Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow Review

The classic gameplay of Castlevania has also returned in Aria of Sorrow, but given a rather unique twist. No longer will you be utilizing one standard whip of sorts that can be modified in various ways. That’s pretty much gone save one whip weapon you can find. Aria of Sorrow has Soma using all kinds of different weapons that you actually find throughout the castle yourself, as well as being able to buy at a shop later on in the game. Soma will be primarily using swords and various spear weapons to battle Dracula’s minions. Now of course not every weapon will be a sword or spear, you can also find hammers and daggers too, but they won’t be as common. What can be strange though, is you will end up finding a lot of weapons and other equipment that won’t exactly be helpful, as there are only a few really good weapons in the game. The same deals with armor and accessories, but more often they will be a bit more helpful in boosting your stats.

Speaking of stats, Aria of Sorrow is another Castlevania iteration that features a light RPG feel. Soma can indeed level up, and that’s how in turn your stats are upgraded. When you access your menu, you will see your total experience as well as the experience needed for the next level. Depending on how much of the game you actually want to complete, you may get anywhere from level 40 to 50 or even higher. You won’t have to worry about leveling up either, as it will be a naturally gradual process. You’ll never have to just go around the castle fighting enemies just to gain that much needed extra couple levels to progress. The journey you will go through will have you do that enough, so you will get your level ups as needed.

Really the strangest aspect of Aria of Sorrow is your health and magic regeneration. You would think that collecting hearts from enemies and the various lamps or lights you can destroy would replenish your HP (hit points). That’s not the case, as hearts in the game actually replenish your magic. Also being idle in combat will replenish your magic, but that isn’t nearly as helpful. The only way to actually restore your health is by either using a potion that you found or bought, or using one of the game’s many save points. Save points will actually fully regenerate your health and magic, so that is a nice perk of doing battle with so many enemies. Often you will find yourself getting beaten to a pulp by big groups of enemies or the tougher bosses, so those save points are an absolute blessing. Also scattered throughout the castle are Teleportation Points. There is a hefty amount, and they are quite convenient. Basically they can be used to transport from one transport point to another in the castle. So if you don’t feel like navigating the whole castle by foot to get to an area of interest, simply use a nearby transport point.

Another strong point of the game that has always been a focal point of Castlevania is the music and sounds. Now granted it all depends on your individual likeness, because some may like the music in Circle of the Moon better than in this game. Aria of Sorrow and CoTM both feature great music, so it all depends on your tastes. But all that matters is that AoS does have great music, and it really does. You have your generic gothic themes, as well as the ones geared more for a suspenseful feel during the course of action. There really aren’t too many fast-paced themes which is a little disappointing, but none of the action in the game ever gets insanely intense, so it’s understandable. The boss music is definitely of the best in the game, and thankfully there are a good number that you will end up fighting. The music and the fight itself will make most of them memorable too. The music played during the fight with Death is especially catchy, which is fitting since the battle itself is so tough. The giant scythe that guy carries just makes you wince in pain because you can almost feel what it would be like to be slashed with it yourself. He definitely is a big challenge in the game too, and while it can get frustrating, the end result is very rewarding.

Aria of Sorrow also sports a very good amount of replay value. While the story isn’t exactly an elaborate one, it’s a very entertaining one to experience. So that by itself is a great bring back feature to make you want to play the game just to beat it at least. It also has multiple endings, and while the best ending isn’t exactly hard to figure out how to get, it’s a blast to witness. If you get the much more disappointing ending like I did at first, you will probably end up feeling rather gipped by there not being much to it. If you do get the best ending however, you will be treated to a little extra in-game action, as well as a very nice ending sequence which starts the premise to Dawn of Sorrow. Collecting all the souls is definitely no easy task either. That basically requires you to grab at least one soul from over 100 enemies in the game, and that’s obviously a rather daunting objective. If you want to achieve that lofty goal, look at a minimum of five more hours of gameplay time. Another nice feature for the souls in AoS is the Soul Trade. If you have a GBA link cable and a friend who plays the game too, you can actually trade souls with each other. So if you have a soul that he doesn’t and vice versa, what better way to get what you need than by trading?

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is both new and old. Old on the level that it utilizes the best features the franchise has had to offer for years while mixing new gameplay elements to make it that much more entertaining. Even though some may say the battling of all these monsters while doing all the backtracking you have to do is repetitive, it just isn’t boring to play. The action is constant, and so is the fun. It’s definitely one of the best GBA titles out there, as it borrows a little bit of the quality from Symphony of the Night and delivers a fresh experience that any Castlevania fan can easily fall in love with. While everything about the game isn’t remarkable, enough of it is to make the game very much worth any kind of money. It’s a very good looking game with lots of great detail, and hearing that awesome gothic music in the background while delivering pain to Dracula’s men is not something to pass up. Simply put, you won’t have any sorrow playing this game, so if you’re a Castlevania fan, get it.