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

Maybe it's just the small screen coming into play, but Castlevania: Circle of the Moon looks like it's running at a higher resolution than the rest of the Gameboy Advance library. The level graphics feature some of the best looking hand-drawn bricks, stones, wood, and carpet I've ever seen in a game. If the game were 3d and these were textures we were talking about, this game would recieve numerous accolades for its content. The characters and enemies, especially the huge boss sprites, are equally detailed and impressive and, when combined with the level architecture and detail, gives the game a very gritty look that is rarely attained in 2d games. That is also maybe the weak point, if any, of the graphics: sometimes they feel a little too realistic, and every area tends to look the same tones of gray and brown, which beyond being dull, makes it difficult to see if your room is not well lit. Regardless, these are probably the best graphics on the Gameboy Advance yet.

This is the only Gameboy Advance game that I've played yet where the developers seemed to realize, "Hey guys, this thing can do digital sound effects and music!" Every song in Castlevania sounds like it came from a cd-based game. The .mod format the GBA hardware implements is used to its fullest here, as the samples used in the songs are of the highest possible quality. Most of the actual melodies came from the previous Castlevania games, and there's no complaints there- the tunes are exceptionally atmospheric, lengthy, and catchy as well. Like the music, every sound effect in Castlevania is of the highest quaity, and actually makes use of the GBA's soundchip. Easily, and I do truly mean easily, the best sound in any GBA game to date.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon plays like every other Castlevania game: one button whips, the other jumps. There are a few very important additions to the classic formula though. The first, is that the whole game has been shifted away from the arcade-like feel to an RPG, exploration-type approach- this title reminds me almost more of a Ys game than a Castlevania title. The areas in the castle are super expansive and need to be visited several times, your character gains experience and levels up, you can equip items such as armor to make your character stronger, and as you play, you attain a number of new special moves, such as the dash and double jump, which let you explore new areas. To heal and save, there are save rooms spread about the castle, along with transporter rooms, which allow you to more easily move around the parts of the huge castle. Games are constantly becoming deeper and more complex; updating the classic Castlevania formula to make room for all these new additions was an extremely wise move, and makes for probably the best 2d Castlevania game ever.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is the best game on the Gameboy Advance yet. It has the best graphics and sound, some of the best gameplay, and is probaby the most fun too. It's tough to find anything bad to say about a game that uses the hardware this well, and is this much fun to play. The dark, low-contrast graphics require a very well-lit room the play in, but I think that's probably the only negative attribute to this title I can think of. A superlative job!