Level Up: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

2011 seems to be THE YEAR for video game anniversaries. In big names just celebrating a 25^th birthday, we got Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, Metal Gear, Dragon Quest and today’s subject, Konami’s Castlevania. Sadly, I missed out on a lot of it growing up (it just never really caught my eye). Now, when this happens, I don’t like to admit it, but because this is such a big series, with many additions, I feel like I need to make this disclaimer: this game is, so far, the only Castlevania game I have played. I am aware that in some big game series, some titles will seem lame compared to others or it might get repetitive. Again I don’t know if Castlevania is one of them. Now that I think I cleared all that up, let’s talk about Castlevania Circle of the Moon for the Game Boy Advance.

The game starts off in Austria circa 1830, where a woman named Camilla has successfully revived Dracula when 3 vampire hunters come in, the mentor, Morris Baldwin, his son, Hugh Baldwin and the player character Nathan Graves, successor to Morris who has nothing to do with Tombstone from Freedom Force. Before actually doing anything, Dracula simply caves in the floor under Nathan and Hugh, leaving Morris out numbered. Once the two students land safely, Hugh runs off, talking about how he’s going to prove his worth to his father. This becomes a sub-plot and really gets interesting, as we learn about Hugh’s attempts to please his father and why Nathan was chosen over him. This actually over shadows the main plot a bit, as all we learn about that is the fact that Dracula and Camilla plan on using Morris’ soul to give Dracula back his full power. But really, the whole game is well written, with believable characters, the theme of father-son relationships well used and the “black magic” tone of it all fitting well into this game and never letting up.

This game is a platformer, but it’s a non-linear one. From the start, you’ll notice you’re allowed to go into any room you can reach. However, you can’t go everywhere as you need certain abilities and items to access areas. This means your freedom of movement is pretty much limited at any given time in the game, but exploring is really part of the fun. Once you find the right places to go to, you’ll fight a boss, get a new item and more places will be accessible. Basically, even though it’s not obvious, there is only one way you can advance, but you’re never prevented from roaming around. (Note: This is what many gamers refer to as the “Metroid-vania” game style, since it’s also common in the Metroid series, in case I ever reference it again).

You also get RPG elements with this game, as every enemy you kill will give you experience to level up and you’ll also collect different items that you can equip. Personally, I think it adds much to the game, but it plays a big role, as I clearly remember having to grind before a boss. But the last thing I really want to talk about is the magic skills. On occasion, a monster will drop a card that will fall in one of two categories: Action and Attribute. You’ll select one of each, then upon pressing the L button, you’ll pretty much change the conditions of the game (often by changing your weapon). According to a Wikipedia article, this is unique to Circle of the Moon, which honestly surprises me because it’s so cool. With 100 different combinations, it was exciting every time a monster dropped a card for me.

As a first impression to the series, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was great. The non-linear game play was fun and the cards and RPG elements added a whole other layer to it. The story was really cool and its dark atmosphere was handled really well. It also doesn’t hurt that the game looks pretty good on the Game Boy Advance and the music also helps. I only have some minor problems, mostly with getting from one end of the map to the other being annoying and happening often. Also, the subplot of the game definitely outshines the main plot, which I don’t think should happen, but it’s all good enough I didn’t care. If you have the ability to play GBA games, you probably won’t regret playing this title, unless you’re looking for something direct and laid out for you, or a simple platform game (due to the RPG elements). I give Castlevania: Circle of the Moon 9 levels out of 10.