@@dadeleemurphy85 you need to play Order of Ecclesia. It's a "metroidvania" BUT more like Castlevania 3, with tons of environments outside of the castle including villages and forests and all kinds of stuff
I can't separate CotM from nostalgia. I got it and a pink Japanese GBA together for my 20th birthday. It's one of my favorite systems of all time, largely due to these Castlevania games.
Circle of the Moon was my introduction to the series as a whole...I have very fond memories of playing it. Though I always got stonewalled by Baldwin. So I never beat it. I love the gadget in this collection for it. Being able to see which enemies have a card is a godsend! I still have my original copy but the battery died sometime ago.
I have absolutely no confidence in Konami being able to deliver a good new game, but I completely support them hiring M2 to make these kinds of collections
@@otaking3582 they don't have any good and well known director to head them. It's best that they let 2nd party company to make it for them under their supervision. Just like Street of Rage 4 and Bayonetta.
@@otaking3582 I think they are recouping from the multimillion dollar lost of Metal Gear solid 5. Just look at the 7th generation of Kinomi games. Only a few titles got recognitions. Majority are just wasted money. If I were them, I would try to get 2nd party companies to make a joint game base on Kinomi IP. But they need to find a good candidate 1st. So far, they see a good profit on their old collections as a compilation. They will eventually run out sooner or later.
Thanks to this collection I was finally able to play and appreciate the series. Circle of the Moon is officially the first Castlevania game I've ever beaten, and considering how much fun I had, I bet it will not even be close to the last.
Circle Of The Moon is the only one of the three that was colored without a washed-out color palette. You can't see it very well on the original console, but it looks the best out of the three on a real display.
Eh, Circle looks better on a backlit display but I wouldn't say that it looks better than the other 2 games. Especially Aria. It was a launch title and it looks very good with that in mind, but they obviously knew the system better in the other games and it shows with the visuals. The soundtrack is better than Harmony though, I'll give you that. Aria and Harmony are very colorful and they pop a little bit too much, but the spritework and animation blows CotM out of the water. Again, especially Aria. And especially in regards to the player character animations and bosses.
I do wish the other two had darker palette options. Something like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which had different palette options. It even had one meant for TV if you were playing on the Gameboy Player, so I know the games could've handled it. I love the overall improved visuals and animations of the other two, but Circle of the Moon has my favorite palette on modern systems.
This was such a steal. Just finished a playthrough of Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow, and had a total blast! Please give us more of these collections, Konami.
OMG, I was watching this video as I was playing Circle of the Moon and when he brought up the Encyclopedia I had to pause my game and look it up. I am literally at the end of the game with all 20 cards after about 11 hours and I did not know this was even in the game.
@@keelanbarron928 I understand completely. Idk about the other DS Vania, but Portrait of Ruin only uses the second screen as information during gameplay. Either a map or stats, and you can swap between them. That would be very easy to work around. Then the only real DS features past that would be the touch controls for your partner, which would also be really easy to work around on Switch. Or map that to the right analog stick on other systems. The more I think about it the more it honestly seems really easy to work around.
For those that want to play Circle of the Moon, keep in mind that there is a very helpful glitch you can take advantage of that allows you to use any pair of DSS cards as long as you have one pair to activate; When you have two cards chosen, press L to activate them. While Nathan is doing his hand motion and glowing white, open the menu, go to the DSS and change which two cards you have equipped (even if it is two you do not own) and Nathan will equip that spell instead. It is helpful to get Diana early to do some quick damage to early bosses (Fifth card on top row IIRC), or the item crash summons (they don't do anything unless you press down, then forward, then up+attack.)
"I couldn't imagine making a 2D game on any other system" (fast-forward to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night) "Here's a 2.5D PC game that is basically Symphony of the Night + Aria of Sorrow, with just enough stuff changed to avoid copyright laws."
I am loving this Collection to bits man. I grew up in this era and when it was it it's very best (The portable era), I barely played it... But so far all I've played is COTM. Playing it rn, at lvl. 51 trying to max out my stats. The DSS system is straight Bonkers man!!! So much fun!!! Also bout to watch the History of rn.
The GBA and DS Castlevania games were some of the best years of handheld gaming for me. Every year I would get excited for a new game. Thought it would never end.
I love all three in their own ways but my favorite is Circle of the Moon. The card system power-ups is a great idea, the graphics are fantastic for a handheld system at the time and while most of the soundtrack isn't original music, it still serves as "Castlevania's Greatest Hits" and the remixes are top-notch.
I love these games and purchased them the second I saw them go up on XBLA for my Xbox Series X. My fiancee (also a gamer) never experienced these games but loves all types of RPG's took one look at me playing them and wanted to give them a go. She was also a bit dismayed that I was playing them on the Series X as she's more of a PlayStation girl. So...I bought it again for our PS5 so she could play at the same time. :) While these games are sublime with the exception of Dracula X...that's a poor copy of Rondo of Blood there is no way these games top Symphony of The Night. As a matter of fact Slopes, them's fightin words (I'm joking of course)! I may not think they're better than Symphony but I can understand where you're coming from my friend. Great video as always.
