTN, AoS and DoS.

Buy OoE :O

 

[Aru]

This game is awesome. I don't understand the hate.
The soundtrack has a low quality, but the tunes are somehow catchy.
I enjoyed it a lot.

 

[Nemo]

This is the only one of the GBA/DS ones I never finished. I don't even know why, I've started it many times but it never really clicked with me

 

[ixix]

The furniture room in Harmony of Dissonance is my absolute favorite video game collectathon.

 

[Boney]

Worst modern Castlevania by a lot.

Circle of the Moon shines in it's tons of extra modes.

 

[Wizpig]

This is the only one of the GBA/DS ones I never finished. I don't even know why, I've started it many times but it never really clicked with me

I want to finish CotM and I've started it at least 5 time but the controls and double-tap to run and shit like that...

I've finished SotN in Richter Mode, and you double-tap to run there, but it's not like you use it a lot to move around... there are faster ways.

 

[depths20XX]

Yeah, this is definetly my least favorite Castlevania on the handhelds. I just remember the main character sprite looking hideous and the castle being really shitty. CotM was much better in my opinion, I actually liked that it was more challenging.

 

[Lumpy Onion]

I liked it. I enjoyed mixing elements to create new spells and stuff. Also I really dug the soundtrack. Especially this song which I think is pretty awesome...

Juste Belmonts Theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG5EzU2EZ5o

 

[Jazzem]

This is actually the first Castlevania I played as I picked up that the same double pack. Liked it, but then knocked the cartridge when playing and lost my save :lol

Since then I've played other CVs and I don't think it compares well to them, particularly in the level design and music. The double pack was worth it alone for Aria of Sorrow though

 

[sixteen-bit]

I don't like this game.
Circle is better. Aria is way better.
No reason to get this if you want to play a GBA vania

 

[stuminus3]

This is the only Castlevania game I ever double dipped on, because I couldn't find Aria on it's own so I picked up the double pack.

Unfortunately, it's a great big boring pile of shite.

Aria is amazing, though.

 

[Gravijah]

I liked it. I enjoyed mixing elements to create new spells and stuff. Also I really dug the soundtrack. Especially this song which I think is pretty awesome...

Juste Belmonts Theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG5EzU2EZ5o

Love that song. Especially the version in the credits.

 

[Boney]

Aria is so good.

 

[Wizpig]

I'm liking it.
I got the Book of Ice and it's awesome to use the sub-weapons in new ways.
The game is crazy easy for now, though; Juste is overpowered from the very beginning, just like Alucard in SotN.

I'm curious to see if Aria will be better than Dawn of Sorrow.

 

[Boney]

I'm liking it.
I got the Book of Ice and it's awesome to use the sub-weapons in new ways.
The game is crazy easy for now, though; Juste is overpowered from the very beginning, just like Alucard in SotN.

I'm curious to see if Aria will be better than Dawn of Sorrow.

Well DoS is the second worst thanks to the overly complicated and grindy way of getting weapons. Plus you move sooo slooooooow.
The castle is nicely designed, and the last part and the extra mode rocks though..

But you'll probably love Aria.

 

[Scythesurge]

I like Aria of Sorrow more than Dawn of Sorrow, and all handheld CV games more than Harmony of Dissonance. They're all worthwhile though!

 

[wrowa]

Could never understand why people hate it so much. I enjoyed it quite a lot; not as good as its sequel, but better than CoM and, well, the last two DS games.

 

[Wizpig]

Well DoS is the second worst thanks to the overly complicated and grindy way of getting weapons. Plus you move sooo slooooooow.

Wait, wait, wait.
It's my favorite Castlevania game. :'(

At least I think it is... it could be SotN thanks to the music... but I played through DoS first so i have some kind of nostalgia for it, and I liked the grinding.

I remember the hate for Portrait of Ruin, too... and Ecclesia... these games are so similar, and yet the little differences they have will make everyone have very different opinions on them.
Not to mention the people who never liked the Metroid-like castle and still want platform Castlevania.

You know what I'd like to play? N64 Castlevanias.
Are those on the Virtual Console?

 

[Boney]

Wait, wait, wait.
It's my favorite Castlevania game. :'(

At least I think it is... it could be SotN thanks to the music... but I played through DoS first so i have some kind of nostalgia for it, and I liked the grinding.

