It's hard to nail down the charm of a handheld exclusive title, especially one using a pre-established formula, but Aria of Sorrow fills that exact niche with an amazing level of confidence. There's something to be said about the simple charms of checking every corner of a map, getting lost, and having that wonderful moment of discovery that blows the whole game wide open, it's pretty intoxicating, and seems to be a driving factor behind the metroidvania subgenre's explosion in popularity. I think Aria takes a great no frills approach to a lot of those wonderful design philosophies and squeezes it down like a fresh orange, and the subsequent game is a tight, joyous, pulpy little romp that kept me entertained through multiple hotel stays and flights!