Damn dude - the GBA games and the DS games are actually the best Metroidvania games ever made IMO. Even though I own original copies of all of these, I would happily throw my money at these collections.
Btw don’t forget about the DSS card glitch! Activate the first two and before Nathan’s activation is completed, press start and try different card combos that affect weapons ,sub weapons , stats etc. you can even item crash like richter! You can cheese your way with the Thunderbird summon!
Love these games. Been binge playing these games for October occasion. Already put about 60 hours in it. Plan on plantium-ing on PS4. I hope that we get remakes of the lesser known games like Castlevania 64, Legends, and Legacy of Darkness.
I got into Castlevania a year or two ago after watching the Netflix series. I love that Konami is making the older games very accessible, although I do wish Requiem was released on every platform as well. Hopefully next year or the year after we get the DS Collection if it's possible with 1 screen.
Circle of the Moon was my first ever Castlevania game, and it's what got me to look into the entire series. So to hear that it was part of a collection with the other gba entries and dracula X, put a massive smile on my face.
I can't speak for all American Gamers, but I hated the heavily pixelated games in 97/98. I went after titles like Silhoutte Mirage, Astal, Street Fighter Collection, Mega man 8 and ofcoarse SOTN! To me it was about beauty and gameplay, and alot of games were UGLY to look at from those Pixel days!
The only weird thing I had with the collection is that the boxart and manual sections are literal scans of the IRL items, not digital samples. The boxes have creases and marks in them.
Seems like a bit of a miss to exclude the first DS game, still that would be a pain in the butt to make PC friendly unless you have one of those screens that turns on it's side
Love your passion! I literally did not know this collection was on Switch😄 I played all these when younger so I'm DEFINITELY getting this Switch collection!!
Loving the gush of this video. As someone who grew up with this games, and lost them, this collection was practically a gift for me. Hopefully this comment section doesn't get crazy. I've tried to like and comment in other videos but people go out of there way to hate. Sometimes it's fun to act equally erratic towards them :)
I see many are hoping fo a DS collection as well, and while that would certainly be welcome I'm hoping for a re-release of the two N64 titles. SOTN would be nice too.
If they do a DS collection, I really hope they throw in Rondo Of Blood as well. That's a game that needs more accessibility, I really want to play that one!
We love them all right. Here's to the DS collection, the PS2 and the N64 ones too!! I recently finished Lament of Innocence through emulation, and I'm glad I did, since there's no other way to officially play some titles. I'll happily buy every other collection they put out but in the meantime...let's hope and ask for MORE!
I'm glad Dracula X is in there, but Castelevania Adventure Rebirth would have been even better. I never had a wii till after the Virtual Console closed so I missed out on tons of cheap classics
I really wish this leads to a DS collection, having the 6 main metroidvanias in the series (not taking into account symphony of the night) preserved would be a god send.
@@WealthyIndustrialist I like SotN and the other DS vanias more than the Sorrow games but between these two I'd take AoS over DoS any day, I hated the seal system (couldnt beat it on emulator due to it) and I absolutely despise the villains in DoS, especially their modern day looks and how they laugh like retards throughout the fight.. And it looks downgraded and rushed compared to the other DS Vanias. No disrespect meant though :)
@@wallacesousuke1433 not sure what you mean by downgraded or rushed compared to the other two considering Portrait recycles all the paintings instead of having each painting be unique, and Order has every area broken up into tiny little zones instead of one cohesive world. I could nitpick all the games though. None of them are perfect.
If only we could get that Requiem collection with SotN and RoB on Switch as well. I already have it on ps4, but the ability to play BOTH of my favorite Castlevania games anywhere, and not just Aria of Sorrow, sounds absolutely heavenly
Steam overview of complaints from me: I wish this game comp had both Soma games on it There's no ability to switch audio sources while it's open so you have to close the game to switch over to headphones There's no ability to make it go Fullscreen? (Although if you hit alt enter it'll go full screen) There's no fast forward, but there's a rewind Other than that, this is amazing! Absolutely worth it if you never played these games back in the day.
I'm glad you mentioned that there was a dedicated die hard fan base who embraced SOTN, I was 20 years old when that game came out and was EAGERLY ESTATIC awaiting it's release, especially have been lucky at the time to have fully enjoyed Rondo of Blood prior to it. Cheers, great ad vid.
aria might take place in the future, but aside from a handful of enemies referencing the battle of 1999, handguns being weapons you find, and the positron rifle (the only futuristic weapon in the whole game) the futuristic time period really kinda takes a backseat as draculas castle feels just as it always has.
