Castlevania Advance Collection reminds us why Aria of Sorrow is great

I like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. It defined the Metroidvania genre, and no other Castlevania game has surpassed its massive scope. And yet, when people ask me about my favorite game in the series, I don’t point to a symphony, I point to an aria.

Each of the three Game Boy Advance Castlevania games was inspired by the first exploration gameplay of Symphony of the night, with varying degrees of success. Of those first two games, 2001’s Moon circle easily beats 2002 Harmony of dissonance, but none could hold a candle to the PlayStation inspiration that came before. They are fun, even today, but they are not games that I often like to return to. In hindsight, it turns out they were preambles to the big show.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, released in 2003, has seen a revival this week as part of the Castlevania Advance Collection (which includes all three GBA games, along with Dracula X, which we’ll just ignore for sanity reasons and because it’s not very good).

Pain aria It’s noteworthy for a number of reasons, one of which is that it’s the first Castlevania game to be set in the future. In the year 2035, a teenager in a sick white coat encounters supernatural powers. Does the game that is in the future change much of something? Not really. Dracula doesn’t employ robots or care about his following, but the setting allows an occasional moment of futuristic hilarity to seep into an otherwise ancient (read: laser gun) setting.

As a possible reincarnation of Dracula, the protagonist Soma Cruz can absorb the powers of the various enemies he fights. For example, killing a skeleton that throws bones could grant it the power to throw bones itself. This so-called tactical soul system is a key component, as each of the game’s dozens of enemies has a game-changing power to give Soma an edge. Is here that Pain aria it really starts to set itself apart from the rest, adding a feature that I miss so much when I go back and play Symphony of the night.

Symphony of the night relies on a small group of weapon types and useful abilities. Alucard can spend 90% of that adventure equipped with different long swords and a throwing ax, and he will be perfectly fine. Meanwhile, the tactical soul system in Pain aria Encourage constant adjustment and experimentation. You may stumble upon a new enemy and wonder what your soul could offer. Some may be simple stat boosts, while others provide new mobility enhancements. Sure, you could hit things with your sword … or you could shoot a damn bolt from your hands. It is completely up to you. It offers many more options for players than Castlevania has ever had before.

Image: Konami via Polygon

Hell, even if you just wanted to stick to guns AriaThe arsenal is much more diverse than Symphony of the night‘s, from axes to hammers, spears and real weapons. You can literally shoot death in the face with a laser gun in this game.

Another edge that Pain aria offers over the other two GBA installments – you can actually go head-to-head with the images of Symphony of the night. While it may not have the same level of detail as the PlayStation game (the GBA was limited to 240×160 pixels, compared to the PlayStation’s 256×240, and lacked some of the fancy 3D effects), Aria squeeze every last detail out of those pixels. Just as an example, you could watch Soma Cruz’s walking animation all day and twice on Sunday. That coat swoops, that Saturday night fever swagger – what more could you ask for?

I could write for years about the areas where Pain aria competes with or exceeds the efforts of Symphony of the night. But I will not hold you. If you’ve never played this game and consider yourself a fan of Metroidvanias, it’s worth considering buying the Castlevania Advance Collection, just for this game. (And hey, the other games are pretty good too … because I’m still ignoring Dracula X.)

The collection includes some nifty features like development team sketches and original box art from various regions. You can even play these fast save and rewind games if you’re too intimidated to find a space to save. But most of all, it’s just an excuse to play Pain aria on a giant TV, and get back to enjoying the brilliance of that swagger.