i started playing this game 3 days before college. All my other stuff was packed up. I was scared for what was going to happen, and needed to kill some time on an emulator. The entire playthrough, I was just petrified for what was going to happen at college. As I saw credits, I was still petrified, but at least it never left me alone in those days.
The most under rated game ever made and easily my favorite game of all time. I've played this at minimum 30 times, and I'm now only sort of getting tired of it. I love this game. It's so much better than the other Castlevanias, and it's the only Igavania besides Bloodstained that I like more than most of the Metroid games. I love the soul system, I love the areas, I love how exploration always rewards me with some cool new weapon. It's easily the perfection of IGAVANIA, and I'm so glad Bloodstained took from this game the most. Seriously, play this game please. It's seriously one of the best games ever made. I started speed running this casually as well because I just want to play more of it. I've done so many challenge runs, so many completion runs, and so many normal runs. I can't get enough of Aria of Sorrow. Great story, great gameplay, great visuals and good music.
Enjoyable and was my first step into the Metroidvanias. I liked this game a lot when i bought it years ago. Is it good? Yes. Should you buy it? Yes. If you can manage to find it anywhere. Or on your Wii U. You now have another option in the Castlevania Advance Collection! Go ahead and get on it right now. Soma Cruz is a great protagonist.
One of the best non-linear platformers out there simply because of how streamlined everything about it is. Zero tutorials, unceremonious upgrades, and a story and setting that the player is hardly told anything about all make the game much more atmospheric and memorable compared to chattier entries into the genre. But, the memorability in particular is largely stifled by some barely fleshed out RPG mechanics and overall uncomplex gameplay- I only ever found myself switching away from my default strategy two or three times.