Customer Reviews:
  Every bit as good, and better, than Symphony of the Night! April 23, 2005
For people who fell in love with Castelvania: Symphony of the Night for the PSX, prepare to be dazzled yet again by Aria of Sorrow! The Soul system is easy and fun to use, the locales you'll explore in the castle are beautiful, the music is awesome, and plays as smoothly as you could ask.
If you are a big fan of Castlevania, this is THE Castlevania to pick up. If you aren't a big fan of Castlevania, then this is still the one game you should run out and buy! I couldn't recommend it any higher.
Great game. My favorite Castlevania yet. October 12, 2004
I have known about the series ever since the NES was out (I think Castlevania 2 was the second game I played, right after Zelda). It's one of those series I'd always rent a game from if I ever saw a new one out. To this day, I still consider Castlevania 4 (for the Super Nintendo) a classic. Sadly, these days my opinion of the series is not so cheery. Part of this may be because I'm more able to tell how bad a game is before I play it just by checking the internet. Even then... I didn't like Circle of the Moon, and it got rave reviews.
But enough history. Aria of Sorrow is a truely exceptional game. Everything I didn't like about Circle of the Moon (which was a lot) was fixed here. The visuals are clearer, the controls are solid, and the gameplay is more balenced. Despite certain qualms I have over elements that shift the difficulty toward easy a little (like health healing potions), the game is still difficult without being cheap, perhaps with the exception of hard mode, but they don't call it "hard mode" without reason (not to mention it's entirely optional).
For anyone not familiar with the series, there are two types of gameplay standards in the series. One is stage based gameplay (think Contra, or even Mario), which some of the older games in the series have. The other, which this one utilizes, is what some like to call "Metroid-vania." This basically means you can explore this huge castle and backtrack to different areas at will. However, that's not exactly as derivative as it sounds (in fact, Castlevania 2 used this format, so it's been used a long time ago). This game uses it in a sort of an Action RPG-esque method. This does mean your character levels up throughout the game, though this does provide one minor weakness in the game. Areas you went through at the beginning will become VERY easy should you come across them again later in the game. This is not much of a problem, since you'll basically be looking for a different area to go to anyway, and that new area will almost certainly be loaded with challenge. Bosses are particularly rough and very fun
Well, lets go to one of my favorite additions to this game. Weapons. Unlike previous Castlevania games, the main character isn't restricted to a whip (he also isn't a Belmont, so that would explain why he has no whip). This isn't new, as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night also had this. However, Symphony of the Night had a rather basic weapons set (mostly swords), and basic weapon dynamics. This game has a full arsenal. You have anything from knives and swords, to lances, hammers, and even guns (the game takes place several decades after 2000AD, so this isn't out of place)! Not only that, the soul system gives you several abilities you can snatch from enemies, at times, to use. Most of these are in the form of secondary weapons that use Magic (MP), which does recharge over time. The customization is great, so you'll undoubtibly be able to find several ways to customize your character to be ready for more fighting.
Overall, this game is easily recommended to any fan of Action games (with a dash of RPG), and is certainly recommended for any Castlevania fan. If you do buy it, I recommend you look through an FAQ after you finish it. Chances are, you may not have finished it as much as you think. ;)
(P.S. I didn't play Harmony of Dissonance, so I can only compare it to Circle of the Moon).
One of the best GBA games ever made. September 13, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is one of the better Castlevania games to hit the GBA. Fans of the all time best "Symphony of the Night" will absolutely LOVE this title.
Aria of Sorrow does the best it can to mix in the best of the old with the best of the new. Aria of Sorrow borrows TONS of elements from Symphony of the Night and anyone who enjoyed that one will love this.
Aria of Sorrow begins in the year 2035 with Soma Cruz and his childhood friend Mina in Japan. Suddenly an eclipse opens up and they find themselves in Dracula's castle. Surprisingly enough, it really looks no different than it did in say... 1797 (Symphony of the Night). It bears a strong resemblence and any Castlevania fan will notice all the different places (Libraries, Catacombs and the like).
Gameplay in Aria of Sorrow is very close to SOTN in several ways. Your character resembles Alucard in the way he looks and walks. Perhaps what separates this from the past two GBA releases is that your main character doesn't use the whip as his primary weapon. Actually, you don't really have a primary weapon. You can use, Swords, Daggers, Axes, Javelins, whip swords and more! Its fun to experiment with all the different weapons to see what fits you best. The strongest weapon may not always be the best.
Since, Symphony of the Night, Castlevania has gone into an RPG style character building stage. This is for the better and Aria of Sorrow is no different than the past games. As you kill enemies you'll eventually level up. It doesn't require too much to level up (at least not as much as it takes in Circle of the Moon).
Aria of Sorrow also has well balanced difficulty. It's harder than Harmony of Dissonance but easier than Circle of the Moon. Aria also throws in a unique twist. You can now absorb enemies souls at random. When you kill an enemy you may or may not get their ability. There are over 100 enemies meaning that the game even has more abilities to unearth than the DSS System allowed you to in Circle of the Moon! Most souls cost MP and that brings me to my first con. The game has a lot of souls but for whatever reason they cost A TON OF MP to use. Granted your MP regenerates but it regenerates REALLY slowly.
