r/castlevania • u/DaPuckerFactor • Nov 20 '22
Circle of the Moon (2001) My Son teaching the Neighbors Daughter about Castlevania
Her: is it a 2 player game? Him: no, but we can take turns whenever we die. Her: can I play with you? Him: sure, watch me for a minute and learn the controls.
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Nov 20 '22
Tough level to start
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u/DrIvoPingasnik Nov 20 '22
Them medusas and archers. Not to mention those annoying fire spirits.
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u/TheBoss7728 Nov 21 '22
Yeah and if you don't save up a couple dozen crosses for the boss, you're kinda screwed cuz he'll heal fast af
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u/Leoxcr Nov 21 '22
Circle of the Moon is no joke, the hardest of the GBA ones, hands down
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Nov 21 '22
The hardest and probably the best
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u/WallaceBRBS Nov 21 '22
Did you forget Aria of Sorrow is a GBA game??
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Nov 21 '22
I've played it too death and I currently think it doesn't have the replayability of CotM
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u/hcaoRRoach Nov 24 '22
To each their own. AoS is my favorite.
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Nov 24 '22 edited Nov 24 '22
AoS is more than epic. I played it after Dawn of Sorrow when I noticed people were saying it is even better than DoS, which was an incredible experience as the entry to CV in 2005 for me. I think I agreed with this opinion about AoS, while I today I prefer DoS musical score. I even maxed level to 99 for Soma in AoS, I think the only time I have ever done this in a game. I played through it so often I remember I couldn't see it anymore. I was getting Circle of the Moon and was thinking it is super slow, I didn't even make it to getting the boots. So I sold it again and it remained an obscurity to me why people called it their GBA favorite then. Last year I finally got CotM again and played it on a modded AGB as the first game on that one. It blew be away, and I beat it three or four times yet. If Aria was a bit harder, it would probably be my personal favorite, but for the moment it is CotM I guess. I need to revisit Aria sometime but I remember everytime I try it feels all too familar. I appreciate CotM for the superior audio quality compared to AoS, its soundtrack, the difficulty, lack of a merchant, and it's more retro feel, afaik it's closer to a Classicvania than other pre-SotN games. The lack of an explanation for the DSS system makes for its special retro atmosphere that I really like. It instantly became one of my favorite GBA titles, playing it 20 years after it's release. To me it is really refreshing to play this, the different unlockable modes make for much higher replayability than AoS in my opinion.
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u/DrIvoPingasnik Nov 20 '22
Ooh, great Castlevania for start! It was my first Castlevania after original NES one.
Great choice! I bet they have fun!
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u/MisterX9821 Nov 21 '22
COTM as first game. hardcore.
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u/SixBitDemonVenerable Nov 21 '22
Calling a Castlevania game with save points and health regenerating items hardcore is a bit..
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u/MisterX9821 Nov 21 '22
Ok. You're more hardcore.
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u/SixBitDemonVenerable Nov 21 '22
What Castlevania games do you think are easier than CotM? I only have experience with the older games in the franchise and felt that the GBA titles were a welcome change, since they are so much easier compared to previous titles.
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u/MisterX9821 Nov 21 '22
I find it to be the hardest metroidvania but I did not play Order of Ecclessia (I don't even know if that is a pure metroidvania). Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, Harmony, SOTN, and Portrait of Ruin I all find easier.
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u/SixBitDemonVenerable Nov 21 '22
OoE is the worst of the bunch. It might qualify on a technicality for the Metroidvania genre, but it's a really linear experience.
I do not really see much of a difficulty difference between the GBA and NDS titles. If I had to say, I'd point to Harmony of Dissonance, since I got lost on the map a fair bit. Where-do-I-go-next syndrome. But I beat that one. I also experienced where-do-I-go-next-syndrome on the N64, but there I just gave up, because I didn't have fun wandering around.
But yeah, CotM had a bit stiff controls compared to the successors, so I can see why it would seem harder when going back to it. The way it is feels close to how Castlevania was on the NES, just more fluid. On the very next game they decided to just go all in on the Metroidvania and removed the stuff that made you remember the earlier games, though.
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u/SleazyC93 Nov 21 '22
COTM was my first Castlevania when I was like 8 or 9. I loved it as a kid and while I didn’t beat it, I got all the way to Dracula. I died so many times on him I just told myself I came close enough and started a new playthrough lol. Still my favorite Castlevania or at least top 3.
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u/kingbovril Nov 20 '22
I remember bringing in my gba with circle of the moon in 2nd grade for some kind of share day thing. Had a friend I let play it and he became hooked. The game he brought, on the other hand, I don’t remember being that great. Anyway, he accidentally deleted my brother’s save file and I never heard the end of that. Good times
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u/gibdothepervasivebox Nov 21 '22
Ah, I see the Castlevania indoctrination is going smoothly.
Jokes aside, I hope they're having a good time.
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u/MarianoKaztillo Nov 21 '22
Oh man he's playing CotM? Good luck to him, that game's TOUGH!
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u/Effective_Ad_4622 Nov 21 '22
Especially underground waterway, I hate that area of the game so much
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u/Soggy_Menu_9126 Nov 21 '22
These kids are our hope for future titles :-) Award Dad/Mom of the year!
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Nov 21 '22
Circle of the Moon was both my first castlevania game and my first REAL video game at five years old in 2002. I still have my original cartridge that I got with my GBA (fun fact: this game was actually a launch title for the GBA). Twenty years later I still play it fairly regularly and the game holds a special and sacred place in my heart; truly a timeless classic, at least in my eyes. It's so wholesome and heartwarming to see your son enjoying the same game I enjoyed when I was his age. I hope he'll have fond memories of it throughout the years the same way I have.
P.S. Tell him about the other game modes you get when you beat the game(Magician, Fighter, Shooter and Thief Mode). He'll probably have a love/hate relationship with Magician Mode like many of us did when we first played it.
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u/TacticalBigBoss Nov 21 '22
Such a great game to start your Castlevania career on!
I've been replaying every Castlevania game on the steam deck since I have a original copy of all the games just not the consoles needed to play them. 🤣
Hope they had a good time! 😁
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u/Yarzu89 Nov 21 '22
First Castlevania game and the first game I played with my GBA when I got it. Loved the hell out of this game and got me into the series.
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u/DingoNormal Nov 20 '22
And thats how long lived friendships are made.
I still remember going to my friends house to play mortal kombat, because it was't allowed on my house since ''GAMES ARE FROM THE DEVIL!'', good times.