I remember the hate for Portrait of Ruin, too... and Ecclesia... these games are so similar, and yet the little differences they have will make everyone have very different opinions on them.
Not to mention the people who never liked the Metroid-like castle and still want platform Castlevania.

You know what I'd like to play? N64 Castlevanias.
Are those on the Virtual Console?

Most people really like DoS though. I did too, until I replayed it last year.
I definately like that my modern Castlevanias are more combat focused like PoR and OoE, although the recycling of areas in PoR is really lame.

The N64 ones aren't on VC, and I think you should be okay just by playing the second one.
Only rented the 1st one more than 10 years ago.

 

[seady]

It's a fine game, but definitely the worst handheld Castlevania game out there.

 

[Struct09]

It gets hated on here a lot, but HoD is my favorite of the GBA Castlevanias (and I played through all of them)

 

[Wizpig]

Most people really like DoS though. I did too, until I replayed it last year.
I definately like that my modern Castlevanias are more combat focused like PoR and OoE, although the recycling of areas in PoR is really lame.

The N64 ones aren't on VC, and I think you should be okay just by playing the second one.
Only rented the 1st one more than 10 years ago.

After Harmony of Despair and Symphony of the Night this summer i picked up again DoS for a few hours, and playing it after SotN definitely felt weird.
The graphics and music aren't nearly as good, and the exploration felt slow.
Maybe it's just the first zones... I do remember some crazy bosses at the end, i was absolutely blown away by how much the game was good. (compared to CotM, my first Castlevania).

All things considered, I think Order of Ecclesia is the most underrated. (music, gameplay, main character <3)

I tried the first N64 game 10 or so years ago, but never found it to buy it... it's a shame they aren't on the VC.

 

[Augemitbutter]

i enjoyed this much more compared to cotm and aria. i got stuck a few times in the game, but i liked the overall style of graphics and artwork. music composition wasn't bad, the problem was the sound quality. it seemed like somebody didn't want to hurt yamanes position and gave the game a crappy mastering.

 

[Aru]

I'm liking it.
I got the Book of Ice and it's awesome to use the sub-weapons in new ways.
The game is crazy easy for now, though; Juste is overpowered from the very beginning, just like Alucard in SotN.

I'm curious to see if Aria will be better than Dawn of Sorrow.

Aria is the better game if you play them in order. I'm not sure if you play them the other way around.
But Aria has a better castle and character design anyway.

 

[Wizpig]

Being able to dash Left and Right WHEN you want is fucking amazing!
Every Castlevania game should have this.

But Aria has a better castle and character design anyway.

That's for damn sure!

 

[Wizpig]

Backtracking in this game is getting annoying already... and I think first reply (Shig's) here got it.

I know that these games always have copious backtracking but there's something about the placement and room design in this one that makes getting from one point to another a totally grating pain in the ass.

... hmm...

I think I know why it was awesome in the other games and boring in this one.
- The music sucks.
- You only have the whip, it feels like one of the bonus modes of other games, but THIS IS THE MAIN GAME.
and of course
- The rooms placement is incredibly stupid and it takes 2 hours to go from one place to another one

Dunno what to do, I'm stuck trying to understand where I should go and I basically need to explore two castles this time.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Book of Ice + Fist Subweapon + Ledges that are just slightly too high for you to reach prior to getting double/hyper jump = SEQUENCE BREAKING GALORE

Just a tip for your next playthrough.

 

[Wizpig]

Book of Ice + Fist Subweapon + Ledges that are just slightly too high for you to reach prior to getting double/hyper jump = SEQUENCE BREAKING GALORE

Just a tip for your next playthrough.

But I got the book of ice before double jump.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

But I got the book of ice before double jump.

Yeah. That's the point. The ice punch move pushes you just above a platform if you use it just below where you'd land on it.

You can get to parts of the castle and weapons that you're not meant to (but watch out for enemies since they'll be insanely hard). The good thing is that you can just use regular enemies to level grind if that's your thing.

 

[Wizpig]

Oh ok thanks.

But guess what, I decided to start Aria instead, the backtracking in HoD was killing me.

Aria is pretty awesome so far, the castle is big, but it's linear, you go where you should go... you can still explore, but you don't feel lost and you don't have to spend 4 hours backtracking like in HoD.

