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[SantaC]

I started Circle of the Moon in October and just finished Order of Ecclesia. What a great ride it was and IGA really is the master of the concept. Even though some of these games are 20 years old it is still worth it. The magic is there.

i gotta though say that there is no clear winner, all these six games have their own weaknesses and strengths. Here is a short breakdown of the games:

-Best atmosphere: Circle of the Moon
-Best level design: Dawn of Sorrow
-Best controls: Order of Ecclesia
-Best music: Portrait of Ruin
-Best story: They're all pretty bad, but it's not why you play these games. I am thinking Order of Ecclesia
-Best challenge: Order of Ecclesia
-Best battle system: Dawn of Sorrow. Valmanway + Devil soul = instant win
-Best bosses: Aria of Sorrow
-Best gameplay: Order of Ecclesia

And no, I did not hate Harmony of Dissonance. It's a solid entry and the dual castle is interesting.


I am finding most of these games better than Bloodstained Ritual of the Night.

 

[Knightime_X]

Personally I find harmony of dissonance the weakest out of those 6.

 

[SantaC]

Personally I find harmony of dissonance the weakest out of those 6.

It is the weakest, but it is not a bad entry.

 

[kunonabi]

I really only liked Circle and Portrait.

 

[Knightime_X]

It is the weakest, but it is not a bad entry.

It's really not a bad game but does feel like the flattest and more sterile out of them all.

 

[SantaC]

It's really not a bad game but does feel like the flattest and more sterile out of them all.

I kinda liked the spellbooks + subweapon setup.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Yeah. These games all hold up well. Waiting for my steamdeck to run through them again.

I have to agree about them being better than Bloodstained too. Something about the graphical style of that game just makes it feel off to me. Still solid tho and I will buy his next game sight unseen.

 

[SantaC]

Yeah. These games all hold up well. Waiting for my steamdeck to run through them again.

I have to agree about them being better than Bloodstained too. Something about the graphical style of that game just makes it feel off to me. Still solid tho and I will buy his next game sight unseen.

Yeah the graphic style in RotN is barf. Also the castle could been bigger and better.

 

[Saber]

Best atmosphere Circle of Moon? I know it's your opinion, but nah. Circle of Moon is probably the weakest Castlevania game in terms of absolutelly everything. Except perhaps for the soundtrack.

 

[BlakeofT]

Best atmosphere Circle of Moon? I know it's your opinion, but nah. Circle of Moon is probably the weakest Castlevania game in terms of absolutelly everything. Except perhaps for the soundtrack.

I haven't played Circle of the Moon in a long long time, but I'll always love it for being the one good launch game for the GBA. Man I couldn't sleep the night before the GBA came out because I was so excited. Really happy there was something worth playing.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Best atmosphere Circle of Moon? I know it's your opinion, but nah. Circle of Moon is probably the weakest Castlevania game in terms of absolutelly everything. Except perhaps for the soundtrack.

I can't get past it's controls. So cumbersome.

 

[Saber]

I haven't played Circle of the Moon in a long long time, but I'll always love it for being the one good launch game for the GBA. Man I couldn't sleep the night before the GBA came out because I was so excited. Really happy there was something worth playing.

Cool I guess? Used to play alot of Castlevanias for GBA back at the time. Still play some of them occasionally nowadays though, but Circle of Moon is perhaps the only Castlevania I didn't went back playing. Massive drag to play, repetitive monster death animation, almost meanless level up system, drop system is mediocre, card system is trash, terrible replayability outside codes that make the replay worse(try playing with Thief) and villains are really forgettable. The only thing good about it is the music.

The best Castlevanias are found on DS. Dawn of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia are master piece Castlevanias.

 

[SantaC]

Cool I guess? Used to play alot of Castlevanias for GBA back at the time. Still play some of them occasionally nowadays though, but Circle of Moon is perhaps the only Castlevania I didn't went back playing. Massive drag to play, repetitive monster death animation, almost meanless level up system, drop system is mediocre, card system is trash, terrible replayability outside codes that make the replay worse(try playing with Thief) and villains are really forgettable. The only thing good about it is the music.