It's nice that full screen and improved music have been included, but what about graphics filters and resolution improvements for those that want it? For example, I can get all 3 (or 4, arguably) Castlevania games as roms and play them via the "My Boy!" emulator on (Android) and select "Linear Filtering" and the "HQ4x" GLSL shader to effectively remove most of the pixels. This then (arguably) creates a more "remastered" look, with fine lines replacing blurry pixels and "smoother" shading and highlights to the graphics. Similar effects can be obtained on PC via 4X upscaling too. Of course, for those that also want the original look, these features, on emulators, are simply optional. Also, why hasn't this collection been released on iOS and Android, arguably the devices that, Switch none withstanding, are closer to the original Gameboy devices/market?
I feel like these games set the bar almost 20 years ago. And through the years, they've had contenders, with the Hollow Knight and Shovel Knight, the Owlboys and Dust (...which was also very good, especially to be made by one person). But, now they're back to claim their top spot. Updated with the quality of life improvents and achievements too? Chef, kiss.
I just tried the three of them. After falling in love with the DS games, I thought Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance were underwhelming. Aria of Sorrow could keep up with them though.
The GBA had some of the best games in series! Now, i'm nust and waiting to finally get a Switch collection of Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin & Order of Ecclesia 😌
The GBA era was pure gold. Controversial take but the first two of the DS era ruined the series imo. Dawn and Portrait had awful artwork and the writing was horrible if you're a fan of the lore. Order of Ecclesia, however, is one of the best in the series
People actually try and argue that Harmony is the first true sequel to Symphony and Circle doesn't count? I think my friend put it best in a conversation he had with someone else on Discord like a week ago: "I love both the GBA Castlevanias" "There's 3 of them" "Of which there are only two" "Harmony wasn't THAT bad" "Harmony deleted my save for no reason 3/4ths of the way through, twice." "OK that's pretty bad" Harmony is easily the weakest of the 7 Metroidvanias. It's not even close. Like I want to point out that the other person in that conversation had no idea he was talking about Harmony, she just instinctively knew.
Dracula X is in this one because it was left out of the prior collection (an odd omission considering the other games in it, but now these 2 complete that scheme of games).
They are the best. Nothing to believe, they simply are even better than SOTN. Even EGM gave pretty much all 3 GBA CV games higher scores than SOTN. And I love SOTN believe me but those GBA games, DAMN!!!
WUT? Respectful disagree, not even Aria can beat SotN (especially the Saturn version, love playing as Maria), and dont get me started on the utter garbage that CotM is, worst CV by far.. Havent played HoD yet but considering how bad CotM is, I'm scared to play it and have an equally miserable experience as when I played Cotm...
Circle of the moon is great. Use DSS not just the whip and you'll see this games potential. Here's my tier list for the hand held Vanias. Dos,PoR,AoS,HoD,CotM,OoE, MoF
I watched this video after purchasing the collection. I'm so glad I got not only these gems but also now have knowledge of M2 who have set my new standard for what ports of older games SHOULD be.
@@slopesgameroom many people (myself included) have gotten audio bugs on the Steam version. The forums are full of questions on how to fix it. I've heard, but can't confirm, that is effected people on Xbox, but no word about PS or Switch. So could easily be a driver incompatibility or some other techno mumbo jumbo. I'm glad you have enjoyed it, though. I'm hoping they fix the audio so I can also. Cheers!
My only gripe is was maybe a re-mix/remaster of the music. Game boy advance games were notorious for not having balance in their mixes, and I saw that as lost opportunity.
I still wish that they released the Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles game as well. The remake of Rondo of Blood for the psp. Something i was expecting when the Castlevania Requiem came out. Instead they only gave you Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood. I got that one and the second one with the old school Castlevania games. Sadly no money right now so i cant get the Advanced one. Otherwise i would be playing Harmony of Dissonance, my FAVOURITE one on the gba. Story, gameplay and world is good. Music was the only lacking thing about it. Aria of Sorrow. Great game as well, Soul system was fun. Using wepons that werent the titular Vampire Killer was also interesting. Circle of the moon. I never liked that one much. Mostly because of the card system. And low healing items and stuff.
Yeah lots of mistakes in this review. Just as he says that, he shows the first boss who's clearly a reused/repurposed Fenrir. Is this a bad thing though? Not really. Another reused thing is the soundtrack, the title screen is the Prayer from Rondo of Blood, a game many never played and instead got Dracula X, or don't know it's a prequel to Symphony of the Night. Also a nitpick but I think it's awful just how he pronounces IGA or other things. But overall I'm glad Castlevania is getting all this love. I'm playing CotM on my PS2 with RetroArch, it runs perfectly and I have no need for the collection. I got the soundtrack on my computer too. Here's hopes for a DS collection and hopefully Konami brings us a new game, a worthy experience.
