I am in love with SotN, i think that the most strong point of this game is the aesthetic, the graphics are pleasant to see and the music is glorious, i have michiru yamane as one of my favourite composers because of this game. I dont think the story is a strong point, honestly whoever tries to play a castlevania for its story, its just not looking in a good game for that. The gameplay is smooth, Alucard is easy to use once you get on it and there are some weapons that are so overpowered in the end that being skilled at this game loses relevancy at that point

Aria of sorrow is on my opinion the best castlevania game for the gba, the soul system is a very interesting thing, full souls soma + chaos ring is basically a walking debug mode with certain limitations. This is a good castlevania for someone who wants to start on this saga because it is a good, not that easy but not that difficult either castlevania. The story is decent, not bad not good it is just there, what is interesting is the implications on who soma actually is, and his redemption or second chance in life, and the burden lifted on arikado's soul, sort of speak