As a result of recent registration from Castlevania Advance Collection in the Australian age classification body (the equivalent of our PEGI), I wanted to remember Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Because it is likely that if there is a collection on the way to the Castlevania from GBA, they can not miss Aria of Sorrow, Circle of the Moon, nor the one that places us now, as we are the only ones.
Yes, the fantastic Game Boy Advance only had three installments of this legendary Konami saga, until Nintendo DS took over with Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, a sequel to the aforementioned Aria of Sorrow. His stage in GBA lasted only three years, first leaving Circle of Moon in 2001 and the last one in 2003. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance He was the one in the middle and the great misunderstood.
The comparisons are hateful. And more with SOTN
That this adventure of Just Belmont It didn’t shine as brightly as Nathan Graves’ first or Soma Cruz’s last on said laptop had an easy explanation, in any case. Its producer and screenwriter, himself Koji Igarashi, I wanted to create a game similar to the iconic Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for Game Boy Advance. And of course, the comparisons were obnoxious due to their limitations.
Although on a visual level it was a marvel for said laptop, there were things against which it could not compete against the classic PlayStation and Saturn, such as the available buttons. The clearest example is in the way he used to switch between the object in use (ax, holy water … all those who consume hearts) and the spells (which consume the MP bar), having to press down + L + R. It could also be done from the menu, but the process was tedious.
Like Castlevania it was consistent but lacked sparkle. That desire to copy a formula was noted. And we already know what happens with those things. From the protagonist himself, with an appearance similar to Alucard, to the fact of having two versions of the same castle, there were many similarities … and many mistakes. Because the design of the map was not the most optimal, forcing many turns and with the worst save points that I can remember. Or what is worse for a Castlevania: had a boring soundtrack.
It’s funny, because the saga has always stood out for its OST but there is unanimity with this chapter, the worst for many in that section … and that Michiru Yamane herself was one of the architects of her music. It is the section in which It fell far short of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Be that as it may, it did represent a technical leap over the previous Circle of the Moon of Game Boy Advance, not only in the visual aspect, but because of how fluid the control with Juste was, being a character who stood out for his movement dash on both sides of the screen: with L we dodged to the left and with R we dodged to the right. And this logically served to move us (with impulses) faster, which was appreciated at the beginning.
On the other hand, Juste Belmont surprised by being a Belmont who could use the iconic whip of the saga (Vampire Killer) along with spells. In fact, the jumping whip attack respected the style of the early Castlevania, in the sense of not being able to correct the direction as soon as we pressed the attack button. In a way it was a game that walked between two worlds: classic and metroidvania.
Harmony of Dissonance, the filler Castlevania
Set chronologically about 50 years after the legendary Simon Belmont won the battle against Dracula, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance did not manage for an instant that his story was a already seen constant, with everything related to Juste’s companion being most predictable, Maxim Kishine. Without going any further, there were three possible endings to unlock and it revolved around his figure, that of the aforementioned Dracula and that of his friend in distress, Lydie Erlanger.
He sinned from being too SOTNAlthough that for people with a Game Boy Advance who had not played the 1997 classic was quite a hoot, of course. Now, what is undeniable is that the use of versions A and B of the same castle were less successful than the amazing inverted castle with Alucard
If something can be Proud Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is from spell fusion. As we were unlocking the different books (fire, ice, lightning, wind and invocation) the possibility of combining these spells with the classic objects (knife, ax, cross, holy water, holy book and holy fist) was opened by spending the bar of magic. And the change was brutal, since these spells were highly powerful in different cases, facilitating the task against certain bosses in a very notorious way. It was all a matter of experimenting and consulting the bestiary to discover the enemy’s weaknesses. And be careful, because we could also get different types of whips very useful.
As an anecdote there would be that room that we could fill with furniture that we were finding scattered throughout the map, as collectibles. A way to put filler in an adventure that enjoyed the typical medium duration of the genre and with the usual unlockables, such as controlling Maxim, the very Simon Belmont with his NES aspect or the rescue Boss Rush.
The truth is that I kept a better memory of this 2002 game and, although it still does not seem bad at all, the passage of time has shown that it was compliant, without more, to cover a need in GBA until the arrival of the essential Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, which was revolutionary. Not in vain did his applauded soul system rescue him Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
If you want to play it, you have it in the Wii U eShop for 6,99 dollars.