From the looks of this, I wish all collections/editions were this loaded with features and context We lost our thick(ish) manuals, or maps and even the strange attempts at swag but we also lost that contextual bonus that helps grow your understanding/appreciation of the game. It's great to see Konami really go the extra mile and give the fans more than what they could ask for........and far more than we're used to getting with most other collections. I'm going to have to put this purchase in a holding pattern........[whisper] because I'm playing Bloodstained 😬
A little sad we didn't get the DS in 3DS Castlevania games it'd be cool if we finally had a complete collection of the handhelds and still no Wii Castlevania sad
Now is for me the perfect time to play Circle and Harmony of Dissonance, I was able to play Aria before but now is more convenient to do... also Dracula X (which is the miss-fit of the collection, but neverless is a welcome adition).
What's you fav game from this collection and why? | Click here for more info t.co/ReAny6KO6W
@@dadeleemurphy85 you need to play Order of Ecclesia. It's a "metroidvania" BUT more like Castlevania 3, with tons of environments outside of the castle including villages and forests and all kinds of stuff
Circle of the Moon.
It's the perfect combination of the retro style with the SotN setting.
I can't separate CotM from nostalgia. I got it and a pink Japanese GBA together for my 20th birthday. It's one of my favorite systems of all time, largely due to these Castlevania games.
Fake
Circle of the Moon was my introduction to the series as a whole...I have very fond memories of playing it.
Though I always got stonewalled by Baldwin. So I never beat it.
I love the gadget in this collection for it.
Being able to see which enemies have a card is a godsend!
I still have my original copy but the battery died sometime ago.
I have absolutely no confidence in Konami being able to deliver a good new game, but I completely support them hiring M2 to make these kinds of collections
That is the absolute truth!
I want new 3D Castlevanias so bad :S Fuckonami
I might be okay with them hiring Mercury Steam again to do a 2d Castlevania Game considering how well they have done with Metroid, but that's about it
@@GrammerPancreas no plz no, these fuckers already ruined Metroid
Yes. I remember naively dreaming about a modern / post 2015 reboot of the Castlevania series. When I see iron pigs. flying by my house.
here's hoping we get a DS collection
& the Lords of Shadow games too
The DS games are my favorites in the series!
And maybe throw in Castlevania Adventure: Rebirth for good measure?
@@BluntmanEXE man I hope one day we can get the entire rebirth trilogy
I think that's a guarantee now.
Konami seems to be aggressively trying to fix their image.
If you ask me, they're not being aggressive enough.
They have got a LONG road ahead of them.
@@otaking3582 they don't have any good and well known director to head them. It's best that they let 2nd party company to make it for them under their supervision. Just like Street of Rage 4 and Bayonetta.
@@tr1bes So why haven't they? Or hell, I'd even just be happy if they rereleased more of their older games on modern systems _without sucking!_
@@otaking3582 I think they are recouping from the multimillion dollar lost of Metal Gear solid 5. Just look at the 7th generation of Kinomi games. Only a few titles got recognitions. Majority are just wasted money.
If I were them, I would try to get 2nd party companies to make a joint game base on Kinomi IP. But they need to find a good candidate 1st.
So far, they see a good profit on their old collections as a compilation. They will eventually run out sooner or later.
I wish they’d finally license Symphony of the Night for the Switch as well as Portrait of Ruin.
Portrait of Ruin I played a lot of.
This will never happen. Sony owns some type of copyright bs
@@saucemasterx911 Well...
@@saucemasterx911Nope SOTN is available on Xbox
Thanks to this collection I was finally able to play and appreciate the series. Circle of the Moon is officially the first Castlevania game I've ever beaten, and considering how much fun I had, I bet it will not even be close to the last.
CotM rules.
CoTM is one of the weaker entries in my opinion, so if you enjoyed that one you're in for a treat
sotn, rondo of bood, cv4 and bloodstained are the best in my opinion. in that order
@@axel8728 bloodstained isn’t a Castlevania game
@@Rountree1985 It's more of a Castlevania than anything Konami has done since Iga left. It's Castlevania in everything except the title.
Circle Of The Moon is the only one of the three that was colored without a washed-out color palette. You can't see it very well on the original console, but it looks the best out of the three on a real display.
Eh, Circle looks better on a backlit display but I wouldn't say that it looks better than the other 2 games. Especially Aria. It was a launch title and it looks very good with that in mind, but they obviously knew the system better in the other games and it shows with the visuals. The soundtrack is better than Harmony though, I'll give you that. Aria and Harmony are very colorful and they pop a little bit too much, but the spritework and animation blows CotM out of the water. Again, especially Aria. And especially in regards to the player character animations and bosses.
It’s also the only one with Stereo sound, on the GBA.
I do wish the other two had darker palette options. Something like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which had different palette options. It even had one meant for TV if you were playing on the Gameboy Player, so I know the games could've handled it. I love the overall improved visuals and animations of the other two, but Circle of the Moon has my favorite palette on modern systems.
The DSS system was unique.
@@genericnamehere7602 and lame
This was such a steal. Just finished a playthrough of Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow, and had a total blast!
Please give us more of these collections, Konami.
I'm a simple man. I see "developed by M2", I buy.
