Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow - Thoughts
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow was released in 2003 on the Game Boy Advance. It was the third Castlevania game released on the Game Boy Advance, following Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance. Aria of Sorrow is also the first entry in the Sorrow series (see my post on its sequel, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow).
Aria of Sorrow released to critical acclaim. Famitsu gave the game a 36 out of 40 and is the highest score Famitsu has ever given to any Castlevania game. It has been listed on several “the best of” lists with its Tactical Soul system, graphics and characters being cited as the reason.
What I liked 😀
The Graphics
The graphics in Aria of Sorrow aren’t necessarily awe inspiring. However, they are masterfully crafted to the point where the visual presentation is one of the best in the series. The presentation here is also head and shoulders above Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, a game I did not like very much.
Similarly to its sequel, Aria has an anime style for the characters. Ayami Kojima (no relation to Hideo Kojima although they both worked at Konami interestingly enough) was the character designer and illustrator for the game. Her work can be seen in several Castlevania games including Symphony of the Night and Lament of Innocence. Most characters have a fair look to them, sporting immaculate hair and sharp eyes. Every character in this game is handsome or beautiful, but that’s the art style on display here.
Dracula’s castle is filled with callbacks to the older games such as the lower area with Mermen jumping out of the water or the Clock Tower area later in the game. There is a really neat room filled with mirrors and you can see the reflection of the other side of the room as Soma walks by. The outside areas have a looming full moon in the background that is jaw dropping.
Enemies and bosses look as good as they ever have even though there isn’t much new here in terms of enemies or bosses. Medusa heads, werewolves, imps, skeletons all make an appearance, and they look great. There are a handful that are unique such as a gigantic rock golem that fills an entire room and the end boss quite unique as well.
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Mr. Jones
Graham Jones is a character in Aria of Sorrow. Soma meets him fairly early on and he initially seems to be a helpful missionary, someone who is just trying to understand Dracula’s castle and why Soma is there. But those arched eyebrows gave away his true nature. He believes he is the reincarnated Dracula and was being nice to Soma because he didn’t consider him a threat. Eventually Graham goes totally insane, and Soma has to battle him in his demonic form. But afterward there’s a twist that Soma - and me, the player - didn’t see coming.
Similar to Symphony of the Night, we are witness to a neat little swerve where most of the game we think Graham is going to end up being Dracula and defeating him is the end. But there’s a cool revelation that makes the ending of the game more intriguing and also sets the scene for Dawn of Sorrow.
Good antagonists in video games are hard to come by sometimes. They can either be too cheesy or hardly a threat in the grand scheme. Graham Jones is kind of on the cheesy side, but I enjoyed his arc, and the story is one of the most intriguing things about the game.
What I didn’t like ☹️
Not a Ton of Innovation
Aside from the plot and characters, there really aren’t many innovative ideas in Aria of Sorrow. The Tactical Soul system, as great as it is, is essentially an evolution of the DSS system from Circle of the Moon. The game is a Metroidvania and so it borrows a lot from Symphony of the Night meaning that all of the standard tropes are present: uncovering a map, unlocking powers, collecting weapons and equipment, leveling up, purchasing stuff from a store, etc.
By the time Aria was released, there had been several Castlevania Metroidvanias and it just seemed like there should have been more new ideas than there were.
Overall Thoughts 🤔
Having written posts about most of the Castlevania games at this point, I found Aria of Sorrow to be yet another solid entry into the franchise. It takes all of the standard Metroidvania elements and does them very well. But I also found that I was not floored by the overall experience. It’s possible I have played too many Castlevania games all at once, or maybe I just didn’t love this one. I think if you are a fan of Metroidvanias, this game is definitely a must play. But I think other entries such as Portrait of Ruin and Symphony of the Night did it better.
Where Can I Play This? 🕹️
Aria of Sorrow was re-released as a part of the Castlevania: Advance Collection, available digitally or physically on all modern consoles.
Is Aria of Sorrow one of your favorite Castlevania games? Let me know what you think in the comments!