peak. play on an original gba or an emulator that supports colour correction and a good lcd filter and this game looks and plays better than sex - still probably one of the best feeling metroidvanias ever. smth about it being on the gba just gives it this aura that i cant really articulate but michiru yamane and ayami kojima putting music and artwork respectively into this game that still manages to ooze gothic horror more than most games in the franchise before and after it despite the weak hardware just makes it 10x cooler than it already is. i think it was the last game kojima did art for too which sucks and i didn't even know ooe's art wasn't done by them until recently (which speaks of how good the art also is in that game but im getting sidetracked) but i will be eternally grateful for this game's character portraits, i love you endgame soma. did a randomizer replay and ngl it's even better when you aren't steamrolling the endgame with the claim solais lol. julius belmont fight fucks so hard and something something characters fighting against their predestined fate something something peak fiction god this game is so good dude. really good way to end the timeline too -matthias cronqvist's soul finally gets incarnated as something that isn't dracula and immediately takes the opportunity to destroy chaos and end the cycle leaving no room or need for a sequel that fucks up the artstyle and plays worse. still waiting on a 1999 game though, here's hoping seal of the eclipse gets finished sooner or later.

I always preferred symphony of the night over aria of sorrow, but my opinion has changed... I am now part of the aria of sorrow gang💯

Anyways this is a metroidvania game where you play as the best boi Soma Cruz. Soma Cruz is just a regular dude who wanted to see a solar eclipse but he accidentally awakens in a castle with monsters and now he has to find a way to escape.

In this big ass castle you will find many different items that you can equip. You can stumble upon many weapons that have different speed, range and damage. You can also find stuff that will increase some of your stats such as armours and rings.
Something new that aria of sorrow introduces is the amazing soul system. Every enemy can drop a soul that you can equip, and these souls can change your stats, give you a new attack and give you an ability. The soul system is such an amazing new feature to the game since it makes Soma Cruz a very fun character to play as thanks to the huge variety of souls that he can equip.

The story is actually pretty memorable because of its great cast of characters. My favorite character is the GOAT Hammer who is a soldier that sells you a bunch of stuff that can be very helpful and he will buy all the items that are useless to you but obviously our protagonist Soma Cruz is also goated.

This time the castle is actually fun to explore UNLIKE A CERTAIN CASTLEVANIA CIRCLE OF THE MOON! And i barely got lost in this game because you can find castle maps which are super helpful.
Oh and the progression is very satisfying UNLIKE A CERTAIN CASTLEVANIA CIRCLE OF THE MOON!

This game probably has my favorite boss lineup in any castlevania game. There's many great boss fights such as headhunter, balore, legion, graham and chaos, but the best boss in the game is easily Julius Belmont, his fight feels like you're against another player and i love it.

The ost is obviously really good.
My favorite tracks are: heart of fire, forbidden area, you're not alone, top floor and chapel.

I don't have many complaints with the game.
The first 4 bosses of the game become normal enemies for some reason and getting the best ending for the game was pretty tedious (not as tedious as getting sotn's best ending tho) but other than that i can't think of any other complaint.

Overall this is easily the best gba castlevania game and i highly recommend it if you are looking for a good metroidvania to play.
10/10

محتار اعطيها اعلى ٤ نجوم ممكن اعطيها لأي لعبة فحياتي
ولا أقل ٤.٥ نجوم ممكن اقييمها فحياتي
معضلة الحنكة اصابتني نسأل الله السلامة

ثالث لعبة العبها بالمدام الستيم ديك، مرة مرة مرة حلوة لكن سلبيتي معها وشو؟؟ ان
ال highs
فهاللعبة مرة عالية
وال lows
فهاللعبة مرة زق
تجربتي كانت مافيها نص. يا ابيض يا اسود. يا استمتع مرررة يا اكل زق مرررة.

وقصدي باللو ذي هي الفترات اللي اضطر افتح فيها الخريطة المبهمة عشان اعرف وين اروح. قسم بالله ذببببحتتتني الخريطة مترت القلعة كلها ولا لقيت المكان اللي ابي اروح له اخاخخخخخ

لكن عموما اللعبة مرة حلوة ولولا الخريطة كنت بعطيها خمس نجوم يمكن لانها صدق روعة
ممكن يجي يوم وارجع لها لان خاصياتها واسلحتها وتصاميم الاعدااااء والاستراتيجيات اللي تجي باستعمال الاسلحة والخاصيات والقرنبع الباقي مررررررة مبتكرين ومثيرين للاهتمام. كان ودي استثمر وقت زيادة وانا اجرب كل واحد فيهم بس كانت زاقة معي من الضياع الغير واضح اطلاقا وكنت ابي اخلص اللعبة بأسرع وقت ممكن

عموما. احب الستيم ديك حقي. اشتروا ستيم ديك. شكرًا.

[PT-BR]
Melhor Castlevania que joguei, não cheguei a platinar mas zerei o jogo com 100% do mapa e lvl-95. Zerei com 12 horas de jogo mas se não grindar dá pra zerar em 6h~7h

[EN]
The best Castlevania I've ever played, I didn't get to platinum but I completed the game with 100% of the map and lvl-95. I completed the game in 12 hours, but if you don't grind, you can complete it in 6~7 hours.