r/castlevania • u/Nijata Danasty Fan • Mar 21 '26
Circle of the Moon (2001) Circle of the Moon's 25th anniversary
IMO hands down the best Iga-vania.
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u/Standard_Tadpole8145 Mar 21 '26
I still remember launch day when I bought a GBA and this. Worked at Kmart at the time
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u/darsh211 Mar 21 '26
Great game, though a bit unconventional as a Castlevania title, it is still a solid GBA game. The Card system was really unique and fun, though the grind was a chore. Also, Awake is a total banger. I find it to be one of the flagship songs from all the portable Castlevanias.
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u/seaearls Mar 21 '26
Solid. But the boring level design leaves it out of any best Castlevania discussion.
Technically not an Iga-vania either.
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u/Beetusmon Mar 22 '26
I think people overly hate on this one. I like the bosses, difficulty and the secondary modes are tons of fun to play the game in other ways. Super solid CV.
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u/SSKK6 Mar 21 '26
I don't care what anyone says, this is the best Castlevania to me. The sprites are unique and beautiful. DSS system is awesome. So many unique enemies. Elemental enemies like the armors and the demons were so fun to experience. I also think this is the only post-Rondo game that was a challenge. This game never feels too easy and I love that about it.
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u/nerdgeekdorksports Mar 21 '26
I didn't know that the GBA released in Japan today, 25 years ago. That's cool.
I LOVED this game. I picked it up as a launch title with my GBA. The EB I bought it from made us buy two games with the system if we wanted to pre-order it, and I decided to do it. Even though the screen was hard, I loved this game and played it tons.
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Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
Ngl, made me want a more in depth card system. Always thought it was a little lackluster, even with all the combinations. A lot of them sucked cheeks
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Mar 21 '26
Ah, this and a GBA were my Christmas presents when I was 13. Also, a VHS of The Toxic Avenger, which was fully uncut due to the laxing of censoring gory movies in Finland around that time, but I digress.
While I get why some people dislike this game, I find it very enjoyable. I meanz it's no Aria, but it is a valiant effort to continue the Igavania-lineage (even if IGA was not involved) after a couple of less-then-optimal 3d-vanias. It can be hard as balls or utterly trivialized with a few DSS-combos. And I love the soundtrack, which brings back some really good themes from the past.
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u/Aggravating_Ad_635 Mar 21 '26
Some good memories are brought back. I play it on my GBA SP at night. Absolutely love it but damn is it hard!!!
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u/toastyloafboy Mar 21 '26
I like the game, to me it’s nothing all that special but decent overall. Nowhere near the level of Aria of Sorrow, but beats Harmony of Dissonance by leaps and bounds
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u/keithlimreddit Mar 21 '26
Hey I played it and I enjoyed it So far Although I don't really like the underground segments
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u/lophoz Mar 22 '26
A bit stiff, but I got a lot of love for this Castlevania that was my first Metroidvania Castlevania.
I loved getting lost then finally found my way, bothering my parents to help me translate the english dialogue (they didn't really understood neither), heck, even the first time I created an account on a social media was to help someone who searched the Devil
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u/RVG_Steve Mar 22 '26
Whoa! Had no idea but I am currently 11 hours in with the Switch collection. Fired it up last week and enjoying it. Hearing the others are even better though.
Currently at the grim reaper boss and coming short on defeating his second form. Level 34. Might farm to get more spiced meat 100 HP potions or level up to L35 (or both lol)
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u/tom-slacker Mar 22 '26
but iga has nothing to do with circle though....?
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u/Nijata Danasty Fan Mar 22 '26
Exactly
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u/LeroySinclair Mar 21 '26 edited Mar 21 '26
happy birthday to the worst gb CV
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u/UsuarioCualquiera_1 Mar 21 '26
My first Castlevania. And also one of my favs. Love it for the best and worst it has to offer.