Castlevania: Circle of the Moon Review
The retrospective properties of the GBA become more and more apparent with each title available. Super Mario, F-Zero, Rayman……the golden age of 16-bit gaming is being resurrected before our very eyes. Is this a good thing? Should we be subjected, once again, to these “classics,” albeit is a portable format? In this case of Castlevania, the answer is resounding ‘yes’.
Castlevania has been around for along time, it’s origins are hidden deep in the mists of time somewhere in the 8-bit era. The amazing play ability of the game was apparent in the exploration of the 2D world, mixed with an eerie atmosphere somehow conveyed in the rather dodgy graphics. Although updated for a quick romp through the 3D worlds of the N64, it didn’t quite feel right, COTM returns us to our 2D wandering, more suitable not only to the platform, but also for this game in particular.
The graphics, to be blunt, are quite simplistic. None of the cartoon splendour of games such as Rayman has been utilised here, nor does it try anything fancy, i.e. Tony Hawk. In fact, a brief look at some screen shots may bring you to believe that the game itself is pretty drab. This is definitely true to a certain extent, COTM is not going to blow your mind with a vivid array of colors. What makes it a little worse is that the game can be most of the time, incredibly dark. Sure, playing out in the sunshine brings all the artists concepts to life, but if you are trapped inside some fluorescent-lit hell, details such as platforms, pick-ups, and even projectiles from the enemies can be incredibly hard to discern. There is little in life more frustrating than dying an unfair death in the game at the hands of an unseen adversary….especially when you haven’t saved the game in about an hour and a half.
However, the graphics are dark for a very specific reason. You are battling against evil monsters of the night in the catacombs under an ancient castle in Austria. Under said circumstances, Dracula is unlikely to install skylights and the inherent darkness adds to the fearful expectation at facing a closed door for the first time… the atmosphere is very spooky for a 2" screen. Naturally, the graphics alone could not pull off this feeling. Castlevania, has without a doubt, the absolute best sound of any GBA game. Tony Hawk sounds exactly like the Dreamcast version (minus the licensed music) and Mario is overflowing with smooth, crisp speech, but as the GameBoy and Konami logos fade away, an eerie of choir of angelic voices will fill your ears with a spooky feeling of trepidation. The very first time I plugged in the game, I couldn’t believe how good it was, so I switched it off, went and found my headphones, and switched it back on (and yes, with the headphones plugged in). It sounded much better and the in-game music isn’t quite of the same orchestrated calibre, but somehow maintains the tension as you wander, constantly on the edge of disorientation, through endless conjoined corridors of electric skeletons and axe-wielding warriors.
The game itself, whilst talking on the guise of an exploration platformer, feels almost like an action RPG… starting with a mere whip and a cause, you take control of Nathan and venture through the darkness in the search of your master who was master napped (well the master’s not a kid!) by Dracula. The darkness brings no friends, only the bad guys, and a few cracks of the whip bring about their demise posthaste. So Nathan is just walking around killing skeletons left, right and center, Indiana style, when all of a sudden the words ‘LEVEL UP’ pop up on the screen. Huh?! A quick view of my status screen, and there it is, on the right… my level, the next level, HP and MP. Intrigued, I continue deeper into the game, trying to not get addicted and attached to the game. Throwing knives, axes… even Molotov cocktails. Talk about fun, and things aren’t looking good. I hold down and press the jump button and do a little funky slide, wiping out a gang of poisonous snakes that felt the need to hang around me. Very handy. I wipe a tear of regret from my eye as I realise I need this game. Nathan jumps, whips, slides and throws with perfect precision. Later on he also dashes and performs multiple jumps.
To make matters worse, Nathan picks up items which can be equipped… armour, wrist bands etc which radically up his stats… and also some interesting cards which, when used, give your whip magical qualities. These give your whips some handy advantages, such as making it reach nearly to the end of your screen, well beyond the reach of your average creature of the night.
Boss-like creatures appear sporadically, as do some save points (which double as life replenishment bays) and the odd secret area opens with one simple crack of the whip at the right place on the wall. This game is a great game and is just a great game (speechless). Though if you have a GameBoy Advanced and have ever enjoyed playing a Castlevania game, then you shouldn’t need to read this review. If you haven’t even played Castlevania before, the Circle of the Moon is a great place to start. It offers everything you could need for an introduction to this style of gaming, and the Castlevania series as a whole. So close to an RPG, the side-scrolling action/adventure element adds a new depth to something that could have been run of the mill, kudos to Konami for treating this series with the love it deserved.
Visuals: 8.5
Sound: 10
Originality: 8
Replay: 8
Overall: 9