Format: Advance
Genre: Action platformer
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami

CotM, Konami's first Castlevania foray on the GBA, was too dark. So, they made the sequel, HoD, more colorful. HoD lacked the quality of animation that marked the superlative Playstation title, Symphony of the Night. So, they made the third title, Aria of Sorrow (AoS), more detailed. This newfound attention to detail has permeated this game from every level, but has manifested itself most in the animation, primarily that of the protagonist. Continued progress for Konami's flagship GBA franchise.

As it was with HoD, the music in this title has taken a half-step backwards from its predecessor. The level of hauntingness is fine, but the melodies, for the most part, are lacking the harmonic catchiness that the songs from the first two games had. The sound effects are on par with the rest of the series however, so my subjective take on the melodies is partially offset by a more objective look at the sound effects.

The "gimmick", if you will, of this Castlevania title is the ability to take the skills of enemies, "equip" them, then activate them during gameplay to use them. This concept is directly equivalent to some similar concept in the first two GBA titles. The level design is pretty typical Castlevania-fare, where you gradually unlock new abilities that allow you to traverse previous unpassable terrain. The gameplay works fine, but the map design isn't on par with HoD due to a lack of clever puzzles and unique twists.

CotM was great, and HoD took a big step forward in a number of ways. AoS is probably better than the first two because of the improved visuals and still solid gameplay. However, it's only a baby step forward from HoD overall, and is actually a step backwards in the gameplay department due to inferior level design. Konami has a good formula with their GBA Castlevania titles, but it's starting to lose a smidgen of novelty the third time around.