Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
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| Castlevania: Circle of the Moon | |
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| Developer(s) | KCEK |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Series | Castlevania |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance |
| Release date |  March 21, 2001 (JP) June 8, 2001 (NA) June 10, 2001 (EU) |
| Genre(s) | Action adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen CERO: 12+ ELSPA: 11+ |
| Media | 64-megabit cartridge |
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, known simply as Castlevania in Europe and as Akumajō Dracula Circle of the Moon (悪魔城ドラキュラ Circle of the Moon Akumajō Dorakyura Sākuru obu za Mūn?, lit. "Demon Castle Dracula Circle of the Moon") in Japan, is a video game created by Konami for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance system. The game was released in 2001 and is the first Castlevania game for Game Boy Advance. This game is called Akumajō Dracula: Circle of the Moon in Japan, and simply Castlevania in Europe (although the American name has become a standard when referring to the game).
Circle of the Moon is the only game in the Game Boy Advance Castlevania games to bear the "Akumajō Dracula" title, as subsequent entries adopted the "Castlevania" name, even in Japan (this continued until Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow). When Koji Igarashi took direction of the series during the release of Castlevania Chronicles on the PlayStation, he retconned Circle of the Moon, Castlevania Legends for the Game Boy, and two Castlevania releases for the Nintendo 64, removing them from the Castlevania timeline. All but Legends have since been restored.
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[edit] Gameplay
The gameplay in Circle of the Moon is similar to that of other post-Symphony of the Night Castlevania titles, in which the player must explore a gigantic castle filled with undead enemies and evil aberrations in a non-linear fashion. Generic enemies defeated by the player drop useful items and equipment, and also provide Experience points which increase the player character's power. Boss enemies provide plot progression, and their defeat allows the player to acquire new abilities such as a double-jump with which to progress further in the game.
The game is based around the classic Castlevania action style. The main character, Nathan Graves, uses a whip to attack the enemies, alongside the classic side weapons: Axe, Cross, Holy Water, Knife and Stopwatch. One of these sub-weapons may be carried at any time by the player, draining a supply of "Hearts" when used. Similar to how it worked in Dracula X, when a sub-weapon is picked up while another type is already being held, the first sub-weapon is dropped to the ground, instead of simply disappearing as it did in previous Castlevania games. The player may boost their character's statistics through equipping items such as armour. These statistics are Strength, which determines player's attack power, Defense, which determines resilience to damage, Intelligence, which determines the Magic Point (MP) recovery speed, and Luck, which modifies the frequency with which items are dropped by enemies.
One of the game's distinguishing aspects is its DSS (Dual Set-up System) for magic, based around magic cards. This gameplay mechanic allows the player to unleash several interesting abilities via a combination of two different magic cards: one Action card and one Attribute card. For example, the player can combine the "Mercury Card" (Action card with the power of whip enhancement) with the "Salamander Card" (Attribute card with the power of fire), obtaining a fire elemental whip attack as a result, or the "Apollo Card" (Action card with the power of explosives) with the "Serpent Card" (Attribute card with the power of ice), giving the player the ability to throw ice bombs that can freeze enemies. There are 10 of both Action and Attribute cards, making for a total of 100 card combinations. Each of these cards is dropped by certain enemies, with a probability based on the player character's "luck" statistic, thus adding another search element. Use of DSS cards drains the player's supply of MP.
[edit] The Battle Arena
The Battle Arena is an optional bonus area in the castle, consisting of 17 rooms. Each room contains a selection of standard enemies which must be defeated for the player to exit, however the Dual Set-Up System (DSS) is unavailable, with the player's MP dropping to zero as soon as they enter the Arena. Each room contains a tougher selection of enemies than the last. While completing the Arena as a whole is a stiff challenge, the player can leave the Arena between certain rooms, making the area ideal for gaining Experience.
When the player is about to enter to the Battle Arena, the following text is displayed:
- To step beyond will be to test your ability in the battle arena.
- Your Mind Power will be drained. You will not be able to use DSS.
- Once you enter, you will not be able to leave until all are defeated.
- Though, you may be rewarded for your efforts.
Completing the entire battle arena grants the player 291,582 experience points in total from enemies defeated, and the "Shinning Armor" [sic], a body equipment that significantly increases the player's Defense by 500 points, and gives a small 10 point boost to Strength, Intelligence, and Luck. There are also two DSS cards (Unicorn and Black Dog - the light and darkness Attribute Cards, respectively) which can only be obtained from enemies in the arena.
[edit] Alternate Modes
Once the game is completed, the player receives a code that can be entered as their name when starting a new game. This code will start the game in Magician Mode, where the player starts with all 20 DSS cards, and high magical ability, at the expense of reduced strength, defense, and health.
By completing Magician Mode, another code is received, which lets the player start the game in Fighter Mode. In this mode, no DSS cards can be used, but physical power is drastically increased.
In turn, completing Fighter Mode unlocks the code for Shooter Mode. This mode places emphasis on combat using the subweapons, by making them inflict significantly more damage, giving the player a very high maximum of Hearts to use them with (as well as halving the amount of hearts each subweapon uses), but giving a penalty to strength, defense, and HP. Shooter Mode also has a unique subweapon, the Homing Dagger, which is only usable in this mode.