Opinions, how do they work?

 

[Saber]

Opinions, how do they work?

Like this

Best atmosphere Circle of Moon? I know it's your opinion, but nah. Circle of Moon is probably the weakest Castlevania game in terms of absolutelly everything. Except perhaps for the soundtrack.

If you like its ok.

 

[Ozzie666]

Games like these make me believe there is still a market for a GBA type device, better screen, slightly more power, great battery life. Just full of great 2D experiences in the 16-bit or 32 bit style.
At the very least Konami seems to be sleeping on easy money. I imagine Metroid did pretty well for it's budget.

 

[SantaC]

Games like these make me believe there is still a market for a GBA type device, better screen, slightly more power, great battery life. Just full of great 2D experiences in the 16-bit or 32 bit style.
At the very least Konami seems to be sleeping on easy money. I imagine Metroid did pretty well for it's budget.

It is called a switch

 

[Fredrik]

Order of Ecclesia is awesome, glad to see it on multiple places on that list, one of my fav vanias

 

[mcjmetroid]

I started Circle of the Moon in October and just finished Order of Ecclesia. What a great ride it was and IGA really is the master of the concept. Even though some of these games are 20 years old it is still worth it. The magic is there.

i gotta though say that there is no clear winner, all these six games have their own weaknesses and strengths. Here is a short breakdown of the games:

-Best atmosphere: Circle of the Moon
-Best level design: Dawn of Sorrow
-Best controls: Order of Ecclesia
-Best music: Portrait of Ruin
-Best story: They're all pretty bad, but it's not why you play these games. I am thinking Order of Ecclesia
-Best challenge: Order of Ecclesia
-Best battle system: Dawn of Sorrow. Valmanway + Devil soul = instant win
-Best bosses: Aria of Sorrow
-Best gameplay: Order of Ecclesia

And no, I did not hate Harmony of Dissonance. It's a solid entry and the dual castle is interesting.


I am finding most of these games better than Bloodstained Ritual of the Night.

That's because all of them are better than bloodstained. Bloodstained just wasn't very good. It's... Ok

 

[nkarafo]

I also played all of them but it was a while ago so i don't remember much. I do remember Order of Ecclesia having the best OST for me though, followed closely by Portrait and Aria.

 

[cartman414]

That's because all of them are better than bloodstained. Bloodstained just wasn't very good. It's... Ok

Not a chance. Bloodstained is better than at least half of them.

 

[Naked Lunch]

Circle and Harmony are crap. Harmony is one of the easiest, most boring games I ever played.
Aria is top tier Vania - stands right next to SOTN imo.

I always wanted to play the DS games - never owned the portable and never got around to DS emulation - yet.

 

[cireza]

Best music: Portrait of Ruin

Yeah. Yuzo Koshiro helped on this OST by the way, he has composed many awesome tracks.

 

[Beer Baelly]

Konami shouldve added those DS games to the collection.

 

[SantaC]

Konami shouldve added those DS games to the collection.

I am sure they will

 

[cireza]

I am sure they will

They have to patch out the touch screen features though.

 

[Soltype]

-Best atmosphere: Circle of the Moon

100%, I think it's the best vania , aesthetically speaking.

 

[Impotaku]

Found the DS ones a lot of fun each with it's own style, stupidly i waited till far too late into the DS lifecycle and the prices had already gone beyond release prices. They tend to be some of the more pricy DS games now especially in japan if you want a decent condition copy.

 

[SantaC]

They have to patch out the touch screen features though.

It is already patched out by fans.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Games like these make me believe there is still a market for a GBA type device, better screen, slightly more power, great battery life. Just full of great 2D experiences in the 16-bit or 32 bit style.
At the very least Konami seems to be sleeping on easy money. I imagine Metroid did pretty well for it's budget.

So the switch lite?

 

[_Ex_]

Circle of the Moon and Order of Ecclesia are the only ones I consider mandatory gaming. The rest are all high quality with the exception of Portrait. I don't like that one because the back half is straight up recycled everything from the front half. Including the level graphics. Clearly a rush job.