Castlevania Advance Collection Scores A Physical Switch Release, Pre-Orders Live

Physical games are best…🤘

this was the most dissappointing compilation ive bought in a while. i love castlevania games, but the GBA ones just dont hold up for me now. better fondly remembered than revisted, for me sadly.

still waiting for Symthony of the Night

If theres no price difference and we can choose, that Rondo of Blood cover art looks great as a Switch cover. Its just a shame the compilation doesn't include the real game, just the SNES title somewhat based on it. I agree with the original review that Aria of Sorrow alone would be worth the asking price.

@KBuckley27 Well now that Limited Run have got their own PS1 emulator, thats a lot more likely than before. I really hope they manage to get a PCE CD emulator running and we get a double pack with Rondo of Blood like has been released on previous consoles.

I'm excited for this, I held off on buying it digitally, cause I knew this would happen at some point. I'll definitely be picking up this collection, and it'll look good sitting on my shelf, next to the other Castlevania collection.

This is great. We're only missing two theoretical collections. Castlevania Requiem, and Castlevania DS collection.

@KBuckley27 They already did that.
You missed it.

Generally not interested in non official physical releases, and that there's four cover options makes it a total scam. I'll go digital once I see the collection cheap, even though I own the GBA originals.

@Dragonite89 Yeah, they are the best.

Pity that Limited Run is distributing them though

Day one buy indeed but when will we get Rondo, Symphony, Adventure Rebirth, Lament, Curse, Legacy, Judgment, and 64?

Aria of Sorrow is the correct cover choice.

i would pay the price just for symphony of the night alone.

I think I have to go with the Circle of the Moon cover purely for nostalgia. That was the main GBA launch title that had lasting appeal for me.

I think I get the frustration w LRG, but I don't share it. I usually will buy the digital release and then score a physical copy when it is announced. I know, not everyone can do that. A lot of times I just buy the physical release and leave it wrapped. I have a pretty massive collection of Switch games now. It will be left to the kids.

@Dragonite89 Physical is the best indeed, but LRG is the worst, with terrible wait times, expensive shipping and FOMO nonsense.

Limited Run no thanks

Damn it, I thought I was done giving LRG my money, but they actually did something I like here, and with the Gex Trilogy... Sorry wallet.

If I understand this correctly, I am disappointed at the way they are handling this. It sounds, to me, like they are making collectors pick a cover, they know some will go crazy and buy 4 copies to have all 4 covers. This should just ship with all 4 cover inserts.

@Dragonsbane : Or better yet, two variants with reversible covers.

I'm torn as to which cover I prefer. I dislike the first cover as it emulates the art style of NES boxes (and this is obviously not a collection of NES ROMs), the second one is only mildly tempting for consistency's sake (as I assume it will match the software icon), but I will most likely grab either of the last two covers pictured.

I hate being given options in these situations as I can be so indecisive.

I've played this release very very extensively since it originally came out digitally in 2021. I played it so much I decided to max out everything in both Aria and Circle. Like I was literally grinding item drops for 20 hours (in Thief mode of course) because I love the game so much.

here's the 30-second Switch clip of the final item drop haha.
https://twitter.com/BenjyMLewis/status/1449009398664237058

didn't grind to this extent in Harmony because that game doesn't lend itself well to it as much. (it would take significantly SIGNIFICANTLY longer to max everything out in Harmony)

uh... so what I'm saying is that I don't really have a reason to get this game again physically, however I'm such a big nerd for these games, I'm gonna probably get it anyway. :/

We could’ve used a poll here to determine the favorite. I’m going woth circle of the moon I think, even tho I really like the Dracula x cover but it’s the weakest game here and doesn’t really capture a advanced collection as well.

@TYRANACLES

Yeah, a poll would have been fun!

My guess is that:

• Circle of the Moon's cover art would be most popular, for matching with the game icon on the Switch menu, and for being the first GBA Castlevania game, making it a fine representation of the package as a whole.
• Aria of Sorrow would be second, for being the most popular game in the collection, and having the amazing Ayami Kojima artwork of Soma.
• Harmony of Dissonance would be third, for featuring Ayami Kojima's beautiful artwork of Juste - who isn't quite as popular as Soma.
• Dracula X would be last, as even though the Rondo artwork is great and iconic, it doesn't really fit with the rest as it's not even one of the GBA games. It's just a bonus inclusion more than anything. I hoenstly would have liked it better if it was the "Vampire's Kiss" artwork from the PAL version (which is the same as the "Dracula XX" artwork from the JP version) - at least then it wouldn't have been literally Rondo's artwork, you know?

Welp there goes another small chunk of my money

I tried to replay the original circle of the moon on original hardware recently and wow, I forgot how small the GBA screen is. I love all things retro but we truly are spoiled in the modern age with our handheld screens. Super excited to play this on switch

@Dragon_Nexus Not for the Switch they didn't, they only released a Physical copy for the PS4.

