Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
The sequel to Circle of the Moon was a much better improvement. A bit before the GBASP era of games might of made it hard to see, but this game looked bright as fuck compared to Circle of the Moon. The game stars Juste Belmont, the grandson of Simon Belmont, and is set 50 years after the original Castlevania.
Juste’s quest was not to defeat Dracula originally, but to save his childhood friend, and smoking hawt Blonde semi-French maid Lydie. If you pay attention to the timeline she is the probable mother or grandmother of Richter Belmont of Rondo of Blood.
I really liked the magic system in this game. Different elements that could be combine with the traditional weapons of Castlevania fame. Could also be tinkered to make some super blasts and powers. It may not be my favorite Metroidvania, but it was my first, and is still one of my favorite games ever.
There was also a bonus mode where you could play (I think) a boss rush mode with 8-bit Simon Belmont. Neat-o!
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Highly underrated entry in the series, and my personal favorite of the GBA games. In fact, it’s my personal favorite of all the so-called “Metroidvania” style Castlevanias outside of Symphony of the Night itself. I just loved the gameplay, the item/magic system was really neat, the ability to dash in both directions really made gameplay silky smooth, and I just thought it was awesome that for once you were again playing a character that was a direct descendent of Simon Belmont.
I’ve heard people complain about the music, but to me, the soundtrack was fine. Not great, but still some nice pieces in it for what it was. People really can’t expect SOTN CD quality music out of a GBA cartridge after all. All around though, I think it’s a great game.