Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is the third Castlevania release on the Game Boy Advance and after three installments, you'd think it would be getting old. But AoS adds a new gameplay system that compliments everything else about the game, and every technical aspect has been pushed to the limits to make a great adventure.

Breakdown

In Aria of Sorrow, you assume the role of Soma Cruz as he is warped into Dracula's castle while he was watching the first solar eclipse of the century. If he doesn't defeat Dracula before the eclipse is over, he and the entire world will fall into an apocalypse. The story is pretty simple but a few interesting things happen over the course of the game. The gameplay, as always, is where AoS excels. Instead of always using a whip, Soma can pick up different weapons, from fist cuffs to axes, and use them alongside magical abilities. As you kill enemies, you absorb their souls, and they power you up. There are three general types of souls. One gives you enemy attacks, another lets you use special abilities, and yet another type raises the level of your skills or abilities. This system differs greatly from the previous Castlevania games on the GBA and it adds much needed innovation to the series.

While traveling through the castle is fun and entertaining, sometimes the difficulty balance is forgotten. You'll find some bosses that are easier than enemies, and some bosses that make you want to spoon your eyes out. However, combat and exploration bring up the next strongest points of AoS - the graphics and music. Unlike the last two games, which were strong in one point (graphics or music) and weak in another, AoS excels in both. The music easily rivals Circle of the Moon (the first game), and some of the songs are quite catchy. The graphics beat out Harmony of Dissonance (the second game) in every way imaginable. The enemies look cool with great animation, and the detail is stunning for a GBA game.

Overall, AoS is one game that GBA owners won't want to miss out on. It blows past the first two games in almost every way. The only true similarities are the concept and side-scrolling mechanics. You might consider the difficulty a similarity, because like the last two games, it is usually extremely easy. I wouldn't say that newbies to Castlevania should worry; you'll beat it just as fast as anyone else. Still, this is undeniably one of the better GBA games so far released.