Completing Shooter Mode unlocks the code for Thief Mode. This last alternate mode reduces all of the player's stats except Luck, which is boosted by an enormous amount. The idea in Thief Mode is to survive on whatever items and equipment the enemies drop, with greater Luck increasing the odds of getting items from each kill.
[edit] Story
The year is 1830. At an old Austrian castle, the worshippers of Chaos were attempting to revive the Lord of Darkness, Count Dracula. The Vampire Hunter Morris Baldwin and his apprentices, Nathan Graves and Hugh Baldwin, heard of this and headed to Castlevania to stop Count Dracula from coming back to life and uniting the powers of darkness. However, they arrived a few seconds after Camilla, a minion of Count Dracula, had already started the rite to revive her master.
In order for Dracula to regain his former power, he would need to wait until the full moon ritual was completed. Before the group could fight Dracula and seal him again, Dracula destroyed the floor under Nathan and Hugh, causing them to plummet down a long shaft, leaving Morris alone with Dracula and Camilla. Fortunately, Nathan and Hugh survived the fall. Hugh ran off to save his father after telling Nathan to get out of the castle. Nathan decided not to, as he wanted to rescue his mentor more than anything. He then explored the large castle, fighting Dracula's minions along the way.
As Nathan made it through the castle, he met up with Hugh multiple times, who appeared to be changing significantly in his mannerisms, seeing Nathan as a glory hog who didn't deserve the Hunter's Whip. Eventually, Nathan encountered Camilla, who explained that she and Dracula had been tampering with his mind to cause these changes. Nathan managed to vanquish Camilla in her true form, and caught up with Hugh once more. Upon seeing Nathan, Hugh immediately attacked, saying that he would defeat Nathan to prove himself to his father. However, Nathan managed to defeat Hugh and snap him out of the mind control.
He eventually arrived at the ceremonial room and attempted to vanquish Dracula and save his master from being sacrificed as a part of the dark ritual. While he fought Dracula, Hugh freed Morris and together they escaped the castle, leaving Nathan to fight Dracula alone. Dracula first attacked him in the traditional fashion, using fireballs and teleporting around the room. But then, for the final fight, Dracula teleported Nathan and himself to another dimension where he could assume his true form. Nathan fought on and defeated Dracula again. Before he was sealed, Dracula stated "It is a wasted effort. I will never be truly gone. So long as there is darkness and desire in the soul of man, I will continue to be revived". Nathan replied, "And we will be there to stop you. You can bet on that". Dracula died and the castle crumbled. Nathan then left to continue his training with Morris and Hugh.
[edit] Main characters
[edit] Morris Baldwin
Morris is Hugh's father and a veteran Vampire Hunter. He and Nathan's parents sealed Count Dracula 10 years ago. Morris chose Nathan as his successor instead of his son, Hugh, because he suspected that his son only wanted the whip for the glory of inheriting the family tradition.
[edit] Count Dracula
Sealed away in 1820 by a team of Vampire Hunters, Morris Baldwin and Nathan's parents, Dracula hopes to use Morris' energy to fully revive himself and taint the world with darkness.
[edit] Camilla
A minion of Count Dracula, Camilla is actually a demon disguised as a human female. She led the attempt to revive Dracula hoping she could serve him again. Camilla turns out to be a boss later in the game. In the Japanese version, her name is Carmilla, a reference to the vampire novella, Carmilla, written by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, which strongly influenced Bram Stoker's Dracula.
[edit] Development
[edit] Music
Circle of the Moon's score consists of numerous remixes of tracks from earlier games, such as "Vampire Killer", "Aquarius" (from Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse), "Visions of Dark Secrets" and "The Sinking Old Sanctuary" from "Castlevania: Bloodlines" and "The Trick Manor" (also known as "Clockwork Mansion") (derived from combining "Rotating Room" and "Spinning Tale" of Super Castlevania IV). In addition to these, the game also features "Dance of Illusions" (from Demon Castle Dracula X: Rondo of Blood), which is used in the first phase of the final battle. Also included are some original pieces such as "Fate to Despair", "Awake", and "Proof of Blood". The soundtrack was prepared by Sotaro Tojima.
[edit] Reception
IGN gave Circle of the Moon a 9.0, or "Outstanding", citing "deep gameplay" and "very long quest" as its chief positives.[1]. Gamespot.com gave it 9.6 out of 10, leaving Circle of the Moon as the best rated GBA game.[2] It was rated the 108th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Powers Top 200 Games list.[3] On the review aggregate site Metacritic, it is the seventh-highest rated GBA title.[4] GamePro rated the game 5.0, their highest rating, stating that it closely mirrored the most highly acclaimed Castlevania, Symphony of the Night with its rich graphics and branching story.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Harris, Craig (June 14th, 2001). Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. ign.com. Retrieved on 2006-06-04.
- ^ Jeff Gerstmann (June 7th, 2001). Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. Gamespot.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
- ^ “NP Top 200”, Nintendo Power 200: 58-66, February 2006
- ^ All Games By Score. Metacritic.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
- ^ MAJORMIKE (June 12th, 2001). Review: Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. GamePro. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
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