Konami's Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is the third and final Castlevania title for the GBA, and arguably the strongest. A departure from the typical period drama involving the extended and ever-complicated Belmont clan, Aria of Sorrow introduces new characters and mythology into the series while also building on what has made Castlevania such a beloved franchise. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is the strongest of the Castlevania GBA games, and deserves a spot in any Wii U owner's library.
Instead of playing a Belmont, gamers are introduced to new protagonist Soma Cruz, a teenage exchange student studying in Japan in 2035. On the evening of a solar eclipse, Soma visits a shrine with his longtime friend, Mina, and after a strange supernatural event the two find themselves in a mysterious castle that is likely the former home of Dracula, who was killed in 1999. Soma travels the castle, slowly learning of a dark prophecy involving Dracula's successor, meeting several curious characters along the way.
Aria of Sorrow's story is compelling, clever and offers enough twists and turns to keep players guessing. Fans of the Belmonts may be disappointed that an unrelated character has taken the reins, but as the story unfolds it becomes clear that Soma is very much a part of the series' complex mythos. There is a strong emphasis on characterization and personality throughout, with characters feeling more fleshed out than ever before. It's come a long way from the often-bland archetypes and simplistic story of Circle of the Moon.
While the story introduces a slew of new characters and unfamiliar faces, the gameplay in Aria of Sorrow remains consistent with the rest of the GBA games. Players will platform and fight their way through a sprawling castle, picking up equipment, gaining experience points and finding upgrades that help them reach previously inaccessible areas. The platforming feels more precise than ever, with very few unfair sequences, and the RPG elements are simple but refined. One significant change is that Soma is not a slayer and therefore doesn't have a whip; instead, he can wield swords, axes and other weapons that are found throughout the game. It's a bit jarring at first, especially for those who have played previous games in the series, but ultimately feels like the right choice and makes for interesting strategy. A hammer, for example, may be strong but heavy, causing Soma's attacks to be slower.
The largest and most important addition to Aria of Sorrow's gameplay is the Tactical Soul system, which gives the player new powers and abilities. Soma has the ability to absorb the souls of defeated enemies, which he can then equip for different uses — some effects give him a sub-weapon, while some will grant special magic powers and abilities. There is great variety in the Tactical Soul system, and we enjoyed experimenting with collected souls; souls can be equipped and activated manually and using them consumes magic points, except for Enchant souls, which give Soma special abilities to traverse previously inaccessible areas and are always activated unless turned off by the player.
The visuals in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow are exemplary. Every character is full of detail and smoothly animated, while the castle is full of colour and varied environments. On the Wii U GamePad, particularly, the game is beautifully crisp. The psychedelic blinking and strobe effects from Harmony of Dissonance are gone, but it's clear from Aria of Sorrow that there is no reason for the flashiness now, since the game's artists have clearly mastered the limitations of the screen. The audio has been vastly improved from Harmony of Dissonance's primitive soundtrack, with superior music and sound effects.
The main game can be completed in about the same amount of time as the other GBA Castlevania games, and should give players a challenge. There are additional modes to play through, including a Hard mode, a boss rush and other special modes that won't be spoiled here, so as not to ruin the story for anyone.
Conclusion
Thanks to the Virtual Console and eShop, the notion the Wii U has a dearth of quality content is quickly becoming obsolete. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow closes out a strong trilogy of games that are exciting, challenging and fun, providing hours of play. Aria of Sorrow is particularly good for series newcomers, as it eases players into the series' lore and game mechanics. As the strongest Castlevania entry on the GBA, it earns an easy recommendation.
Comments 41
This was my least favorite GBA castlevania. It's still a good and solid game though.
last? You never know when Nintendo might bright us the NES Classics GBA ports, they did it with Super Mario World's GBA port in Japan after all..... XD
@Cia Same, though...I'd actually say Dawn of Sorrow was worse, or at least equally as bad (or rather not-so-great), but for different reasons.
@Angelic_Lapras_King
what in the world are you talking about?
Love this game. Then again I love all Castlevania... Heck I even love Castlevania Judgement!
@ogo79 look at the NES Classics range, NES Castlevania is among them.
Never played a Castlevania game. Anyone recommend one on the Wii U VC.
The art in this game is so good. I remember being so disappointed when the dark, sketch-like art style was dropped for the silly anime style in the sequel game.
I have never played a Castlevania game but if I did this looks like an excellent place to start!
@Dpishere @Hero-of-WiiU
If you guys want a good place to start then go with either Circle of the Moon or Aria of Sorrow (this one in the review). Both are excellent. I must say that AoS seemed a bit shorter than the other two in the GBA series and I heard it was due to using a bit more space on the GBA gamepack for music than everything else. The sound quality in it is much better than the other two so I agree.
But still either are great. I just finished Harmony of Dissonance and disliked how I spent almost half my game time running around the castle due to no quick warp system that the other two have. At $8 each CotM and AoS are great buys.
@Dpishere @Hero-of-WiiU My first Castlevania game was the sequel to this, on the DS. And afterwords I fell in love with the series. If this game is anything like that, it's well worth it. I for one will be picking this up sometime in the near future.
@Hero-of-WiiU Super Castlevania SNES. You can't go wrong with any of these GBA games either. Aria of Sorrow is my favorite of the 3.
@Angelic_Lapras_King @ogo79 I just realized what you were referring to. The tagline "the best for last?" is referring to the 3rd and final Castlevania game on the GBA. Not the last Castlevania game that will be available on the eshop.
@shigulicious I'm glad it isn't the last one on the eShop. If they do DS games we still have Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia to look forward too.