OMG, I was watching this video as I was playing Circle of the Moon and when he brought up the Encyclopedia I had to pause my game and look it up. I am literally at the end of the game with all 20 cards after about 11 hours and I did not know this was even in the game.
All of the Castlevania GBA games are absolutely amazing.
I still want a Portrait of Ruin port. That's still my favorite.
I'm sure that the big problem with doing that would be the ds stuff that is hard to redo on something that doesn't have a touch screen.
@@keelanbarron928 I understand completely. Idk about the other DS Vania, but Portrait of Ruin only uses the second screen as information during gameplay. Either a map or stats, and you can swap between them. That would be very easy to work around. Then the only real DS features past that would be the touch controls for your partner, which would also be really easy to work around on Switch. Or map that to the right analog stick on other systems. The more I think about it the more it honestly seems really easy to work around.
@@dwatts64 There's also Sisters mode that ties all combat to the touch screen.
Mine too and there's a good chance we will be getting a ds collection because it only makes sense to cap off this collection run with the ds games.
@@dwatts64 Order of Occlesia only uses the second screen for map, stat info or bestiary
For those that want to play Circle of the Moon, keep in mind that there is a very helpful glitch you can take advantage of that allows you to use any pair of DSS cards as long as you have one pair to activate;
When you have two cards chosen, press L to activate them. While Nathan is doing his hand motion and glowing white, open the menu, go to the DSS and change which two cards you have equipped (even if it is two you do not own) and Nathan will equip that spell instead.
It is helpful to get Diana early to do some quick damage to early bosses (Fifth card on top row IIRC), or the item crash summons (they don't do anything unless you press down, then forward, then up+attack.)
That would have been helpful, I replayed COTM just a few days ago and it was a nightmare. Way more difficult than any non classic Castlevania games.
@@davion4777 Yeah, Circle's opening hour is bit of a grind if you don't know what you're doing.
I'm really glad that they've finally given these games a proper treatment. COTM is probably my favourite of the bunch - good memories with that game!
"I couldn't imagine making a 2D game on any other system" (fast-forward to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night) "Here's a 2.5D PC game that is basically Symphony of the Night + Aria of Sorrow, with just enough stuff changed to avoid copyright laws."
"Singing its praises." Some would say, singing its... Aria.
😠👍
Take this like and get the hell outta here.
Some would say your comment is die..aria. but spelled differently
I'd think we're all singing in... Harmony
No, nobody would say that
I am loving this Collection to bits man. I grew up in this era and when it was it it's very best (The portable era), I barely played it... But so far all I've played is COTM. Playing it rn, at lvl. 51 trying to max out my stats. The DSS system is straight Bonkers man!!! So much fun!!! Also bout to watch the History of rn.
Castlevania DS Collection next?
Aria is by far my favorite. Leveled to 99, got all the souls, every part of the map uncovered.
Same here! Rushing as hell!
Same! That game was a joy to complete
The GBA and DS Castlevania games were some of the best years of handheld gaming for me. Every year I would get excited for a new game. Thought it would never end.
I am working my way through them again now after doing this
The sequel to aria of sorrow. DAWN OF SOULS on ds was such an amazing sequel. I hope they bring back a ds collection
I played the absolute shit out of symphony of the night, not sure if there was a game I loved more that year
I love all three in their own ways but my favorite is Circle of the Moon. The card system power-ups is a great idea, the graphics are fantastic for a handheld system at the time and while most of the soundtrack isn't original music, it still serves as "Castlevania's Greatest Hits" and the remixes are top-notch.
I need to replay play some of the other games I am seriously
Addicted to metroidvanias right now
card powerups and mixes were so fun
Great video as always,paid or not, it's not like you didn't just review all these games very positively,so I agree with you Slopes, get paid son
I love these games and purchased them the second I saw them go up on XBLA for my Xbox Series X. My fiancee (also a gamer) never experienced these games but loves all types of RPG's took one look at me playing them and wanted to give them a go. She was also a bit dismayed that I was playing them on the Series X as she's more of a PlayStation girl. So...I bought it again for our PS5 so she could play at the same time. :)
While these games are sublime with the exception of Dracula X...that's a poor copy of Rondo of Blood there is no way these games top Symphony of The Night. As a matter of fact Slopes, them's fightin words (I'm joking of course)! I may not think they're better than Symphony but I can understand where you're coming from my friend. Great video as always.
I hope they actually do a 3D collection also. Konami has been knocking their collections out of the park.
Give Konami money or keep emulating this game like I've been doing for the past decade? What a tough choice...
Damn dude - the GBA games and the DS games are actually the best Metroidvania games ever made IMO.
Even though I own original copies of all of these, I would happily throw my money at these collections.
These games will forever be my favorites. Love them all so much.
Btw don’t forget about the DSS card glitch! Activate the first two and before Nathan’s activation is completed, press start and try different card combos that affect weapons ,sub weapons , stats etc. you can even item crash like richter! You can cheese your way with the Thunderbird summon!