The game also presents lots of bonuses. You can unlock a sound test and a hidden character to play through the game as. There's also a boss rush mode and perhaps whats best is that you can link up with a friend and trade souls! Perhaps one bonus I would've really enjoyed would've been if they'd brought back the ability to play as different "Jobs" like in Circle of the Moon. But its still a really cool experience and the game has lots of replay value.
Visually, Aria of Sorrow is BEAUTIFUL! Your protagonist stands out in a crowd and the screen isn't so dark. One of the better looking GBA games that truly stands up to what the GBA is capable of.
I wish I could say the sound surpasses all else. Castlevania is known for having good soundtracks. The music is WAY better than the godawful soundtrack of Harmony of Dissonance, but it can't hold a candle up to the far superior soundtrack presented in Circle of the Moon. The sound effects are incredible and fun to listen too.
But Aria of Sorrow is not without fault. The most noteworthy con in Aria of Sorrow is that this game is short! It'll only take you 5-6 hours your first time through. The second is that while its harder than Harmony of Dissonance, its still rather easy for any Castlevania veteran.
Overall, Aria of Sorrow is an INCREDIBLE game. I still think "Circle of the Moon" is the best GBA release and its no contest that "Symphony of the Night" is the all time best but Aria of Sorrow comes AWFULLY close to being as good as those two.
The Good
+AWESOME Gameplay, collecting Souls is creative
+Good Soundtrack
+Large Castle to explore
+Much more "free" than other Castlevania games (you're not limited to one type of weapon)
+Lots of Secrets
+Konami is smart to model this game after "Symphony of the Night". If you liked that game then you OWE it to yourself to pick this up.
The Bad
-Still a little too easy
-Souls cost a little too much MP
-Too Short
my favorite of them all... August 28, 2004
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
ok... I've been playing castlevania games for a long time now, and in my personal opinion, there has yet to be a "bad" castlevania game released. There are good castlevanias, better castlevanias, and fantastic ones. This game falls into the last catagory. Game play is fantastic, and very fluid, with simple controlls that anyone can learn. graphics are amazing (especially for a handheld) and the game offers TONS of replay value. I beat the game for the first time in about 4 hours (I'm a little on the experienced side when it comes to castlevania puzzles...) but I have logged over 48 hours into the game unlocking everything.... all 112 souls, 100% map, all 3 endings, compleate monster encylopedia, all "hard mode items",all weapons and armor/accessory, both difficulties with both characters, and all bosh rush items. While the casual player will find plenty to do and play in the game, castlevania fans will pull even more out of the game. wheather you have a few hours to kill on a road trip, or just want some old school, gothic, vampire slaying fun at home, I would recomend this game to anyone and everyone. If you are new to the series, this is the place to start, if you are a vetren, this is one to add to the collection. In my opinion, this is not the best castlevania game ever made, but it is my favorite...for 30 dollars, there are few games that will give you as much fun and enjoyment as Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.
 different, and in some ways better July 30, 2004
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I don't know about all you gamers oput there, but when i think of great castlevania, i think of symphony of the night. I am definately not the type to be biased to one game in a series, i own castlevania chronicles, aria of sorrow, circle of the moon, and symphony of the night, and they all rock. There are some things i greatly appreciated in this title, but it does fall a bit short in one area that can really be the ultimate downfall of a game, but first the positive.
What i really did enjoy about this installment is the sheer massivness of the soul system. every recent castlevania has there own power gimmick. Be that souls, cards, or relics, they all have there own thing. Every enemy in aria of sorrow has a soul inside of them that you can attain. the souls can do anything from give you subweapons, to turn you into a giant four armed chick! with all the different enemies, your looking at over 300 different powers to find! Another point that i found to be a nice change is that instead of having to hunt down which subweapon you want, they are all stored in your soul set menu, once you find the enemy with the correct soul of course. Instead of having a seperate MP and heart guage, there is only the MP guage, and the subweapons use MP instead. This also helps the MP situation, since collecting hearts now refills your MP guage a bit.
Another thing that has been fixed since symphony of the night is something ive been praying for for years. In symphony of the night you can only sell certain gems, which makes the more pricey items almost unattainable. In aria of aorrow, anything you collect in the castle can be sold to the merchant for cash. This makes the 300,000 dollar soul eater ring, which makes collecting souls easier, all the easier to get to.
Now for the ultimate downfall. One of the best aspects of Symphony of the night, in my opinion, is the fact that there is two castles (and one is upside down, how cool is that!) In aria of sorrow there is only one castle, and i would venture to say it would take about 4 or 5 hours of your average gamers time to completely explore. More and more GBA games are seeming to have this problem since the cartridges just can't hold as much memory as the discs. I guess that problem will be fixed with the next gen handhelds (which will run on mini-discs) but until then, the handheld market suffers.
In conclusion, Aria of Sorrow is on par with some of the greats of castlevania in most aspects. If it would have been made longer, i feel the expierience would have been much amplified. Thats not to say there is no fun to be had here, while it lasts it is classic castlevania action. Anyone who has played some of the more recent Castlevania games will find something they love here.
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