 

[Cow Mengde]

Two castles with the pretty much the exact same layout plus piss easy enemies, and horrible sound quality kills this game for me. It's decent, but not great. The lack of hidden rooms and stuff also pisses me off. There were like 3 or 4 in the entire game and they're in the exact same location on both maps.

 

[Sapiens]

Well, it was better than Circle of Moon.

 

[DidntKnowJack]

Sorry for the bump, but I happened upon a used copy of this double pack today for $9.99. As Harmony of Dissonance was the only GBA Castlevania I didn't have, I had to buy it. Even though I would have much rather gotten it on it's own, rather than the double pack.

At any rate, I think this game gets a bum rap. I'd played it before, but not finished, but playing through some of it today, I also think this one outshines Circle of the Moon. Yes, the music is...odd...in it's 8 bit style and quality, but the game play is solid. I haven't felt like the castle design is that bad like others have said. I dunno, maybe it gets worse...?

But so far, I'm enjoying it. It's like I always say, with the 2d Castlevania games, even the worst ones are still pretty damn good games.

 

[SonOfABeep]

So I know that some early GBA games used the original GameBoy sound processing to save space or just because of familiarity.

I swear this has to be one of those games. I don't think it's really doing anything the GB/GBC couldn't do, musically.

 

[Gravijah]

<3333 the instruments used for HoD.

 

[Salsa]

I think its probably the worst of the post-SOTN 2D castlevanias.

Wich doesnt make it a bad game at all.

 

[DidntKnowJack]

I think its probably the worst of the post-SOTN 2D castlevanias.

Wich doesnt make it a bad game at all.

Just an aside, but how do you not have something like this for your avatar?

I don't mean literally that picture, but something like it. :lol

 

[pje122]

Does anyone remember where to go after you get the slide ability?

 

[Ahasverus]

It was nice to control a belmont again at the time. The OST is craptastic, but its visual design is the best of the old series IMO. The Castle was geninuely scary.

Does anyone remember where to go after you get the slide ability?

Shrine of the Apostates.

 

[PensivePen]

The dashes make this game amazing.

Edit: Also I just noticed the 4 year necro, hah.

 

[pje122]

Thanks, man!

 

[lazygecko]

My favorite GBA Castlevania and the best music out of the three. I think it's great that we got something different and harmonically refreshing. Sure, lots of simplistic waveforms, but that doesn't mean it sounds bad (the bottleneck is still the noisy GBA DAC, and that affects all GBA music regardless of sample quality). Like the Igavania formula itself, the typical Yamane soundtracks were starting to get oversaturated so it was a welcome change of pace.

 

[Oni Link 666]

This is the only one of the GBA/DS games I have not beaten. I just thought the design of the Castle sucked.

 

[isamu]

Well guys I JUST 200%'ed this bitch for the first time. Not a bad game. I give it a solid C. Great spells and sub weapons and graphics are good, but man, dat back tracking!!!!! It started getting very VERY tedious not knowing which way to go. Shiggs said it best....the Castle just doesn't flow well, and reaching the end of a section only to see you can't progress further because the door is locked or the ledge is too high, then having to backtrack all the way is umm, yeah.

I'm considering one of two directions to go from here.....GBA CotM or NDS DoS. Which one guys? I've already got SotN and AoS under my belt and loved them to bits.

 

[Chinbo37]

Well guys I JUST 200%'ed this bitch for the first time. Not a bad game. I give it a solid C. Great spells and sub weapons and graphics are good, but man, dat back tracking!!!!! It started getting very VERY tedious not knowing which way to go. Shiggs said it best....the Castle just doesn't flow well, and reaching the end of a section only to see you can't progress further because the door is locked or the ledge is too high, then having to backtrack all the way is umm, yeah.

I'm considering one of two directions to go from here.....GBA CotM or NDS DoS. Which one guys? I've already got SotN and AoS under my belt and loved them to bits.

I come to post something but you took all my comments already.

I beat this a couple months ago. Above average game, below average Castlevania. A/b castle system was confusing.

 

[LeleSocho]

Worst Metvania.

He's not talking about Circle of the Moon.

Well guys I JUSTI'm considering one of two directions to go from here.....GBA CotM or NDS DoS. Which one guys? I've already got SotN and AoS under my belt and loved them to bits.

You obviously want to play Dawn of Sorrow.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Dawn of Sorrow is the next logical choice.