I bought the Advance Collection just for Aria of Sorrow. The three other games were just a sweet bonus for me.
Love these games. Been binge playing these games for October occasion. Already put about 60 hours in it. Plan on plantium-ing on PS4. I hope that we get remakes of the lesser known games like Castlevania 64, Legends, and Legacy of Darkness.
Thankfully when Symphony came out all I could think was "Holy shit, another Castlevania?!" and immediately rented it.
I got into Castlevania a year or two ago after watching the Netflix series. I love that Konami is making the older games very accessible, although I do wish Requiem was released on every platform as well. Hopefully next year or the year after we get the DS Collection if it's possible with 1 screen.
That Netflix show is really good
Circle of the Moon was my first ever Castlevania game, and it's what got me to look into the entire series.
So to hear that it was part of a collection with the other gba entries and dracula X, put a massive smile on my face.
I can't speak for all American Gamers, but I hated the heavily pixelated games in 97/98. I went after titles like Silhoutte Mirage, Astal, Street Fighter Collection, Mega man 8 and ofcoarse SOTN! To me it was about beauty and gameplay, and alot of games were UGLY to look at from those Pixel days!
The only weird thing I had with the collection is that the boxart and manual sections are literal scans of the IRL items, not digital samples. The boxes have creases and marks in them.
I bought this collection on Switch a few days ago. This is my first real taste of the series and I'm enjoying it
.
As someone that still has his GBA collection is there anything here I'm missing out on? Great games for sure.
Uncompressed music
For me the biggest appeal is the encyclopedia and ability to play in handheld mode
Never played this collection but will be definatly be getting it.
Let's hope for portrait of ruin in the future
Playing this collection on my new Switch OLED, it's crisp af in pixel perfect mode with pitch black bars.
Seems like a bit of a miss to exclude the first DS game, still that would be a pain in the butt to make PC friendly unless you have one of those screens that turns on it's side
Love your passion! I literally did not know this collection was on Switch😄 I played all these when younger so I'm DEFINITELY getting this Switch collection!!
Loving the gush of this video. As someone who grew up with this games, and lost them, this collection was practically a gift for me.
Hopefully this comment section doesn't get crazy. I've tried to like and comment in other videos but people go out of there way to hate.
Sometimes it's fun to act equally erratic towards them :)
I see many are hoping fo a DS collection as well, and while that would certainly be welcome I'm hoping for a re-release of the two N64 titles. SOTN would be nice too.
I would love a DS collection
Sotn is already on playstation store
@@Igor-vl8vw Since I currently rock a Switch that doesn't help me personally, but thanks for putting that out there for others.
If they do a DS collection, I really hope they throw in Rondo Of Blood as well. That's a game that needs more accessibility, I really want to play that one!
We love them all right. Here's to the DS collection, the PS2 and the N64 ones too!!
I recently finished Lament of Innocence through emulation, and I'm glad I did, since there's no other way to officially play some titles. I'll happily buy every other collection they put out but in the meantime...let's hope and ask for MORE!
I'm glad Dracula X is in there, but Castelevania Adventure Rebirth would have been even better. I never had a wii till after the Virtual Console closed so I missed out on tons of cheap classics
I really wish a lot of the old wiiware games got released again, especially the three Konami games. There were a lot of great games there.
@@WealthyIndustrialist I know Castlevania Rebirth and Contra Rebirth, but what was the third one?
@@jeremyabbott4537 Contra
They're pretty easy to softmod
@@jeremyabbott4537 Gradius
2:00 Feel like a big shot now, having a comment in one of Dan's videos :P
I really wish this leads to a DS collection, having the 6 main metroidvanias in the series (not taking into account symphony of the night) preserved would be a god send.
For sure. I’d love to have those three as well. I personally prefer all three of those over these three.
@@WealthyIndustrialist except for DoS (AoS is better imo) I agree, DS Vanias are superb
@@wallacesousuke1433 to each their own. I can’t personally think of anything Aria does better than Dawn.
@@WealthyIndustrialist I like SotN and the other DS vanias more than the Sorrow games but between these two I'd take AoS over DoS any day, I hated the seal system (couldnt beat it on emulator due to it) and I absolutely despise the villains in DoS, especially their modern day looks and how they laugh like retards throughout the fight.. And it looks downgraded and rushed compared to the other DS Vanias. No disrespect meant though :)
@@wallacesousuke1433 not sure what you mean by downgraded or rushed compared to the other two considering Portrait recycles all the paintings instead of having each painting be unique, and Order has every area broken up into tiny little zones instead of one cohesive world.
I could nitpick all the games though. None of them are perfect.
When it got announced I literally screamed so loudly my roommate had to check in on me XD
Ayyy, perfect viewing before Slopescast starts haha
Aria of the Sorrow is peak Castlevania. It's perfect.
