A competent collection of ports with some nice features, perfect for portable play on the Switch.
Circle of the Moon's biggest issue - the non-backlit screen on the original GBA, isn't a problem here, and the graphics are honestly fine without that. The game itself holds up fairly well as a weird hybrid of Igavania and Classicvania, though it's definitely rough around the edges. The weird difficulty curve, the poor droprates and obscure locations for the cards and the poor balance of the cards themselves are issues, but the game itself is fine.
Harmony of Dissonance is a misstep. In seeking to course correct from CotM it became a garish, overly busy mess - technically impressive but artistically unpleasant. To make matters worse, this came at the expense of the soundtrack which is a mix of good compositions let down by screechy chiptune instrumentation and awful random beeps (like the boss music). The dual castle mechanic is introduced inventively but this is the worst Igavania by a country mile.
Aria, on the other hand, is superb. Great, clear graphics, an impressive soundtrack and a fun twist on the series' age old conflict make this second only to Symphony of the Night in my eyes. The soul system is great, if grindy, and this feels like the game that nailed the formula. A must-play.
Dracula X feels like a bonus game and it's an interesting curiousity, but the level design and enemy placement seem intended to be as frustrating as possible. The good graphics and surprisingly good SNES renditions of Rondo's soundtrack don't make the game fun to play even with savestate abuse. If you want to play Rondo, just play Rondo, not its obnoxious kid brother.
Circle of the Moon's biggest issue - the non-backlit screen on the original GBA, isn't a problem here, and the graphics are honestly fine without that. The game itself holds up fairly well as a weird hybrid of Igavania and Classicvania, though it's definitely rough around the edges. The weird difficulty curve, the poor droprates and obscure locations for the cards and the poor balance of the cards themselves are issues, but the game itself is fine.
Harmony of Dissonance is a misstep. In seeking to course correct from CotM it became a garish, overly busy mess - technically impressive but artistically unpleasant. To make matters worse, this came at the expense of the soundtrack which is a mix of good compositions let down by screechy chiptune instrumentation and awful random beeps (like the boss music). The dual castle mechanic is introduced inventively but this is the worst Igavania by a country mile.
Aria, on the other hand, is superb. Great, clear graphics, an impressive soundtrack and a fun twist on the series' age old conflict make this second only to Symphony of the Night in my eyes. The soul system is great, if grindy, and this feels like the game that nailed the formula. A must-play.
Dracula X feels like a bonus game and it's an interesting curiousity, but the level design and enemy placement seem intended to be as frustrating as possible. The good graphics and surprisingly good SNES renditions of Rondo's soundtrack don't make the game fun to play even with savestate abuse. If you want to play Rondo, just play Rondo, not its obnoxious kid brother.