Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Nintendo Game Boy Advance, 2002)

Another great installment in the Castlevania series, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance sets you forth on yet another great adventure. You play the part of Juste Belmont, descendant of the great Simon Belmont, vampire killer. It has been nearly fifty years since Simon Belmont rid the land of Dracula's curse. As a blood descendant of the Belmont lineage, Juste Belmont has proved himself worthy of inheriting the title of vampire killer and inherits the legendary whip passed down through the generations. Your good friend Maxim has unexpectedly returned from an expedition, all beaten and bruised. He tells Juste that a childhood friend of their's, a young girl by the name of Lydie has been kidnapped. Maxim, suffering from amnesia, can't recall how the kidnapping took place. Ignoring his wounds, Maxim leads Juste to a castle where he assumes Lydie is being held captive. They come across a dark castle, undocumented on any map. Could this be the castle of Lord Dracula himself? Maxim realizes that he cannot continue in his current state and urges Juste to continue on alone. Juste must summon all his courage and skill to enter this castle, find his childhood friend Lydie and save her from certain death.

Throughout your journey you will search out the lost relics of Lord Dracula as you search and hope to save your childhood friend Lydie. You will encounter some old favorites from previous Castlevania installments as well as some new enemies. Your journey will be a difficult one indeed. There are an assortment of different abilities that can aid Juste in his quest. These abilities will make it possible for Juste to proceed through areas that were previously impassable. You must pick up life and heart power-ups wherever you find them to increase your strength and chances of survival throughout your adventure. There are armor enhancements which will add to your overall defense and whip enhancements which can add on to the amount of damage you inflict on enemies and makes it possible for you to pull off some cool moves. There are also spell books that can be used in conjunction with your sub-weapons such as the axe for instance, to cast some amazing spells. This will make it possible for you to survive your journey through Lord Dracula's castle in hopes of finding Lydie.

This Castlevania installment felt like a cross between Symphony of the Night and Lament of Innocence, both of which were good installments in the series. Overall I would have to give this game a good rating. The detail to the different areas of the castle was amazing for a GBA game, the music was good though the overall story was a bit weak. Also this game seemed to go by very fast and I would have to give it a low replay value.

WIth the Sorrow series being the first Castlevania games that I TRULY played, I can say this about Harmony of Dissonance so far . . . it's hard. It's almost NES, SNES Castlevania hard. The graphics are definitely better than the 16 bit days, but after playing it on the DS and later games on the GBA, this game seems a little bit rough for wear. However, this does NOTHING to detract from the challenge presented. Difficult, but don't give up on it. You'll find yourself evolving as a gamer as you find new ways to destroy a difficult enemy, or on solving a puzzle. I've died dozens of times on previous Castlevania games, but I bet that it will be a LOT higher ratio on this one before I finish with it.

The game series has always had a pull on me. I dont know why I have liked Castlevania since its creation, but every game I try to buy. This game is no different!

One of the best Castlevania games for the GBA. Graphics and sound are cool as well as the characters in the game. Easy weapon and character advancements as well. 5 / 5

i decide to buy this product cause the price is reasonable and it's a game that is kinda hard to find in good conditions at your local gamestop if you are a big fan of Castlevania i highly recommended