Aria of Sorrow (and it's DS- sequel) are still awesome. Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance feel much worse in comparison though (or it's just because I played them in the wrong order)
Not sure if the collection is worth it for a (brilliant) game that I have played multiple times already.

@Arnie4490 Huh. You're right.

Could have sworn they did both. My bad!

@Serpenterror
I would love a ps2-collection, because i never got to play these games. Lords of Shadow-collection would also be cool.
Castlevania 64 will probably never be released again for the strangest of reasons.

I’ve held off a long time waiting for a physical release! Soon now I can preorder and begin my 7-12 month wait!

Game shopping just ain’t what it used to be! 😅

Boo! Your not a small struggling indie company Konami.

I dont see the fuss about collecting physical games, especially at these inflated prices and that's before you factor in the increased carbon footprint of an already heavy industry.
I suppose some people are just happy to watch the world burn, just as long as they have tat on thier shelves to look at.

Why not port the "Lords of Shadows" games? Especially "Mirror of Fate" would be easy to port, and I love that game.

I ordered the first Castlevania Collection for PS4 from LRG and it arrived almost A YEAR later!!

Moreover, customs, import, taxes, etc. almost doubled the price.

This isn't gonna be one of those "physical copies" that only comes with a code to DOWNLOAD the collection, is it?

@HalloHerrNoob I played them in the right order as they came out. While the first two were good, after Aria came out and was a big upgrade over the previous games in technical terms, it also became difficult for me to go back. As for Dawn of Sorrow, it is very good, but the touch elements just get in the way for me.

@HenryKibble no Limited Run's whole thing is physical games. So you won't be horribly surprised by only a download code in the box. You'll get a real cartridge.

Just went with the standard edition. I want the games on cart, that's it. I am very happy to see these games get love.

@Tempestryke I don't think anyone wants them handling this, man...

I'm perfectly happy with my digital versions. I'd instantly buy a DS collection and Requiem for the switch for sure. Still hoping.

LRG though. 😕
Pass

@belmont that’s awful. That kinda stuff puts me off getting anything from them.

I love these games but I look at these collections and I just think JUNK. $175! A fool and his money!

Definitely picking up the Classic Collection! Although the price did go up by $5, it’s still a sweet compilation. I have no issues with LRG as I’m in no rush to receive these, in understanding quality takes time.

Good going LRG!

Again love these collectors editions. But I'm happy with my original copies of Rondo & castlevania iv, on my Duo & Snes. Personally the best two vania's in my opinion. Yes I have Sotn on playstation but still prefer the original formula.

@sdelfin
Yeah..drawing those seals was really gimmicky.
But I was more annoyed about the drastic art change towards a really generic anime look.

people complaining that 4 different covers is somehow immoral because "they 'know' collectors will 'have' to buy all 4" are cracking me up 🤣

no they don't! this collector business has really gotten out of hand ✌️ its being argued like a kind of minority identity that needs protecting from predatory business practices. FOMO is not a disability y'all 😆

play the games, stop thinking so much about plastic! game preservation is one thing, but packaging is marketing detritus. ✌️ and NO, we dont need 4 times as many paper inserts with each copy 😑

EDIT - because some people are rather sensitive to unspecified declarations of opinion, this has been my opinion. ofc. 👍

I see no reason to buy this, but I would consider an official release of a GBA cart with all four.

Thought LRG were selling a physical version for each Castlevania port separately for a second there. Wouldn't surprise me, mind

The price for CE is a killer.....lol

@HalloHerrNoob Yeah, that didn't bother me as much(though it did some), but it didn't really fit the Castlevania aesthetic, especially with it being a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow complete with the same characters. Luckily, the touch controls and the art have been addressed by the hacking community.

Nintendo should release Metroid and Zelda physical collections of SNES and GBA games. I loved the SNES mini but would love those games on a cartridge for Switch.

@LikelySatan Exactly what I tell my wife so I can buy more games.

I’m going to hold off a bit and see if the Konami store gets a custom cover like they did with Contra. Although I think I have a 5% off a Konami game from Limited Run coupon around here somewhere.

So, Batsugun was on the american eshop for a minute. Then it disappeared, and now you can only get it on japan eshop.

Why? Because they made a deal with Limited Run for exclusive whatever BS.

Literally RESTRICTING ACCESS TO GAMES. REMOVING GAMES FROM THE ESHOP.

LRG needs to die. This company needs to die.

@Pupuplatter but PrEsErVaTiOn. Have to keep them away from digital to PrEsErVe FoReVeR pHySiCaL

I don't like LRG because everything they do has a scam element to it. After some research, i found they've been all about the scams since day one... or is it game zero? Now that they're an embracer company, I expect it to worsen.

Glad the digital version released before LRG took the rights. Screw this company.

@HalBailman yea I agree it's a scam, and a ripoff. I prefer physical, but this is incredibly greedy, and ridiculous, but I guess that's Limited Runs MO.