If only we could get that Requiem collection with SotN and RoB on Switch as well. I already have it on ps4, but the ability to play BOTH of my favorite Castlevania games anywhere, and not just Aria of Sorrow, sounds absolutely heavenly
Steam overview of complaints from me:
I wish this game comp had both Soma games on it
There's no ability to switch audio sources while it's open so you have to close the game to switch over to headphones
There's no ability to make it go Fullscreen? (Although if you hit alt enter it'll go full screen)
There's no fast forward, but there's a rewind
Other than that, this is amazing! Absolutely worth it if you never played these games back in the day.
It's going to be $5 sooner or later. That's how I got Castlevania, Contra, and Gradius collection.
I'm glad you mentioned that there was a dedicated die hard fan base who embraced SOTN, I was 20 years old when that game came out and was EAGERLY ESTATIC awaiting it's release, especially have been lucky at the time to have fully enjoyed Rondo of Blood prior to it.
Cheers, great ad vid.
That sound bass was loud and vocal thankfully
Just downloaded this to my console at home using the xbox app. Can't wait to get home and check it out. Thx bro!
I am still really enjoying my playthrough of circle of the night
aria might take place in the future, but aside from a handful of enemies referencing the battle of 1999, handguns being weapons you find, and the positron rifle (the only futuristic weapon in the whole game)
the futuristic time period really kinda takes a backseat as draculas castle feels just as it always has.
It's nice that full screen and improved music have been included, but what about graphics filters and resolution improvements for those that want it? For example, I can get all 3 (or 4, arguably) Castlevania games as roms and play them via the "My Boy!" emulator on (Android) and select "Linear Filtering" and the "HQ4x" GLSL shader to effectively remove most of the pixels. This then (arguably) creates a more "remastered" look, with fine lines replacing blurry pixels and "smoother" shading and highlights to the graphics. Similar effects can be obtained on PC via 4X upscaling too. Of course, for those that also want the original look, these features, on emulators, are simply optional.
Also, why hasn't this collection been released on iOS and Android, arguably the devices that, Switch none withstanding, are closer to the original Gameboy devices/market?
What is futuristic about the setting? just a number in the intro scroll?
I feel like these games set the bar almost 20 years ago. And through the years, they've had contenders, with the Hollow Knight and Shovel Knight, the Owlboys and Dust (...which was also very good, especially to be made by one person). But, now they're back to claim their top spot. Updated with the quality of life improvents and achievements too?
Chef, kiss.
With the Xbox streaming app and a clip on controller to the phone=this feeling as true to its self as possible(without having a GBA).
Vid actually starts at 3:30 in for anyone wondering
Castlevania circle of the moon was the game that saved my sanity back during the blackout in 2003. My Nintendo advance sp had a full charge.
I'm near the end now
Of that game not my sanity
@@slopesgameroom yeah, we already know you're crazy bro. 😂
Symphony of the Night actually sold pretty well. The idea that it was a commercial flop is a total myth
It's dependant on region
I just tried the three of them. After falling in love with the DS games, I thought Circle of the Moon and Harmony of Dissonance were underwhelming. Aria of Sorrow could keep up with them though.
The GBA had some of the best games in series! Now, i'm nust and waiting to finally get a Switch collection of Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin & Order of Ecclesia 😌
the best castlevania for me is psx Castlevania (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night)
Mine is down of sorrow. (Pls port it to the switch already konami!)
Anyone know if you can disable the blue glow around your character?
I do not believe you can
Not going to lie I’ve wanted to play these games for so long I audibly squealed when I randomly came across this on the PlayStation store.
You are going to have a great time
The GBA era was pure gold. Controversial take but the first two of the DS era ruined the series imo. Dawn and Portrait had awful artwork and the writing was horrible if you're a fan of the lore. Order of Ecclesia, however, is one of the best in the series
People actually try and argue that Harmony is the first true sequel to Symphony and Circle doesn't count?
I think my friend put it best in a conversation he had with someone else on Discord like a week ago:
"I love both the GBA Castlevanias"
"There's 3 of them"
"Of which there are only two"
"Harmony wasn't THAT bad"
"Harmony deleted my save for no reason 3/4ths of the way through, twice."
"OK that's pretty bad"
Harmony is easily the weakest of the 7 Metroidvanias. It's not even close. Like I want to point out that the other person in that conversation had no idea he was talking about Harmony, she just instinctively knew.
It feels good to finally own legit copies of games I've emulated for years 🤣
Alle the GBA one's are great, but Aria of sorrow is just awesome!
That one is definitely the fan favourite
Dracula X is in this one because it was left out of the prior collection (an odd omission considering the other games in it, but now these 2 complete that scheme of games).
Bought this collection as soon as I could and booted up Circle of the moon (my first GBA game)
Aria of Sorrow is my favorite, harmony of dissonance was my first, but I've never played a Castlevania I love more than Aria.
They are the best. Nothing to believe, they simply are even better than SOTN. Even EGM gave pretty much all 3 GBA CV games higher scores than SOTN. And I love SOTN believe me but those GBA games, DAMN!!!
