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| A new hero rises. |
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is one of Konami's best offerings on the GameBoy Advance. Released back in 2003, it stars a new hero who must rid the world of Dracula's threat, again. Continuing the gameplay innovations of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and improving upon the last two Castlevania games on the GBA, Aria of Sorrow is regarded as among the best games on the system. The game found its way to the Wii U's Virtual Console service and more recently as part of of the Castlevania Advance Collection for modern systems. So does the game still holds up all after all these years?
Taking place in 2035, we follow young student Soma Cruz, who alongside his childhood friend Mina get trapped in Dracula's Castle that's somehow inside a solar eclipse! Bonkers as that may be, he learns that he possess supernatural powers and must now find a way out of the castle while fighting those who wish to inherit Dracula's powers. Along the way, he'll meet various characters like the wisecracking merchant Hammer, kind and cheery woman Yoko, the amnesiac man J, mysterious agent Arikado, and sinister-looking preacher Graham. The story was a nice one with twists and multiple endings waiting to be revealed, but sadly the characters weren't interesting as most felt paper-thin with little backstory.
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| As Soma, explore the secret-filled castle. |
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is a 2D platformer in which Soma explores the castle beating enemies, acquiring new abilities, and uncovering new paths in the process. The game's "Tactical Soul" mechanic lets Soma absorb the souls of enemies he defeats like the ability to throw spears, walk on water, double jump, and even summoning an imp to fight for you, though using said powers consumes the magic meter. Defeating enemies will also level up Soma, increasing his base stats and magic meter. You can equip weapons and gear dropped by enemies as well as money, which you can use to buy new items at Hammer's shop.
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| The gameplay was fun and engaging. |
The castle is gargantuan in size, filled with doors, enemies, and secret passage ways to explore. There are tons of enemies scattered in each area, making things feel fresh and exciting. It's worth mentioning that most areas are initially locked until you obtain a specific ability to proceed in it. That means you'll be doing some frequent backtracking to previous areas though you can warp between areas by finding a teleport room. The game took me around 6 hours to beat with a 93% map completion rate. If you're planning on fully 100% completing the map as well ass nabbing all weapons and abilities, then it should last you around 8 hours, which is good by genre standards. A few issues I had with the game are the enemy placements and knock back when getting hit, as both can be annoying and quickly kill you when you least expect it.
For a mid-life GBA game, Aria of Sorrow looks good thanks to its detailed sprites and backgrounds. The walking animations and visual effects were also neat and are worth mentioning. I liked the character designs courtesy of Ayame Kojima. The soundtrack composed by Michiru Yamane was equally impressive, giving the game a Gothic feel fitting of the series. Tracks like the title theme, castle theme, dance hall theme, and ending theme were some of my faves.
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| The presentation holds up well. |
All in all, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow was a blast to play and is among the best on GBA. Despite the flat characters, the fun, additive gameplay and impressive presentation were standouts, easily making for a great time. It's up there with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as my favorite game in the series. Fans of the series and platformers alike will find enjoyment in what Aria of Sorrow has to offer.
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