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Castlevania Advance Collection (PC)
Game Info:
Castlevania Advance Collection
Developed By: Konami Digital Entertainment
Published By: Konami Digital Entertainment
Released: September 23, 2021
Available On: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One
Genre: Action RPG
ESRB Rating: Teen (Blood, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Violence)
Number of Players: Singleplayer
Price: $19.99
(Humble Store Link)
The high point of the Castlevania series was the GBA and Nintendo DS games, where you could have a lot of exploration, combat, and story in one fun package. Castlevania Advance Collection is a fine collection of all those GBA-era classics in one enhanced package.
A bit of background first. Castlevania is a series of games about slaying all sorts of public domain monsters from legend and myth, with Dracula heading the list as the top bad guy. From 1997-2008, the period in which the GBA games were made, the series was in its "Metroidvania" phase, in which the game world was an open one in 2D style where you could revisit any part of the map and discover new abilities and secrets as you progress. The games included in this collection save the bonus game, all cleave to this game structure mold. All use the original ROMs of the systems they came for, using a custom emulation to add modern features to render them better on modern systems. Most are playable in multiple language versions, including US, European, and Asian releases.
First off, the bonus game is the stripped-down SNES port of Rondo of Blood. Dracula X is hardly even the same game despite using a lot of assets from Rondo of Blood. It is effectively a standalone story that uses a stripped-down version of Rondo's plot with some changes. Overall, unless you enjoy a really hard platformer that is a cut-down version of a much better game, not much to see here. Thankfully, the main games in the collection are far more worth your time.
Circle of the Moon was an early GBA title and many of its features are essentially a crude prototype of the later GBA titles. The plot is officially considered alternate canon to the series, but it still involves taking down Dracula and while it's a fairly hard game closer to the classic platformer titles in difficulty, it's got great music and design.
Harmony of Dissonance is a canonical title set fifty years after Castlevania II for the NES. Juste Belmont, the descendant of Simon from that game, sets out with a friend named Maxim to find a girl they both care for. In the process, they find Dracula's Castle has returned, and as the title indicates, there is a lot more than it seems.
Aria of Sorrow fast forwards to the year 2035. Dracula was defeated for good in 1999, but his powers await a new inheritor. Soma Cruz is visiting a friend of his in Japan when they are caught up in a lunar eclipse, where Dracula's Castle has them trapped. As Soma fights to protect a young friend of his named Mina, he discovers he's able to use the powers of the monsters he fights. In the process, he is drawn into the struggle to find out who will inherit the power of Dracula, and who will do so will choose to do good or evil with that inheritance.
Highlights:
Strong Points:Collection of three good GBA games ported for modern systems
Weak Points:Dracula X is an inferior game compared to Rondo of Blood
Moral Warnings:Fantasy violence against demons and undead with some blood and gore; Mild teen-level language like a** and b**t**d heard on occasion; Female monsters that appear nude (minus explicit details) and some mild innuendo; Profound presence of supernatural and occult (tempered by positive portrayals of the Church and God)
The three main titles of the collection are of the "Metroidvania" style, a term referring to the exploratory world structure of the Metroid games and the theming of the Castlevania series. In these games, the player has access to all parts of the world, with more opening up as the player finds new abilities. They can revisit older areas to discover new secrets and paths, and several endings are possible in these games (save Circle of the Moon which had only one), with the best endings requiring heavy searching of all possible areas for how to unlock them. In all three, the player must slay various monsters, visit a "hub" area where they can recover health and purchase items, and ultimately defeat the overarching villain of the story after getting past a variety of levels and bosses.
Nathan Graves of Circle of the Moon can not only find sub-weapons for added attacks in certain situations, but he can also collect cards that alter the elemental property of his attacks or add other effects to further increase his options. Juste Belmont in Harmony of Dissonance has a modified version of these mechanics, using various spellbooks and stones (for his signature whip to alter the attacks he can inflict with it) to alter his subweapon attacks.
Soma Cruz in Aria of Sorrow can collect monster souls from downed monsters. Some allow the use of new attacks, some provide some sort of boost, and some have passive effects that boost the use of other attacks. He can also equip a wide variety of weapons and armor that can give him options for all sorts of situations.
The art style of the characters tends to be rather Westernized, with rough face portraits with a realistic look. The other game art has a hand-drawn anime/pixel look with bright colors and lots of detail. Animations are a bit crude in Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance, but Aria of Sorrow tends to look much better, being made towards the end of the GBA era. As for Dracula X, it's basically upscaled SNES-era platformer graphics with a gothic motif and looks about the same quality-wise as the other games.
Sound and music are SNES/GBA quality chiptune music, though rendered in better quality than their home systems. True to the series, most have a lot of gothic and dramatic themes and are all quite pleasant to the ear. There are limited voiceovers, mostly grunts and a few phrases, mostly in Japanese.
This collection can be played with a keyboard and mouse, or with any Steam-supported controller. The latter is greatly preferred, as there is limited key remapping available for keyboard users, though the controls are easily explained and usable on both. These games play nicely on Steam Deck, with the Deck itself serving as the controller.
This collection is quite stable on Microsoft Windows. It is rated Playable on Steam Deck and runs well on Linux via Steam Proton. The original ROMs can be extracted to run on an emulator legally for personal use, but have been modified to have no sound data (since sound emulation was moved to external files for the Collection). There are some unofficial patches to fix this as noted on the PC Gaming Wiki.
Score Breakdown:
Higher is better
(10/10 is perfect)
Game Score - 88%
Gameplay - 18/20
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 8/10
Stability - 5/5
Controls - 5/5
Morality Score - 56%
Violence - 2/10
Language - 6/10
Sexual Content - 5/10
Occult/Supernatural - 5/10
Cultural/Moral/Ethical - 10/10
Morally, there are some issues.
Violence is done in action style where the player must use a variety of weapons and powers to take down monsters, both humanoid and otherwise. While there are some displays of blood, remains disappear after death. All violence takes place in the context of self-defense against malicious beings who are threats to humanity. Worth noting some monsters do look pretty disgusting before dying, with rotted flesh and entrails on display, though the low detail mutes some of the horror.
Language is going to be mildly earthy. D*mn and h*ll are mentioned generally in a religious context, though there are some rare mentions of a** and b**t**d, though the latter has an entirely innocent usage in referring to the style of sword one can wield.
There are some nude-looking female monsters (succubi and related), but typically no explicit details are shown. A few voiceovers from the same have some mild innuendo, but that's about it (and is mostly untranslated or unintelligible in English). For the most part, the protagonists wear entirely sensible outfits appropriate to the time and setting of the games in question.
Being a game about Dracula and every other undead and demonic being rolled into one universe, there is a heavy supernatural and necromantic presence, albeit these are all portrayed as clearly evil and worthy of destruction. Some of the protagonists can use some of the same powers as the monsters, albeit they do so for "fight fire with fire" reasons, with their uses explicitly sanctioned by the Church for humanity's defense. In Soma's case, he can use the actual power of Dracula, though the best ending hinges on ultimately casting it aside and even he only uses it in defense of himself and other innocents.
From a moral standpoint, there is generally little to complain about. The protagonists work with the Church and other responsible authorities to defeat horrors from beyond the grave and other threats. The Church in general is portrayed in a positive manner.
If you enjoy Metroidvania games or are a fan of the GBA-era Castlevania games, this collection is totally worth getting. Has some moral themes only fit for teenagers on up. Definitely recommend getting it alongside the other Castlevania game collections as well.