No.
WUT? Respectful disagree, not even Aria can beat SotN (especially the Saturn version, love playing as Maria), and dont get me started on the utter garbage that CotM is, worst CV by far.. Havent played HoD yet but considering how bad CotM is, I'm scared to play it and have an equally miserable experience as when I played Cotm...
Circle of the moon is great. Use DSS not just the whip and you'll see this games potential. Here's my tier list for the hand held Vanias.
Dos,PoR,AoS,HoD,CotM,OoE, MoF
If Konami is watching Slopes comments, bring the DS Castlevania trilogy to modern consoles.
YES THEY ARE AND YES THEY SHOULD
Didn't mention the best platform PC via Steam.! 2:38 🤟
I'm going to hold off for a physical release. I want to own own this collection.
I watched this video after purchasing the collection.
I'm so glad I got not only these gems but also now have knowledge of M2 who have set my new standard for what ports of older games SHOULD be.
This collection is amazing but I really hope they make one of the DS games too. That was the absolute peak of the series in my opinion.
Being able to play as a lady Shanoa in Order of Ecclesia was so important to me as a kid being a girl myself
I'm disappointed there was no smoothing filter options for the Advance games. Other than that, I'm happy with the little amenities they provided.
I didn't realize Clarkson was doing game reviews now! 🙂
When I start watching the video, The Ad for Castlevania Advanced Collection start playing before the video start.
Your enthusiasm with the franchise is so great to experience, nice one mate. 👍
Also going to buy it, thuu 😀
Did they fix the audio issues with it yet?
I honestly haven't noticed any yet
@@slopesgameroom many people (myself included) have gotten audio bugs on the Steam version. The forums are full of questions on how to fix it. I've heard, but can't confirm, that is effected people on Xbox, but no word about PS or Switch. So could easily be a driver incompatibility or some other techno mumbo jumbo.
I'm glad you have enjoyed it, though. I'm hoping they fix the audio so I can also. Cheers!
My only gripe is was maybe a re-mix/remaster of the music. Game boy advance games were notorious for not having balance in their mixes, and I saw that as lost opportunity.
great content. Slope adds something different to this medium. I try to follow every Retro content creator
I loved Aria of Sorrow as a kid playing on GBA. It was my first experience with Castlevania and i loved the rpg elements in it.
I still wish that they released the Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles game as well. The remake of Rondo of Blood for the psp. Something i was expecting when the Castlevania Requiem came out. Instead they only gave you Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood. I got that one and the second one with the old school Castlevania games. Sadly no money right now so i cant get the Advanced one. Otherwise i would be playing Harmony of Dissonance, my FAVOURITE one on the gba. Story, gameplay and world is good. Music was the only lacking thing about it. Aria of Sorrow. Great game as well, Soul system was fun. Using wepons that werent the titular Vampire Killer was also interesting. Circle of the moon. I never liked that one much. Mostly because of the card system. And low healing items and stuff.
7:32 - It doesn't reuse any of it sprites or it's assets. The 10 elemental Knights will beg to differ.
Yeah lots of mistakes in this review. Just as he says that, he shows the first boss who's clearly a reused/repurposed Fenrir. Is this a bad thing though? Not really. Another reused thing is the soundtrack, the title screen is the Prayer from Rondo of Blood, a game many never played and instead got Dracula X, or don't know it's a prequel to Symphony of the Night.
Also a nitpick but I think it's awful just how he pronounces IGA or other things.
But overall I'm glad Castlevania is getting all this love. I'm playing CotM on my PS2 with RetroArch, it runs perfectly and I have no need for the collection. I got the soundtrack on my computer too.
Here's hopes for a DS collection and hopefully Konami brings us a new game, a worthy experience.
Solid video. I was on the fence about buying them on the Xbox store. Have you thought about singing in a metal band?
Hahaha do you think I got the voice for it then?
This video made me hype for games I already played, gotta get the collection to show konami we want moar :D
CotM is my favorite, but that vertical scrolling on a big TV is way too much. I find it hard to believe they couldn't have fixed it just a tad. :(
If konami makes a DS collection, they should include Chronicles, Dracula x Chronicles, and Adventure Rebirth.
From the looks of this, I wish all collections/editions were this loaded with features and context
We lost our thick(ish) manuals, or maps and even the strange attempts at swag but we also lost that contextual bonus that helps grow your understanding/appreciation of the game.
It's great to see Konami really go the extra mile and give the fans more than what they could ask for........and far more than we're used to getting with most other collections.
I'm going to have to put this purchase in a holding pattern........[whisper] because I'm playing Bloodstained 😬
A little sad we didn't get the DS in 3DS Castlevania games it'd be cool if we finally had a complete collection of the handhelds and still no Wii Castlevania sad
Now is for me the perfect time to play Circle and Harmony of Dissonance, I was able to play Aria before but now is more convenient to do... also Dracula X (which is the miss-fit of the collection, but neverless is a welcome adition).