Aria of Sorrow - the gameplay seemed a bit on the boring side, and the portraits irritated me. The style was so androgynous, all I could think when I saw Soma's face was "Dude looks like a Lady". Dawn of Sorrw was a godsend, since it brought a more simplistic, but also more mature look to Soma.
Out of the GBA games, Aria of Sorrow is my least favourite, and was one of the few Castlevania games I didn't like in general (2, Adventures and SotN being the rest).
I've been complaining a lot of having nothing to play after smash, but now that I think about it, the eshop should be a nice distraction.
The best GBA Castlevania by such margin, that it redeemed the GBA for me after the first two, more simplistic adventures. The soul system makes it one of my favorite Castlevanias, perhaps second only to Dawn of Sorrow(never played Ecclesia.
Definitely the worst GBA Castlevania. I can't understand how some people beg to differ here. It does so many things worse than the previous two.
Do any of the previous GBA Castlevania games' plot have affect Aria of Sorrow's plot at all?
This is almost certainly one of the best Castlevania games. More than that for me, this is one of my favorite all-time games in any series for any system.
Hang on.... the same score as HoD???? Im sorry, this is a travesty! In my humble opinion CoTM gets a 10/10, HoD gets 7/10 and AoS gets 9/10!! Im currently replaying DoS which is better than I remember nearly 10 years ago, it gets a 9/10 too!!
Why none of the three castlevania gba games are released for european virtual console ? Any release date, please?
@KeeperBvK Care to explain? Thanks
This is my favourite GBA game ever.
@Malus
HoD has a warp, it was just never explained. Kneel before the the dimension gate, and you can warp within the castle.
Now they just need to bring it to UK
@WaveWarlock It isn't like this is a new game... Lol
@PokemaniacJOK
Nah, the plots in the GBA games are completely independent of each other and are entirely self contained (CotM has officially been erased from canon, even). You can play them in any order and it won't make any difference. The only thing you would possibly worry about missing in series in-jokes or references that long-time Castlevania players would get, but those are pretty rare and minor.
Never played Circle of the Moon, but between this one and Harmony of Dissonance, this is a LOT better in every aspect. However I can't understand how some people prefer Aria over Dawn of Sorrow, DoS was fantastic!
I think this game is "overrated." Sure it's good, but the best GBA game? Na, that belongs to Circle of the Moon.
My favorite Castlevania game from all systems IMO, and a true GBA masterpiece.
@Kaze_Memaryu
I can get behind the androgynous criticism...I thought for the entirety of my AoS run that Soma was a girl...back then I was still not that good at english, so I missed the male pronouns, plus a very early preview in a regional Nintendo magazine mentioned the proagonist was female...ironically by the end of the game I was thinking "Man, Konami sure has guts to use a lesbian protagonist in a franchise like Castlevania"
@soma
I'm in the group that prefers AoS to DoS. Aside from the artistic shift, Aria just felt much better in regards of plot, pace, creativity and music. Dawn had the better graphics of course (that finally put something SoTN level on a portable) but for the system limits Aria seemed like the better work. The balance and equipment system also worked better in Aria as I see it, where many weapons categories were better tailored for specific hardships, while in Dawn you could ignore most weapons and go straight for the best one and use it during most of the game.
@Samuel-Flutter Nice! I am definitely considering getting into the franchise but am curious how difficult this game is compared to say Mega Man X which was just right for me!
@Malus Nice! Seems like I may be trying a Castlevania game soon!
@Yomerodes I wouldn't go so far as to call it criticism. I didn't like it, and thought Konami could've done something clearer while keeping the artstyle, but I would never make that out as a flaw from the game or developers.
@Dpishere Castlevania, when in this non-linear playstyle, isn't really difficult. Just like with MegaMan, it boils down to memorizing boss patterns, but regular enemies are rarely an issue. The only exception I'd count is Circle of the Moon, which starts out somewhat more difficult, but Aria of Sorrow is definitely on the easy side.
This is an awesome game. Circle of the Moon and Aria of Sorrow are two of the best games on the GBA. Harmony of Dissonance is just a total bore with the most boring Metroidvania level design I've ever trudged through.
@Angelic_Lapras_King
i should have just asked what would make you think they would release the port of castlevania from gba to virtual console, its already there in the nes form.
thats why i asked you what you were talking about.
because really.
Just finished it this morning. Great game. Not as good as SotN, but none of the GBA games could be given the limitations. In the scope of the GBA library itself, this game stacks up with the best of them. Absolutely fantastic for a handheld game. But yes, it was very short, I imagine in part due to how taxing it was graphically and musically compared to even Circle of the Moon.
One other thing: the fight with Julius Belmont in this game is to die for. Absolutely beautifully designed and perhaps the most enjoyable boss fight in the entire franchise. I died over and over, and not once did I get frustrated because it was FUN and not bull-. That is great game design.
@Kaze_Memaryu Nice! Sounds like the perfect place to start!
@Hero-of-WiiU I wouldn't start with Super Castlevania as someone recommended. A lot of people love it and you might too. I don't like it at all. The reason I wouldn't start there is that it's quite a departure from the rest of Castlevania, especially the earlier ones before Symphony of the Night, in terms of its game mechanics, level design, boss patterns, graphics and music. Of the GBA versions, I like this one best. Also, Rondo of Blood on the regular old Wii Virtual Console is excellent, in my opinion..
You never know when Nintendo might bright us the NES Classics GBA ports, they did it with Super Mario World's GBA port in Japan after all.....
They won't bring the NES Classics to Virtual Console when they already have the NES originals. There's no point. At least the GBA versions of Super Mario World and Super Ghouls n Ghosts had new content to warrant their release.
@Hero-of-WiiU aria of Sorrow rondo of blood, super castlevania
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