Not straying too far from the Castlevania mechanics, Circle of the Moon is an excellent first for Gameboy Advance.
Let me start by saying, I am personally not a Castlevania fan. I was dubious as to the value of this title. The story starts like all the other Castlevanias, Dracula (The Prince of Darkness) is unleashed in the world. This time, you must stop the order of Chaos from restoring him to his full strength. Again, you are armed with the preverbal whip.
Level progression is what caught my attention. The levels are more like Metroid, baring save points in key locations within a non-linear progression. As you progress, you fight several types of enemies, ranging from the ever popular zombie to earth gargoyles (who cause the earth to spike upward as an attack). To add a bit of a role playing element, for every enemy you kill, you gain experience points. These points allow you to level and grow stronger. You can also gain equip able items that strengthen your abilities and can double the E.P. earned in combat.
From a control standpoint, the mechanics remain the same. A jumps, B whips. The shoulder buttons are used for throwing daggers and special abilities. This works nicely when performing precise movements. I was surprised to see the addition of a slide attack. I have found this to be quite useful in killing small enemies and plowing through zombies. Though the game lacks a diagonal whip ability, it forces your to time your jumps better. Despite the rest of the controls, I was disappointed with the whipping delay. To whip an opponent takes a full second. This is because they animated the draw back and forward lash. This is annoying when trying to hit enemies while jumping.
I would also like to points out the exceptional usage of the GBA's graphics capabilities. Yes the character sprites are terrible like most other GBA games, but the backgrounds each have a unique feel. The save points are marked with a giant ring with a red sphere in the middle. Accessing these causes the s rings to spin, which was a nice touch.
Overall, I highly recommend adding Circle of the Moon to your collection. Take it from a non-believer, this game is that good.
GameRatio review by xenoranger
Read GR% Blog
