The Castlevania GBA and DS Games - Should I ?

[Ziggy]

edit: 5/3/2013: Played Portrait of Ruin, here are my thoughts: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 83#p748983

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Original post:

I'll try to keep this short to avoid a long winded post that half of yous wont read.

I've never played any of the GBA or DS Castlevania games. I basically just want the low down on them. Are they worth playing? Six games is too much for me to catch up with right now. I'm wondering if any of them are OK to skip.

To be honest, I'd rather not play any of the GBA games right now. I would eventually like to check them out, but not right now. Am I missing anything fantastic though?

Are all three DS games a must play game? Or perhaps there's just one that's clearly the best of the DS trilogy? If there is one clear winner, if I play it first will the other two not be worth playing afterward (I'd be OK with that)?

[Nemoide]

They're worth playing for sure. Don't worry about how many there are, just jump in and play! The DS ones are all great, my only suggestion would be to play Aria of Sorrow for GBA before Dawn of Sorrow - they're direct sequels. Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia are better entry points.

There is one skipable game of the bunch IMO and that's Harmony of Dissonance - it's a big step down from Circle of the Moon, but it comes in the GBA "Castlevania Double Pack" so if you can get that for as much as Aria of Sorrow, then you might want to give it a shot anyway?

[ninjainspandex]

Aria of sorrow on the Gba is one of the greatest metroidvanias I'd highly recommend it. Also circle of the moon is great but I'd highly recommend playing it on an emulator or a backlit Gba sp as the game is very dark and hard to see on a normal Gba. Harmony of dissonance is alright but it seems like a direct ripoff of symphony of the night and the graphics are pretty bad in my. Opinion when compared to the other Gba games. I haven't really played the ds games yet.

[irixith]

As a huge Castlevania nerd, I look down my nose and over my glasses at you in a snobby attempt to feign disdain at skipping any of them.

However, the best of the DS entries is probably Order of Ecclesia, though I personally really dug Portrait of Ruin. The best of the GBA entries is probably a tie between Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow, though I really dug Circle of the Moon. Make sure if you're playing with original carts that you get the AGS-101 GBA (the brighter screen SP) or the Micro or a DS Lite if you plan to play Circle of the Moon. It was one of those titles early in the lifecycle that fell victim to brighter development units and not so bright retail GBAs. It's practically unplayable without one of the aforementioned devices.

Too long? The best - DS: Order of Ecclesia. GBA: Aria of Sorrow. The rest -- all worth playing.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I second Nemoide.

I love those games, though; so, you should play them if you have the chance. (Order of Ecclesia was my favorite, BTW.)

[Ziggy]

As a huge Castlevania nerd, I look down my nose and over my glasses at you in a snobby attempt to feign disdain at skipping any of them.

Well I didn't wanna make a wall of text first post, so I just kept it simple, but let me explain.

I'm a huge Castlevania fan, primarily of the 2D pre-metroidvania games. Up until recently, I wasn't much for handhelds. So that's the biggest reason why I've never played them. I had the original GameBoy when it came out, and played the shit out of it. But as I got older, I got sick of playing on the screen that wasn't lit. When the original GBA came out, I was excited for it and picked one up. Quickly I remembered how annoying it was to play though, needing the right light. So when the SP came out, I decided to sell my GBA to buy one. They were sold out every where though, and I never ended up getting one.

Fast forward to the more recent, I haven't cared about handheld games for years now. I've had my Super GameBoy since it came out, and the GB Player for the Cube. At one point I even bought the Double Pack, but it turned out to be a damn bootleg copy that didn't work on the GB Player. But my GB and GBA library was very small.

A few years ago, my friend sold me her original DS with a few games for cheap. I've been wanting to check out New SMB since it came out, so I snatched it up. I didn't really get into playing the DS until this past summer though. I realized that handhelds don't have to suck. I enjoyed playing it.

Now, I recently got a 3DS XL and I've been loving it. The problem though is that after playing on the XL screen, my original DS looks pathetic and I think to myself, "How in the hell did I ever play on this small piece of shit?" So with that logic, I don't know if I'd be able to enjoy playing on my GBA SP right now (I failed to mention that I picked one up a few months back). I have the GB Player, but my Cube is in the basement room. I generally don't game down there in the winter months.

So, what the long explanation is getting at... I don't wanna play the GBA titles right now for the reasons above. I'm not saying I don't ever wanna play them, but just not right now. I'm still wondering if they're all worth playing though. I mean let's face it, 3 games pumped out in a short while... are they all really worth playing?

I'm having a blast with my 3DS XL though, and I'd love to check out the Castlevania DS games. That being said, my question about the DS games... Are they all worth playing? Looks like the answer is yes? So then, should I play them all in the order they came out?


edit: I forgot to mention another reason why I never checked out the handheld metroidvania games. When I first played SotN, it was fucking EPIC. I was kinda scared that the handheld games wouldn't live up to the SotN epicness.

[fastbilly1]

Circle of the Moon is my favorite Castlevania ever, even over Castlevania 3. It had everything I liked out of SOTN but in a tight case that played really well.

[BurningDoom]

Absolutely. The GBA & DS Castlevania games are some of the best original games on those systems. Great 2D graphics with a nice gothic style to it, fantastic Metroidvana "exploratory" gameplay, and the addition of RPG-elements really makes it a satisfying experience.

[Ziggy]

So... Having not played any of the DS games yet, I should play them in the order they came out?

[prfsnl_gmr]

Now, I recently got a 3DS XL and I've been loving it. The problem though is that after playing on the XL screen, my original DS looks pathetic and I think to myself, "How in the hell did I ever play on this small piece of shit?" So with that logic, I don't know if I'd be able to enjoy playing on my GBA SP right now (I failed to mention that I picked one up a few months back). I have the GB Player, but my Cube is in the basement room. I generally don't game down there in the winter months.

Forget the GBA SP...For me, it is only for playing GB and GBC games. Pick up a DS lite for your GBA games. They look great on it, and your DS games will likely look a little bit better on a DS Lite than on a 3DS as well (although I do not know how they will look on a 3DS XL...) Finally, DS Lite's are pretty cheap right now...picking one up should not set you back too much (and it will allow you to enjoy some of the other great games in the GBA's catalogue).

I'm still wondering if they're all worth playing though. I mean let's face it, 3 games pumped out in a short while... are they all really worth playing?

To my knowledge, they were all developed by the same team that made SOTN, and they are all worth playing. I bought each one at release, and I enjoyed all of them. I probably would not play all of them in rapid succession, however, because you might get burnt out.

That being said, my question about the DS games... Are they all worth playing? Looks like the answer is yes? So then, should I play them all in the order they came out?

Again, they are all worth playing, and there is no need to play them in the order they were released. I played them in reverse order - and in rapid succession - and I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.

edit: I forgot to mention another reason why I never checked out the handheld metroidvania games. When I first played SotN, it was fucking EPIC. I was kinda scared that the handheld games wouldn't live up to the SotN epicness.

They don't...but the DS games come pretty close. In any event, they are the closest things to the epic victory of SOTN that I have encountered since its release.

EDIT: If you are a Castlevania fan, you owe it to yourself to play these games. I will be interested to hear what you think of them. Also, if you have a GB Player - and you really do not like portable gaming - then you could play the GBA games on it.