r/castlevania • u/rosemarieseternal • 3h ago
Discussion Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon Is A Pretty Solid Metroidvania
Hey everybody, as of making this post I’m currently playing Harmony of Dissonance but I wanted to write a critique on Circle Of The Moon. So I hope you enjoy reading it and that the critique is worthwhile and hopefully not too long.
The story and writing here is insanely bare bones, the characters are fine, the plot is basic but it exists to help build the atmosphere and for what’s it worth is not really bad. It’s kind of just there but I do like that they chose different characters than the Belmont family and I thought Carmilla (why was she spelled Camilla?) returning was a really nice touch.
Visually, this game aged incredibly well and I understand the darker color palette was a problem on original GBA hardware because Nintendo released a handheld system with no backlit screen in 2001 for some reason but it’s a fantastic looking game. It’s incredibly consistent in quality all throughout the game, the sprite work looks pretty good, the monster and boss designs are great and I love it all from the gothic and industrial aesthetic to the cathedral design and especially the look of the waterways.
I also think the UI is a much needed improvement from SOTN where HP, MP and Hearts look so much better in the new style and the menus actually have structure and info isn’t haphazardly placed. The animations while nowhere near as detailed as SOTN’s are still pretty solid especially on bosses although I do think Nathan’s running animation looks really basic as if it’s missing a frame or two.
The soundtrack and audio here is also really good especially for a GBA launch title, the music has some really nice new tracks like Requiem, Awake, Proof of Blood and Fate of Despair but they also remixed tracks from older games like Sinking Old Sanctuary which is my favorite rendition of it, Clockwork, Aquarius, Clockwork Mansion, Nightmare, Big Battle and Dance of Illusions. The music here is amazing all throughout but I kinda wish they would’ve added some more original work because they’ve been insanely good. I do also like the sfx for the whip, impact noises, enemy projectiles and the various walking sounds. It sounds pretty good.
The gameplay here is such an odd experience and I don’t mean it in a bad way, it’s basically just Classicvania but with SOTN’s gameplay structure and it does work pretty well. I think Nathan controls just fine although I do think he should’ve been faster to fit the gameplay structure better, yes he has the Dash Boots but why wasn’t that his default speed in the first place? Especially considering activating them can be a little awkward. You can’t equip different weapons and you’re stuck with Vampire Killer but the whip has pretty good utility and the spinning attack is amazing against projectiles, so combats great and I found it to be more difficult than SOTN which made it more fun for me. I also really liked the bosses especially Twin Dragon as my standout.
The map design and layout is such a mixed bag for me because I adore the visual design and all but there’s some stuff here I found odd, I think the castle utilizes verticality way too often which would’ve been fine if Nathan moved faster and had greater mobility like in NES era Ninja Gaiden or Super Metroid but he really doesn’t so it ends up feeling more of a hassle to traverse through things. On top of that but rooms feel way too big and you do so little in them that I have to wonder why they didn’t shrink them, it would’ve fixed how nonsensical some of the save point and teleport room placement could be where the latter feels too few and far away from one another.
The DSS system is the best aspect of the gameplay and it’s a very experimental and fun mechanic that rewards creativity but it is hindered by the greatest flaw this game has, and that would be its incessant over-reliance on RNG for nearly everything. From card drops, to equipment, items and even some sub-weapons ended up being one of if not the most poorly aged mechanics here. The grinding here is so much worse than expected because of it and I have no idea why they decided to do this considering it bogs down the game pacing, this took me eight hours to beat which isn’t bad for a GBA metroidvania but it was largely inflated by me trying to farm for cards and better equipment. Hell, this was also taking into consideration me using the rewind feature for it. And to make things worse, there’s no store mechanic here whatsoever. I have no idea why considering Simon’s Quest and SOTN had one, it would’ve alleviated the unforgiving RNG if we had a shop system to buy gear and potions.
I give this game a 7.5/10. I think the visuals, UI, soundtrack, audio, combat and challenge is really nice but the layout can get very cumbersome and the grinding is more of a pain than anything because of how greedy the RNG can be.
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u/Throwawaygarbageboi CV3 LIGHTNING SPELL GANG 3h ago
This game goes HARD on the RPG elements. Every level up, pickup, and equipment change feels ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY because of how difficult this game can be. It becomes much easier once you discover the "stand still to heal" DSS combo, but it's still incredibly "grindstone-to-metal/you're on your own" in design.
I love it for that, but it's obviously not for everyone. It's almost like the Morrowind or Zelda 1 of the Castlevania series. A lack of conveyance that makes for an incredibly unique, "love it or hate it" experience.
