Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

by Konami

Product Features

• The first Castlevania adventure set in the future
• New attack system lets you collect the souls of enemies to learn their abilities - 100+ abilities total!
• Exchange enemy souls with your friends using Game Link Cable (sold separately)
• Astonishing graphics, stunning animated characters, gigantic monsters and special effects intensify the action
• Collect and wield multiple weapons while RPG elements let you level-up and grow more powerful

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00008KU9T
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: May 12, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,831 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

It's the most exciting Castlevania adventure yet! The year is 2035 and Soma Cruz is about to witness the first solar eclipse of the 21st century when he suddenly blacks out - only to awaken inside a mysterious castle. As Soma, you must navigate the castle's labyrinths while confronting perilous monsters at every turn. But beware, you must escape before evil consumes you!

• Collect the souls of enemies to learn their abilities
• Exchange souls with your friends using the Game Link Cable
• Collect and wield multiple weapons - each with their own attacks
• Stunning animated characters and huge monsters intensify the action

Product Description

This is the game Castlevania Aria Of Sorrow for the Original Game Boy Advance. This game is used comma and comes as the cartridge only. All of our Game Boy Advance games are cleaned tested and guaranteed to work. Here at NintendosForSale.com we stand by our products and offer a 60 days guarantee. If a game does not work within 60 days from the time you receive it we will gladly exchange it for you.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Castlevania Title, December 1, 2003

By 

T. Sparks (Leesville, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Video Game)

When I first heard that this game was going to be set in 2035, I thought, "Well, here it goes. Castlevania with lasers." Well, you CAN get a laser (or a photon cannon, more accurately,) but the vast majority of the game stays strictly to the series' roots, and offers a vast amount of innovation not only to 2D gameplay, but to the Castlevania storyline as a whole. I'll write a few blurbs about each element.

Story--gamers find themselves in the role of Soma Cruz, a young exchange student to Japan who finds himself and his friend, Mina, trapped within Castlevania, which itself is trapped in a solar eclipse. I know it sounds far-fetched, to say the least, but trust me, it works. If you can find the final ending of the game, you'll be treated to the greatest twist in the history of Castlevania games.

Gameplay--very tight and solid. The forward dash from Harmony of Dissonance is gone, but Soma gets along fine without it. Soma has the ability to absorb an enemy's power and then use it himself; this opens up almost unlimited gameplay opportunities. Don't worry, though, the system isn't that intimidating; the biggest problem I had with Symphony of the Night was that the inventory was too large and complex for me, a casual gamer. Not so with Aria of Sorrow. There's a large inventory, to be sure, but I've never had to scratch my head over it.

Music--top-notch; the best music to come out on the Game Boy Advance. There's a few Japanese sound bytes thrown in, too, which really helps the atmosphere of the game.

Graphics--detailed and beautiful. Not quite as impressive as Circle of the Moon, but at least you can SEE this game without direct over-head light (I don't have an SP, but I do have a Game Boy Player for my 'Cube.)

In short, Aria of Sorrow is not only my favorite Castlevania game, it's also my favorite Game Boy title. No self-respecting Nintendo fan should be without this game.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Castlevania game since SotN, May 10, 2003

By 

Samurai13 (sitting in front of my computer) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Video Game)

SotN (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, for the PS1), was a monumental experience not just for Castlevania fans, but for videogame fans everywhere.

Ever since it's release back in 97, we've all been waiting for a worthy successor, to no avail. Until NOW. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, is by far the best Castlevania game since SotN. Now, it has to be said that there are certain effects, both graphically and musically, that won't necessarily meet up to the complete quality of SotN, simply because AoS is on the GBA, and not on one of the next-gen systems as we would all like. This though, doesn't really take away from what not only I, but almost all Castlevania fans view as an truly excellent game.

Graphically, the game surpasses the last two GBA incarnations by a land slide. From the backgrounds to the extremely fluid character animation, to the character design (which surpasses SotN in some areas IMO), it all shines brightly. There were certain effects that I honestly didn't think would have been possible to do on a handheld. Graphically, this game is simply beautiful to behold. It's an artistic masterpiece.

