Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
06 May 2003
All releases
06 May 2003 - Game Boy Advance
23 Oct 2014 - Wii U
19 Mar 2015 - Wii U
Wii U
Game Boy Advance
270
want
940
played
40
playing
53
reviews
Developer
Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo
Publisher
Konami
Tags
Single player
Side view
🎮 Platform
🧙 RPG
🏹 Adventure
💥 Action
👻 Horror
Summary
The year is 2035 and Soma Cruz is about to witness the first solar eclipse of the 21st century when he suddenly blacks out -- only to awaken inside a mysterious castle. As Soma, you must navigate the castle's labyrinths while confronting perilous monsters at every turn. But beware, you must escape before the evil consumes you!
z a k k
2
Having in mind the system it was made for, it's almost a miracle a game with such a good mechanic, sound and complexity have been sucessfully released.
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12 Jan 2021
This is a new review format where i will try to keep it short so you guys can read it easily .
Gameplay and game design :
Where do i start , with multitude of weapon types and defensive options , this has Arguably the best combat on gba no doubt , in addition to that every enemy has the possibility to drop his soul which is a special skill ( projectile based , guardian , silver or Stat changing soul ) and there is approximately 100 enemy types , which is some of the biggest enemy variety I ve seen in a video game . The progression system and the exploration is basically like any other solid metroidvenia , the good old stuff . Platforming on the other hand was quite challenging especially in some areas , and there were a couple puzzles too . The bosses at the begining were pretty simple and standard but as the game went on they got crazier and harder and more importantly better .
Story and characters :
The main storyline is quite simple and the main twist is predictable af , but it was serviceable , in terms of characters soma is a solid protagonist but he is a little bit bland . The antagonist Graham is a litteral joke cuz he doesn't pose a threat whatsoever.
Visuals :
I m a big sucker for 32 bits graphics , mixed with the Gothic artstyle it's a treat for the eye , the variety of monster designs from multiple mythologies was interesting and some of the bosses were spectacular , my only complaint is that I wished different armors had different sprites , but I guess that is asking too much .
Sound :
Pretty memorable tracks , especially Dracula's fate , I feel nostalgic already .
Conclusion :
Aria of sorrow is a game that blew me away , so far ahead of it time , it cemented itself as my fav metroidvenia(from the ones I played ) and also my fav gba game 9/10
Gameplay and game design :
Where do i start , with multitude of weapon types and defensive options , this has Arguably the best combat on gba no doubt , in addition to that every enemy has the possibility to drop his soul which is a special skill ( projectile based , guardian , silver or Stat changing soul ) and there is approximately 100 enemy types , which is some of the biggest enemy variety I ve seen in a video game . The progression system and the exploration is basically like any other solid metroidvenia , the good old stuff . Platforming on the other hand was quite challenging especially in some areas , and there were a couple puzzles too . The bosses at the begining were pretty simple and standard but as the game went on they got crazier and harder and more importantly better .
Story and characters :
The main storyline is quite simple and the main twist is predictable af , but it was serviceable , in terms of characters soma is a solid protagonist but he is a little bit bland . The antagonist Graham is a litteral joke cuz he doesn't pose a threat whatsoever.
Visuals :
I m a big sucker for 32 bits graphics , mixed with the Gothic artstyle it's a treat for the eye , the variety of monster designs from multiple mythologies was interesting and some of the bosses were spectacular , my only complaint is that I wished different armors had different sprites , but I guess that is asking too much .
Sound :
Pretty memorable tracks , especially Dracula's fate , I feel nostalgic already .
Conclusion :
Aria of sorrow is a game that blew me away , so far ahead of it time , it cemented itself as my fav metroidvenia(from the ones I played ) and also my fav gba game 9/10
More
20 Mar 2022
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