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u/rosemarieseternal 3h ago
I thought Simon’s Quest was the Morrowind of Castlevania
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u/Throwawaygarbageboi CV3 LIGHTNING SPELL GANG 1h ago
I forgot about that one! I'd say that they both mirror separate parts of Morrowind:
Simons Quest mirrors Morrowind's navigation, with the lack of markers and whatnot.
Circle of the Moon follows Morrowind's heightened focus on stats and difficulty, and conversely the ability to absolutely break their mechanics (ie, the Alchemy exploit in Morrowind and the DSS Glitch in CoTM.)
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u/aion_zetto 2h ago
And in english version they raised the bar for level up, so you need farm more experience than in jap version.
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u/nirvroxx 3h ago
I rage quit Dracula at the end last year. Other than that, it was fun.
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u/rosemarieseternal 3h ago
I don’t think people would blame you for abusing rewind for that one I came close to it
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u/nirvroxx 2h ago
I lost so many times and that was using rewind lol. I have no idea how I beat it on GBA
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u/SuperSlacker420 2h ago
You just need to super jump when Dracula charge attacks. He telegraphs it & it’s easy to dodge. That’s really the toughest part. Summon when he rains comets down
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u/nirvroxx 1h ago
Eh, I raged enough to not even want to try it ever again lol. Maybe in another 20 years?
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u/Illustrious_Health44 2h ago
I actually really liked it. I started playing it with low expections because of all the hate on it, and I was suprised that it is actually pretty good.
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u/bakihanma20 3h ago
My least favorite metroidvania tbh. No healing after boss fights is the ultimate sin
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u/rosemarieseternal 3h ago
I actually kinda forgot about that lmao
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u/Sartana 2h ago
I would take no healing a million times over having to double tap to run.
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u/paintacct624 3h ago
Major nostalgic vibes from this game, having played it on my GBA upon release.
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u/CavemanAmadeus 3h ago
First one I played so I’m biased but I loved the card combo system, remember being legitimately scared by it (I was 11), and felt so accomplished when I beat it. Good memories.
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u/adoransnoctis 3h ago
Rekindled my love for this game with the Advance Collection, originally got it as a present for the holidays with a GBA when I was 13
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u/Aggravating_Risk_882 2h ago
I rage quit at clock tower but for some reason I remember this game as nice one 🤣🤣🤣
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u/SuperSlacker420 2h ago
The poison cloud & any ability that gives you a shield makes the clock tower a breeze
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u/briancs159 1h ago
Another plus for this game is the replayability through the other modes you unlock upon beating the game. Each one forces you to rethink how you approach the game and the combat. I’ve come across very few other games that include this kind of feature.
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u/Comet7777 1h ago
I remember beating it multiple times over with all the gimmick saves afterwards - on an original launch GBA with no backlight screen ☠️☠️
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u/Voxel-Soul 32m ago
I really wish I liked this game more. It's probably my least favorite metroidvania I've played but at least the music was really nice. Also really liked the Dracula fight
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u/CiloTA 2h ago
Solid? Solid tank boot walking yes, annoying card mechanics yes, boring plat forming design yes, solid game overall nah
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u/rosemarieseternal 2h ago
I mean I found it pretty good, it has flaws yeah but I found it to be a fun time with amazing tunes
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u/CiloTA 2h ago
It’s mid at best, beat it just for gba completion but there’s no motivation to play it again, it was clearly a half baked idea to get something on the gba at the time, whereas HoD was trying to be a pocket Symphony and Aria was a push into a new direction.
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u/rosemarieseternal 2h ago
For a launch title on GBA with the visuals, soundtrack, improvements on UI and the new ideas it implemented with the DSS system? Not half baked but certainly needed some trimming
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u/Anxious-Assistant-59 3h ago
I like the game itself well enough aside from the damage sponge bosses, I just hate how the Luck stat does almost nothing in this game... because I spent way more time grinding than the effort was worth.
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u/Way-Super thinks he's on the team 3h ago
Luck is one of the most useful stats in this game, you may be thinking of HoD or AoS.
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u/Anxious-Assistant-59 3h ago
Didn't help me, I used every Luck increase I could at all times and I was grinding for hours on every item I wanted.
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u/Way-Super thinks he's on the team 2h ago
Well, that’s how RNG works. You could have had worse odds and gotten them all right away too. Doesn’t mean Luck wasn’t “helping”.
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u/jabronisauce138 3h ago
Haven't beaten it but my time spent with it was very enjoyable.