Sound wise, AoS won't let you down. The Castlevania series has always been known for it's superb music, but the last Castlevania title's music (Harmony of Dissonance) was flat, boring, and in some cases, just plain annoying to have to listen to. AoS though, does more than just fix that, it has tunes that Castlevania lovers will be hunting down mp3's to listen for, to in the car. One of the tunes (in the Graveyard), actually gave me a sense of dread. The sound effects themselves are excellent as well, and help in the immersion factor (I love the blood gushing sound effect).

Game play? You got it!! While I liked the last two GBA Castlevania games, this one leaves them both in the dust. The new soul collection system is marvelous, and IMO, it couldn't have been done better. The way it works is, basically every enemy in the game (except for two, which are obvious once you've been playing for awhile) have souls that you can collect. Once acquired, each soul, when equipped, provides you with a unique characteristic ranging from simple statistical upgrades, to new forms of attack, to even transformations that turn you into a raging monster taking out everything in you path.

There are a total of 110 soul to collect in all, so you'll have your hands full. Chances are you'll beat the game (the game has three different possible endings) before collecting them all, but one of the really cool features of this game is that once the game is beaten, you have the option to start from the beginning again, with all the souls and items you've collected intact. Also, once the game has been beaten, you have the option to start a new file as one of the games other characters (I'll leave it to you to find out who). You can also select to set the game to hard mode, for a greater challenge.

Story wise, AoS has the best story in a Castlevania game. EVER. Without giving too much away, the game ties in with previous Castlevania game quite pleasingly. Nuff said.

Once I picked this game up, I couldn't put it down. From the gorgeous graphics, to the superb music, to the enjoyable gameplay, to the fan worthy story, AoS is a must have. This game is one of the best reasons to own a GBA, GBA-SP, or the GBA player for the GC. Pick it up today, I promise you'll be glad you did. If you don't, you are REALLY depriving yourself of pure gaming excellence.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fitting end (perhaps) to the Castlevania timeline., May 10, 2003

By 

Ed Oscuro "edoscuro" (Battle Creek, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Video Game)

There's a Belmont in there somewhere.

First there was Circle of the Moon. Then there was Harmony of Dissonance. For those of you hoping that Aria would get away from the "Castleroid" (or Metroidvania) style of gameplay, you'll undoubtedly be annoyed that Aria once again uses a map system and items that must be picked up.

Unlike the other two games, though, Aria has a focus more in keeping with the CD-ROM based game Symphony of the Night. It's huge! We're not talking about simple length from A to B, or cheap inverted maps, though: instead of the simple Vampire Killer whip/morning star, you start out with a pocketknife and best mink stole, as the style of 2035 dictates one should go into battle equipped. Along with the usual upgradeable armor and profusion of healing items, you have the choice of equipping any of literally dozens of types of insane weaponry. You will eventually meet up with the Vampire Killer...but suffice to say that a number of things must happen first.

The Soul Powers should be mentioned as well. This is a fitting replacement for item capsules, with a somewhat plausible explanation: You have the power to absorb the souls of different monsters, gaining a unique power in the process. Not much more can be said about it, but the variety puts CotM's DSS tarot card combination system to shame.

The graphics are certainly a high point. Unlike CotM's stock graphics, drawn by a company outside of Konami, everything in AoS really belongs in a CV game. Some characters will be familiar, some are brand new...but they're all interesting. What about graphics effects? We've got awesome waterfalls, mirrored corridors, lots of good sprite rotation, and even different angle shots (chariots, horses and similar things run in a virtual circle, with unique sprites for viewing them at different angles). What's more, it all fits. Out of all the 2D Castlevania games, this is without a doubt the most competitive.

The music is very excellently composed, enough to make you forget it's all mono this time around. Forgiving that, the tunes are more nicely executed than the previous two games. Listen for the remix of "Don't Wait Until Night" and "Hearts of Fire."

Finally, AoS has intense replay value. Don't be swayed by people saying "And once you beat the ugly last boss, it's over!" That last 10% of the map played your first time through is where the game actually starts. With a few extra modes of game play, the ability to trade souls between different GBAs, and a profusion of weaponry (some archaic, some futuristic) this game will continue to present you with surprises for a long time to come. Along the way, you'll discover why I call this the end to the Castlevania timeline...and much more.